How to Save Money on Home Printer Ink? | Buy Smart, Print Less

Printer ink is the most expensive liquid you can buy by volume, and manufacturers have spent years making it that way. A $49 printer that comes with “starter” cartridges running out after 50 pages is not a deal — it’s a trap. The real savings start before you even open a box. You need to choose the right hardware, print smarter, and know which third-party options actually work. This guide walks through every legit method to cut your ink costs.

Why Cheap Printers Cost You So Much in Ink

Printers priced under $100 are sold close to cost because the manufacturers make their profit on the ink you buy later. Those “starter” cartridges included in the box usually hold only a fraction of the ink a full retail cartridge does. By the time you replace them, you’ve already spent more on ink than you did on the printer itself.

The key metric to track is cost-per-page (CPP). Calculating CPP uses a simple formula: divide the price of a cartridge by its page yield, then add the cost of paper. A printer with a low sticker price often has a high CPP. A more expensive printer with a bulk ink system can drop your CPP to pennies.

Choose the Right Printer: The Biggest Money-Saving Decision

The printer you buy determines 80% of what you’ll spend on ink over its lifetime. Two categories dominate the “cheap ink” market: ink tank systems and monochrome laser printers.

Ink tank printers use refillable bottles of ink instead of cartridges. The Epson EcoTank line is the most tested and widely recommended option. RTINGS.com named the Epson EcoTank Pro ET-5850 the best printer with cheap ink for 2026. You buy a bottle of black ink for around $20, and it prints thousands of pages before needing a refill. The printer costs more upfront (usually $250–$500), but your per-page cost drops to less than a cent.

For households that mainly print black-and-white documents — forms, school assignments, shipping labels — a monochrome laser printer is even cheaper. The toner inside a laser cartridge doesn’t dry out from disuse, unlike inkjet ink. OEM high-yield cartridges like the HP 13A cost about $49 and deliver 15,000 pages, for a CPP of around 2 cents. On the cheapest end of the spectrum, Konica Minolta and Oki offer toner that costs as little as 0.2 cents per page (a $33.14 Oki toner yielding 15,000 pages).

If you’re ready to buy, check our roundup of the best cheapest printers for your home — it covers the models that save you the most in the long run.

Use Subscription Plans the Right Way

HP Instant Ink and Epson ReadyPrint are subscription programs that change the math on ink costs. HP Instant Ink charges a monthly fee based on how many pages you print, and HP ships you new cartridges before you run out. Unused pages roll over to the next month. HP claims users save up to 50% compared to buying standard cartridges. On the 700-page plan, the cost runs about 1.49 cents per page — far lower than buying retail cartridges for a typical inkjet.

The HP All-In Plan goes a step further: you rent the printer with no upfront payment, and the monthly fee covers the printer, ink, support, and replacement. It does not offer unlimited ink — you get a monthly page limit with rollover and overage charges. Epson ReadyPrint, by comparison, includes unlimited ink within the monthly fee on eligible models. Both plans require a valid credit card and are available primarily in North America.

These programs make the most financial sense if you print a predictable number of pages each month. If you print very little, the minimum monthly fee may cost more than just buying cartridges as needed.

Adjust Your Printer Settings for Instant Savings

Your printer is probably wasting ink right now because of its default settings. You can cut usage by half with a few changes. These steps are free and work on almost every home printer.

Switch to Draft or Economy Mode

Select “Draft” or “Economy” mode in your printer’s software settings. This reduces the amount of ink sprayed onto the page by about 50%, and for internal documents or drafts, the quality difference is barely noticeable. Only switch back to “Normal” or “Best” for final prints you’ll send outside your home.

Print in Grayscale Whenever Possible

Set your print job to “Grayscale” or “Black and White” unless the document absolutely needs color. This uses only black ink and leaves your color cartridges untouched, which extends their life dramatically — and stops them from drying out from disuse.

Reduce Color Density to 80%

In advanced printer settings, lower the color density to 80% instead of 100%. The difference in output quality is almost invisible, but the savings accumulate over hundreds of pages. This tip comes from a retail employee’s inside knowledge and has been widely shared on frugal forums as one of the easiest tricks that actually works.

Choose Your Font Wisely

It sounds small, but your font choice changes how much ink lands on the page. Times New Roman uses roughly 27% more ink than lighter sans-serif fonts like Arial or Calibri. You can also download Ecofont, a free font designed with small holes in the letter shapes that save ink while remaining readable.

Consider Third-Party and Compatible Cartridges

Compatible and remanufactured cartridges can save you up to 80% compared to OEM (original equipment manufacturer) cartridges. These are made by third-party companies to match the specifications of name-brand cartridges. The Ultra High Yield Epson EcoTank 502 Ink Bottles are a popular compatible option that offers good quality at a fraction of the Epson-branded price.

The catch is compatibility. Not every third-party cartridge works with every printer model. Always check that the cartridge explicitly lists your printer — for example, Canon TR4700 — before buying. Some printer manufacturers have firmware updates that can block non-OEM cartridges, so read recent reviews before ordering a large batch.

You can also refill your existing empty cartridges with high-quality bottled ink. This requires a syringe and some care, but the ink itself is very cheap. The risk is that poor-quality ink or a mishandled refill can clog print heads and damage the printer. If you try it, go slowly and follow the cartridge-specific instructions carefully.

Common Ink-Wasting Mistakes to Avoid

A few habits silently burn through ink without you noticing. One is turning your inkjet printer off completely after every use. Left off for long periods, the printer triggers a maintenance cycle when you turn it back on — and that cycle sprays ink into a waste pad to unclog the nozzles. Keeping the printer turned on (or in “Soft Off” mode) prevents those heavy cleaning cycles from running so often.

Another mistake is replacing cartridges the moment a low-ink warning appears. Many manufacturers set these warnings conservatively, and you may still have dozens or hundreds of pages left. Print a test page or check ink levels manually before tossing a cartridge that still has life.

Finally, not printing at all for weeks causes inkjet heads to clog. The fix is simple: print a single page in draft mode once a week. That small act keeps the ink flowing and prevents the clogs that lead to expensive cleaning cycles or premature cartridge replacement.

Print Smart Checklist: The Five Steps That Save the Most

1. Run the numbers before buying any printer. Calculate CPP using the formula: (cartridge price ÷ page yield) + paper cost. Avoid printers with a CPP above 5 cents for black-and-white.
2. Buy the right hardware. If you print color, choose an ink tank system. If you print mostly text, choose a monochrome laser.
3. Set your defaults to Draft/Grayscale. This one change cuts your ink consumption in half for everyday documents.
4. Keep your printer on and print occasionally. This prevents wasteful cleaning cycles and clogged nozzles.
5. Try a subscription if you print a consistent amount. HP Instant Ink and Epson ReadyPrint can beat retail cartridge prices for moderate-volume users who hate running out of ink.