Best All in One Printer Cheap Ink for Home or Office Use

Ian Mutuli
Updated on
Ian Mutuli

Ian Mutuli

Founder and Managing Editor of Archute. He is also a graduate architect from The University of Nairobi, Kenya.
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With every passing day, printers are getting cheaper and more friendly, and they include more features such as mobile and wireless printing. Printers are an office staple, but they can also be costly the more you use them. Cost-saving printers aren't defined by their price tag, and instead, you should check the ink cartridge price and page yield if you would like to save on printing. However, office supplies such as ink can be super expensive, and that's why it's better to choose a printer with cheap ink to get the maximum value out of it.

Which printer is most economical with ink?

The biggest cost factor that sometimes may be overlooked is the ink cost. If you already own a printer, you know that ink is not cheap, and the cost of a regular inkjet printer may exceed the full cost of the full printer with a few rounds of replacements.

If you think choosing the best all-in-one, cheap ink printer is the toughest job, and this article is for you as we have done all the hard work for you. We have explored all the cheap ink printers with their pros and cons to help you ease your choice.

1. Canon Office and Business MX922 All-In-One Printer

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Canon Office and Business MX922 All-In-One Printer,...
  • Features: Wireless LAN, AirPrint, Google Cloud Print, Wireless,...
  • Fully-Integrated, 35-sheet Duplex Auto Document Feeder: Easily...
  • Built-In Auto Duplex Printing: Automatically print on both sides...
  • Compatible with Individual/Combo CLI-251 XL Ink Tanks (Cyan,...
  • 20-Foot cord.OS Compatibility:Windows 8, Windows RT, Windows 7,...

Canon MX922 is a multi-functional wireless printer, scanner and fax, suitable for home use with cheap ink. It delivers fast yet high-quality printing for documents and photos while having one of the cheapest ink and almost all the essential features of modern printers.

Canon MX922 also includes several features such as Google Cloud Print, AirPrint, USB printing and mobile device printing. It also includes an automatic document feeder, a great feature for copying, scanning and faxing documents without loading them individually.

Canon MX922 prints 15 pages every minute on paper sizes that will go up to 8.5 x 14 inches, and its compatible ink costs will range between $10-14 for this printer model. Moreover, the Canon printer can print all black and white documents in the best quality thanks to the high printing speed, and the printer also includes gold-plated connectors and hence the high printing speed.

Pros:

  • Sleek design
  • Easy to use
  • Optimal ink consumption
  • Great print quality
  • Duplex printing means printing on both sides without manually turning the paper.
  • Google cloud print
  • Hi-Speed USB 2.0 enabled
  • Thanks to the fully integrated 35-sheet duplex auto-document feeder, easy copying, faxing, and scanning.

Cons:

  • Noisy
  • Slow to print compared to other printers

2. HP OfficeJet Pro 6968 All-in-One Wireless Printer

HP OfficeJet Pro 6968 All-in-One Wireless Printer, HP...
  • Main functions of this HP color inkjet photo printer: copy, scan,...
  • Easily print when and where you need to from your smartphone,...
  • Produce fast professional-quality color for 50% less than lasers,...
  • HP OfficeJet Pro 6968 is ideal for the home office or small...
  • Includes most features of HP OfficeJet Pro 5700 series plus...

HP OfficeJet Pro 6968 wireless printer is a multi-functional all-in-one color inkjet printer with great features and a low ink cost. The printer's key features include fax, copier, wireless printing, two-sided duplex printing, and automatic duplex printing.

HP OfficeJet Pro 6968 wireless printer can easily serve as a home printer, business printer, or family printer. These features an Instant ink capable of ensuring that you can order cheap ink cartridges when running low easily using a subscription which includes a one-to-month trial of the instant ink depending on your printer model.

HP OfficeJet Pro 6968 is among the faster printing speeds, and it's among the fast printers with cheap ink on the market, which prints at about 30 pages per minute. In addition, it supports various paper sizes and uses a letter, A4, legal and panoramic.

