Best Ink Tank Printers of 2023

Get to know some of the top-rated refillable ink tank printers from Epson, Canon, Brother and HP.

For years, consumers have griped about the high price of printer cartridges — specifically inkjet cartridges. To address this consumer pain point, companies like Epson, Brother, HP, and Canon have introduced printers that make use of ink tanks which hold much more ink than standard ink cartridges.  Ink tank printers have slowly grown to become one of the most cost-effective printing solutions available today, capable of printing thousands of pages at a savings of up to 80% compared to standard inkjet printers.

Just like shopping for any printer, there are certain considerations you need to know about when shopping for an ink tank printer. We’ve rounded up the best ink tank printers for homes and offices alike in this guide, plus we will explain exactly how ink tanks work and cover all of the most common ink tank FAQs too.  To learn more about ink tanks, read on.

Click the links below to jump right to the best ink tank printers of 2023:

Best Ink Tank Printers at a Glance

Epson EcoTank Printers

Canon Megatank Printers

Brother Inkvestment Printers

HP Smart Tank Printers

How Ink Tanks Work

Ink tank printers have quickly become another affordable printing option, combining low operating costs with the same multi-function printer features you expect from the average inkjet machine. Instead of relying on printer cartridges to produce a print, ink tank printers use a refillable tank system and ink bottles to handle printing duties. Similar to filling up your gas tank, when your printer’s ink levels are running low, you need to fill the tank with the appropriate amount of ink from the bottle.

The printer’s continuous ink system delivers the ink via an airtight tube to the printhead. Ink bottles are a far more economical printing solution than many original brand printer cartridges due to their high ink capacity, offering thousands of prints at an incredibly low cost per page. 

The First Tank Printers

Epson’s EcoTank series was first to market back in 2015. Canon brought us the Megatank in 2017, Brother entered the game with an ink tank version of their popular Inkvestment printer line and HP first introduced the HP Smart Tank series in December 2019.

With this article, we compare a couple of popular models from each brand so you can determine which ink tank printer is right for you.

Who Should Use Ink Tank Printers?

Ink tank printers are ideal for those who print a lot on a daily basis. If you’re the type of user who only prints once a week, this might not be for you. But if you’re frustrated with having to replace ink cartridges weekly, ink tanks are the way to go.  As ink tank printers have grown in popularity, printer manufacturers have created an ink tank printer for almost every printing need you could think of.  There are inexpensive ink tank printers like the Epson EcoTank ET-2800 and Brother MFC-J995DW that are designed primarily for home users.  Pricier professional models built for small business, like the  Epson EcoTank Pro ET-5150 and Canon MAXIFY MegaTank GX6020.  And even ink tanks made specifically  for photo printing like the Epson EcoTank Photo ET-8500 and Canon PIXMA MegaTank G620.

How to Save on Ink Refills

Inkjet printers, ink tank or not, use a lot of ink. Just when you think it’ll be awhile before you have to refill a color, the empty light flashes. To cut down costs on ink refills, check out aftermarket alternatives. They provide the same print results at a lower price. Here’s a table that shows the price comparison of the two.

The disparity is glaringly obvious when you look at the cost per page of each cartridge. The cost per page is the more efficient way to measure how cost-effective an ink cartridge is.

The lower the CPP (cost per page), the better.

How to get the Cost per Page

Calculating the cost per page (CPP) differs for black and color ink bottles.

For the black ink bottles, simply take the price of the bottle and divide by the expected page yield.

black bottle cost per page = price per bottle / page yield

For color ink bottles, divide the price per ink bottle by the number of pages you can and multiply it by the number of color cartridges used by your printer.

color bottles cost per page = (price per bottle / page yield ) x 3 (most ink tank printers use cyan, magenta, and yellow)

To get the total CPP, simply add the CPP of the black to the CPP of the color ink bottles.

You can learn more about this calculation here.

Since aftermarket cartridges are typically cheaper in price, the CPP will almost always be lower.

We compare the cost per page of original brand ink with aftermarket alternatives on a table under each recommended ink tank printer below.

Commonly Asked Questions

Q: Are ink tank printers worth it?

A: Ink tank printers may cost more upfront than regular inkjet printers but they eventually pay off if you print a lot regularly. Ink tank printers come with larger ink reservoirs than regular cartridges so you refill ink cartridges much less, thus saving money on replacements.

