Most Ink Efficient Inkjet Printers

Anna Cruz

6 years ago

Shopping for an ink-efficient printer is the best way to save on printer ink.

An ink-efficient printer is a cost-efficient printer. The more efficiently your printer uses ink, the lower your printing costs will be! Though there are some ways to extend the life of an ink cartridge, it’s always better to have an efficient printer with cost-efficient cartridges from the get-go. As the adage goes: prevention is better than cure.

Cost-Efficient Printers vs Ink-Efficient Printers

Cartridge prices and ink efficiency can vary greatly from printer to printer.

One rule of thumb is to avoid printers with a cheap sticker price. Most inexpensive printers work with pricey printer cartridges that require frequent replacement.

Slightly more expensive printers like a mid-range inkjet printer, laser printer or ink tank printer cost more upfront, but the savings kick in when you factor in the operating costs of the printer cartridges – let’s break it down!

How to Look for an Ink-Efficient Printer?

Printer efficiency is determined by looking at the printer’s cost per page. Here’s how to determine cost per page:

First, find out what ink cartridge the printer uses.
Determine the ink cartridge’s page yield. Page yield is the number of pages a cartridge can print before going empty. Ink cartridges with higher page yields are considered more cost-efficient. Some printers accept extra high yield cartridges and others don’t. This could be another factor to look out for when shopping for a cost-efficient printer.
Take the price of the ink cartridge and divide it by its page yield. The resulting number is the cost per page.

Cost per page = Cartridge price $$$ / Cartridge page yield

Here’s an example: let’s compare the HP 63 and the HP 952 ink cartridges.

A standard HP 63 cartridge: Price = $21.89; Page yield = 190 pages. Cost per page = $0.11
A standard HP 962 cartridge: Price = $32.89; Page yield = 1,000 pages. Cost per page = $0.03

Even if the HP 63 may seem cheaper initially, the page yield of the more costly HP 962 makes up for the price with its higher page yield. To print the same number of pages as the HP 962, you’ll need at least 6 HP 63 standard cartridges, that’s 6 x $21.89. = $131.34.

Here’s another way of looking at it:

To print 1,000 pages with the HP 63 will cost you $131.34 for 6 cartridges.
To print 1,000 pages with the HP 962 will cost you $32.89 for 1 cartridge.

Just by looking at the numbers, you can already tell that printers that use the HP 962 ink cartridge are undeniably more ink-efficient (aka more economical) than printers that use the HP 63.

Coincidentally, printers that use the HP 962 are pricier than printers that use the HP 63. So your next question might be —

What’s more important: initial printer cost OR cost per page?

If you print quite regularly, we recommend you base your decision on cost per page. If you only print a few pages a month, you’re probably better off with a low-cost laser printer. Yes, laser. If you only print a few pages a month, chances are the ink inside your cartridges will constantly dry up and you’ll need to run to the store to get a fresh set of cartridges every time. Before you know it, you’ve already spent more than the price of a laser printer. Laser printers use toner which do not dry up.

The Bottom Line: Stay away from cheap inkjet printers with inefficient ink cartridges–they will eventually cost you a fortune.

In the hopes of making your printer search easier, we did some research to see which printer models have a low cost per page and are a solid option when it comes to ink efficiency. And we’ve also indicated how compatible cartridges cost for each printer so you can see how much more you can save. Cost per page is usually computed per cartridge so we summed up the CPP (cost per page) of all cartridges used by each printer so you can compare the total CPP of each unit.

Without further ado, let’s explore five ink-saving printer models that will keep your printing budget in check.

HP OfficeJet Pro 8035 All-in-One – Buy on Amazon

The HP OfficeJet Pro 8035 is an ink efficient printer that offers print speeds of up to 20 pages per minute. As one of the cheapest printers on our list, it is a great option for a small home office that prints occasionally. Print, copy, scan and fax features come standard and 35-sheet automatic document feeder saves time and boosts productivity. It uses HP 910 black, cyan, magenta and yellow ink cartridges. Offered in both a standard and high yield size, the HP 910XL ink cartridges produce around 825 pages before requiring replacement.

Ink Cost: Original high yield HP cartridges can run as much as $40.99 for the black and $22.99 for each color*. Low cost compatible high yield HP 910XL cartridges from LD Products are available for a fraction of the cost and the best way to reduce your printing costs!

