Best Printers with Cheap Ink in 2020

Printers nowadays are generally inexpensive. However, the cost of your printer increases as you buy ink, since you need ink to print anything. For the best all-around cost, you have to find a printer that best suits your printing needs while using cheap ink. In this article, we’ll be detailing several high-quality printers that use inexpensive ink.

The Best Printers with Cheap Ink

Let’s take a look at some of the best affordable printers offered by Canon, HP, and Epson, including their standout features and worst qualities.

Canon Pixma MX922

This all-in-one printer is one of Canon’s most popular. It costs about $265 new on Amazon and offers excellent wireless capabilities. Some of its standout features include…

• Wireless LAN connectivity, which allows for wireless direct printing and mobile printing through apps like Google Cloud Print and Apple AirPrint
• Easy and quick copying, scanning, and faxing
• Auto duplex printing for printing on both sides of papers
• A 35-sheet auto duplex document feeder
• A print speed of 15 ppm (pages per minute) for black and 10 ppm for color
• A 3 inch LCD display on which you can edit photos before printing
• 5 individual ink system
• 6m long cords
• The ability to print onto discs
• Overall high output quality

The only downside to the Canon Pixma MX922 is the design of its control panel, which some users have complained is overly-complicated. Otherwise, it's one of the best printers with cheap ink available, though one of the most expensive in our list. 

Canon Pixma iX6820

If you’re seeking a printer for business needs that can efficiently print lots of documents back to back and uses cheap ink, the Pixma iX6820 printer is your best option. It’s an above-average inkjet printer that will fit right in with your home office. Here are some of the iX6820’s best features…

• 5 individual ink system that allows for high performance printing
• A print resolution up to 9600 x 2400 dpi (dots per inch) for extra crisp output quality
• Supports paper sizes up to 13 x 19 inches
• WiFi and Ethernet connectivity
• Wireless printing through Google Cloud Print, Apple Airprint, and Pixma Printing Solution
• Includes My Image Garden software
• Print speed of 14.5 ipm for black and 10.4 ipm for color.
• Affordable

Some of the less admirable qualities of this Canon printer are its single, 150-sheet paper tray and its lack of any duplexer. All in all, however, the iX6820 is an affordable printer with a lot of useful features.

Canon MG7720

The MG7720 is a wireless all-in-one printer capable of performing a wide variety of printing tasks. It’s a bit pricey at $250 new, but the Canon MG7720 might be the best all-in-one printer for home use with cheap ink. Here are some of the features that make this printer so efficient...

• NFC wireless connectivity for mobile printing
• Ethernet port
• Duplexer
• CD/DVD printing
• 3.5 inch touchscreen display
• Print speed of 15 ppm for black and 10 ppm for color

Overall, this printer is reliable and rich with features. However, its price will turn away many potential customers. If you can find the MG7720 on sale or used in good condition, it’s definitely worth picking up for your home office.

HP Envy 4520

HP’s Envy 4520 offers great flexibility to users. Using popular printing apps, you can print photos and documents from practically anywhere thanks to the 4520’s effective wireless functionality. But that’s not all. Here are some of this printer’s other great features...

• Automatic two-sided printing 
• Scan resolution up to 1200 ppi
• Print speed of 9.5 ppm for black and 6.8 ppm for color
• 2.2 inch high-resolution mono touchscreen LCD display
• The ability to scan and send files to your email 
• Wifi & Wifi Direct
• Wireless mobile printing
• Compact size
• Includes HP’s Instant Ink Ready service
• Automatic duplexer
• High-quality photo printing
• Affordable printer with cheap ink

Some of the features missing from the HP Envy 4520 include the ability to fax documents, the lack of a memory card reader and Ethernet port. It’s not the most ink efficient printer either, but the 4520 is very affordable. 

HP Envy 7640

Another wireless printing option from HP is the 7640. It’s more expensive and harder to find than the 4520, but the 7640 is a solid choice for home printing. Of the best printers with cheap ink on our list, this one ranks near the bottom. But, it’s not without quality features...

• Simple design that makes copying, scanning, and printing quick and easy
• 2.2 mono touchscreen display
• Printing speed of 9.5 ppm for black and 6.8 ppm for color
• 2 USB ports and SD card slots
• Twin paper trays
• Automatic 25-page document feeder
• Two-sided printing
• Automatic duplexer
• Wireless NFC connection

Performance is a bit slow across the board, so the 7640 is not ideal for business use. If, however, you want a printer that’s easy to set up and use, this is an affordable option.

HP OfficeJet Pro 6968

One of the more expensive printers on our list, the OfficeJet Pro 6968, is also one of the best printers able to use cheap ink (you get what you pay for). Below are some of the reasons why...

• HP instant ink, a function that reduces ink usage by 50% while preserving quality, making the 6968 one of the most ink efficient affordable printers on the market
• Print volume of 800 pages
• Compact size
• Print speed of 18 ppm for black and 10 ppm for color
• 2.65 inch touchscreen display
• Supports most types and sizes of paper
• Has a variety of connectivity options 

The most glaring issue with this printer is the lack of wireless NFC connectivity, but the rest of what you get more than makes up for it, so long as you don’t mind printing from your desktop only. 

Epson Expression ET-2750 EcoTank

The ET-2750 is an all-in-one printer with super-sized ink tanks that make it ideal for printing lots of documents in a short period of time. Let’s take a look at some of this printer’s other standout features...

• Quick and easy printing, copying, scanning, and faxing
• 100-sheet paper tray
• Easy setup
• 1.44 inch touchscreen display
• Two-sided printing
• Wireless connectivity and mobile printing support
• Ethernet port
• 10.5 ISO ppm for black and 5 ISO ppm for color
• Individual ink cartridges
• Laser-quality outputs
• Resolution up to 5760 x 1440 dpi for color

It’s only missing a couple of ideal features: Automatic document feeder and small paper capacity. Beyond that, the ET-2750 is great for just about any printing needs.

Conclusion

With the cost of ink being so high today, it pays to have a reliable printer that can use inexpensive ink efficiently. Hopefully, this article has given you some ideas for your next printer purchase. You don’t always have to buy the latest and greatest printers to get the most out of your ink.

If you’d like to make a little money now, consider selling your unused ink and toner cartridges online for cash. You can spend that money on a new printer with cheap ink that will save you even more money in the near future.