HP OfficeJet Pro 6968 allows you to easily print from your notebook PC, smartphone and tablet from anywhere and anytime. It is a cheap printer that produces quality, fast and professional color documents. HP printers will qualify among the best printer scanners to solve all your home and office needs, and this gives this HP printer a plus.

Pros:

  • Simple to set up and use
  • Fast print speeds
  • It has convenient and easy cheap ink replenishing options
  • Wireless and mobile printing
  • Excellent for printing text documents or photo paper printing
  • Instant ink ready
  • Color touchscreen

Cons:

  • Customer support is not that reliable if technical difficulties occur.
  • Uses its ink fast

3. Epson Ecotank ET-4760

Epson EcoTank ET-4760 Wireless Color All-in-One...
  • Epson strongly recommends the use of Genuine Epson inks for a...
  • Epson EcoTank is the Selling Supertank Printer
  • You can save up to 90 percent with replacement ink bottles vs....
  • You get up to 2 years of ink — in the box and with each...
  • Less waste with Cartridge-Free Printing — one set of...

Epson Ecotank et 4760 is made up of a body made of hard plastic that reflects longevity as it feels sturdy. It comes with stronger trays yet wide enough to hold different kinds of paper, and it can clear paper jams with the design. It is built for wireless and wired printing, including voice-activated software, and it may include a copier and a scanner where ink bottles for the ink tank will cost $40 and can last up to two years.

Epson Ecotank et 4760 is so easy to set up as it has on-screen setup instructions, which make it easier, and it boasts of an LCD touchscreen display of 2.3 inches which comes very handy to use it. In addition, there are two physical buttons on the control panel which allow you to access the help quickly and home menus.

Epson Ecotank et 4760 all-in-one printer has a decent print speed of an average of 16 prints per minute in your black only text, and it will print at 7PPM for color documents. On the other hand, photo printing takes about 89 seconds to produce one print, with the first print being 10 seconds and the printer also features an auto-duplex printer mode to help you become productive.

Epson Ecotank et 4760 has a lot of connectivity options that would look great in a good printer for home use, and it includes an automatic document feeder capability to work done easily. However, it lacks support for duplex scanning, and this is a bummer for many, but the cost per print is low compared to other cheap ink printers at the price point.

Pros:

  • It has an easy setup
  • It can be used as an office and a home printer
  • The four refillable ink tanks are easy to refill
  • Decent print speeds for an inkjet printer
  • Offers cartridge-free printing since it contains ink tanks instead of the traditional cartridges
  • Cost-effective as it has one of the cheapest ink options available
  • The top printer for home use with cheap ink offers almost all connectivity options
  • Quick duplexer
  • Voice activate software

Cons:

  • The cheap printer is slow compared to other options on the list
  • You will need less space for loading paper, and this means you will need more ink refills
  • Color accuracy could be better
  • No secondary paper tray
  • The duplex print looks lighter than a single-sided print.

4. Brother MFC-J4335DW INKvestmentTank Color Inkjet All-in-One Printer

Brother MFC-J995DW INKvestmentTank Color Inkjet...
  • Up to 1 year of ink in box: Using the MFCJ995DW cartridges...
  • Inkvestment tank system: Reengineered ink cartridges hold more...
  • Eliminate ink replacement guesswork: Brother intelligent Page...
  • Mobile device printing: Desktop and mobile device wireless...
  • For use with brother genuine inks: LC3033: LC3033BK, LC3033C,...

Brother MFC-J4335DW is one of the best all-in-one printer cheap ink suitable for home use. The color inkjet printer uses Brother's INKvestment Tank, a combination of ink tanks and cartridges to yield several pages. It has an outstandingly cheap cost per page, and therefore it's very efficient when you think about the cost of new cartridges.

Brother MFC-J4335DW has a flatbed scanner with a high scan resolution and an auto document feeder, making it suitable for digitizing family photos or important documents. The great printer quickly should produce a full report or essay in under a minute, meaning you won't sit and wait. The all-in-one color inkjet printer to use with cheap ink has connectivity options including Mopria, Apple AirPrint and Wi-Fi Direct to allow a user to print from different devices easily.

Brother MFC-J4335DW printer doesn't support third-party cartridges, but it has XL cartridges that will provide higher page yields and offer a better cost per unit. In addition, there are three separate color cartridges, so you will only need to replace the colors that will run out.