If we add the cost per page of all cartridges used by the HP 8035, it totals to:

Total CPP of original HP cartridges = $0.22 or 22 cents

You can see the breakdown below:

Monthly Duty Cycle	20,000 Pages
Print Speed	Up to 20 ppm (pages per minute)
Connectivity	Ethernet, Hi-Speed USB 2.0
Paper Size	Letter and Legal Sizes
Warranty	Limited warranty offered by HP
Cartridge Name	HP 910XL High Yield Black Ink (3YL65AN#140)
Page Yield825	Pages
Cartridge Name	HP 910XL High Yield Cyan (3YL62AN#140) / Magenta (3YL63AN#140) / Yellow (3YL64AN#140)
Page Yield	825 Pages
Price Comparison of Original HP 910XL Black vs Compatible Cartridges
Original HP Price	$40.99
Original HP Cost Per Page	4.9 cents per page
LD Brand Compatible Price	$16.99
LD Brand Compatible Cost Per Page	2.4 cents per page
Price Comparison of Original HP 910XL Cyan vs Compatible Cartridges
Original HP Price	$22.99
Original HP Cost Per Page	13 cents per page
LD Brand Compatible Price	$11.99
LD Brand Compatible Cost Per Page	7.1 cents per page
Price Comparison of Original HP 910XL Magenta vs Compatible Cartridges
Original HP Price	$22.99
Original HP Cost Per Page	13 cents per page
LD Brand Compatible Price	$11.99
LD Brand Compatible Cost Per Page	7.1 cents per page
Price Comparison of Original HP 910XL Yellow vs Compatible Cartridges
Original HP Price	$22.99
Original HP Cost Per Page	13 cents per page
LD Brand Compatible Price	$11.99
LD Brand Compatible Cost Per Page	7.1 cents per page

HP® OfficeJet® Pro 9015 All-in-One – Buy on Amazon

Another ink-efficient inkjet printer is the HP OfficeJet Pro 9015. This model uses four (4) different HP 962 ink cartridges: black, cyan, magenta and yellow.

HP cartridges are available in a standard yield and high yield size. High yield, or XL cartridges are a better buy for customers that print frequently. HP 962XL high yield black cartridges print 2,000 pages and and each individual color cartridge prints 1,600 pages.

To keep cost down, consider buying compatible HP 962 cartridges from LD Products…available here for a great low price.

If we add the cost per page of all cartridges used by the HP 9015, it totals to:

Total CPP of original HP cartridges = $ 0.28

You can see the breakdown below:

Monthly Duty Cycle	25,000 Pages
Print Speed	Up to 22 ppm (pages per minute)
Connectivity	Ethernet, Hi-Speed USB 2.0
Paper Size	Letter and Legal Sizes
Warranty	Limited warranty offered by HP
Cartridge Name	HP 962XL High Yield Black Ink (3JA03AN#140)
Page Yield	2,000 Pages
Cartridge Name	HP 962XL High Yield Cyan (3JA00AN#140) / Magenta (3JA01AN#140) / Yellow (3JA02AN#140)
Page Yield	1,600 Pages
Price Comparison of Original HP 962XL Black vs Compatible Cartridges
Original HP Price	$44.99
Original HP Cost Per Page	2.2 cents per page
LD Brand Compatible Price	$19.99
LD Brand Compatible Cost Per Page	1.3 cents
Price Comparison of Original HP 962XL Cyan vs Compatible Cartridges
Original HP Price	$34.99
Original HP Cost Per Page	8.7 cents per page
LD Brand Compatible Price	$16.99
LD Brand Compatible Cost Per Page	4.9 cents
Price Comparison of Original HP 962XL Magenta vs Compatible Cartridges
Original HP Price	$34.99
Original HP Cost Per Page	8.7 cents per page
LD Brand Compatible Price	$16.99
LD Brand Compatible Cost Per Page	4.9 cents
Price Comparison of Original HP 962XL Yellow vs Compatible Cartridges
Original HP Price	$34.99
Original HP Cost Per Page	8.7 cents per page
LD Brand Compatible Price	$16.99
LD Brand Compatible Cost Per Page	4.9 cents

Epson® ET-2750 EcoTank® All-in-One – Buy on Amazon

The EcoTank series from Epson is a relatively new approach to fueling printers, which uses a proprietary inkwell design that directly connects to the printhead. The Expression ET-2750 is an all-in-one printer that uses 4 high volume ink tanks to produce a print. Instead of buying new cartridges, you buy ink bottles to refill the ink inside the printer.

Ink Cost: This printer model uses Epson 502 ink bottles and the price of ink bottles for this model go for $19.99 (black ink) and $13.99 per color which means it’ll cost you $62 to get bottles for all 4 colors (black, magenta, yellow, cyan).

Fortunately, you don’t have to spend that much if you buy compatible Epson 502 ink refills which will run you only $8.99 for each black ink bottle and $7.99 for each color bottle. If you print a lot for your small business and you’re looking to get the most out of your ink, the EcoTank may be the best approach. But if your print volume isn’t that high, the EcoTank may be a bit expensive compared to other models mentioned in this article.

