RESEARCHEDNESS: Printers. Cartridges. Value for money. Domestic situations.

dd22qq on 27/04/2020 - 13:41
Last edited 28/04/2020 - 08:40 by 1 other user

Why are you even posting this, what are you trying to prove?

A couple of people looking at getting new printers asked, and was doing the research anyway, so thought it may prove useful to somebody.

There are better-value options than this you idiot. Ever heard of laser printers, continuous/refillable ink tanks and refill kits?

Sure, but this post is for light-to-medium domestic users. There's also usually a larger initial outlay for those types of printers that may not be able to be justified in a household situation. And while monochrome lasers are a cheap alternative, most people seem to want colour printing at home, as well as multi-function options such as scanning and photocopying. Refill kits also tend to be fiddly and messy.

Where were cartridge prices checked?

Mostly eBay, searching model number only, 'Price + postage: lowest first', scrolling well down and factoring in bulk rates.

Currently available budget model printers WITH budget-priced non-OEM cartridges

Canon TS5060 (non-duplex)
Printer $66.10 + delivery (apologies, link was for TS5160 model, not TS5060)
Printer $72.00 in-store
20x cartridges, $33.50 delivered, $1.67/each

Epson XP-540 (duplex, solid reviews)
Printer $99.00 in-store
20x cartridges, $53.00 delivered, $2.65/each

Brother MFC-J491DW (duplex, solid reviews)
Printer $129.00 in-store
Printer $129.00 in-store
4x high-yield cartridges, $28.00 delivered, $7.00/each

Currently available budget model printers WITHOUT budget-priced non-OEM cartridges at time of posting (at least around $10 each; list by no means exhaustive)

Canon MG2560
Canon MG3560
Canon MG3660
Canon TR4560
Canon TS3160
Canon TS3165
Canon TS3166
Canon TS3360
Canon TS5160
Canon TS5360
Canon TS6360
Epson XP-2100
Epson XP-2105
Epson XP-3105
Epson XP-4100
Epson XP-4105
Epson XP-6100
Epson WF-2810
Epson WF-2830
HP 2130
HP 2131
HP 2620
HP 2623
HP 3630
HP 3720
HP 3721
HP 3723
HP 5020
HP 5030
HP 5032
HP 5034
HP 5220
HP 5230
HP 6220
HP 7120

Computing Brother Canon Epson Inkjet Printer

Comments

  • AlienC on 27/04/2020 - 14:04
    +1

    Thanks this will be very useful for my next printer purchase.

    I own the Canon TS3160 Scanner/Printer and had to look for printer ink recently and man they really do make the money on the ink not the printer.

    Normal cartridge was about $27 AUD where as the XL or Higher Capacity cartridge was about $31.50 AUD so I figured it was a no brainer to get the larger one for not much more money but who knows how much extra ink it actually provides probably only like an extra 25% if you are lucky but don't quote me on that I am only guessing?

    Long term it might be smarter to just buy one of these printers you listed above as the ink is so cheap it will be a huge cost saving measure in the long run.

    I am starting to try and use refills but never done it before but will probably eventually learn how to do it this year as the XL will probably only last a few months with my friends printing usage.

  • RichardL on 27/04/2020 - 14:05
    +1

    Thanks for putting this together.

    Was deciding between the:

    But the Printers you recommended is giving me more option, making it more difficult to decide…

    Update: The Epson XP-540 is only $70 @ The Good Guys Commercial (Unfortunately no stock at local stores).

  • brokenglish on 27/04/2020 - 14:20
    +1

    This should be added to the OzB Wiki. Great work!

  • tebbybabes on 27/04/2020 - 14:23
    +2

    Thanks for sharing your research. I'm sure it will be helpful.

    Just to address one of your concerns - I used to own one of those pricey multifunction laser printers. Gave me the !@ when I needed to replace toners. I eventually onsold it for pennies to the dollar and switched to a cheap laser mono multifunction. This was after I did my research as well, especially the bit where the !@#$!$# piece of !@#$ would refuse to print if it felt that enough pages were made by the toner cartridge - I much preferred to be the judge of whether or not a printed sheet was good enough or not. Apologies for the rant.

