With tank printers, which use refillable ink reservoirs instead of disposable ink cartridges, you can spend less than $10 a year on bottled ink as opposed to $70 and up for ink cartridges. Some people do need to print in color quite frequently, and if that’s you, there’s a way to do so that’s more cost-friendly. What about those times when you need to print in color? Most office supply stores can print your document or those family photos on a professional-quality printer for relatively little money. Our survey data says they’re generally more reliable than inkjets in the long term, which is why many of the survey respondents who bought laser printers really love them. They print crisp text and they print it fast and economically. And that’s where monochrome laser printers excel. Our research shows that people print lots and lots of text in black and white, rarely print graphics, and almost never print photos. For typical at-home print jobs, a black-and-white laser printer is generally a better option. That’s why we find it difficult to recommend conventional inkjets. The typical consumer might spend $70 a year or more on ink cartridges, which can double the cost of ownership for a printer in as little as two years.Īnd finally, data from our surveys of CR members suggests that inkjet printers are not as reliable as laser printers.Īdd all that up and it’s no surprise that consumer satisfaction with inkjet printers, as measured in those same surveys, is quite low. Second, while they can be cheap to buy, they tend to saddle you with high ink costs for expensive replacement cartridges and wasteful ink maintenance cycles that are necessary just to keep the machine working. For starters, they often don’t do a great job of printing text, the primary job people want them to do. And while we understand that impulse-cheap is good-our consumer research and laboratory testing have found that for most consumers, there are better alternatives.Īccording to our expert evaluations, inkjet printers have three fundamental problems. If you’re like most shoppers, you’re probably looking for a cheap inkjet model.

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