Time for a second multi-function printer? Looking for cheap ink.

I’ve been struggling with my HP OfficeJet Pro again, and honestly, I’m at my wits' end...
It started when one of the colors stopped working entirely, so I assumed the print head had finally given up the ghost. I took it in for service, they supposedly fixed it, and everything seemed fine for a few weeks, but then it hit me with another "ink empty" error. I swapped in some third-party ink, only for it to immediately claim a completely different color was out. I kept swapping them all out, trying to satisfy the machine, but now it won't even print red properly and the black is looking incredibly washed out...
It’s just a nightmare... I genuinely don't know what to do with it.

I’m seriously considering just tossing this thing in the trash and picking up a brand-new printer.

What I really need is something that provides a decent scanner and reliable printing without requiring any kind of technical gymnastics; I just want something dependable where the replacement ink isn't going to break the bank. Back when this unit was actually functioning correctly—and mind you, it’s an older model, probably about 5 to 7 years old now—it was perfectly fine, with ink cartridges costing roughly $16$6.75 per unit (about 12ml)...

So, if anyone could point me toward a better option, I would truly appreciate it.

My volume is pretty low, maybe around 25 to 50 pages a month, a mix of black and color.

EDIT: One specific requirement is that it needs to have individual ink tanks so that it can actually keep printing even if one color runs dry; I cannot deal with another machine where a single empty color prevents you from doing anything at all, including scanning. That’s just infuriating... this current model is absolutely useless...

I’ve been staring at these HP Envy models for a while now, wondering if they're actually worth the shelf space. It seems like the Ink is incredibly cheap—I mean, we're talking about tiny $2.75 10ml cartridges?!—and honestly, even the printers themselves seem almost suspiciously affordable. What's the real story here?

Just go look online, maybe on Amazon or something, and see what the user reviews are saying. Check if people are actually running into major issues with them. If it doesn't look like a total disaster, don't sweat it—you'll have a warranty anyway.

I’ve been looking into those HP Smart Tank models lately, and I have to ask—what’s the actual consensus on them? It seems almost too good to be true, honestly, because you aren't constantly hunting down expensive cartridges; instead, you just top off the ink reservoirs directly from the bottles, which feels like such a massive win for the wallet.

That’s a solid perk, honestly, but if you aren't printing much, I’d rather just grab something with cheap, budget-friendly toner cartridges.