It is time we reviewed our recommendations of the best printer for 2023. Below you will find the latest printers and our current recommendations on what to look for when buying a new printer.
Two Rules When Buying a New Printer For 2023
There are two rules we suggest when buying a new printer, if you want to use compatible cartridges to reduce your printing costs. There have been no changes to these rules for 2023.
1. Never buy an HP printer
2. Buy a printer that takes more than 2 cartridges, unless you print very little.
HP uses lots of tricks to ensure you use genuine cartridges and sometimes these tricks work. Even when they don’t work they add to the cost of the cartridges. The 2 cartridge printers with one black cartridge and one tri-colour cartridge are very cheap to buy, but more expensive to run.
It then depends on what you print as to which is the best printer for 2023.
Printing Small Amounts
If you do not print much, ignore rule 2 and consider the two cartridge printers from Canon (TS3460, TS3465, TR4660). The printhead on these cartridges is built into the cartridge itself. This makes the printer cheaper to buy and has the added benefit that when you replace the print cartridge you replace the print head. It is like getting a new printer every time you replace the ink. This can solve the problems caused by leaving the printer sitting for any length of time. The obvious downside of this is the cartridges are more expensive and these printers will cost a lot to run if you use them for printing large quantities.
Everyday Printing For Home or Small Business
For general printing needs consider the Canon TR range of printers (TR7660, TR8660), an entry level Brother Multifunction Centre Ink Jet printer (MFCJ1010DW, DCPJ1050DW), or the business machines from Brother or Canon (MFCJ4440DW, MFCJ4540DW, MB2160, MB5360). We prefer Canon printers ourselves and Brother printers are the most popular printers in New Zealand. All of these printers come with paper trays in various sizes, scanning and copying functionality and have document feeders built in (except the DCPJ1050DW). The maximum print size is A4 paper.
Best Laser Printer for 2023
If you only need to print in black consider the Laser printers from Brother. The DCP1610 is a good entry level scanner, copier, printer for home use and the MFCL2713DW is a great printer for a small business. Laser printers will not produce the photo quality you can get with an inkjet printer, but are excellent when lots of printing is required. There is no ink to dry out in the print head which means laser printers can last a very long time. While it is possible to get colour laser printers, the cost does jump quite a lot from the simple black and white printers. Some of the cheaper laser printers can only print, with no scanning or copying functions.
Printing Photos, Crafts or A3 size
Inkjet printers are the best for photographs and the more colours the better, Canon printers print beautiful photographs using up to 12 colours in their professional printers.
If you want to print in A3 then take a look at the Brother printers (MFCJ5340DW, MFCJ5740DW) as they have a few machines with this functionality. Canon also offers the TS9560 which is designed for art and crafts and can print on card and up to A3 size as well.
Best Printer for Large Quantities
Ink Tank printers are cheap to run but very expensive to buy. If you print very large quantities in colour these printers are worth considering. Epson started this trend and it is certainly worth considering the Ecotank range of printers (ET2810, ET2850).
Take a look for specials on particular models at Warehouse Stationery or Noel Leemings.
Before you buy a printer, please check our website to confirm the price and availability of cartridges. This could save you a lot of money in the long run.
If you have a short list of printers, you are looking at the team at Affordable Ink know and we can advise further.