Best cheap printer deals for October 2022

You probably don’t get too worked up at the thought of shopping for a printer, but if you haven’t bought a new one in awhile, you might be surprised to learn how advanced these humble office appliances can be nowadays. Today’s printers come loaded with conveniences like wireless connectivity, mobile app controls, ink- and toner-saving technologies, and far superior output quality to the rickety inkjets of years past (and that includes many cheap printers, too). No matter what your needs and budget are, our roundup of the month’s best printer deals is sure to have something that fits.

Do a lot of high-volume printing and need something other than an inkjet? Check out these great laser printer deals as well.

Best printer deals

HP DeskJet 2742e — $59, was $69

Why Buy

The HP DeskJet 2742e is an ideal system for a home office that needs to print, scan, or copy regularly. A 3-in-1 device, it has everything you need to be more productive from your home without costing a fortune. With its simple, straightforward interface, it’s hardly any effort to get the HP DeskJet 2742e to print, copy or scan documents and photos. If you’d prefer to be away from the printer, you can also easily print from your iPad, iPhone, as well as Android tablets and smartphones. It’s a super convenient way to ensure you don’t need to constantly transfer files to your PC or Mac.

Elsewhere, the HP DeskJet 2742e is pretty speedy too. It offers up to seven black and white pages per minute, while color printing is a respectable five pages per minute. In all cases, it offers a maximum print resolution of 4800 x 1200 with automatic two-sided printing. As well as that, scanning is speedy with a choice of USB or Wi-Fi connections ensuring you have plenty of flexibility. It also has a paper capacity of 60 sheets so you’re good to go without needing to restock too often if you’re just doing basic printing tasks.

The features keep on coming too with the HP DeskJet 2742e being compatible with services such as AirPrint, Mopria, and the HP Smart app. Ideal if you’re busy wandering around your office doing other things and could do with working a bit faster. Simple to use in every way, the HP DeskJet 2742e just made working at home so much easier.

Epson Expression XP-4100 — $97, was $115

Why Buy

The Epson Expression XP-4100 printer lives up to this brand’s pedigree. It’s a real workhorse of a printer so you can get plenty done in no time at all. Its greatest strength is its black and white printing. It can achieve speeds of up to 10 pages per minute meaning you can quickly print out large documents without a problem. Helping out there is a paper tray capacity of up to 100 sheets so you won’t have to worry about reloading it so often. In addition, the Epson XP-4100 also supports automatic two-sided printing so it’s perfect for complicated documents that need a lot of setup.

You can still print color sheets pretty speedily. The Epson XP-4100 supports printing in color at speeds of up to 5 pages per minute so it’s no slouch here either. Elsewhere, you get great convenience from the printer’s color touchscreen. It makes arranging a print session far easier than having to squint at an awkward, hard-to-see display. You also get plenty of connectivity options with support for Wi-Fi, USB and Ethernet, all depending on how you need to do things.

The Epson XP-4100 printer supports an extensive range of different paper types from plain paper to premium presentation matte paper and a range of different premium photo papers too. An automatic document feeder means you won’t have to think too hard once you’ve loaded the paper tray. Simple and to the point, whether you need to use the Epson XP-4100 for mobile printing or when you’re right next to the device, this printer has got your back.

Canon Pixma TR7020a — $100, was $190

Why Buy

The Canon Pixma TR7020a packs a lot into its stylish shell. The idea is that it’s the perfect all-in-one solution for your home office, particularly if you need to print color copies of anything. It’s able to print borderless images fairly quickly with up to 13 pages per minute in black and white. With great print quality for either type, you’re sure of a great experience. It also accepts a variety of different paper types and sizes so it’s very flexible regardless of your intentions. Print quality is up to 4800 x 1200 dpi so images look great with extensive detail no effort at all for this device.

When it comes to setup, it’s super flexible too. That’s because it works in pretty much any way you want it to. It offers wireless and mobile printing capabilities so you can use it by printing from your mobile device, or by using it with your regular PC or Mac. As well as that, you can choose to plug it in directly via its USB port.

Besides all that, you get a color touch screen for easy use, along with two 100-sheet input trays so you won’t have to worry about adding paper too often. An auto document feeder further helps you out. There’s also automatic built-in duplex printing so you can print on both sides of the page without turning it over manually. When it comes to scanning, you get resolution of up to 1200 x 1200 and you can even fax documents if you still need to.

