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To estimate what a printer will really cost, add its purchase price to the ink or toner, paper, maintenance, replacement parts, electricity and other costs you expect during a set period. Divide that total by the number of pages you expect to print. A cartridge’s price divided by its rated yield gives a useful supply-cost estimate, but it is not the printer’s full cost per page.
Choose a period, page volume and print mix
Start by deciding how long you expect to keep the printer—for example, three years—and how many pages you expect to print each month. Multiply monthly pages by the number of months in the period to get projected pages. If your printing includes both black-and-white and color, estimate those volumes separately. Include photo or other high-coverage pages when they are a meaningful part of your use, because their consumption may differ from ordinary text pages.
Use the same period, monthly volume and page mix when comparing printers. Use prices from the same market and date, and check that every cartridge, bottle or toner you include is compatible with the exact printer model.
Use a full ownership-cost formula
Total ownership cost = purchase price + ink or toner + paper + maintenance and replacement parts + electricity and other included costs.
#1 Best Overall
- UPC: 198828789662
- Weight: 10.450 lbs
Calculate supplies separately for each required supply: projected pages ÷ rated yield × current supply price. For a quick supply cost per page, divide the supply price by its rated page yield. For color printing, account for all the color supplies needed, or estimate black-and-white and color costs separately. Add the printer’s purchase price once, then add the projected supply and other costs across the chosen period.
For paper-inclusive cost, add the paper price per sheet multiplied by the projected sheets. HP describes this approach as dividing an ink bottle’s cost by its yield to find ink cost per page, then adding paper cost per sheet in a paper-inclusive example: HP’s cost-per-page explanation. The example of a $30 bottle yielding 6,000 pages gives $0.005 per page for ink alone; it is an illustrative HP calculation, not a universal price or yield.
Rank #2
- Affordable Versatility - A budget-friendly all-in-one printer perfect for both home users and hybrid workers, offering exceptional value
- Crisp, Vibrant Prints - Experience impressive print quality for both documents and photos, thanks to its 2-cartridge hybrid ink system that delivers sharp text and vivid colors
- Effortless Setup & Use - Get started quickly with easy setup for your smartphone or computer, so you can print, scan, and copy without delay
- Reliable Wireless Connectivity - Enjoy stable and consistent connections with dual-band Wi-Fi (2.4GHz or 5GHz), ensuring smooth printing from anywhere in your home or office
- Scan & Copy Handling - Utilize the device’s integrated scanner for efficient scanning and copying operations
Finally, divide the ownership total by the projected pages: average total cost per page = total ownership cost ÷ total projected pages. Label the result according to what you included. If you divide only ink or toner spending by pages, call it a supply-only cost per page, not a complete ownership cost. Ricoh describes cost per page as total printing cost divided by total pages and notes that the total may include ink or toner, paper and, in some calculations, maintenance or energy: Ricoh’s cost-per-page overview.
Build the estimate so a comparison is fair
For each printer, use the same ownership period, page volume, black-and-white/color mix and local price basis. Include each model’s purchase price and the supplies its manufacturer specifies. Record any costs you cannot establish rather than silently treating them as zero.
Rank #3
- Affordable Versatility - A budget-friendly all-in-one printer perfect for both home users and hybrid workers, offering exceptional value
- Crisp, Vibrant Prints - Experience impressive print quality for both documents and photos, thanks to its 2-cartridge hybrid ink system that delivers sharp text and vivid colors
- Effortless Setup & Use - Get started quickly with easy setup for your smartphone or computer, so you can print, scan, and copy without delay
- Reliable Wireless Connectivity - Enjoy stable and consistent connections with dual-band Wi-Fi (2.4GHz or 5GHz), ensuring smooth printing from anywhere in your home or office
- Scan & Copy Handling - Utilize the device’s integrated scanner for efficient scanning and copying operations
- Purchase price: Use the price you can actually obtain in your market and note when it was checked.
