Skip to content   Skip to footer navigation 

Inkjet and laser printers to avoid

Buying a printer for your home office? Avoid these models that scored lowest in our lab tests. 

printer printing out sad face
Last updated: 19 March 2024

Need to know

  • Our experts tested 87 inkjet and laser printers from brands like Canon, Epson, Brother, HP and more
  • We assess printers for print quality, printing speed, ease of use, power consumption and yearly ink and toner costs
  • Become a CHOICE member to read our full reviews and test results

With so many models, features and costs to consider, buying a printer can be confusing. 

Plus, it's not as if you can try before you buy instore – if only you could rock up and print your holiday photos or kids' homework for a test run!

That's why we've been testing printers for years – so you know what you're getting before you buy. 

Our lab experts reviewed 87 popular models, assessing key factors including print quality, speed, scanning and copying, yearly ink and toner costs, power consumption and ease of use.

Scott Okeefe testing Printers

Fresh prints: We test 80-plus printer models.

In the process, we've uncovered some impressive printers (spoiler alert: they're not always expensive) alongside some seriously average performers. 

We don't want you to end up with a dud buy, so here are the products that scored lowest in our lab tests. Consider becoming a CHOICE member to see the best performers.

Running costs

A quick word before we delve into the printers to avoid...

Along with testing print quality, speed and more, our experts also calculate running costs for each printer. We look at how much it costs to print a text page, a graphics page and a photo page, plus how much you'll spend on ink and toner over a year. 

For the calculations, we've estimated what the average person would print in a year: 1000 mono prints, 250 colour prints and 250 full-colour photo prints. 

Want to know more? Here's how we test printers.

Inkjet printers to avoid

hp deskjet 4122e

This HP will truly drink your ink.

HP DeskJet 4122e

  • CHOICE Expert Rating: 58%
  • Price: $87
  • Yearly ink/toner cost: $1110

Yes, you read that correctly: this HP costs more than 12 times as much in ink each year as it does to buy in the first place. 

We thought the Canon Pixma below was bad, but then this HP arrived at the party and said "hold my ink".

We thought the Canon Pixma below was bad, but then this HP arrived at the party

If you're thinking of buying this printer to save money on photo printing, don't: it'll cost you $2.25 per print. And over three years, you'll be out of pocket a grand total of $3417, thanks to the purchase price and ink and toner costs. 

Not to mention that it'll need constant attention – its main tray holds fewer than 100 sheets, and it'll only print 115 pages of text before you need to replace the cartridges. By comparison, other printers will deliver 300-plus pages, with some into the thousands.

Unfortunately, millions of printer cartridges are thrown away each year, so not only will you be putting your hand in your pocket more often if you buy this HP printer, you'll also be putting more waste into landfill if you don't recycle them. 

It's not great at basically all the things you buy a multifunction printer for

It scored poorly in almost every single test we ran: 29% for ink wastage, 44% for printing speed, 46% for copying...

It did perform well when we analysed its networking capabilities and power consumption, but it's not great at basically all the things you buy a multifunction printer for.

Want to know more? Read the full HP DeskJet 4122e review.

canon pixma ts3160

This Canon takes 54 seconds to start up... and then prints poorly.

Canon Pixma TS3160

  • CHOICE Expert Rating: 60%
  • Price: $57
  • Yearly ink/toner cost: $287

Highlighting the cheap printer trap, this Canon will cost you $57 – and then five times that in ink for a year of use. 

That said, $287 is actually a low amount compared with thirstier models out there, but it can still be a nasty surprise.

As the second-lowest scoring printer overall in our test, this model's chief sins are poor print quality (it scored 43%) and pretty ordinary copying (55%). 

Highlighting the cheap printer trap, this Canon will cost you $57 – and then five times that in ink for a year of use

It does have some saving graces – it scores well for print speed and scanning – but it's undone by woeful ink wastage.

It also takes a finger-drumming 54 seconds to start printing after being switched on, so you'll be left like Cinderella at Officeworks, bemoaning "some day my prints will come". 

Read our full Canon Pixma TS3160 review.

hp deskjet 3720

Low price, low print quality, high running costs: the HP Deskjet 3720.

HP Deskjet 3720

  • CHOICE Expert Rating: 61%
  • Price: $59
  • Yearly ink/toner cost: $1278

At $59, this HP printer might seem like a steal – until you realise how expensive it is to print from. 

Our tech experts estimate that it will cost you an epic $1278 in ink each year (based on our average-use scenario).

For that amount of upkeep, you'd expect immaculate printing results, but sadly this printer doesn't deliver: it scored just 58% for printing quality and 43% for printing speed.

Sadly this printer doesn't deliver: it scored just 58% for printing quality and 43% for printing speed

One good point is that it can print from mobile devices by Wi-Fi, which is just as well – it's so noisy that you wouldn't want to be sitting next to it while it prints.

Read the full HP Deskjet 3720 review.

Black and white laser printers to avoid

hp laserjet pro m404dn

The HP Laserjet Pro M404dn will deliver poor-quality prints, pronto.

HP Laserjet Pro M404dn

  • CHOICE Expert Rating: 63%
  • Price: $445
  • Yearly ink/toner cost: $92

It may have excellent print speed and very low ink/toner costs, but this black and white printer will use 336 Watts of energy when printing, which isn't exactly small.

While it'll give you your prints pronto, they'll leave you disappointed

And while it'll give you your prints pronto, they'll leave you disappointed – our experts rated this model's print quality at just 52%. 

Read our full HP Laserjet Pro M404dn review.

hp laserjet m110we

Low price, low print quality: the HP LaserJet M110we.

