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The all-in-one Brother MFC-J430w is a combination printer/scanner/copier/fax.
Printers have a propensity to gulp expensive ink, displaying low-ink alerts like a drunk holding up an empty glass to a bartender. If you’re going to support this habit, it’s nice not to have to spend too much on the printer itself. Choose carefully to avoid the slowest, thirstiest models and get the highest possible quality for $100 or less.
Below are Cheapism’s top picks for affordable all-in-one printers. These models can scan and copy as well as print, delivering more for the money than a basic inkjet.
- The Epson Stylus NX430 (starting at $70) prints crisp text and high-quality photos with realistic color, according to expert reviewers. It has a compact 15.4” x 12” x 5.7” footprint for those tight on space. (Where to buy)
- The Brother MFC-J430w (starting at $60) boasts an automatic document feeder that can scan or copy more than one page at a time. It also functions as a fax machine -- you know, in case you conduct business with anyone in the 20th century. Experts applaud this printer’s speed and say text is its strong suit. (Where to buy)
- The Canon Pixma MG5320 (starting at $100) features a high-resolution scanner and wins praise for photo printing even on faster settings, perhaps no surprise from a company known for cameras. This printer can handle more paper than any other model on our list. (Where to buy)
- The HP PhotoSmart 5510 e-All-in-One (starting at $80) promptly produces sharp text and vivid photos, according to reviews. Consumers find it easy to set up and use, and the touch-screen interface is unusual at this price. (Where to buy)
These are all inkjet printers, as opposed to laser printers with higher capacities and faster print speeds. Be wary of manufacturers’ advertised speeds. A number like 30 pages per minute may be accurate, but it’s almost certainly measured using only black ink on the draft quality setting. You can expect about five or 10 pages of high quality color printing per minute from an inkjet model.
Most low-cost multifunction printers have flatbed designs that require you to flip open the lid and lay flat whatever you want to copy or scan. These machines can accommodate everything from a driver’s license to a book but process only one page at a time. The Brother MFC-J430w also features an auto document feeder to make quick work of multipage jobs. If you plan to scan photos, note the maximum scan resolution, measured in dots per inch. The Canon Pixma MG5320 has one of the highest among budget printers: 2,400 x 4,800 dpi.
Wi-Fi capability, once uncommon at this price point, has become a must-have feature. All the printers on our list can connect wirelessly to any computer in your home or office. This is easy to set up, reviewers say, but if you prefer to use a cable, our picks have USB 2.0 interfaces as well. That option can come in handy if you run into any issues with your router.
The printers on this list all have efficient designs that earn the government’s Energy Star designation. Just don’t forget to recycle those ink cartridges.
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Leave a Comment:
It aint the printers that cost; its the tiny and VERY expensive ink cartridges that get you every time, its almost cheaper to buy a new printer with its starter pack of ink, than buy a new set of ink cartridges.
After several years of great service from a Lexmark, I let a salesman talk me into an HP. Slowest piece of crap I've ever used. And, there are no assembly or operation manuals. I guess the Chinamen who manufacuted it can't speak English, so they just placed some cryptic arrows here and there to help you figure out how the damned thing works. And yes, Phil, when the ink cartridges go dry, I plan to donate this HP to a charity resale shop and go buy another Lexmark!
spider,
Your HP printer should have had a CD in the packaging which had the manual on it. Hp also has an excellant website which includes manuals for virtually every printer they have produced, which are available for free down load.
Nobody wants to buy a used printer with no ink when new ones are soo cheap. I use my inkjet soo infrequently I misplaced it(the printer). I went to wally world & bought the same printer again. I'm debating throwing the one I misplaced & found away. Amazon has some $10 ink cartriges that they refill. But your low ink indicator will stay in. I guess only the MFR of the ink cartrige can reset that. So i just print & live with the low ink warning.
Willis,
Many HP printers, with LCD displays, ask you if you have replaced the cartridrige. They will only cancel the low ink if you answer yes. Then they printer will look for a new counter, a chip embedded in the cartridge, to confirm new ink. A failure will return the low ink message. Something home refillers, and buyers of even generic new ink cartridge, already know. And not specific to HP, btw.
Lexmark is going out of business.
I recently went shopping for a new all-in-one machine for my church. I took the church secretary with me, as she would have to actually use the machine. We looked for features such as easily accessible tray loading of paper, an easy-to-use control panel, and an autofeeder for fax sheets. We also wanted good color capability. One of the things we checked was how easy ink replacement was, as this can vary from simple on some machines to a real task on others.
After we had narrowed our search, I walked her over in the ink display and asked her to compare ink prices, based on the cartridge cost and estimated pages produced. Anyone who buys a printer without looking at the cost of ink is ignoring the greatest cost of any printer. We finally settled on an HP 2600 because it best met her needs with reasonable ink costs.
One other issue, if you buy a color ink-jet printer, print color!!! Otherwise, you will have a doorstop in about three months as the ink dries in the printhead/cartridge. A large part of the cost of many cartridges is in the mechanics that actually make the printer work. If you examine the cartridge, it has electrical contacts that lead to micro heating elements that literally boil the ink, propelling it through a mask onto the paper. If you do not routinely use a cartridge, ink can, and will, dry in this area, clogging the jetports. Most printers today have internal cleaners of the mask area to prevent smearing. If your printer fails this cleaning routine, try replacing the cartridges. And print something, using all the cartridges, weekly or biweekly to keep all the ports clear.
Note: I am not endorsing the HP 8600 for everyone. It is pricier. But it was what the church office needed. And the LCD panel does provide clear instructions, but the printer needs to be where the LCD panel is accessible for the scanner/copier/fax usage, so under desk or bookcase installs may not be convenient. While it is wireless, we saw fit to direct connect through the CAT5 connection, which we can access through three different computers on our network.
Mr. Marvell,
Thank You for a great post! I was going to speak but you spoke for me. One thing I was told by Cartridge World is that ink jet printers use ink or dyes. Dyes are more expensive. I have paid for my printer already with the cost of "dye" cartridges. I have a Canon MG 5220. I like it but the cost of the dyes is not what I expected. Oh, I do not print photos quality at all, by the way. One more thing, you are correct when you say print color. The printer I had before ended up not working because I did not use it enough and also used B/W instead. I thought it would save the color cartridges. They dried up and clogged. If you buy a printer, use it on a regular basis.
In broader terms, printers are toasters. Toasters convert your supplied bread into toast, dried and browned bread. Printers convert your files and images from the ethereal into a tangible document or image on your supplied paper, using your supplied ink. Just like pens, pencils, crayons, paints and typewriters. Just as artists generally start with pencil or pen, and move to crayon and then to paint, or in the cases of old-school writers, typewriters. Start with inexpensive printers with inexpensive ink, and then move to higher grades as your needs demand.