Q: Are ink tank printers good for home use?

A: Yes, but only if you print regularly. Remember that ink tank printers still use ink which dry up when left unused and result in bothersome clogging problems. If you print once a week or less, we recommend you get a color laser printer instead.

Q: What is the difference between inkjet and ink tank printers?

A: Ink tank printers are inkjet printers; ink tank printers and regular inkjet printers both use the same technology that puts ink on paper. The only difference between an inkjet and ink tank printer is that:

• inkjet printers get ink from standalone cartridges, while –
• ink tank printers have larger ink reservoirs that supply ink into the cartridges through a tube. Ink reservoirs hold more volume of ink than standalone cartridges so they usually last longer and are a cheaper option for those who print frequently.

Q: Which is better: ink tank printer or laser printer?

A: On the topic of choosing between an ink tank printer vs a laser printer, it really depends on what you’ll be printing.

Laser printers are great for documents and medium-quality color prints. Inkjet or ink tank printers provide better color depth and variance in comparison to laser printers.

Print Quality: if you’ll be printing more documents, web files like recipes and articles–then a laser printer is still better. But if you’ll be printing photos or need to print impressively colored presentation materials, an ink tank would be better.

Print Economy: Laser printers and ink tank printers both have low operation costs. The only downside to ink tank printers is that if you don’t use the printer regularly, all that ink in the reservoir, cartridge, and tubes can dry up and cause clogging problems–just like any inkjet printer. Laser printers are better for those who don’t print as often.

Q: Does ink dry in ink tank printers?

A: Yes, just like how ink dries up in cartridges that are not used for extended periods of time, so can ink dry up in an ink tank printer. Ink tank printers are inherently still inkjet printers so it inherits the same problems.

If you run into ink clog problems, you can run the automatic printhead cleaning feature on your inktank printer or you can clean the printhead manually by following the steps in this article.

Another problem with inktank printers is that the ink in the cartridges seem to evaporate when left unused for a long time. This was the case when I left my MFC-J995DW printer unused for about one year. There was quite a bit of ink left last time it printed but when checked a year later, the cartridges had nearly anything in it. That’s another thing to consider if you’re thinking of owning an ink tank printer. 

Q: Why is my inktank printer not printing?

A: If your inktank printer sounds like it’s printing but prints nothing out onto paper, it may be that your printhead needs to be cleaned. To fix this, run the automatic printhead cleaning function of your printer. You can find this on your printer’s display. You might need to print a few times to clear out whatever’s clogging your printer’s printhead nozzles.

Also make sure that none of your ink tanks are running empty. If that still results in subpar print quality, try adjusting your print quality from Normal to High Quality. You can also try printing on the Glossy Paper setting (under Paper options) to see if that improves the print results.

Cons of Ink Tank Printers

Since ink tank printers are still at its core an inkjet printer, they are just as susceptible to the pitfalls of the technology, particularly when the nozzles or printhead get clogged up with dried ink. To keep your inkjet printer in shape, run the cleaning cycle once in awhile (though perhaps not too often as this is said to be a big waste of ink), or print a page to prevent ink from drying up and getting stuck in the nozzles — just as you would with a regular inkjet printer.

For ink tank printers, it is advisable that you use up the bottled ink within 6 months after opening. Since you’re dealing with a larger volume of ink, the possibility of ink coagulation is higher than with ink cartridges so it’s not good if you leave that amount of ink untouched for long periods of time.

A specific problem you might run into with ink tank printers are bubbles getting stuck in the tubing. When an ink bubble gets stuck in the tub, it can prevent the ink from flowing making printing impossible.

How to Get Rid of an Air Bubble

A hack to get rid of air bubbles in the tube is to use a syringe. Here are the steps:

Scenario. Let’s say you have an air bubble in the tube connecting the yellow ink tank to the yellow cartridge that’s connected to the printhead.

1. First, you take out the cartridges from the printhead. This might mean the entire container which holds all cartridges, but yes you take the whole thing out.
2. Remove the cap of the yellow ink tank.
3. Fit the tip of the syringe snugly into the nozzle of the yellow

   cartridge

   .

