Choosing the Best Inkjet Printer for your Needs
When choosing the best inkjet printer, it’s important to consider your specific requirements. Here are some considerations for picking the best inkjet model based on typical use cases.
Choosing the Best Inkjet Printer for Home Use
When deciding on the best inkjet printer for home use, several factors need to be considered. Home users usually print significantly lower print volumes when compared to business users, for this reason high print speeds and large print capacities may be less important, allowing users to consider inkjet printers with more modest performance.
For those working at home you should consider the size of a potential inkjet printer with compact footprints being better suited to home settings where space may be at a premium. It’s also a good idea to look for a compact multifunction inkjet printer in order to consolidate printing, scanning and copying functions into a single device, rather than having to accommodate a separate scanner elsewhere.
Additionally home users may tend towards more budget-friendly inkjet printers with lower initial hardware costs being a priority. It’s important to note where quality of print is more important than speed or large print volumes, for example photo printing, ink costs can potentially be a limiting factor. Printing photographs or other graphic heavy documents requires a lot of ink, so you should always consider the future running costs before you make a purchase.
Choosing the Best Inkjet Printer for Photo Printing
With high resolutions and the vibrant, true-to-life colour reproduction that inkjet technology can achieve, inkjet printers are the ideal choice for photo printing.
When it comes to choosing the best inkjet printer for photos, there are a wide range of models to consider.
The Epson EcoTank range delivers high quality photo printing combined with low running costs. The unique, refillable ink tank-based system delivers outstanding photo printing with the cartridge-free design allowing users to save up to 90% on printing costs. With models boasting multifunction capabilities and the ability to produce professional grade, glossy photos that can last up to 300 years in a photo album, the Epson EcoTanks are some of the best inkjet tank printers available for photo printing.
Whereas laser printers are physically limited by the printing process and therefore unable to produce edge-to-edge prints, inkjet printers offer the best photo quality for true borderless printing of photographic and graphic projects.
What’s the best A3 Inkjet Printer?
If you’re looking to produce larger format prints, the best A3 inkjet printers offer all the quality and benefits of their smaller A4 siblings but with the flexibility of allowing for a broader range of creative print sizes. Again, an important consideration is your overall running costs. A3 prints use twice as much ink as A4 so you should look to manage these costs effectively by choosing a model with high-capacity ink options, refillable ink-tank systems or a subscription option which can greatly reduce the total cost of ownership. For more A3 printer options, see our breakdown of the best A3 printers.
Choosing the Best Budget Inkjet Printer
As inkjet printers are commonly associated with lower initial hardware costs and higher long-term running costs when compared to laser printer equivalents, they are often chosen for home use over business use cases.
However, several inkjet ranges offer the same high print quality associated with inkjet printing whilst still delivering low long-term running costs on par with laser printers.
Choosing the Best Inkjet Printer for Business Use
When compared to home users, business users generally seek superior print speeds and lower overall running costs due to the higher volume of printing that business environments require. With large paper capacities and high prints speeds being pre-requisites of a business inkjet printer, choosing the right model is critical.
A business inkjet printer must combine high print quality, high print speeds and large print capacities and should also offer comprehensive connectivity options allowing accessibility for a larger number of users.
What are the Advantages of Owning an Inkjet Printer?
Whilst inkjet printers are often overlooked when compared to laser models, they offer a range of unique benefits making them a valuable asset in home and work environments.
Here are just some of the key benefits of owning an inkjet printer;
Enjoy Low Budget Printing with an Inkjet Printer
Inkjet printers provide an affordable entry point to high quality printing. Offering significantly lower initial hardware costs when compared to laser equivalents, inkjet printers allow for economical printing at low or medium use levels. Whilst laser printers can deliver lower overall running costs when printing at high volume, inkjet printers deliver outstanding economy for home or light business printing.
Inkjet printers also tend to use less electricity when compared to laser counterparts, working to boost energy efficiency whilst lowering overall printing costs. For users looking to further reduce printing costs whilst still leveraging the high print quality of inkjet models, the Epson EcoTank range employs a ground-breaking cartridge-free design which potentially lowers printing costs by up to 90% when compared to conventional inkjet printers.
The Epson EcoTank range uses large, refillable ink tanks designed to handle high volume printing making them some of the best inkjet printers with cheap ink. Epson EcoTank printers allow for easy, mess-free ink replenishment using innovative ink bottles which are manufactured to correspond to the correct ink tank for error free refills. These printers deliver a cost-effective printer solution that provides impressive features and outstanding print quality making them perfect for home and business use alike.
Additionally, many manufacturers offer subscription-based printing solutions designed to deliver low-cost, stress-free printing.
HP Instant Ink is an all-in-one service providing genuine HP inks, automatic cartridge delivery and recycling with flexible plans starting at as little as £0.99p per month. HP Instant Ink ensures you’ll never run out of ink again with replacement ink cartridges being dispatched based on how much you print before you run out!
Enjoy High Quality Printing with an Inkjet Printer
Inkjet printing technology allows for outstanding print quality especially when it comes to photography and image printing. Boasting high resolutions which in some cases exceed laser printer equivalents and excellent colour accuracy, inkjet printers are a clear choice for a host of image-based printing projects.
Offering wide colour gamuts coupled with the intense vibrancy of highly pigmented liquid inks, inkjet printers deliver smooth colour gradients and subtle shading for eye-catching images and realistic photographic prints with fine detail.
In addition to outstanding print quality, inkjet printers are capable of printing on a wide range of media types for highly customisable results, perfect for a range of design and commercial prints.
Benefit from Multifunction Versatility with an Inkjet Printer
With models boasting Print, Scan, Copy and Fax functionality, multifunction inkjet printers offer the same impressive versatility. With the ability to act as a centralised productivity hub for both home and work environments, the best all in one inkjet printers provide multiple capabilities in a compact and energy efficient package.
Purchasing an Inkjet Printer with Printerland
Hopefully this guide has highlighted the key aspects to consider when choosing the best inkjet printer for your needs. Printerland stocks a broad range of inkjet models from leading manufacturers including HP, Epson, Brother and more. Our entire range of inkjet printers is available for instant purchase online or if you need further advice regarding your purchase, why not contact a member of our team of printer experts to help you find the perfect inkjet printer for your requirements.
"I consider The Epson ET-4850 and the rest of the EcoTank fleet as something of a game-changer. The ink-tank concept is a big step towards vastly reducing both ink costs for the user and the overall environmental impact. It's just as good as any traditional inkjet printer in it's class in terms of performance and print quality, so it's a no-brainer for those looking within this price-bracket, and you'll barely notice the running costs over the printers lifetime."