Epson EcoTank ET-2800 — $230, was $280

Why Buy

Need an all-in-one color inkjet printer, but tired of paying out the nose for ink cartridges? The Epson EcoTank ET-2800 has you covered. Instead of costly (and sometimes messy) ink cartridge replacements, the EcoTank line of printers sport built-in ink tanks that you refill yourself. Ink levels are clearly visible on the outside of the printer so you’re never left wondering when it’s time for a top-up, and Epson’s EcoFit refill bottles are mess-free and simple to use.

Refill ink sets last about two years with average use, and you get a set of bottles included so this printer should be good to go for a long time right out of the box. The EcoTank printer does more than just save you money and help the environment by cutting down on plastic cartridge waste, though; it’s a fantastic printer in its own right, delivering crisp prints at resolution of up to 5760 x 1440 dots per inch thanks to Micro Piezo heat-free technology.

As an all-in-one printer, the EcoTank can also copy and scan documents, and it’s wireless so you can install it on your local Wi-Fi network and use it from almost anywhere in your home or office. It’s compatible with multiple types of paper as well, including glossy paper, photo paper, brochure paper, and more. The Epson EcoTank printer can handle almost any job you can throw at it — and with its refillable ink tanks, it can potentially save you a lot of money if you do high-volume printing.

Canon Pixma MegaTank G7020 — $320, was $380

Why Buy

The Canon Pixma MegaTank G7020 is ideally suited if you need to regularly print documents and want to save costs on ink cartridges. It promises high quality printing at a low price. With a high page yield of up to 6,000 black or 7,700 color pages with the ink you get right out of the box, it’s an investment that will save you a lot of money in the long run if you print frequently. You’ll save on the cost of ink even when compared to high-yield laser cartridges. It’s super convenient to use too thanks to some great features. For instance, it has a 350-sheet plain paper capacity so you won’t need to restock it too often. It also includes a full set of ink, enough to last for around one or two years depending on how much you print.

The Canon Pixma MegaTank G7020 is sufficiently fast, too. It prints up to 13 pages in black or up to 6.8 pages per minute in color. Its color resolution is up to 4800 x 1200 dpi so it’s ideal for producing sharp text even if the text is small, while also catering for graphics with thin lines and curves. You can also print via mobile printing solutions with support for AirPrint, Mopria Print Service, Google Cloud, Canon’s companion app, and much more.

Elsewhere, you can always choose to hook up a USB flash drive and print directly from there, saving the need for additional devices. With an automatic document feeder and easy-to-fill ink bottles, the Canon Pixma MegaTank G7020 is all about convenience while also being fast too. If you need to print a lot and frequently, you can’t go wrong with this purchase.

When are the best printer deals?

You might need a new printer straight away, especially if your existing set up has just died and you need to get printing once more. We don’t blame you if you dive straight into a purchase and skip wondering when the best printer deals are. It might seem like a good idea to wait for sales seasons, but that means you can’t print anything in the meantime. That could be a huge problem for you and your productivity levels. If you’re willing to wait though, there are a few best times of the year for the best deals.

Prime Day is the one of the biggest sales events of the year. It started out as an Amazon exclusive event to celebrate the founding of the company but it’s become much bigger than that. That’s because many other retailers have got in on the act. During Prime Day, you’ll often see big discounts across many retailers like Best Buy and Walmart, as well as Amazon. It almost always runs sometime during the summer, usually in July barring any schedule disruptions.

If you’re willing to wait even longer, there’s always Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Traditionally the biggest and best sales event of the year, both events occur around the Thanksgiving weekend so you’ll need to wait until late November to see what the sales can offer. Often, stock is strictly limited around this time with retailers often running low on stock when it comes to the best deals available. There’s also the fact that during the holiday season, your spending is likely to be quite high. It’s likely you’ll be budgeting for gift purchases for loved ones as well as possibly a trip away. A printer isn’t exactly the most exciting purchase to make at a time like this.

While big sales events typically discount technology like printers extensively, you have a while to wait to save big. Printing often isn’t something you can delay so you might need to buy one immediately. If so, pick out the best deal now and don’t worry about delaying. Also, there’s no guarantee that the discounts during sales events are that much bigger than they are right now. Sometimes, sales events are all about the hype rather than genuinely great discounts. If you really need a new printer, we won’t blame you if you buy it now. You’ll still save and you get all the benefits right now.

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