Best cheap printers for home 2024: Tried and tested devices for under £150
Printing the occasional document or photo shouldn’t be tricky, yet choosing a printer can be completely baffling.
You know you want easily read text and have crisp graphics, but do you prefer inkjet or laser? Do you need the printer to have a built-in scanner or just deliver documents as quickly as possible with no bells or whistles? And will you be forking out hundreds for replacement cartridges once you’ve committed?
Inkjet printers are the most popular option for home use, and tend to be cheaper to buy upfront. They print using hundreds of tiny ink dots on the page – the higher the dots per inch (dpi), the better quality the printing. Inkjet printers tend to be a little slower than laser printers and usually use ink cartridges, which need replacing regularly and can be expensive.
Laser printers use a fine powdered toner instead of ink. Lasers beam an image of the document you want to print onto a photo-sensitive drum, which transfers the information to paper with toner powder using wizardry (aka static electricity). The toner needs replacing less often than ink making laser printers a popular choice for offices, where more printing is required at faster speeds.
Most printers will connect to your device wirelessly now but if you only plan on printing from one computer and are looking to cut costs, wired options can work out cheaper. Otherwise, a wireless printer will mean you can also print from a smartphone or tablet. If you’re planning