4. Pull the plunger of the syringe up so that the air is sucked out from the yellow tube.
5. Continue pulling up the plunger until all air bubbles are gone from the tube. You’ll usually see the ink travel from the tank to the tube to the cartridge and some of it into the syringe.
6. When some of the ink gets inside the syringe, you can be sure the bubbles are gone.

You can return some of the excess ink back by emptying the syringe into the ink tank.

Epson® EcoTank® Printers

Now on its third generation, the Ecotank series has come a long way since it was first introduced in 2015. The latest iteration of the series features six brand new printer models and a newly developed auto-stop ink bottle system that immediately stops filling when the tank reaches capacity. Older versions of the EcoTank series had the tank system attached to the side of printer.

Epson took a page from the Canon Megatank playbook and built the tank into the front of the machine with these newer models, making for a more compact, user-friendly design. Other worthy additions to the series include improved print speeds, larger paper capacities, and borderless photo printing. Their greatest selling point are of course the ink bottles, each printer includes enough ink to print thousands of color pages for pennies on the dollar.

Wireless and cloud printing services make it easy to print from your smartphone and a 100-sheet paper capacity accommodates pages up to 8.5”x14” in size.  Black text prints fast, clocking in at 10 ppm and color print speeds are decent at 5 ppm.  The printer is available in black and white and includes a 2.4″ color touchscreen display for easy navigation.

The printer uses four Epson 522 series ink bottles that are available in black, cyan, magenta and yellow.  The black ink bottle holds enough ink to print 4,500 pages and the color bottles print up to 7,500 pages each.

You can save money when you use third-party Epson 522 ink refills from LD Products. Find the price comparison below.

Price Comparison of Original Epson 522 Black vs LD Compatible

Each cyan, magenta, or yellow Epson 522 prints 6,000 pages each. See the price comparison for each original Epson 522 color bottle and a compatible Epson 522 color refill bottle. The price and cost per page indicated are for each color cartridge.

Price Comparison of Original Epson 522 C/M/Y vs LD Compatible

Epson WorkForce EcoTank ET-3750

At a slightly higher price point, the Workforce EcoTank ET-3750 offers many of the same functions as the ET-2720, mixed with a few nice-to-have upgrades like a 2.4” color LCD and 150-sheet paper tray.  Print speeds are upgraded too, with the black text coming in at 15 ppm and color prints offering 8 ppm.  Automatic dual-sided printing is another convenient plus; letting you easily print on both sides of the page in just one click.

The Epson 502 black prints up to 5,000 pages.

Ink Savings

Price comparison of Original Epson 502 Black and LD Compatible Epson 502

Each cyan, magenta, or yellow Epson 502 prints 6,000 pages each. See the price comparison for each original Epson 502 color bottle and a compatible Epson 502 color refill bottle. The price and cost per page indicated are for each color cartridge.

Price Comparison of Original Epson 502 C/M/Y and LD Compatible Epson 502

Epson Expression Premium ET-7750 Wide Format All-in-One

The Epson Expression Premium ET-7750 is one of the more expensive printers on our list, but its quick print speeds and five-color ink system make it a smart choice for quality photo printing.  Featuring speeds of 13 ppm for text and 8 ppm for color prints, this machine is one of the fastest ink tanks available. 

The printer accommodates 11″ x 17″ wide format pages via a rear paper feed. A built-in USB /memory card slots lets you upload pictures directly to the printer and a dedicated photo tray allows for easy photo printing. 

A pigment-based black ink bottle and four dye-based color ink bottles, including photo black, can handle a range of printing needs. 

The Epson 512 black ink bottle prints 8,000 pages and four color bottles print 5,000 pages apiece.

Ink Savings

Price Comparison of Original Epson 512 Black vs LD Compatible Ink Bottles

Price Comparison of Each Original Epson 512 Color vs LD Compatible

Price Comparison of Original Epson 512 Photo Black vs LD Compatible

Epson EcoTank Photo ET-8500 – Buy on Amazon

Ink tank printer fans have been requesting an EcoTank photo printer for years and in 2021, Epson finally delivered.  The EcoTank Photo ET-8500 was built specifically for creatives and even uses a new imaging system that was made for photo printing.  You’ll get lab quality photos in seconds with it’s 6 ink bottles, including a pigment black for text documents and 5 dye-based colors in photo-black, cyan, magenta, yellow and gray.  Copying, scanning and auto 2-sided printing come standard and the printer supports a wide range of media, including photo paper, presentation paper, art paper, cardstock and CD/DVDs. A built-in USB /memory card slots lets you upload pictures directly to the printer and a dedicated 20-sheet photo tray allows for easy photo printing.  It also includes 100-sheet front tray and a 50-sheet rear tray for other media types.

