A good cheap printer - which one?

[BlastedPimples]

I'm broke.

Our printer is broken.

I need to buy another from Amazon I guess

Which one is good and not loads of cash?

We got a laser Epson one in lockdown which is brilliant, hasn't needed more than one refill of ink since 2020.

Printers are all relatively cheap, it’s the ink they make their money on.

We have a Hewlett-Packard HP Envy printer with a monthly €6 Instant Ink subscription.
Its very easy to use (print, scan, photocopy, print photos and has an email address, computer and wifi connection, Apple app etc) and set up.
With Instant Ink you get 100 printed pages and your printer orders the ink via Wifi when it’s getting low. The cartridges last for ages and you can build up a reserve of 300 pages or switch to a higher or lower monthly contract.

Ours is 6 years old and has been no problem.

Get a hp Deskjet

Epson all the way.
I've got one which cost me £29 about 15 years ago. Still going strong.

Depends what you want to print-colour photos? Documents in B&W?

this is ours. We’re an ordinary family with 1 high schooler, so just b/w and colour printouts and the occasional scan. 100 pages per month is fine and I switch to a cheaper contract over the summer.

How regularly do you use it? If you have a library close by you’ll be able to print there, ours charges about 10p a sheet so it’s easier to pop there as needed than bother with our own printer for how often we use it, especially if you’re broke.

Jeez how much do you use it?

Canon have always been good for us (my household and parents' household) - we've just replaced one that was 16 years old, and I have one that is coming up 20 this year, which still works but now won't connect to any modern computers so I use it as a copier in my office 😂 both new ones are canon and I've also got an Epson refillable tank one. All mine were fairly spendy because of what I do, but I've never had a bad Canon printer so that would be my recommendation!

are people using bluetooth? Or wiring their printer to their laptop?

Just word of warning on bloody HP instant ink…
you get it free initially then you pay for a monthly subscription for replacement cartridges. I had a cartridge in and some ready to go.
my bank card changed (as previous one was cloned/stolen whatever)
I had to update payment details with HP instant link but simply couldn’t log in. Kept getting error screen: tried different devices, different browsers, clearing cookies, resetting password, spoke to customer services who said they were unable to update my payment details over the phone, had to be online, but after multiple calls they were unable to sort out my problem logging in so I couldn’t.

the printer stopped working - they can tell if you’re using their cartridges. As I hadn’t updated my payment details (not my fault) for the £1.99 subscription, and they wouldn’t let me pay over the phone, I couldn’t use the printer or the cartridges I had ready and waiting which I had effectively paid for with previous monthly subscription payments.

i had to order cartridges from Amazon which are really expensive and dd goes through quickly with all the gcse past papers.

its been a real nightmare and they’ve pissed me right off by being seemingly unable to reset my account or enable me to log in, and seemingly unable to let me pay or update details over the phone!

Usb for the old ones, WiFi for the new ones :) and mum's new one which arrived this week will happily print from her phone which is a bonus!

Try Freecycle?

I will never ever use a HP subscription. You cannot use the printer unless you have the payment plan. If you unsubscribe, they block your ability to use the printer. Even though you paid the advertised price for the printer.

Will never buy any HP printer again.

I just don’t know how it is legal.

A fair amount. I work from home and print off articles to read. I'd say I probably print 30-40 pages a month. That's why I prefer laser though, it lasts forever.

HP are a nightmare!
I bought a HP Envy printer in 2021 with the ink subscription. £2.99 a month.
Printer worked great until I recently had to change my BT router for a new one. Printer stopped working as it couldn't connect wirelessly to the printer. Helpline useless - HP blamed BT and BT blamed HP. Tried every online help place but still no luck. Eventually got a computer guy out to look - he tried for an hour and couldn't make it connect.
HP kept emailing me to say that because my printer was 'offline' they couldn't continue with the ink package. I explained I can no longer connect.
Tough luck, apparently. The £2.99/month I've paid them for 3 years counts for nothing as (their words) I was paying for the privilege of being able to print 100 pages a month and NOT buying ink! They said they would now stop my current ink cartridges from printing.
Anyway.... I seem to have got round it by printing offline with a cable from the computer to the printer. They can't cut off the ink I already have because the printer is offline and they can't get at it!

I will NEVER buy HP again. Thieves.

We run two printers because printing costs are all about the ink.

Most printing needs can be handled by a black and white laser printer. This will cost more upfront, but they are workhorses that last forever and are ridiculously cheap to run.

For quality color printing and the occasional photo, you need an inkjet. Those are finicky bastards that suck up expensive ink cartridges, occasionally spit ink on the page, and send you random error messages.

If you don’t print color very often, you might be better off skipping the inkjet and using a printing service for those rare prints. There is a copy place near us that will print pages. They charge a premium and you have to travel there, but if it’s rare, it’s cheaper than a home color printer.

I'm a 10p-a-page down the library user for my very modest requirements. Inkjets drove me to distraction.

Epson every time. Relatively inexpensive printers that work well and the ink is cheaper than HP or Canon (have had both brands in the past, would never buy another HP)