Have you ever wondered which printers are the cheapest or most economical to run? Sure there's a load of articles out there that boast on how great certain printers are but very rarely do we get the real facts presented to us. We've decided to accurately break down the running costs of many of the most popular printers and see how each one of them fairs. The way we have recorded the statistics below is basing the cartridge prices on what they cost individually and then accurately calculating the cost per page price accordingly.
To be 100% fair we have done the calculations the same with the compatible ink prices, that is basing the prices on individual cartridge prices rather than value packs. As you can see clearly below there is a huge difference in the printing costs between the first table values and the second "Most Expensive" printer figures. Most of the printers in the second table are the typical printers sold "on special". Once again as we all know they sell them for next to nothing but then you pay for the printer ten times over when you buy the inks. We will be adding more of the latest printers to this list as time permits so that you are able to see clearly which printers to buy and which to avoid.
As you can see it, is always worth while to purchase XL or high yield cartridges as the cost per page reduces significantly over the standard cartridge figures. It's also worth noticing that the Brother DCP-J1200W printer costs around twice the price of the other Brother printers in running costs. Even though the cartridges in this model are physically quite large they actually contain very little ink in comparison to many of the other models.
| Printer | Page Yield | Cost per page (genuine ink) | cost per page (compatible ink) |
| Brother DCP-J1200W | Black: 750 pages Colour: 750 pages | 5.3 cents 5.3 cents | 2.64 cents 2.64 cents |
| Brother MFC-J6540DW | Black: 750 pages Colour: 550 pages Black XL: 3,000 pages Colour XL: 1,500 pages | 6.26 cents 5.63 cents 2.33 cents 3.0 cents | N/A N/A 0.76 cents 1.46 cents |
| Brother MFC-J4440DW | Black: 3,000 pages Colour: 550 pages Black XL: 6,000 pages Colour XL: 5,000 pages | 1.3 cents 2.6 cents 2.18 cents 2.38 cents | 0.66 cents 1.32 cents 0.59 cents 0.85 cents |
| Brother MFC-J6955DW | Black: 3,000 pages Colour: 1,500 pages Black XL: 6,000 pages Colour XL: 5,000 pages | 1.3 cents 2.6 cents 2.18 cents 2.38 cents | 0.66 cents 1.32 cents 0.59 cents 0.85 cents |
| Brother MFC-J6740DW | Black: 750 pages Colour: 550 pages Black XL: 3,000 pages Colour XL: 1,500 pages | 6.26 cents 5.63 cents 2.33 cents 3.0 cents | N/A N/A 0.76 cents 1.46 cents |
| Brother MFC-J4540DW | Black: 3,000 pages Colour: 1,500 pages Black XL: 6,000 pages Colour XL: 5,000 pages | 1.3 cents 2.6 cents 2.18 cents 2.38 cents | 0.66 cents 1.32 cents 0.59 cents 0.85 cents |
| Brother MFC-J5955DW | Black: 3,000 pages Colour: 1,500 pages Black XL: 6,000 pages Colour XL: 5,000 pages | 1.3 cents 2.6 cents 21.18 cents 2.38 cents | 0.66 cents 1.32 cents 0.59 cents 0.85 cents |
| HP OfficeJet Pro 7740 | Black: 1,000 pages Colour: 700 pages Black XL: 2,000 pages Colour XL: 1,600 pages | 6.2 cents 6.47 cents 4.6 cents 4.39 cents | N/A N/A 1.09 cents 1.24 cents |
| HP OfficeJet Pro 9020e | Black: 1,000 pages Colour: 700 pages Black XL: 2,000 pages Colour XL: 1,600 pages | 6.06 cents 6.18 cents 4.33 cents 4.79 cents | N/A N/A N/A N/A |
The most Expensive Printers to run
| Printer | Page Yield | Cost per page (genuine ink) | cost per page (compatible ink) |
| HP ENVY Inspire 7921E | Black: 200 pages Colour: 165 pages Black XL: 600 pages Colour XL: 415 pages | 15.7 cents 24.3 cents 24.72 cents 19.9 cents | N/A N/A N/A N/A |
| HP ENVY Inspire 7221E | Black: 200 pages Colour: 165 pages Black XL: 600 pages Colour XL: 415 pages | 15.7 cents 24.3 cents 24.72 cents 19.9 cents | N/A N/A N/A N/A |
| HP Envy 6020e | Black: 120 pages Colour: 100 pages Black XL: 240 pages Colour XL: 415 pages | 28.8 cents 32.9 cents 21.9 cents 26.7 cents | N/A N/A N/A N/A |
| HP DeskJet 3720 | Black: 120 pages Colour: 700 pages Black XL: 300 pages Colour XL: 300 pages | 30.1 cents 39.12 cents 24.47 cents 27.9 cents | N/A N/A N/A N/A |
| HP DeskJet 4120e | Black: 120 pages Colour: 100 pages Black XL: 240 pages Colour XL: 415 pages | 28.8 cents 32.9 cents 21.9 cents 26.7 cents | N/A N/A N/A N/A |
| HP DeskJet 2720e | Black: 120 pages Colour: 100 pages Black XL: 240 pages Colour XL: 415 pages | 28.8 cents 32.9 cents 21.9 cents 26.7 cents | N/A N/A N/A N/A |
| HP Envy 6420e | Black: 120 pages Colour: 100 pages Black XL: 240 pages Colour XL: 415 pages | 28.8 cents 32.9 cents 21.9 cents 26.7 cents | N/A N/A N/A N/A |