The Epson 552 black ink bottle prints 6,700 pages, the photo black prints 7,300 pages, the gray ink bottle prints up to 46,600 pages and the cyan, magenta and yellow bottles print up to 6,200 pages each.

Ink Savings

Price Comparison of Original Epson 552 Black vs LD Compatible Ink Bottles

Price Comparison of Each Original Epson 552 Color vs LD Compatible

Canon® Megatank Printers

The Megatank series is Canon’s answer to the Ecotank and touts many of the same cost-saving features.  A refillable ink tank system is built into the front of the printer, providing incredibly low operating costs by way of four color ink bottles.   A window in front of the tank offers a convenient visual on your ink levels and best of all, the ink won’t dry out once it’s installed inside the tank. 

Canon sells seven different printer models for this series.   Canon designed their ink bottles so the refill process is relatively spill proof.  Ink only comes out if you squeeze the bottle; if you accidentally tip it over, there is no mess!

Canon PIXMA G1220 Megatank

Canon’s G1220 is a single-function, print-only machine and the most basic model in the Megatank line.  Print speeds of up to 9 ppm for text and 5 ppm for color are a bit slow for everyday printing needs, but despite that, the printer still cranks out great looking prints and photos. 

Unfortunately, you cannot print wirelessly with this machine, which is a missed opportunity and a bit surprising considering Wi-fi is pretty much a given with most printers these days.  However, if you are okay printing directly via USB cable (like all printers did just a few years ago!) this printer is a solid investment.  It’s important to note that the printer does not come with a USB cable, so you will need to pick one up if you don’t have one already from a previous printer.  We have an affordable option on LDProducts.com here.

The G1220 uses four GI-21 ink bottles, with the black bottle printing up to 6,000 pages and each color bottle printing up to 7,700 pages.  It is also cheaper than the least expensive EcoTank, making it a great value for an entry-level ink tank machine. Since it is a new printer, LD-brand ink bottles are not available just yet, but we will update this article the moment that they are!

Below is a comparison of Canon ink price vs LD brand compatible ink.

Price Comparison of Canon GI-21 Black vs LD Compatibles

Price Comparison of Each Color Canon GI-21 vs LD Compatibles

Canon PIXMA G4210 Megatank

This ink tank produces superior photo prints!

The G4210 is the Megatank with all the extra bells and whistles and is recommended for those looking to get a printer that prints great photos.  Print, scan, copy, fax and wireless capabilities are all included and the perfect multifunction machine for the home office.

A 20-page automatic document feeder makes it easy to scan multiple documents with the push of a button.  Print speeds are on par with the G1200, coming in at 8.8 ppm for black and 5 ppm for color prints. Additionally, the printer is compatible with Airprint®, Google Cloud Print® and Canon Print app, allowing for a variety of instant printing options from any device.

The Canon G4210 uses GI-290 ink bottles to refill ink. You can get lower prices on ink refills with LD Products. Below, we compare the cost per page of OEM Canon refill bottles with LD’s compatible Canon ink bottles.

For the purposes of computing cost per page, A GI-290 black can print up to 6,000 pages and each color (C/M/Y) ink refill bottle can print up to 7,000 pages.

Ink Savings

Price Comparison of Canon GI-290 Black vs LD Compatibles

Price Comparison of Each Color Canon GI-290 vs LD Compatibles

Canon MAXIFY GX6020 Megatank

Buy on Amazon

Canon’s MAXIFY printer line is built for busy offices and the MAXIFY GX6020 MegaTank is their first ever business ready ink tank printer.  Ideal for workspaces of up to 20 people, it features fast print speeds of up to 24 ppm for black / 15.5 ppm for color and ultra-low running costs, with color prints averaging at less than 2 cents a page.  Although the GX6020 itself is expensive, the total cost of operation is cheaper than most inkjet printers and some entry-level color laser printers, so if your office needs cheap color prints, definitely consider this printer.  It also includes print / copy / scan functions, a 50-sheet automatic document feeder and a 350-sheet paper tray. 