If we add the cost per page of all ink bottles used by the Epson ET-2750, it totals to:

Total CPP of original Epson ink bottles = $3.11

If we add the cost per page of all aftermarket or compatible ink bottles used by the Epson ET-2750, it totals to:

Total CPP of compatible Epson ink bottles = $1.61 (48% cheaper than OEM Epson refills)

Comparing the cost per page of OEM ink bottles with aftermarket or compatible ink bottles, the difference is pretty telling!

The breakdown is as follows:

Monthly Duty Cycle	3,000 Pages
Print Speed	Up to 10.5 ppm (pages per minute)
Connectivity	Ethernet, Hi-Speed USB 2.0
Paper Size	Letter and Legal Sizes
Warranty	2-Year Limited warranty offered by Epson
Cartridge Name	Epson 502 Ecotank Black Ink (T502120-S)
Page Yield	7,500 Pages
Cartridge Name	Epson 502 Ecotank Cyan (T502220-S) / Magenta (T502320-S) / Yellow (T502420-S)
Page Yield	6,000 Pages
Price Comparison of Original Epson 502 Black vs Compatible Cartridges
Original Epson Price	$19.99
Original Epson Cost Per Page	.26 cents per page
LD Brand Compatible Price	$8.99 – Find out more!
LD Brand Compatible Cost Per Page	.11 cents per page
Price Comparison of Original Epson 502 Cyan vs Compatible Cartridges
Original Epson Price	$12.99
Original Epson Cost Per Page	.89 cents per page
LD Brand Compatible Price	$7.99 – Find out more!
LD Brand Compatible Cost Per Page	.50 cents per page
Price Comparison of Original Epson 502 Magenta vs Compatible Cartridges
Original Epson Price	$12.99
Original Epson Cost Per Page	.89 cents per page
LD Brand Compatible Price	$7.99 – Find out more!
LD Brand Compatible Cost Per Page	.50 cents per page
Price Comparison of Original Epson 502 Yellow vs Compatible Cartridges
Original Epson Price	$12.99
Original Epson Cost Per Page	.89 cents per page
LD Brand Compatible Price	$7.99 – Find out more!
LD Brand Compatible Cost Per Page	.50 cents per page

Brother® MFC-J805DW Inkvestment Ink Tank – Buy on Amazon

It’s hard to beat the MFC-J805’s features and cost-per-page metrics. If you want a printer that does it all AND uses ink efficiently, this is the printer for you. This MFC-J805 is designed for a mid-level monthly output. Brother’s new page gauge display lets you know how much ink you have used you have left. This Brother printer uses INKvestment cartridges, a high yield ink tank hybrid cartridge system, that produces monochrome prints for less than 1 cent per page.

Ink Cost: The Brother MFC-J805 Inkvestment printer uses LC3033 super high yield or LC3035 ultra high yield cartridges. Ultra high yield cartridges are slightly more expensive but offer a lower cost per page…according to Brother’s metrics, each ultra high yield monochrome page costs around .9 cents and ultra high yield color pages total to around 4.5 cents each. Original Brother brand ultra high yield LC3035 black cartridges print up to 6,000 pages and each color cartridge prints up to 5,000 pages. Cartridges cost between $57.99 to $62.49, depending on the color you need.

You can save a lot when you purchase compatible LC3033 and LC3035 printer cartridges, however, AND get more prints. Compatible high yield Brother MFC-J805 ink replacements by LD Products print the same number of pages and will only cost you $22.99 to $24.99 per cartridge.

If we add the cost per page of all LC3035 ink used by the Brother MFC-J805, it totals to:

Total CPP of original Brother LC3035 ink tanks = $0.14

If we add the cost per page of all aftermarket ink cartridges for the Brother MFC-J805, it totals to:

Total CPP of compatible Brother LC3035 ink = $0.06 (60% cheaper than OEM Brother ink)

Breakdown:

