The one budget printer most people should buy
A budget printer deal is a low-priced printer offer that looks affordable upfront but can differ hugely in long-term cost depending on how much you pay per page for ink and how often you print. Among current budget printer deals, the Epson EcoTank ET-2800 is the best pick for most students and home users because its ink-tank design slashes ink cartridge costs and removes the constant refill cycle.
The EcoTank ET-2800 uses refillable ink tanks and bottled ink instead of small cartridges, and it ships with four bottles rated for up to 4,500 black-and-white pages or 7,500 color pages. That is roughly two years of ink for a typical household and means you avoid the throwaway-printer trap where refills cost as much as the printer itself. It also includes wireless printing, a flatbed scanner, and a copier in a compact body, covering the basics most home users need. For most home printing — school paperwork, tax documents, and occasional photos — the ET-2800 is the safest long-term value.
Why tank-based printers beat ‘cheap’ cartridge deals
Tank-based printers store large amounts of ink in refillable reservoirs, so you pay more for the machine but much less per page. According to one detailed analysis, “investing in a tank-based printer saves money long-term and is the better option,” especially once you compare per-page ink costs with throwaway cartridge models. If you print with any real volume, the ink cost on cheap printers can be so high that you are tempted to replace the whole unit instead of buying refills, which is bad for your wallet and the environment.
The EcoTank ET-2800 shows this trade-off clearly: a low-cost entry into ink-tank printing that offers quick, cheap, and easy refills, with solid text and photo results. The bundled ink bottles are rated for thousands of pages, and replacement sets remain far cheaper than recurring cartridge packs. In contrast, some low-end cartridge printers can hit per-page ink costs of around twenty cents or more, turning an apparent bargain into one of the most expensive ways to print. Spend more on a printer and less on ink, and your long-term costs drop fast.
Best alternative budget printers (and who they suit)
If the Epson EcoTank ET-2800 does not fit your needs, a few cartridge-based budget printer deals still make sense if you understand the ink trade-offs. The Canon Pixma Megatank G6020 is another bulk-ink all-in-one with refillable tanks that prints at up to 13 black pages per minute and 6.8 color pages per minute, delivering excellent output for home offices while costing very little to run over time. It adds copying, scanning, and automatic two-sided printing, making it ideal for households or small home offices that print often and want low ongoing ink costs.
For students who print less and care more about minimizing upfront cost than ink efficiency, Canon’s Pixma TS6520 inkjet is a budget-friendly option that works well for college students conserving their wallets. It offers 14 black and 9 color pages per minute, a 100-sheet tray, a two-cartridge hybrid ink system, plus scanning and copying in a compact design. You still pay more per page than with a tank printer, but light users who only print a few pages a week may find that acceptable.
How to spot a fake ‘budget printer deal’
The biggest trap with budget printer deals is ignoring ink cartridge costs. Some throwaway printers are so inexpensive that the included ink only yields around 180 pages, and replacement cartridges can cost only slightly less than the entire printer. That leads to a mindset where you replace the whole device instead of refilling it, which is described as terrible for both the environment and your wallet. In this scenario, you end up paying around $0.21 per page in ink alone, which is called astronomical compared to tank-based models.
Before you buy any back-to-school printer, look for page-yield numbers on the included and replacement ink, then divide the price of ink by the total pages to estimate per-page cost. Tank-based printers like the EcoTank ET-2800 and Canon Pixma Megatank G6020 usually win because they spread ink cost over thousands of pages. Cartridge-based bargains can still work for people who print rarely, but if you expect steady homework, reports, or photo projects, a tank printer nearly always offers the better total cost of ownership.
| Spec | Epson EcoTank ET-2800 | Canon Pixma Megatank G6020 |
|---|---|---|
| Print speed (black) | Noted as solid for home use | 13 pages per minute |
| Print speed (color) | Optimized for home documents and photos | 6.8 pages per minute |
| Ink system | Refillable ink tanks with bottled ink | Bulk-ink Megatank system |
| Functions | Printer, copier, flatbed scanner, wireless printing | Printer, copier, scanner, automatic two-sided printing |
Buy if / Skip if
- Buy the Epson EcoTank ET-2800 if you want to escape the cartridge cycle and prioritize the lowest long-term ink costs.
- Skip the Epson EcoTank ET-2800 if you need automatic two-sided printing, as it only supports manual duplex.
- Buy the Epson EcoTank ET-2800 if you print a steady mix of documents and photos and value thousands of pages from the included ink bottles.
- Skip the Epson EcoTank ET-2800 if you often scan or copy multi-page documents, because it lacks an automatic document feeder.
- Buy the Canon Pixma Megatank G6020 if you run a busy home office and want low-cost bulk-ink printing with automatic two-sided output.
- Skip the Canon Pixma Megatank G6020 if your printing is very occasional and you prefer a smaller, simpler device.
- Buy the Canon Pixma TS6520 if you are a budget-conscious student who prints lightly and needs a compact all-in-one with decent speed.
- Skip the Canon Pixma TS6520 if you expect heavy printing or want the very lowest cost per page over time.