    Anyway, my monochrome laser multifunction has ticked all the boxes for me and also easily takes non OEM toner and is perfectly affordable to run. Not one person in my household has missed the previous colour capability and in the last 3 years of ownership had precisely ONE instance where they needed colour printing and my son just proceeded to print the work in school.

    I guess I'm just sharing that we discovered colour capability is a "nice to have" rather than a deal breaker for our usage.

    • MrHyde on 27/04/2020 - 18:52
      +1

      Exactly - colour printing is overrated. We've got two young primary school boys and even then; don't really need to print anything in colour. If we do; we can go to Officeworks and print the couple of pages required.

  • Switchblade88 on 27/04/2020 - 14:23
    +1

    Good job!

    Another +1 for Brothers - I've got an A3 inkjet (J5730DW) which just sips (generic) ink. Also several mono lasers (L2340D and similar) that are nigh on bulletproof - they'll sit unused for months at a time and just work when you want them to; no fuss. Generic toner was cheap as anything as well.

    Not to mention that that actual hardware is quite good value for money; the $350 A3 printer was replacing a $6000 commercial laser copier which was overkill for us; all we wanted was simple A3 duplexing!

    • dd22qq on 28/04/2020 - 07:43

      Still remember how disappointing it was when Brother started using microchips in their cartridges, the last of the four major brands to do so. Used to be able to buy a cheap Brother inkjet and there'd normally be compatible cartridges all over eBay for it.

      They don't seem to have too many low-end inkjets anymore and appear to be concentrating more on lasers. Those little HL-1110's are belters, my brother runs his business with one.

  • stewartedin on 27/04/2020 - 16:54
    +1

    Good work thanks for sharing dd22qq great effort - looking for a printer now, much appreciated

  • Melbourne01 on 12/05/2020 - 16:54

    I was just browsing, but logged in when I saw this thread of yours, to say "Thank you" for sharing your insights into the printers.

  • [Deactivated] on 12/05/2020 - 22:29

    Thanks!

    How do you pick gneric ink

    I recently purchased from inkstation. But yyuda seems even cheaper

    • dd22qq on 14/05/2020 - 09:56

      Price is pretty much the determining factor, there's often not a whole lot else to go on.

      Sometimes the seller will provide cartridge volumes (ml) which, assuming it's accurate, gives some means of comparison.

      If the listing doesn't state, I'll also usually ask the seller to confirm that they come with chips.

  • Username Goes Here on 22/05/2020 - 10:43
    +1

    Thanks. As others have said this is very useful. I am currently looking for a replacement but the ink prices are killing some of the printer options. I particularly like brother printers as they are solid units and usually good compatible ink prices.

  • holla4adollar on 26/05/2020 - 14:58

    Not sure how you got the 20x cartridges, $53.00 delivered, $2.65/each deal on ebay for the Epson XP-540 printer. I just had a look and it comes to $63.88. Have the prices gone up?

  • Username Goes Here on 06/06/2020 - 23:08

    Been researching this stuff alot recently. Wondering now if its worth simply paying a little more and getting a colour laser - https://www.centrecom.com.au/brother-hl-l3270cdw-a4-colour-lā€¦ $285. Toner will last 2500 pages and then simply buy generic replacements via ebay of similar - $50 each. I think this is a better option plus no chance of ink running dry. Anyone have thoughts on this?

  • Nivlac on 13/09/2020 - 00:53
    +1

    Thank you for this post D2Q, you are a Legend in my book šŸ˜˜

  • [Deactivated] on 25/02/2021 - 11:19

    Does anyone where I could find cheap ink for a Canon PIXMA Home TS3165? I just picked it up from Harvey Norman.

    • dd22qq on 04/03/2021 - 15:56

      Sorry no, doesn't look like there are budget-priced cartridges available for that model.

      • [Deactivated] on 06/03/2021 - 00:18

        Thank you.

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