Printers in 2025 – Home Office and Business

We’ve always wondered what printer to get when replacing our old one, and the different types can be confusing. Avoid the sales push at the physical stores by reading up on the different types, and our recommendations!

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Printer Types:

Laser printers are excellent for high-volume printing, especially for text documents, as they produce sharp prints quickly. However, they can be less effective for high-quality color images. Additionally, the initial cost can be higher, but they tend to be more economical in the long run if you print frequently.

Inkjet printers, while initially cheaper, can become costly over time due to the price of replacement cartridges. They excel in producing high-quality color prints, making them ideal for photos and graphics. However, the ink can dry out if the printer is not used regularly (around 6-8 months), leading to wasted cartridges.

Ink tank printers offer a middle ground. They come with large ink reservoirs that can be refilled, significantly reducing the cost per page. They are versatile, capable of producing both high-quality color prints and black-and-white documents. The initial investment is higher than traditional inkjet printers, but the long-term savings on ink can be substantial.

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“Compatible Ink”:

There are a number of websites online that sell “compatible ink” for a number of inkjet and laser printers. While the sales reps at the major stores may try to tell you that they may void the warranty of the printer, this isn’t necessarily true under Australian Consumer Protection laws.
A warranty may only be voided where the manufacturer can prove that the use of non-original ink cartridges caused the damage to the printer.

Here’s where it gets tricky – a number of brands such as HP and Epson have introduced hardware limitations on the ink used in their printers to force consumers to use original ink which may cost a considerable amount more. While this is a shady practise, it’s not illegal.

Our suggestion is to use original ink for the warranty period of your printer (typically 1 year from purchase) and switch to compatible ink after that warranty period is over if you need to save $$.
Online retailers, such as Inkstation, offer dedicated local support lines and return policies for ink cartridges they sell, while there are also brick & mortar stores that sell these products as well.

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Finding a Printer that suits YOU:

Please take these recommendations with a grain of salt, as they are based off opinion of the writer rather than personal experience with each printer suggested.

Budget can be a close determination for a printer recommendation. As a general rule, spending more on a printer upfront yields you cheaper ongoing cost per page, and access to perks such as:

• faster print speeds
• double sided printing
• double sided scanning
• access to higher yield ink cartridges

When considering a printer, it is important to think about how OFTEN you print. As mentioned previously, cartridge inks can go dry within 6-8 months if not used consistently.

Laser Toners don’t typically dry out, but can (technically) be refilled and are usually used for document printing at higher speeds in B&W.

Ink Tank printers are relatively new to the game, and first started coming out when I was working in an office supplies store around 5-6 years ago.
As anecdotal evidence of their longevity, I had one of these printers for the last 6 years, and only replaced it last week. The ink in the printer cost $35-50 per bottle, and lasted around 5000-6000 pages, which meant I only had to replace the ink TWICE in that lifespan. The main downside of Ink Tank printers is the lack of pass-through scanners and slow printing speeds on the cheaper models, alongside the expensive upfront cost (can be up to $500).

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Starter Cartridges:

HOWEVER, it is also important to note that the cartridges that you receive out of the box across these wide varieties of options, are ‘starter’ cartridges which come with 30% to 50% of the actual amount of ink used in the off-the-shelf cartridges – which generally need to be purchased alongside your printer.

If you opt for the Epson WorkForce Pro WF-3820, which is priced at $159, the standard ink cartridges included in the box will yield approximately 100-150 pages of black document printing. For replacement, the high-yield black cartridge costs $56.99 and offers 1,100 pages of black printing, bringing the cost down to about $0.05 per page.

Alternatively, a higher priced inkjet printer such as the Brother INKvestment MFC-J4440DW (at $299) will come with ~900 pages worth of black document printing out of the box. It also delivers the ability to purchase the higher yield cartridges at $71.99, which provide 5000 black pages per cartridge at a cost of $0.01 per page. Even the standard sized ink cartridges which provide 3000 pages only cost $39 each and still make the cost of printing only $0.01 per page.

An ink tank printer, such as the Canon PIXMA G3630 MegaTank (at $279) comes with ~1500 pages worth of printing out of the box. Replacement ink bottles cost $17.99 and provide ~6000 to 7700 pages worth of printing, bringing the cost to $0.003 per page. However, it’s prudent to remind readers that these printers involve filling up the ink tanks included in the actual printer, which can have common issues if not done properly. They can also have lower resolution printing and printer slower than the competition.
Higher cost ink tank printers such as the Canon MAXIFY GX2060 MegaTank ($499) provide fantastic options for business use and those using printers consistently for lots of printing.

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Author Recommendations (As of FY 2025-26):

As a blanket recommendation, avoid printers under $100 or print from Officeworks if you don’t print that often. Our friendly trainers can walk you through the process of uploading documents to their website for the click & collect service.

Laser Printer Recommendations:

Brother HL-L2460DW Mono Laser Printer ($199)

• 34 ppm printing in B&W only
• ~ 350 pages of printing out of the box
• Replacement XL Toners provide 3000 pages at a cost of $0.05 per page
• No scanning

Brother HL-L2480DW Compact Mono Laser Printer ($249)

• 34 ppm printing in B&W only
• ~350 pages of printing out of the box
• Replacement XL Toners provide 3000 pages at a cost of $0.05 per page
• Single sided scanning capabilities

Ink Toner Printer Recommendations

Epson Workforce Pro WF-3820 ($159)

• Can print at speeds of 21 ppm (black) and 11 ppm (colour).
• The standard ink cartridges included in the box will yield approximately 100-150 pages of black document printing.
• Has pass-through scanning capabilities
• Replacement ink cartridges cost $56.99, or $0.05 per page (black)

Brother INKvestment MFC-J4440DW ($299) – OVERALL RECOMMENDATION

• Maximum black and white printing speed is 20 ppm. Maximum colour printing speed is 19 ppm.
• Comes with ~900 pages worth of black document printing out of the box.
• Has pass-through scanning capabilities.
• Standard sized ink cartridges (3000 pages) cost $39 each and make the cost of printing $0.01 per page. Has options for XL cartridges also.

Ink Tank Printer Recommendations

Canon PIXMA G3630 MegaTank ($279)

• Printing speed of 11 ipm in non-coloured, and a printing speed of 6 ipm for colour.
• $0.003 per page from the replacement ink bottles costing $17.99.
• Single sided scanner
• Lower print resolution compared to the other inkjet printers, not recommended for photos.

As always, if you have any questions, feel free to reach out via email or phone to have a chat to one of us!