Monthly Duty Cycle	5,000 Pages
Print Speed	Up to 12 ppm (pages per minute)
Connectivity	Ethernet, Hi-Speed USB 2.0
Paper Size	Letter and Legal Sizes
Warranty	Limited warranty offered by Brother
Cartridge Name	Brother Ultra High Yield LC3035 Black Ink
Page Yield	6,000 Pages
Cartridge Name	Brother Ultra High Yield LC3035 Cyan / Magenta / Yellow
Page Yield	5,000 Pages
Price Comparison of Original Brother Ultra High Yield LC3035 Black vs Compatible Cartridges
Original Brother Price	$57.99
Original Brother Cost Per Page	.9 cents per page
LD Brand Compatible Price	$19.99 – Find out more!
LD Brand Compatible Cost Per Page	.44 cents per page
Price Comparison of Original Brother Ultra High Yield LC3035 Cyan vs Compatible Cartridges
Original Brother Price	$62.49
Original Brother Cost Per Page	4.5 cents per page
LD Brand Compatible Price	$16.99 – Find out more!
LD Brand Compatible Cost Per Page	2.0 cents per page
Price Comparison of Original Brother Ultra High Yield LC3035 Magenta vs Compatible Cartridges
Original Brother Price	$62.49
Original Brother Cost Per Page	4.5 cents per page
LD Brand Compatible Price	$16.99 – Find out more!
LD Brand Compatible Cost Per Page	2.0 cents per page
Price Comparison of Original Brother Ultra High Yield LC3035 Yellow vs Compatible Cartridges
Original Brother Price	$62.49
Original Brother Cost Per Page	4.5 cents per page
LD Brand Compatible Price	$16.99 – Find out more!
LD Brand Compatible Cost Per Page	2.0 cents per page

Canon PIXMA G5020 MegaTank Inkjet Printer – Buy on Amazon

The Canon PIXMA G5020 MegaTank–is a new ink tank printer that is similar to the previously mentioned Epson Ecotank but offers an even lower cost per page. Compatible with a range of paper types and sizes, including 4″x6″ borderless photos, this printer is perfect for users that regularly print in color.

Ink Cost: Canon PIXMA G5020 black ink bottles print 6,000 pages and each color bottle prints about 7,700 pages. Non-OEM compatible ink bottles by LD Products print the same number of pages and are priced a lot lower than original Canon bottles! Check out the cost per page comparisons below.

If we add the cost per page of all ink bottles used by the Canon PIXMA G5020, it totals to:

Total CPP of all original Canon ink tanks = $0.03

If we add the cost per page of all aftermarket ink bottles used by the Canon G5020, it totals to:

Total CPP of all aftermarket or compatible Canon ink bottles = $0.004

Your cost per page is 83% lower when you use aftermarket Canon ink refill bottles which means you save more money with compatible or non-OEM ink.

Breakdown:

Monthly Duty Cycle	20,000 Pages
Print Speed	Up to 13 ppm (pages per minute)
Connectivity	Ethernet, Hi-Speed USB 2.0
Paper Size	Letter and Legal Sizes
Warranty	Limited warranty offered by Canon
Ink Bottle Name	Canon GI-20 Black Ink Bottle
Page Yield	6,000 Pages
Ink Bottle Name	Canon GI-20 Cyan / Magenta / Yellow
Page Yield	Approx. 7,700 Pages
Price Comparison of Original Canon GI-20 Black vs Compatible Ink Bottles
Original Canon Price	$17.99
Original Canon Cost Per Page	.29 cents per page
LD Brand Compatible Price	$8.99 – Find out more!
LD Brand Compatible Cost Per Page	.09 cents per page
Price Comparison of Original Canon GI-20 Cyan vs Compatible Ink Bottles
Original Canon Price	$11.99
Original Canon Cost Per Page	.74 cents per page
LD Brand Compatible Price	$5.99 – Find out more!
LD Brand Compatible Cost Per Page	.32 cents per page
Price Comparison of Original Canon GI-20 Magenta vs Compatible Ink Bottles
Original Canon Price	$11.99
Original Canon Cost Per Page	.74 cents per page
LD Brand Compatible Price	$5.99 – Find out more!
LD Brand Compatible Cost Per Page	.32 cents per page
Price Comparison of Original Canon GI-20 Yellow vs Compatible Ink Bottles
Original Canon Price	$11.99
Original Canon Cost Per Page	.74 cents per page
LD Brand Compatible Price	$5.99 – Find out more!
LD Brand Compatible Cost Per Page	.32 cents per page

Keep in mind, many of these page-per-cartridge and cost-per-page metrics are estimates. The kinds of media you print, along with the settings you select on your print options screen, will also dictate how much you actually get out of each cartridge. For the most part, these are also numbers provided by the manufacturer, so consider them careful estimates and not strict doctrine.

Finding the right printer for your needs is easy when you know where to start. Printing needs vary so be sure to check online reviews to ensure that your model can provide the results you’re expecting. If you print regularly, take note of the monthly print capacity each model is designed to handle. Printer efficiency means little when your unit keeps breaking down from overwork. Also knowing where to buy ink cartridge replacements that are more affordable than original manufacturer cartridges may save you hundreds of dollars in the long run.