Best printers for saving ink 2021 [Must read Guide]

The process of choosing best printers for saving ink is pretty confusing. When you go to any store or website and start looking for printers, you come across an ocean of options. It is very easy to get lost in that sea of options. It gets more tricky if you are thinking to buy an economical printer. A printer requires regular expenditures in form of paper and cartridge. So once you buy a printer you are not free. You need to keep spending money on buying papers and ink cartridges. You can save expenses on paper by experimenting with the quality of the paper.

Saving money on ink is tricky and it needs some serious research. There are generally two methods of saving expenses on ink cartridges. One is buying a printer which uses less ink. Another is buying a printer which uses cheap cartridges while refilling. Cheap ink cartridges have their own cons and reasons for not using them. Hence we will focus on printers which use less ink while printing. Apart from using less ink, there are many factors which you should check in a printer. There are things like accessibility, power consumption, maintenance, etc which you should check in the printer before buying.

Best printers for saving ink 2021

Epson Expression Home XP-420

Epson Expression Home XP-420 scores top in the list of best printers for saving ink. It is a wireless color printer, scanner, and copier with standard and high yield cartridge compatibility. This allows you to control the per page cost according to your need. It is very easy to set up and control with its large 2.5″ color LCD. There are multiple connectivity options which increase the ease of use. It supports Hi-speed USB 2.0, wifi3 and wi-fi direct 3 connectivity. If you are looking for something compact, economical and multipurpose, this is your best bet.

It also supports multiple print options like printing from mobile, Epson-connect 4, Epson Email Print. Epson iPrint Mobile app, Epson remote print, Airprint and google cloud print allows you to print from almost every device. You can print from iPad, iPhone, tablets, smartphone, all windows operating systems and Mac Os. The printer not only saves ink while printing, it also allows you to replace only the color you need. Apart from that it also has some good scanning features. It gives you the ability to directly scan to facebook or memory card present in the built-in card slot.

Pros	Cons
👍 Extremely low price.	👎 Draft and standard quality print settings are not acceptable for photos.
👍 Easy to set up and use.	👎 No touchscreen option with small LCD.
👍 Individual ink cartridges.

HP OfficeJet Pro 8710 All-in-One

HP Officejet Pro 8710 is our second choice in the list of best printers for saving ink. The best selling point of this printer apart from saving ink is Alexa connectivity. Which means you can control this printer with your voice through Alexa devices. This printer also supports HP Instant Ink. The HP ePrint app allows you to print from anywhere using your smartphone or tablet. You can also print from your iPhone or iPad with AirPrint technology. If you have no connectivity options no problem the printer can print without network using wireless direct printing.

It has a standard design which comes with an automatic document feeder. In the front, there is a paper tray which can hold up to 250 papers. There is an output tray backed by dual side printing system. On the upper right side, there is a 6.75 cm color touchscreen display panel. When it comes to connectivity it’s pretty handy. You can connect it through a USB port and an ethernet port. You can also use this printer as a fax machine. Overall it a true economical all-in-one.

Pros	Cons
👍 Easy To Use.	👎 Slow Operation.
👍 Great Print Quality.
👍 Quiet.

Brother MFC-J985DW Inkjet Printer

Brother MFC-J985DW is our third champion in the list of best printers for saving ink. Standard ink cartridges of MFC-J985DW have higher page yield with reasonable price. It is very easy to scan and copy with high-quality results. The front panel is equipped with a 2.7-inch color touchscreen. The display allows you to operate by tapping buttons on the screen. There are two more buttons home and back on the right of the screen. It provides you automatic duplex two-sided printing which is a relief when you are in paper saving mode.

You can connect it to any desktop, laptop, mobile device, and tablets. Another interesting feature this printer has is Amazon Dash Replenishment. Once activated Amazon Dash Replenishment calculates the toner level and orders from Amazon when needed.  The printer also supports wifi direct which allows you to print and scan documents from virtually anywhere. Manufacturers provide you two-year limited warranty and free support for a lifetime over the product.