However, because the Brother printer prints photos in an okay format, you are better off getting a dedicated photo printer, especially if you perform a lot of printing. All in all, this is an all-round family and home printer with cheap ink.

Pros:

  • Duplex printing
  • Low price with the additional low cost per page
  • It has a fast speed for the price
  • Fax function
  • Prints and scans to mobile devices

Cons:

  • The automatic document feeder and will not support duplex scanning
  • The text quality is poor in the small font sizes, and with some stylish fonts

5. Canon Pixma MegaTank G7020 All-In-One Printer

Canon G7020 All-In-One Printer For Home Office |...
  • Conveniently view and refill ink using ink bottles with...
  • With a high page yield print up to 6,000 Black/ 7,700 color pages...
  • With a 350 sheet plain paper capacity The PIXMA G7020 is ready to...
  • With AirPrint it’s easy to print right from your iPhone iPad...
  • Print beautiful borderless photos from 3 5” x 3 5” square to...

Canon Pixma G7020 All-In-One Printer is an inkjet all-in-one printer that delivers the lowest running costs, which are available in a consumer printer from a company that produces printer models with the cheapest ink without sacrificing the quality. It is a great family printer and works for home use with cheap ink, and this printer model is popular for its fast printing speed and high-quality output.

Canon Pixma G7020 budget printer is also popular for its mega tank ink storage, which makes it a cost-effective option for a home office or use. In addition, the multi-function printer includes fax, copier and scanner, which makes it multipurpose, and it also has a wireless print, AirPrint and some other easy and quick features.

Canon Pixma G7020 all-in-one inkjet will print documents at a low cost per page as the home office printer features a page yield print that has up to 6000 black and 7700 color pages per ink bottle. The flatbed scanner of this printer does the job thanks to a maximum resolution of 1200 DPI and a 24bit color depth, and the flatbed scan size shares the support for an Automatic Document Feeder.

Canon Pixma G7020 is fairly impressive in the connectivity department and supports Ethernet, Wi-Fi with support for Wi-Fi Direct, USB to computer, Airprint and Mopria. Even though the printer lacks a touch screen display, it is fairly easy to operate with physical buttons and a 2-line Full-Dot Matrix Display setting on the control panel.

Pros:

  • The tank printer with a low cost of ink
  • Fast printing speed
  • Sold features, paper capacity and software bundle for a bulk-ink model
  • It can handle prints and text documents
  • You can use the Canon app to print your documents on the go
  • Extremely low running costs and it's very economical when it comes to printing
  • It has up to 18000 pages worth of black ink in the package
  • Auto-duplexing print engine and auto document feeder
  • Decent build quality

Cons:

  • It can be difficult to set up
  • Small LCD screen and hard to view, making it difficult to ascertain what documents are printed.
  • Outdated control panel
    Monochrome 2-line display

6. Epson Expression Premium ET-7750 EcoTank

Epson Expression Premium EcoTank Wireless 5-Color...
  • Epson strongly recommends the use of Genuine Epson inks for a...
  • Cartridge-free printing — comes with up to 2 years of ink in...
  • Includes enough ink to print documents up to 14,000 pages...
  • Save up to 80 percent on ink with replacement bottles (4) —...
  • 5-color inks — for printing high-quality documents and photos...

Epson Expression Premium ET-7750 is a great home office printer with a low cots-per-print and a high page yield than Brother MFC-J995DW. Instead of using cartridges, it has a supertank system with five refillable ink tanks that hold a lot of ink.

Epson Expression Premium ET-7750 has a flatbed scanner with a great color depth and a great scan solution. Like other printers, it produces great-looking photos with a little banding and graininess, but unfortunately, it has mediocre color accuracy.

Epson Expression Premium ET-7750 includes great connectivity options, and even though it doesn't support Bluetooth, you can print wirelessly through Mopria, Wi-Fi and Apple AirPrint. In addition, you can also print directly from an external storage device through an SD card slot and a USB port at the front.

