I need help finding a printer doesn't rip off with the ink cost! - General

My mother is in dire need of a printer that doesn't cost an arm and a leg in terms of ink cost. Whether it's a laser printer, toner printer, whatever. I just need something that's gonna last and is cheap to refill or reload. I thought I was doing good by telling her to go to a printer shop for cheap printing but the only one at a reasonable distance is a Staples and they've been ripping her off. I can't help her anymore because I moved away and the only solution I can see is a good printer.

Get refillable cartridges. I think laser printers in general are much cheaper, at least for black and white.

Ecotank printers are very affordable to refill.

Laser printers are your only real option but the upfront cost is quite a bit. Generally speaking the more you pay for a printer the cheaper the ink.

No matter what, never buy an HP. 100% a scam.

Yup. I work at very popular office supply store with a red color scheme (hint hint) and i've seen cartridges go up to 70 bucks for one. OP, this doesn't help much but the very popular office supply store I work at, they do a refund program where you can bring back old ink carts and get some money back. Not really worth much though. Also I'm pretty sure there's a lot of websites that sell generic ink carts that do work on printers. Mileage may vary with those though. I've also heard of people modding printers, someone in the store mentioned it and my boss from my old job did it. (he was the tech director at a highschool, had a little 3d printed tab he put into the cart slot which tricked the system)

I've personally got this one, and I swear by it: https://www.brother.ca/en/p/HLL2320D Brother makes some good ass printers. It's got an internal paper tray that holds a shitload of sheets, and the toner cartridges last about 1000 pages. There's a similar model for wireless / shared computer printing if that's what you need. If you can help it, don't bother with a color printer, just get a simple ass black and white printer with a single cartridge / toner / whatever.

If you don't need color, get a laser printer. Like, if you're printing essays and papers and assignments, laser printers are good.

I know, this is what I'm trying to avoid. My biggest concern is that it has to be pretty easy to use and maintain (i.e. foolproof) because it's my mom that's going to be using it. Specific model suggestions alongside the estimated cost of printing (for instance X number of pages per dollar of ink) would be extremely appreciated. I'll ask her if she absolutely needs color printing.

For toner, usually. I, too, work at a certain red store. The lower yield toner is usually around $50 and does about 1200 pages. Laser is usually cheapest route. Ink cartridges are ridiculous in price and you risk issues with refilled ink. Ecotanks can be cheap overall, but I hear issues with the ink drying out in the tubes and tanks.

Ugh, checking out Amazon reviews can be so annoying when 4/5th of the reviews are 5 stars but the rest is 1 stars claiming big issues with the product.

People who get problems are more likely to make reviews like that. They look for a place to vent their frustration.

Okay, I think I'm gonna go with a Brother HLL2390DW Wireless Monochrome Printer with Scanner & Copier and a standard toner cartridge for around 150CAD. Does that seem like an okay deal for casual use? Any big issues or drawbacks I should be aware of?

I work as a printer engineer! So I could probably give you a long long list of printers to avoid. You would not believe it, but this line of business is so incredibly cut-throat. Granted, most of them are office printers so that is not really relevant here. This model (and others like it, Brothers in general) is very easy to use. Unfortunately the price of toner will always be a problem unless you buy off-brand.

This is why I'm really fond of Facepunch, we've even got friggen printer engineers hanging about haha. Okay, the price seems reasonable considering this might last my mom a year or two considering how little she prints and how much she's been price-gouged by HP and Staples. I think I've made my decision, thank you all for your help. I really hope Facepunch is gonna stick around but that's up to Garry.

I think this is the exact model I picked up for my folks. It's solid, pretty straight forward to set up and install the software for it.