HP LaserJet M110we

  • CHOICE Expert Rating: 67%
  • Price: $159
  • Yearly ink/toner cost: $179

If you're only printing in black and white, this is a much cheaper option than the $445 model above. 

And it did perform slightly better on a number of our tests, turning out marginally better quality prints – but scoring just 63%, they're still nothing to write home about.

It's cheap but won't leave you cheerful – there are better buys to be had at similar prices

It takes a full minute to start up, and once it gets there you'll probably find it painful to use: our experts rated it as just 'OK' for everyday tasks like setup, installation, printing standard documents and photographs, plus handling paper jams and replacing ink cartridges. 

In short, it's cheap but won't leave you cheerful. There are better buys to be had at similar prices, so check our review to find the best laser printers we've tested.

Read the full HP LaserJet M110we review.

brother hl l5100dn

Oh, brother: the HL-L5100DN is cheap but not cheerful.

Brother HL-L5100DN

  • CHOICE Expert Rating: 67%
  • Price: $259
  • Annual ink/toner cost: $73

It's easy, speedy and cheap to use, but that's about all we can commend this mono laser printer on. 

You may get low-price prints, but they'll also be low-rent in quality. And if you want to print off a quick document from your phone, you can forget it: it won't talk to your mobile devices by Wi-Fi. 

It's easy, speedy and cheap to use, but that's about all we can commend this mono laser printer on

Other Brother printers will give you better performance and better features for a similar price, so give this one a miss. 

Read the full Brother HL-L5100DN review

The colour laser printer to avoid

You'll pay more for a laser printer that turns out colour documents and photos, so it's extra important to make sure you're spending your money wisely. 

Our experts recommend just one colour laser printer from our tests, so if you don't shop carefully it's easy to pick up a mediocre model. 

There's one in particular that's best deleted from your shopping list:

hp colour laserjet pro 4201dn

If you want to live your life in full colour, you can do better than this HP.

HP Colour LaserJet Pro 4201dn

  • CHOICE Expert Rating: 70%
  • Price: $607
  • Yearly ink/toner costs: $586

Even though 70% is a good score, there are a few reasons that the HP isn't a great performer.

It's relatively costly to run and you'll pay $1.55 per photo, which is a lot for the decidedly ordinary pics this printer turns out. 

You'll pay $1.55 per photo, which is a lot for the decidedly ordinary pics this printer turns out

It's also one of those annoying machines that won't print at all when the black ink has run out. And if you were hoping to save by buying generic ink cartridges, think again: it'll only take genuine HP cartridges. 

Read the full HP Colour LaserJet Pro 4201dn review

Which type of printer should you buy?

Before you start shopping around, it's vital to consider how you plan to use your new printer. 

"Printers can be quite specialised these days, from cheaper models aimed at only occasional use, to ink-tank (not cartridge) models designed for high output at low cost per page, plus models designed to print high-quality photos," says Steve Duncombe, CHOICE Computer editor. 

It's important to be realistic about what sort of printing you are likely to do most, and what features are essential for you

Steve Duncombe, CHOICE Computer editor

"Then there are the multifunction printer models that have a wide range of extra features, from scanning and copying to faxing (yes, people still do this!) and more. 

"So it's important to be realistic about what sort of printing you are likely to do most, and what features are essential for you, and do your homework to find the right sort of printer to do that job – which is where our printer buying guide comes in."

timing prints to check printer speed closeup

Need for speed: Our lab test measures how quickly a printer can print.

7 tips to save money on ink and toner

Don't just look at the upfront cost of a printer before you buy, our experts warn. 

"Ink is usually a bigger component of total cost than the printer itself," says tech content producer Ben Bridges

Ben shares seven hot tips to avoid spending too much on printer ink:

1. Remember that inkjet cleaning cycles use more ink

Inkjets have to keep the jets clear, which they do with a cleaning cycle if the printer hasn't been used recently, or has been switched off. This uses up ink, which adds to the cost of ownership. Laser printers don't have to do this.

2. Don't assume it's cheaper to buy a new printer

People sometimes look at the price of the printer and the price of ink – and think it's cheaper to buy a new printer. It generally isn't: new printers nearly always come with a reduced supply of ink, so you won't be getting the full complement. 

And of course there's the environmental impact of replacing an entire printer, rather than just buying a new ink cartridge. 

3. Check whether you can use compatible inks

Some printers prevent you from using 'compatible' inks that are generally much cheaper than the manufacturer's ones. They're now obliged to include a statement on the box that they don't work with compatible inks – you might want to avoid these printers.

4. Consider a CISS printer

On a positive note, there are now plenty of CISS (continuous ink supply system) printers that let you refill their cartridges from bottles. They're much cheaper to run, but more expensive to buy – another trade-off. 

5. Avoid single 'colour' cartridges

There are a few printers with a single 'colour' cartridge, so when one colour runs out, you have to replace the whole cartridge. These printers are best avoided. 

6. Beware false predictions about remaining toner

An inkjet printer can tell exactly how much ink is left in an inkjet cartridge (by shining a light through it). But lasers have no real way of measuring the toner left. So they just count the pages printed and tell you you're running out when the number comes up. In actual fact, you may not be.

7. Don't let your photos fade away

If you want to print photos, you really need special photo ink. Magenta and cyan both fade in the light, so if you stick your photos to the front of the fridge, for example, they'll eventually turn yellow. 

Our laser and inkjet printer reviews let you see how much a printer will cost you in toner and ink each year, plus how much ink they use for cleaning – and much more. 

We care about accuracy. See something that's not quite right in this article? Let us know or read more about fact-checking at CHOICE.

Stock images: Getty, unless otherwise stated.