Pros	Cons
👍 Ultra-cheap ink costs.	👎 Slow Operation.
👍 Touch screen navigation menu.
👍 Inexpensive, high-capacity ink cartridges.

Brother MFC-J460DW, All-in-One

Brother MFC-J460DW is another gem in the list of best printers for saving ink. This is a true all-in-one since it can print, scan and fax. The unit has a higher output speed than the industry average. Other features like duplexer and auto-document feeder are quite helpful while operating professionally. Lack of photo-centric features actually helps you in saving ink while printing. it does lack the capability to print pictures directly from memory card or USB drives. The automatic duplexer helps you in saving money on paper without doing any extra work.

Automatic document feeder helps you in batch scanning, printing or faxing. With its digital fax technology, you can send PC fax without printing it. This also saves paper and ink in a way. When it comes to design and control the unit is designed beautifully. There is a 1.8-inch color LCD screen with multiple buttons on right for ease of control. The LCD screen shows you things like ink levels, setup assistance and the location of the paper jam. These features make the operations really smooth while saving money at the same time.

Pros	Cons
👍 Great print quality.	👎 Limited monthly duty cycle.
👍 Good scan quality.
👍 Inexpensive ink.

Epson WorkForce ET-4550

Epson Workforce ET-4550 is our fifth choice in the list of best printers for saving ink. If you want an economical printer which saves you money and ink this is your best option. The printer provides you with cartridge-free printing. It comes with ink in the box sufficient for two years. The ink in the box is capable of printing around 11,000 black and white pages and 8,500 color pages. This is almost equivalent to 50 ink cartridges capacity. The low-cost replacement bottles save up to 80 percent on ink.

You will find supersized ink tanks easy to refill and maintain. The unit is powered by precision core printing technology which provides laser-quality black text in economical mode. It also has some business-friendly features like 30-page automatic document feeder and auto duplex printing. When it comes to design the unit is beautifully built. It has a 7.2-inch monographic display and a series of buttons. The setup is pretty easy and requires simple steps. The only time you have to be careful is when you are filling the ink tank.

Pros	Cons
👍 Excellent economy for heavy ink users.	👎 Slow print speeds.
👍 Good quality output.
👍 Ink tanks.

Best printers for saving ink Buyer’s Guide

Everyone wants to save money, no one wants to waste it. When it comes to printers people are always serious. As discussed earlier there are multiple ways of saving money on a printer. But we will discuss only what made the list of best printers for saving ink possible. We will also see the factors which affect a printer, it’s economy and it’s capabilities. While buying printer saving ink is not the only thing you want to achieve.

There are multiple factors like budget, ease of use, page yield, functions, etc. The first thing you need to do is dig what is the purpose of your printer. Do you want a printer for printing checks or you want an economical printer for your office, or you want it for home use? Once the primary use is decided, many things like features, the budget will be clear as crystal.

Things to know before buying the best printers for saving ink

Budget

The most important thing about the purchase of any product is budget. With printers, you don’t have to check the price of printers only. You also have to keep an eye on cartridge prices as well. Many cheap printer manufacturers make up their profit with costly cartridges. You can also use generic cartridges as well in your printers. It’s a smart practice to know which cartridges your printer uses and what are their alternatives.

Page Yield

In short words, page yield is the total number of pages you can print with one cartridge. Many manufacturers participate in and print out pages with 5% of total coverage. Due to the 5% coverage, page yields are not supposed to be considered as the actual capability of the cartridge. They are used to get a rough estimate only.

Duty Cycle

The duty cycle is the total number of pages a printer can print in a month without any complications. Generally, people use this number to keep track of performance and estimate when any part of the unit might go down.

Conclusion

We at best10lab have discussed best printers for saving ink. The discussion was about a complete list of printers which can be used as the best options for saving ink and money. We also have discussed different terms and factors which may affect your purchasing decision. Based on the data we have shared, we are confident enough that you can make the right decision.