However, it doesn't have a sheetfed scanner meaning it will be long and tedious to scan any multi-paged documents manually. It also lacks duplex scanning an automatic document feeder. In addition, it's super slow at printing black-only text documents and color documents, but it can be fast at printing photos.

Pros:

  • Great photo printer with a good printing quality
  • Exceptionally high page yield
  • Exceptionally low cost-per-unit
  • It has outstanding connectivity options
  • Decent display screen
  • Epson iPrint app that allows you to scan, print and copy directly from the app
  • Three input trays that support a lot of different paper sizes
  • Each ink tank holds a lot of ink, and you will not need to refill them often

Cons:

  • It has a disappointing build quality
  • Slow printing speed
  • The color accuracy is the best

7. Brother MFC-J995DW INKvestmentTank Color Inkjet All-in-One Printer

Brother MFC-J995DW INKvestmentTank Color Inkjet...
  • Up to 1 year of ink in box: Using the MFCJ995DW cartridges...
  • Inkvestment tank system: Reengineered ink cartridges hold more...
  • Eliminate ink replacement guesswork: Brother intelligent Page...
  • Mobile device printing: Desktop and mobile device wireless...
  • For use with brother genuine inks: LC3033: LC3033BK, LC3033C,...

Brother MFC-J995DW color inkjet printer is an all-in-one model suitable for office use as a family printer or a home office since it also uses an ink tank. It has a body made of toughened plastic, and it looks promising enough to last long, and the front also has a 2.6-inch touchscreen LCD console. Even though the screen feels smaller, it is very responsive and has decent viewing angles.

Brother MFC-J995DW also has a built-in scanner with a maximum resolution of 1200 DPI and a flatbed scan size of 8.5″ x 11″. In addition, it has the automatic document feeder function, but it lacks the ability for duplex scanning with a 24-bit color depth that helps in producing accurate colors in their prints.

Brother MFC-J995DW is among the best options for printing text documents, and it also has mobile printing and duplex features. It has a maximum print speed of 12 pages per minute for black and white and ten pages per minute for color.

Brother MFC-J995DW has all connectivity options, including Ethernet, USB input to a computer, Wi-Fi support for Wi-Fi Direct, and cloud services. Also, you can print directly from an external USB Pen Drive or an SD card.

Pros:

  • Decent build quality and quite compact
  • Easy to use and setup
  • Fast at printing texts and graphics
  • An affordable price point for business use and home offices
  • Intuitive mobile application
  • Super-low cost per page
  • Quick copying and scanning speeds
  • Excellent print quality

Cons:

  • Slow printing compared to other printers
  • It can be loud
  • Mediocre color photo scans
  • It does not make two-sided scans or copies via an ADF
  • Lacks Bluetooth and NFC support

When is an All-in-One Printer a Good Choice?

All-in-one printers( AIO), also known as MFP (multi-function printers), usually combine features of multiple devices in a single package. For example, an all-in-one printer will offer a color inkjet printer with a scanning unit to act as a scanner, printer and copier.

Many AIO devices can send and receive faxes, scan slides, send emails, and download photos directly from your camera through the memory card, making them useful for small businesses and home offices.

You can scan documents and store them on your PC, or you can print them immediately so that the device is working as a copier. In addition, you can scan documents and send them either to your PC for faxing or fax them directly from your multi-function printer. Since all these functions are in one printer, you can save space without dealing with multiple connections.

What are the Advantages of Purchasing All-in-One Printers

  • All-in-One printers usually offer extra features for the price they come at
  • An All-in-One printer will generally cost less than purchasing multiple devices.
  • It is more efficient and minimizes the number of separate pieces of machines you will need within your reach because it performs several tasks in one position.
  • Multiple office functions are combined in one connection
  • It has a comparatively low cost no matter how large your investment is and how large your business is
  • Ease of maintenance since it is one machine which would be different if it was several machines
  • Consumes comparatively low power than the total sum of power that would be consumed with individual machines, and this is among the major benefits

What are the Disadvantages of an AIO Printer

  • Repairs are inconvenient, and if you need to repair one of the functions, you will not have any office machine to use while the printer is getting repaired.
  • Output quality may not be as good with an all-in-one printer as it might be with a standalone photo inkjet printer.
  • Compromised functionality where all the functions of an All-in-One device perform okay but may not perform as well as you would get using a dedicated unit.
  • Sometimes, it can be a struggle to the network where most home AIOs especially cheap printers, will only connect to one computer and use a USB cable. If you need to network with more than one printer, you should ensure all AIOs functions will work over the network. However, it's not unusual for network features to be limited to printing, so you won't be able to fax and scan unless you are connected to the AIO by USB cable.

