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Printers are one of those devices you can live without, until you can’t. The good news is that most consumer-grade printers, even high-quality ones, are fairly inexpensive. But that’s how they get you — how they rope you in. The printer is affordable, but then you realize after setting it up that the ink is not so cheap. While that’s not always the case, and you can still find some cheap printers that don’t make you spend a fortune on ink, the problem is prevalent enough to be a concern. When you’re seeking out a new device, you’ll likely review and reference those ink costs before making a purchase, and if you weren’t already planning to do so, you certainly should.
Consumer Reports has named Brother as the most reliable printer brand in the past, but it has also named Canon and Epson as reliable alternatives. You may be wondering why that’s relevant here? Because CR also called out a printer with an incredibly low ink cost compared to other options on the market, and it’s an Epson. The Epson EcoTank ET-3850, to be precise. The ink is refilled in tanks (hence the name) stored across four different compartments. But it doesn’t use traditional cartridges. Instead, you buy the ink refills in bottles and fill up the tanks in the printer individually. Ultimately, that reduces the long-term cost of ink by up to 90% versus cartridge-style refills.
There’s a catch, though: The EcoTank ET-3850 has a high upfront cost for a mid-grade printer. The price tag is nearly $400 on Amazon, and although it bills itself as an all-in-one, it forgoes advanced features like a touchscreen and USB host port. On the plus side, the EcoTank scans, copies, prints in color and black and white, and functions as an automatic document feeder.
Why isn’t the Epson EcoTank EP-3850 all-in-one printer for everyone?
Simply put, the high upfront cost is why this printer is not for everybody. You can find a lot of cheap or budget-friendly printers out there that will save you quite a bit to start. But that’s the rub. Those printers may be cheap, but the ink cartridges work out to be pretty expensive over time, especially when you’re printing a lot. The Epson EP-3850 has a higher upfront cost, but the ink bottles are cheaper, and the tanks hold quite a lot of ink and tend to last longer. You’ll get thousands of pages from each refill bottle, according to Epson. Moreover, the printer comes bundled with everything you need, including a generous supply of ink to get you started.
The four-pack of refills with black ink is $76 from Epson directly, while the three-pack without black ink, just color, is $51. Consumer Reports estimates the two-year ownership cost to be about $409, which factors in the printer, the cost of ink and refills, and average usage. Subtract the cost of the printer, which is currently $394, and divide the remaining $15 by 2, and you get $7.50. That’s a $5 to $7.50 annual cost if you don’t end up needing another ink refill in that timeframe, and since Epson sends a bunch with the printer, that’s likely an accurate estimate (CR pegs it at $5).
If you want an alternative, Consumer Reports named a Canon the best printer for the average home office. That model, the Canon imageClass LBP247dw, has a cost around $380 to $400, and ink is a bit pricier. It makes models with cheaper ink supplies look all the better.
