Home Printer/Scanner---what works with ink refills that won't break the bank?--update FIXED..at least for now

[Ottakee]

My home printer/scanner just died.  It is 5 years old and has a error message that says the motor went out and to call service tech.  I have a feeling that would cost way more than just buying something new.

I need just a basic printer.  Mostly black and white with occasional color.  A few pictures once in a while.  Something that would scan to email would be great.  fax would be nice but not necessary.

My biggest issue is that I want something that isn't going to break the bank with ink refills.  I know some printers are super cheap but over time the cost per page is very high due to high ink costs.

Any ideas? 

UPDATE:  Today we had a snow day for school so my job was to find a new printer and order it.  I wrote down the error message and part and set off to google to see how much that part was and how hard it was to replace.  The first thing to pop up was a youtube video explaining that most likely was NOT that motor but a tiny little foam piece that either falls off or gets worn.  So ds and his headlamp and some foam athletic tape fixed it for me.  Not sure how long this will last but it is working now.

Edited January 7, 2022 by Ottakee

[fraidycat]

I'm drooling over the Epson EcoTank printers. You just refill the tank from a bottle of ink.

[regentrude]

Get a laser printer instead. A bit more expensive to buy, but cheaper to print, unless you need mostly color.

[LifeLovePassion]

I switched to laser (We got a brother and we got DH's gramma a HP). We figured for the rare color prints, we would take them in somewhere and the toner won't dry up. I even purchased an aftermarket toner for my printer. It works good, but is not as crisp as our original starter toner (but not enough that I care for home use). 

[*****]

Check out Costco.  We bought HP Office Jetpro 8028 for $99 a few years ago.  Of course I haven't compared ink prices. But it has been a good basic scanner/printer.

[katilac]

We absolutely love using HP Instant Ink service. You do have to buy a printer that works with it, but there are plenty of cheap ones with scanners. 

You pay so much per month, depending on how many pages you usually print. The cheapest plan is 99¢ per month for 15 pages, and you can roll over up to 45 pages. It does not matter what you print on that page; it is "one page" whether it is a paragraph of text or a full page color photo. 

They send you a new ink package in the mail when the printer senses it is getting low, so it is on hand before you run out. When you have a full set of empties, you send them back for recycling at no charge. 

It has definitely been cheaper for us than buying ink cartridges. I love never having to check ink prices, never running out of ink, never having to debate whether I should print something with lots of color. 

We've used it for about five years now. 

[MercyA]

A black and white laser printer works for us. It's much cheaper to print occasional color pictures and prints at the library or at CVS. 

[Stacia]

Once when I was buying ink refills at Target for a last-minute project that needed printing, the clerk checking me out said he never bought refills. He said when the printer runs out of ink, he goes to Walmart & buys the cheapest one on sale & donates his old printer.

I've never looked into the economics of doing that & it seems like a huge waste of resources, but it may be something to look into.

I'm intrigued by katilac's mention of the HP Instant Ink Service & will be looking that up.

[Carrie12345]

I’m another laser convert.

Even since my printer (Brother) locked out all generic toners and I’ve had to pay for the pricier ones, I still come out better than what I projected for an Ecotank. To be fair, it’s been years since I ran that comparison, so it could be outdated.

I had also read that ink tanks could gunk up when not used consistently.  I don’t know how true that is today. The only issue I’ve had with my laser is it’s occasional need to reconnect to my wifi for no obvious reason.

 

I don’t know anyone who receives faxes anymore, or at least not exclusively. I’ve spent this year dealing with a lot of official/legal documentation through DocuSign and scanning apps on my phone. Not one of the many companies I’ve worked with even offered a fax number.

[Navymom]

8 hours ago, katilac said:

We absolutely love using HP Instant Ink service. You do have to buy a printer that works with it, but there are plenty of cheap ones with scanners. 

You pay so much per month, depending on how many pages you usually print. The cheapest plan is 99¢ per month for 15 pages, and you can roll over up to 45 pages. It does not matter what you print on that page; it is "one page" whether it is a paragraph of text or a full page color photo. 

They send you a new ink package in the mail when the printer senses it is getting low, so it is on hand before you run out. When you have a full set of empties, you send them back for recycling at no charge. 

It has definitely been cheaper for us than buying ink cartridges. I love never having to check ink prices, never running out of ink, never having to debate whether I should print something with lots of color. 

We've used it for about five years now. 

I agree! I was skeptical at first, but it has turned out to be less expensive for us. I LOVE never running out of ink.

[Ottakee]

3 hours ago, Navymom said:

I agree! I was skeptical at first, but it has turned out to be less expensive for us. I LOVE never running out of ink.

I will have to look into that.  Some months I print just a few pages, other months over a 100.

[dsmith]

Another vote for HP Instant Ink. We've saved a ton of money for both personal use and two businesses. They have many plans and they can be changed as needs change. We've used the service for at least 6 years I think. I don't need to think about ink at all anymore, which is worth it just for that!

[kbutton]

For color, we have a Brother Inkvestment printer that we bought on a very big sale. The ink really did last a year, and refills through Walmart were very reasonable. The printer has a setting for cleaning the heads. We were considering laser, but with the sale, we couldn't justify it since we don't use color that much. 

We have a Brother laserjet for regular printing.

I don't buy knock-off ink/toner. We did once for the laser jet, but the quality was horrible. The print flaked off, and you couldn't use a highlighter, etc. on it without making a mess. It even left grunge on our hands like a newspaper would if we were handling a lot of printed pages. 

[Beth S]

We have a cheap Canon MG5720 4-in-one printer.
I have done a lot of scanning of our old photos and memorabilia, & it's held up well for at least 5 years.
I routinely buy knock-off printer cartridges from an ebay seller:  "tonerinabox".
I also use the printer's setting for cleaning the heads.

It sounds like your printer is indeed destined for the landfill, but I've been able to google & get step-by-step instructions to repair.
Once I found there was paper stuck in the side part of the printer---&  youtube helped me find it.

It's great to hear from others' experiences!

 

 

[katilac]

On 1/3/2022 at 11:43 AM, Ottakee said:

I will have to look into that.  Some months I print just a few pages, other months over a 100.

You can switch plans as often as you like. I've switched to a higher plan during the month more than once for sure - I'm not sure what the cut-off date is. 

The roll-over pages help, and excess pages are billed at 10/$1. 

[J-rap]

We have an HP Envy 4520 and I've never been happier with a printer, partly because of the ink service.  We've had it about 4 years now, and have never had any problem.  Very simple to use.  Our particular printer is wireless, does copying and scanning.  But the ink service...  It's amazing!  We never have to worry about running out.  Just pick your plan (we sometimes have the cheapest plan and sometimes move up to a higher plan, depending on the month), and then you don't have to worry about anything.   They detect when your ink is low and send you new ink before you run out, along with a small bag to return the old cartridge back to them (postage paid).

[Ottakee]

UPDATE:  Today we had a snow day for school so my job was to find a new printer and order it.  I wrote down the error message and part and set off to google to see how much that part was and how hard it was to replace.  The first thing to pop up was a youtube video explaining that most likely was NOT that motor but a tiny little foam piece that either falls off or gets worn.  So ds and his headlamp and some foam athletic tape fixed it for me.  Not sure how long this will last but it is working now.