Printers that Print in Vibrant Colour, without Burning a Hole in your Pocket

Printing has come a long way since Johannes Gutenberg developed the first movable type printer in the 15th century. For a home printer, there are, broadly, two choices: inkjet and laser. While inkjet printers are known for vibrant colour prints, laser printers are generally used for black-and-white ones. Inkjet printers have lower upfront costs, but are expensive to run, with the cost of ink cartridges adding up to be higher than the printer itself. Laser printers are cheaper to run, but are more expensive upfront. What, then, does one do if one wants a printer that is easy to maintain and prints in colour? Meet ink-tank printers, which have gained traction among home users in recent years.

Compact in size, ink-tank printers have individual colour tanks—for black, magenta, cyan and yellow inks. And you just need to refill each tank—an easy process using spill-free bottles—as the ink runs out. Ink-tank printers output vibrant colours like inkjet printers, but at a much lesser cost per page. They are inexpensive to maintain, though the upfront costs are higher than inkjets. Easy to set up, these printers are the perfect companion for your home desk. Here are our top picks.

At Your Fingertips

This all-in-one printer, which offers great colour prints, supports dual-band Wi-Fi along with Bluetooth LE for faster and more reliable connections. It can print 11 black pages a minute or five colour ones. The transparent tanks make it convenient to monitor ink levels. And it lets you do everything—print, scan and even order supplies—on the nifty HP Smart mobile app, with a few taps. Ideal for low-cost, high-volume printing, the ink that comes with the printer is good for up to 8,000 colour pages or 6,000 black-and-white pages, HP claims. Original ink refill bottles are inexpensive too—the 135-ml black one is priced at Rs 596, while the 70-ml bottles of cyan, magenta and yellow cost Rs 524 each.

Available on: hp.com/in

Photographers’ Delight

Developing and printing photos are passé. Despite Instagram, some of us like to print our memories and frame them. If you are one of them, this printer could be your go-to device. Boasting of high-quality prints on photo paper, this compact all-in-one comes with integrated tanks that have easy-to-view ink levels. In the box are spill-proof high-page-yield ink bottles, which have an output of 7,600 black-and-white pages or around 7,700 colour pages in economy mode, according to Canon. Running costs are low as well, with each original ink refill bottle priced at Rs 561. Do remember that this printer supports only wired connectivity.

Available on: in.canon/en

Best Bang for Your Buck

Do you want a no-frills ink-tank colour printer at a killer price? Yes, you say? Here is one solution from Epson that you could consider. Designed only for printing needs, this compact ink-tank printer is a good option if you want vibrant, colour prints. The printer comes with 70-ml ink refill bottles and the company claims that the bottles in the box are good to print up to 4,000 black-and-white pages and 6,500 colour pages, at a cost of 7 paise per black-and-white page and 18 paise per colour page. Original ink refill bottles are priced at Rs

419 for each colour. The L130 can print up to 27 black-and-white pages in a minute in draft mode, or 15 colour pages in draft mode. Do bear in mind that this printer doesn’t support wireless connectivity. But at this price, there’s not much you can complain about.

Available on: epsonshop.co.in