- Ink or toner: Price the supplies compatible with the exact model and apply their rated yields to your projected pages.
- Paper: Include it if you want a paper-inclusive estimate; otherwise state that it is excluded.
- Maintenance, parts and power: Add credible model-specific or documented estimates where available. If not, identify them as omitted.
- Yield basis: Note whether the rated yield is based on a standardized test, and recognize that real results vary.
Manufacturer calculators can help organize inputs, but their totals are estimates shaped by their assumptions. Canon’s Malaysia-specific calculator asks for monthly print volume and an ownership period and warns that actual ownership cost can vary with usage, environment and maintenance cycles not captured in its calculation: Canon’s inkjet printer cost calculator. Epson says its TCO calculator includes hardware purchase and ongoing ink or toner, while other consumables, servicing, power and parts replacement can also affect ownership cost: Epson’s cost-of-ownership information.
Interpret rated yields and maintenance estimates carefully
Rated yield is a test estimate, not a guarantee
A manufacturer’s page yield is a standardized estimate; it does not promise that every user will get that many pages. Canon says yields vary with content coverage, settings, temperature, humidity and print frequency. For cartridge yields, it identifies ISO/IEC 24711 testing with the ISO/IEC 24712 color chart, and it describes a separate stated test method for ink bottles. Check the yield basis for the specific supply rather than assuming every published number was measured the same way.
Rank #4
- AFFORDABLE ALL-IN-ONE FOR HOME AND HOME OFFICE: Print, copy, and scan on one compact wireless printer designed for everyday home office printing, schoolwork, documents, and reports. Produce beautiful prints for results that stand out.
- EASY TO USE WITH CLOUD APP CONNECTIONS: Print from and scan to popular Cloud apps(2), including Google Drive, Dropbox, Box, OneDrive, and more from the simple-to-use 1.8” color display on your printer.
- FULL-SIZE FEATURES IN A COMPACT DESIGN: This printer includes automatic duplex (2-sided) printing, a 20-sheet single-sided Automatic Document Feeder (ADF)(3), and a 150-sheet paper tray(3). Engineered to print at fast speeds of up to 16 pages per minute (ppm) in black and up to 9 ppm in color(4).
- MULTIPLE CONNECTION OPTIONS: Connect your way. Interface with your printer on your wireless network or via USB.
- MOBILE PRINTING MADE EASY: Go mobile with the Brother Mobile Connect app(5) that delivers easy onscreen menu navigation for printing, copying, scanning, and device management from your mobile device. Monitor your ink usage with Page Gauge to help ensure you don’t run out(6).
Maintenance does not have one universal cost
Maintenance and parts costs depend on printer design, use, print environment and service needs. Use observed or documented costs when available. If no credible model-specific figure is available, show the calculated total without that cost and, if you have a defensible estimate, show a second total with it. Make clear which categories are excluded so a reader can see what the estimate does and does not represent.
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A lower purchase price alone does not show which printer will cost less over time. Compare each model’s purchase price, supply cost at rated yield, expected black-and-white/color mix, paper treatment, maintenance and energy assumptions, yield-test basis and total over the same period. Current supply prices and availability vary by market and date, so refresh prices before relying on the comparison.
Quick Recap
Best Value
- Affordable Versatility - A budget-friendly all-in-one printer perfect for both home users and hybrid workers, offering exceptional value
- Crisp, Vibrant Prints - Experience impressive print quality for both documents and photos, thanks to its 2-cartridge hybrid ink system that delivers sharp text and vivid colors
- Effortless Setup & Use - Get started quickly with easy setup for your smartphone or computer, so you can print, scan, and copy without delay
- Reliable Wireless Connectivity - Enjoy stable and consistent connections with dual-band Wi-Fi (2.4GHz or 5GHz), ensuring smooth printing from anywhere in your home or office
- Seamless Multi-Page Handling - Tackle multi-page documents with ease using the Auto Document Feeder (ADF) for quick scanning and copying
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