Who Should Opt for an All-In-One Printer

To find out if the all-in-one printer is the best choice for you, there are a few things you should ask yourself, and it will help you make the decision:

a). How Often Do You Need to Print

This is the first question you will need to ask yourself, and it's how often you need to print, all day, every day or often. If you print about 100 to 500 pages every month, then inkjet will be perfect for you, and you should choose a monochrome printer and a good scanning app. However, if you print all the time, you should consider the enterprise-grade machine.

b). How Frequently do you print in color

If you frequently print in color or you want to print the occasional glossy photo, then you don't need a black and white laser.

c). How Often Do you Scan

If you print and scan more than several times a month, or you need to routinely scan two sides of a page, then choosing an AIO is worth it. However, if you don't scan as much, you can opt for a cheap print-only machine and a good scanning app.

Factors to Consider the Best All in One Printer Cheap Ink

When it comes to looking for all-in-one printer recommendations, cheap ink is one of the factors one evaluates to decide the one to purchase. Whether for business or home use, many other considerations should be observed when choosing the best cheap ink printers. Some of the features include:

1. Automatic Document Feeder

An automatic document feeder is a handy time-saving feature in most printers. This means that the all-in-one printer should comfortably handle several sheets of paper, and they should feed it to the printer at a go than having to put the papers manually. Most all-in-one printers will come with this feature, including most of them in this list.

2. Fast Printing Speed

Printing speeds usually matter, especially for bulky jobs, but a printer with moderate speeds may handle the job for casual printing. Look at a print speed that should be at least 12 pages per minute for black and white and 8 pages per minute for color. The resolution will be a minimum of 2400x1200 dpi, especially if you plan on printing your photos from a digital camera.

Many printers may offer cheap ink and some other features, and one thing to look out for is how fast the printer will print. Whether at the office or home, whether it's for photos or documents, no one would want to stand for hours waiting for something to print. Most printers offer a fast printing speed, but some are better than others.

3. Photo Printing Quality

Whether you are looking for an all-in-one printer with cheap ink for personal or professional use, the ability to print photos is an additional point. Therefore, it's important to check whether an all-in-one printer offers high photo quality when printing as it can print out color documents without experiencing bleeding or any other issues.

No matter the printer model, it's important to check the color reproduction and the color accuracy that the cheap ink printers may be offering. Some may be better than others at printing photos with color accuracy, but for photo printing chores or causal posters, your printer doesn't need to be color-accurate.

4. High-Quality Text Documents

In the least, a printer should be used for printing documents for a home or office. This is the most important feature that a printer should deliver on from print quality to printing speed. High-quality printing should be clear and crisp without bleeding or smudging.

Cheap ink cartridges are necessary for this context as all-in-one printers should print as many text documents as they can without using too much ink.

5. Duplex Printing and Duplex Scanning

Scanning and duplex printing refers to two-sided scanning and printing, and this is a great way to save ink and paper without compromising the printer's output quality. Printers with duplex printing can either be manual or automatic, but most all-in-one printers come with this feature, whether it's for your business or your home printer. Also, the ultimate goals are printers that offer single-pass duplex print, copy and scan.

6. Functionality

If you intend to purchase a printer for your home office or home, it's better to opt for a multipurpose one with all the functions you may need. A multi-function printer will also include a copier, printer, scanner in one device. Other functions include faxing and emailing, and some AIOs can scan film negatives and slides by a transparency adaptor in the scanner lid.

A few high-priced AIOs will double up as standalone photo labs, and it lets you print high-quality photos from memory cards PictBridge-enabled cameras. Transparencies and photographic prints will often be 35mm slides and also negatives.

