How to Choose a Printer: Inkjet vs Laser, Ink Tanks and Real Costs

Printers are one of the few gadgets where the sticker price tells you almost nothing about what you will spend. A bargain inkjet can cost more than a mid-range laser within a year if its cartridges are small and expensive, while a pricier ink tank model may pay for itself in ink savings. Picking well comes down to three questions: what you print, how often, and what each page really costs. This guide walks through each one.

Start with how you actually print

Before comparing models, write down a rough picture of your printing:

• Volume. A few pages a month, a few hundred, or more?
• Content. Mostly black text (forms, school assignments, shipping labels), color documents, or photos?
• Frequency. Steady weekly printing or long gaps between jobs?
• Other jobs. Do you need to scan, copy or fax?
• Who prints. One person on a laptop, or a household of phones and tablets?

Those answers map directly to the printer type that makes sense.

The three main printer types

Cartridge inkjets

These are the cheapest printers to buy and the most common in stores. They produce good color and photo prints, but cartridges hold relatively little ink, so the cost per page is high. Manufacturers typically price these printers low and earn money on ink.

Ink tank inkjets

Ink tank printers replace small cartridges with large refillable reservoirs that you top up from bottles. They cost more upfront, but a set of bottles often prints far more pages than a cartridge set. Most major printer makers sell ink tank lines. For a household that prints color regularly, they are often the lowest-cost option over a few years.

Laser printers

Laser printers use powdered toner fused onto paper with heat. Monochrome lasers are fast, produce sharp text and handle long idle periods well, since toner does not dry out. Color lasers exist and are good for documents and charts, but they cost more and are not designed for photo-quality prints.

All-in-one or print-only?

An all-in-one (also called multifunction) printer adds a scanner and copier, and sometimes fax. For most homes, the scanner is worth having for documents, receipts and school forms, even though phone scanning apps cover some of that need.

Features to look for on an all-in-one:

• Automatic document feeder (ADF) for scanning or copying multipage documents without lifting the lid each time.
• Duplex scanning if you regularly scan double-sided pages.
• Flatbed size that fits the paper sizes you use.

Features that make a real difference

Spec sheets list dozens of features. These are the ones that tend to matter in daily use:

• Automatic duplex printing. Prints both sides of the page without flipping by hand, saving paper.

• Wireless and app printing. Wi-Fi printing from laptops, phones and tablets is standard on most models now. Check that the printer supports the printing systems your devices use, such as AirPrint for Apple devices or Mopria for many Android devices.

• Paper capacity. A larger input tray means fewer refills for busy home offices.

• Touchscreen vs buttons. A small screen makes setup and copying easier, though it is not essential if you mostly print from a computer.

• Print speed. Manufacturers publish pages-per-minute figures measured under standard test conditions. They are useful for comparing models but real-world speed varies with content.

• Ethernet port. Helpful if your Wi-Fi signal is weak where the printer will sit.

• Mobile and cloud features. Many printers now rely on a companion app for setup, scanning and alerts. Check whether core functions work without creating an account, and whether the app is well reviewed.

Resolution figures matter less than they appear. Most current printers handle text well; for photos, read reviews with sample prints rather than relying on numbers.

How to calculate cost per page

The most important number on a printer is one manufacturers rarely put on the box: the cost per page. You can work it out yourself.

1. Find the page yield of each replacement cartridge, toner or ink bottle. Manufacturers usually publish yields based on standardized ISO test methods, so you can compare them fairly.
2. Find the current price of that supply from a retailer.
3. Divide price by yield to get cost per page. For color, add the cost of the color supplies to black.

Do this for the standard and the high-yield cartridges, if both exist. High-yield versions cost more upfront but usually lower the per-page cost.

Then estimate your annual page count and multiply. Add the printer's price, and compare total cost over two or three years across models. This simple calculation often reverses the ranking you would get from sticker prices alone.

Watch for ink subscriptions and cartridge restrictions

Some manufacturers offer ink subscription plans that ship replacement ink automatically based on pages printed. These can be good value for steady printers, but read the terms: plans usually cap pages per month, charge for overages and may disable subscription cartridges if you cancel.

Some printers also use firmware that checks cartridges and may reject non-original or refilled supplies after an update. If you intend to use third-party ink, research the model's history first. If you are weighing a used or refurbished printer to save money, our guide to buying refurbished tech explains what to check.

Quick picks by situation

• Prints a few pages a month, mostly text: a compact monochrome laser, since toner won't dry out between jobs.
• Family printing school projects and color pages weekly: an ink tank all-in-one.
• Home office with lots of documents and scanning: a monochrome laser all-in-one with an automatic document feeder and duplex printing.
• Occasional photo printing: a cartridge inkjet or photo-focused ink tank, or simply ordering prints from a photo service.

Before you buy

Check the printer's support pages for driver availability for your operating system, read recent reviews about Wi-Fi reliability, and price out replacement supplies. Printer prices also dip during major sales events; our roundup of Black Friday tech deals covers how to tell a real discount from a marketing one. Finally, recycle old cartridges: many manufacturers and office supply retailers run free return programs.