Cheap Basic Printer (Low Volume) - Suggestions Sought

Alan6984 on 23/04/2026 - 00:10

Hi All,

My son needs a cheap basic printer.

It will be mostly text, maybe occasionally some graphics (reports etc), but he's not looking for a photo printer at all.

Volume will be low - perhaps half a dozen pages per week / 25 per month, so low upfront cost and the likely higher per page cost seems to make sense to me.

Could be laser or inkjet. I am thinking ink-jet, although a laser will probably produce better quality text - maybe I am out of date on that though?

If it makes a lot of difference to the up-front cost, then monochrome would be okay, but all things being (roughly) equal, colour would be preferred.

He would consider TradeMe (I'm looking for him there too), but would prefer to just buy it from a retailer if possible.

Any suggestions are welcome. He's in South Auckland if it makes any difference.

Thanks,

Alan.

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  • ABCDEFG on 23/04/2026 - 09:24
    +1

    I was able to pickup an laser MFC off trade me for free (it was $1.00 but the seller just wanted it gone). At the time there were a few others also going for next to nothing so it could really be worth looking there.

    • Alan6984 on 23/04/2026 - 22:09

      Yeah - I guess I'm a bit wary about reliability, but for $1, and if it no hassle to collect it, then I guess it doesn't really matter!

  • Drcspy on 23/04/2026 - 07:11

    Look for a printer that you can buy 'compatible' inks for off Trademe or other supplier. I have a Canon Pixma inkjet I got about 10 years ago when I got a discount voucher along with a laptop I bought. That printer still runs and I've NEVER bought OEM inks . I buy all 5 cartridges from TM for about $23 in total including postage . If I was stupid enough to buy in a shop they're about $35 or thereabouts EACH. Do NOT buy HP if you're wanting to go this route they are (in)famous for their protectionism around the inks issue.

    • AleBeerenhoff on 23/04/2026 - 07:38

      Same here - bought a cheap brother inkjet years ago (when they have those cashback deals) and just fill it with generic ink. Works a treat.
      Inkjet is fine enough quality for what we need (which is pretty minimal), but its slower than a laser too - I think the running costs of the laser might end up being more (probably because of the quality and speed thing).

    • Alan6984 on 23/04/2026 - 22:08

      Good point about the 'compatible' ink - thanks!

  • bigcheese on 23/04/2026 - 09:31

    Another thing to consider is that even though inkjets will be cheaper upfront they do need to be used reasonably frequently to prevent the ink drying and clogging the printheads.
    A few pages each week will be fine so make sure that something is printed every so often.
    Lasers on the other hand can sit idle for ages with no impact on print quality.

    • Alan6984 on 23/04/2026 - 22:09

      Yep - noted!

  • qtboi on 23/04/2026 - 13:42

    Ecotanks/tank printers are the way to go!

    You might be able to find some market place - they are the most bang for your bunk

    If you do buy new its not too crazy either espically as its a one and done buy really - Epson EcoTank ET-2810 All-in-One Printer $259 at the mo.

    I have the ET-2710 model and going strong since around 2021 - bottles are about 20 bucks a pop and last ages!

    • Alan6984 on 23/04/2026 - 22:10

      I figure with the relatively low volume, it probably doesn't matter too much but thank you for the link - I will definitely look at that option.

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