Four pigment-based GI-26 ink bottles deliver a great value, with the black ink bottle printing up to 6,000 pages and the color ink bottles printing up to 14,000 pages each.

Ink Savings

Price Comparison of Canon GI-26 Black vs LD Compatibles

Price Comparison of Each Color Canon GI-26 vs LD Compatibles

Brother® Inkvestment Printers

Brother’s Inkvestment printer line appeared a few years ago and has been widely accepted by consumers thanks to low operating costs and all-in-one printing capabilities.  The Brother Inkvestment Ink Tank printer model is their latest addition to the series, combining the cost-saving features of an ink tank machine with the familiar functionality and cartridge handling of an everyday inkjet printer.  Rather than fill the tank with an ink bottle, the Brother Inkvestment Ink Tank uses cartridges to transfer ink to the tank. 

Some consumers have understandably been apprehensive about the idea of filling up their printer with an ink bottle, and with the Inkvestment they no longer have to be.  Installing an ink tank cartridge is just like installing a regular Brother cartridge and clicks directly into the ink tank system.  Cartridges are clear so you can easily monitor ink levels and a page gauge monitor on the front of the printer automatically tracks those levels by estimating your remaining page use.

Brother® MFC-J995DW Inkvestment

Brother announced the InkVestment Ink Tank series a couple years ago and they now sell a few printers under this name.  The MFC-J995DW is a worthwhile addition to the expanding printer line, offering the usual print, copy, fax and scan options, all accessible via an easy to use 2.7” color touchscreen.

Although the page yield of the Brother LC3033 cartridges used by the J995DW printer model is slightly lower compared to some of the other ink tank printers we mentioned, the printer has other advantages going for it, like automatic two-sided printing and near field technology capabilities.

The Brother LC3033 ink tank cartridges are super economical, but the LC3035 even more so! A ultra-high yield LC3035 black cartridge prints approximately 6,000 pages and each ultra high yield Brother LC3035 color cartridge prints 5,000 pages. 

Both LC3033 and LC3035 are compatible for use with the Brother MFC-J995DW.

We use the ultra high yield page yields when computing the CPP (cost per page) of OEM Epsons vs LD compatible cartridges.

Price Comparison of Original Brother LC3035 Black vs Compatible LD LC3035 Ink

Price Comparison of Original Brother LC3035 Color vs Compatible LD Cartridges

 

HP Smart Tank Printers

HP finally jumped on the ink tank bandwagon in December 2019 with the release of their HP Smart Tank series and recently  upgraded the series in Fall 2021.  The printers aren’t much different function-wise to the Epson EcoTank or Canon MegaTank.  They also use high volume ink bottles with super low operating costs but the upfront cost of the printer is more expensive, so unless you prefer HP, you may be able to save a little more money going with an Epson or Canon.

HP Smart Tank 7001 – Buy on Amazon

Our favorite printer is the HP Smart Tank 7001, which offers print / copy / scan  functions and convenient auto two-sided printing.  It uses an HP 32XL black bottle that prints up to 6,000 pages and 3 HP 31 color ink bottle that print 8,000 pages a piece. Despite the inexpensive ink there are a couple drawbacks like a small display screen and average print speeds.  At just 15 ppm in black and a meager 9 ppm in color, big print jobs can be time consuming.  Regardless, users that are laser focused on long lasting ink should be able to overlook these points and find satisfaction in the ink savings.

Ink Savings

Price Comparison of HP 32XL Black vs LD Compatibles

Price Comparison of Each Color HP 31 vs LD Compatibles

Closing

We hope you found our quick compilation of ink tanks from different brands. If you have any questions or need any help selecting the right ink tank for your printing needs, simply leave us a comment and we’ll get back to you!

 

*Savings based on price comparison between remanufactured/compatible cartridge prices on www.LDProducts.com and OEM cartridge and printer prices from the listed retailers: Amazon, Staples, Brother, Canon, HP and Epson.  All products are reviewed independently. As an Amazon associate, LD Products earns from qualifying purchases through links on this page.  All prices effective as of December 20, 2022.  OEM names are registered trademarks of their respective owners and are not affiliated with, and do not endorse LD Products.