Back to School Printer Recommendations

With the back-to-school period about to start, now is the perfect time to consider how your household prints. Although InkOwl has cost-saving solutions for all printers, not every printer on the market is built alike. This article will offer InkOwl's picks for the best printers for cost-effective and easy refilling.

The recommendations:

1. BROTHER Inkjet Printers: for general household use with our easy and inexpensive refillable cartridges for Brother.

2. EPSON Inkjet Printers: for general household use including photos for display with of our high-quality, color-matched inks.

3. Black-and-white Laser Printers (especially BROTHER and SAMSUNG Xpress): for a low-maintenance solution

1. BROTHER Inkjet Printers

Brother-brand inkjet printers are our standard recommendation for households. This is because all Brother inkjet printers can accept our refillable cartridges, including our optional extra-long cartridges for added refill convenience. These printers are among the least expensive in terms of initial printer cost, refillable cartridge cost, and ink cost. Your ink cost per page can be as little as 0.2¢/page. The only drawback with Brother printers is that aftermarket ink for Brother is not fade resistant, meaning that photographs printed with this ink will have to be kept away from natural light (a photo album is fine).

2. EPSON Inkjet Printers

For households looking for a versatile printer that can also produce high-quality, long-lasting pictures for display, Epson inkjet printers are the gold standard. Epson's pigment-based Durabrite inks and dye-based Claria inks are formulated with a wide color gamut and a high resistance to UV exposure. Our replacement Premium Pigmented (for Durabrite) and Fade Resistant (for Claria) ink sets are color-matched to the originals, which ensures that you will continue to obtain to the same quality even once you begin refilling. When selecting a specific model for purchase, please check on the availability of our refillable cartridges for Epson, as they are not yet available for the most recent models.

3. Black-and-White Laser Printers

The key advantage of a laser printer is the relative lack maintenance required. Even if you don't print often, you will not need to perform cleanings of any kind. This is a major advantage if you print irregularly. Furthermore, the cartridge capacity is big, including our laser compatible cartridges.

However, laser printers are significantly more expensive than an equivalent inkjet model, which is why printer companies still manufacture black-and-white (monochrome) laser printers. A black-and-white laser printer will usually retail for about the same as a color inkjet printer. Full color laser printers are quite costly and generally not advised.

The easiest and least expensive printers to refill at this time are Brother laser printers as well as some Samsung models (see the list below). We recommend reviewing our instructional refill videos for any models you may be interested in.

Note that when printing in color, inkjet is a superior choice compared to laser. Color laser printers are significantly more expensive both in initial price and in toner costs compared to inkjet printers. Color laser cartridges can only be refilled once or twice before the cartridge needs to be replaced, limiting the savings that can be unlocked that way. In addition, the quality of laser printed color images and photographs is not as high as with inkjet.

Full List of Recommended Models

For your convenience, we have produced a list of currently sold printer models (as of September 1, 2016) in each of the three categories outlined above that we believe are ideal choices for households interested in easy and cost-effective print solutions.

NOTE: If a printer is not on this list, this does not mean that that printer is a bad choice. Visit printer company websites for the specifications of any printer, and visit our website to learn about cost-saving consumable options for any printer, even one not on this list.

1. BROTHER Inkjet Printers: for general houshold use

2. EPSON Inkjet Printers: for general household use including photos for display

3. Black-and-white Laser Printers: for a low-maintenance solution