Budget printer recommendations?

Hello,
I currently own one of the most budget-friendly printers out there (the Canon IP1500), but unfortunately, it finally kicked the bucket earlier this year (after about 5 years of exhausting service).

Now I need to pick up a replacement in a similar ballpark.
Mainly, I just need it for college; most of my printing is just standard text documents.

It would be ideal if both the unit itself and the color ink were relatively cheap. With my old setup, the total cost for all my replacement inks hovered around $20-$10.
I’m turning to you guys for help because every online shop I’ve looked at only carries about 10 models, and 8 of them are way over my $1 $167 limit.
Print speed isn't exactly a priority for me.

Max price for the printer = $167
Max price for replacement ink = $20 total

Cheap ink = pricey printer
Expensive ink = cheap printer

That’s basically how the math works out
So, if I were you, I'd probably go with THIS printer—it goes for about $267 but the third-party ink $4.00 (1pk)

Look, I paid top dollar—probably around $100 at full retail price—for that IP1500.

According to Google, the third-party $14 is actually...

I used to have an IP1500 myself, but it finally kicked the bucket earlier this year. I don't know if it was just my luck or what, but I handed it off to a buddy to see if he could fix it, and he basically finished it off. It’s a great printer, provided you’re obsessed with using cheap ink, I guess.

Anyway, I ended up picking up an IP3600 for about $200 a few months back, and you can probably find them starting from $183 now. If you want to mess around with swapping out chips—since I think the cartridge is actually bigger than the one in the 1500—you'll be looking at $2.50 for ink. If you decide not to bother with the chip thing, then third-party replacements run you about 30 to $13. I spent quite a bit of time hunting for printers based mostly on how cheap the replacement ink would be, but I couldn't find anything decent when I was looking. Maybe things have changed since then, but I highly doubt it...

Basically, it's a pretty solid printer if you're trying to save money upfront on the hardware; you'll just pay for it later when you're buying the ink...

I just finished going through the specs, and honestly, they look solid.
Checking out some local suppliers online, there seems to be plenty of options for ink; from what I can see, shipping is looking to be about $200.
As for the ink itself, I’ve got a local repair shop nearby that refills old cartridges, so I'm thinking they might be able to handle these too...

Either way, I'll most likely just drop this one off at the shop and let them tinker with it; maybe they can get it up to speed.

Hey, I’m also in the market for a new printer, so I could really use some advice here. 🙂

Since I need a scanner too, I figured an all-in-one would be the way to go. Prices aren't even that crazy right now—around $400-$200—but I honestly can't tell if the build quality is actually any good or just cheap junk 🙄
I'm torn between HP, Canon, and Epson. Anyone have a recommendation on which one is better or, more importantly, which one won't bleed me dry with expensive ink refills? 🤷

Right now, I've just got a basic HP inkjet at home and it's been running perfectly fine for two years straight.

Joseph Carter9 said:Hello,
I currently own one of the most budget-friendly printers out there (the Canon IP1500), but unfortunately, it finally kicked the bucket earlier this year (after about 5 years of exhausting service).

Now I need to pick up a replacement in a similar ballpark.
Mainly, I just need it for college; most of my printing is just standard text documents.

It would be ideal if both the unit itself and the color ink were relatively cheap. With my old setup, the total cost for all my replacement inks hovered around $20-$10.
I’m turning to you guys for help because every online shop I’ve looked at only carries about 10 models, and 8 of them are way over my $1 $167 limit.
Print speed isn't exactly a priority for me.

Max price for the printer = $167
Max price for replacement ink = $20 total

It isn't really that the machine itself wore out from hard work; rather, they essentially programmed it to reach a ceiling after five years or a specific number of print cycles, whichever comes first.
Just look at what SM says regarding their MP550 model.


Otherwise, the thing probably could have kept chugging along for another fifteen years if they hadn't built it this way. But hey, welcome to our modern consumer society, right?

Look, if you’re dead set on pairing a cheap printer with cheap ink, just go find a used one... prices are basically half. Just a heads up though: watch who you're buying from—make sure it actually works and you can get it installed on your PC without a headache.

Personally? I think a solid printer is worth the investment. Especially an all-in-one—you know, scanner, copier, printer, all that stuff.
If you aren't doing anything crazy and just need basic prints, it’ll last a long, long time. I had an HP for seven years before I finally swapped it out—ran into a minor issue, they fixed it under warranty, and it’s been running perfectly ever since. Sure, it was pricey upfront, but it pays off. Besides, you can always grab one on a payment plan if cash is tight.

silentwolf53 said:Look, if you’re dead set on pairing a cheap printer with cheap ink, just go find a used one... prices are basically half. Just a heads up though: watch who you're buying from—make sure it actually works and you can get it installed on your PC without a headache.

Personally? I think a solid printer is worth the investment. Especially an all-in-one—you know, scanner, copier, printer, all that stuff.
If you aren't doing anything crazy and just need basic prints, it’ll last a long, long time. I had an HP for seven years before I finally swapped it out—ran into a minor issue, they fixed it under warranty, and it’s been running perfectly ever since. Sure, it was pricey upfront, but it pays off. Besides, you can always grab one on a payment plan if cash is tight.

Signed,