If you already own software and a fax modem on your PC and you can count on using it to control the AIOs scanner so you can fax and scan even the AIO itself. Similarly, if you scan many photos to send to relatives and friends, you should look for an AIO with a software or email button to scan and automatically open a message with a scan attached as a file.

7. Connectivity

Connectivity is another essential factor to consider when choosing a good printer for your home, office or business. Even though most printers usually offer good connectivity, most of them use the Wi-Fi feature only, and it's up to you to decide which connectivity requirements you will need.

Ensure the all-in-one model is compatible with your computer, and if it works with a Mac or PC, it does not connect through a USB port or parallel port. In addition, any printer offered today should support tablet and smartphone printing protocols such as Google Cloud Print, Mopria Print Service and Apple AirPrint.

8. Cost to Print Ratio

This is another underrated factor, but choosing the best all-in-one printer with cheap ink is important. Whether using toner or ink cartridges, the printers cost money over time.

The upfront costs may be more, but it may eventually benefit you in the end if you purchase a printer with a relatively affordable cost-to-print ratio. Notably, some companies will offer subscription services that will save you money while they send you ink bottles just in time to replace your empty cartridge.

The ink or toner for black-and-white prints shouldn't cost more than several cents per page, and color photo prints shouldn't be more than three or four times as much. Some manufacturers also offer a subscription ink plan, which can consider.

9. Inkjet or Laser Printer

The style of printer you will need is another factor you need to consider. Inkjet printers use ink to transfer images from your PC and are better for producing a full range of colors, making them better at printing photos and graphics. On the other hand, laser printers are better for producing professional-looking text documents, and they often have a lower cost per page. This is because they use a laser to create electrostatic charges on the paper that attracts the toner and creates some images on a page.

Inkjet printers are affordable, but their ink tanks don't last long, and the ink can dry up even when it's not getting used, making it more expensive, especially for home users who don't often print. On the other hand, laser printers are costly, but their ink toners are cheaper, print more, and dry up like inkjet cartridges.

10. Print Controls

The best printer with cheap ink usually has great controls where great controls will help you monitor your ink level and change your print settings to use ink more efficiently. Opt for printers with large LCD touch screens to control and monitor everything directly from your printer. Otherwise, you can check if the printer will include a well-designed mobile app that can easily manage, monitor and change your settings.

Frequently Asked Questions on the Best All in One Printer Cheap Ink Cartridges

1. Do laser printers use ink or toner?

Unlike an inkjet printer, a laser printer does not use ink cartridges, and instead, they use toner cartridges, so ensure you buy depending on your printer. The toner is a good dye power melted into a paper, and unlike with ink sprayed to a paper through fine jets, a toner creates a resilient, crisp and long-lasting image.

Toners usually hold a static charge, transferring to a paper through an electrostatically charged unit. The substance is then fused to the paper surface with heated rollers. A laser printer is a great option because it has a high speed when printing documents compared to an inkjet printer.

2. Are there benefits of using laser printers and toner cartridges to inkjet printers?

Apart from the obvious benefits of high printing speed and longevity, there are other benefits of using laser printers and toner cartridges, including:

  • Smooth printing because the toner is a powder fused to a page with laser precision where the pages printed by a laser printer will look smoother than ink
  • Long-lasting since the toner cartridges will provide more prints per cartridge since the toner cartridges are not liquid, and therefore, there's no risk of them drying out over time.
  • Smudge resistant, unlike inks that can come out of a printer still wet and prone to smudging, will deliver high print quality.

3. What is the best printer using the cheapest ink cartridge?

All the major printer companies have priced their ink cartridges, and it can be difficult to find the cheap ones, and this will depend on the type of printing you will be doing and how much of it you will be. So first, estimate the monthly print volume, and then you will get a better idea of how long different ink cartridges will last you. Afterward, you can estimate your total cost over some time, and you will choose the most affordable option for your needs. If you follow the steps, that will help you find the best printer with cheap ink.

Ian Mutuli

About the author

Ian Mutuli

Founder and Managing Editor of Archute. He is also a graduate architect from The University of Nairobi, Kenya.
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