Is it cheaper to buy a printer or use a print shop for occasional printing? The £50 inkjet in the supermarket looks like a bargain — until the cartridges cost more than the printer and dry out between uses. I’ve done the maths both ways, and for genuinely occasional printing, the answer surprised me.

Here’s the honest breakdown.

Is It Cheaper to Buy a Printer or Use a Print Shop?

The printer’s real cost: a budget inkjet is £50–£80, but the included “starter” cartridges print a fraction of normal ones — sometimes as few as 100 pages. Replacement cartridge sets run £25–£45, and inkjets waste ink on cleaning cycles and dry out if unused for weeks. Real-world cost per page for occasional inkjet use: 10–20p per page, sometimes worse.

The print shop’s cost: high-street print shops, libraries (often 10–20p/page), and online print services charge roughly 5–15p per black-and-white page, more for colour. Supermarket self-service printers similar. So per page, it’s comparable — but with zero upfront cost, zero dried cartridges, and zero “printer not found” rage.

Break-even maths: if a printer costs £60 and you print 100 pages a year, that’s 60p/page in year one before ink. At print-shop rates, 100 pages costs £5–£15. You’d need to print 400–600 pages a year before owning beats the print shop — and that’s assuming cartridges don’t dry out between uses, which for occasional printers they absolutely do. How Do I Make My Old Tablet Run Faster for My Kids to Use

The Hidden Costs of Printer Ownership

It’s not just money. Printers demand space, maintenance, and patience. Inkjets punish infrequent use: print heads clog, cleaning cycles guzzle ink, and firmware updates seem timed to annoy. I’ve watched a £70 printer consume £90 of cartridges in a year printing perhaps 80 pages — over £1 a page in practice.

The laser exception: if you must own, a basic mono laser printer (£80–£120) changes the maths. Toner doesn’t dry out, cost per page is 2–4p, and lasers sit unused for months then just work. For occasional black-and-white printing (forms, tickets, documents), a cheap laser is the only home printer I’d recommend. Colour lasers cost more upfront but share the reliability.

Ink tank printers (Epson EcoTank etc., £200+) slash ink costs to fractions of a penny per page — brilliant for high-volume homes, overkill for 100 pages a year. Don’t buy one “to save on ink” if you barely print; the upfront cost never pays back. Which? printer reviews and running-cost comparisons

• Under ~400 pages/year, print shops win on cost
• Inkjet cartridges dry out — the #1 occasional-printer tax
• Mono laser printers are the only sensible home option
• Real inkjet cost per page: 10–20p (or worse)
• Libraries often print at 10–20p per page

Making the Print Shop Route Work

Print-shop printing is easiest with a bit of system. Libraries are the unsung heroes — most UK libraries offer printing at 10–20p/page, often with wifi printing from your phone. High-street print shops handle anything fancy (binding, large format, same-day). Online services post documents to you cheaply if you’re not in a hurry.

Keep a “to print” folder on your phone or email — batch your printing into monthly trips instead of one urgent dash. And for the truly occasional single page (a returns label, a form), many workplaces, friends with printers, or even the Post Office counter can help.

My verdict after years of both: unless you print weekly, skip the printer. The money saved buys a lot of library printing, and you’ll never again spend a Sunday afternoon coaxing a clogged print head back to life. The printer industry’s business model is selling you cheap hardware and expensive ink — occasional printers are its favourite victims. How Do I Set Up Parental Controls on a Family iPad GOV.UK on public library services

The Ink Subscription Wrinkle: HP Instant Ink and Friends

Printer makers now push ink subscriptions (HP Instant Ink, Epson ReadyPrint): £2–£10/month for a page allowance, ink posted automatically. For regular low-volume users they’re decent value — but read the terms: unused pages usually don’t roll over (or roll over capped), and the printer stops working if you cancel with subscription cartridges installed (the cartridges are deactivated remotely — yes, really).

For genuinely occasional printers, subscriptions are a trap: you pay monthly for months you print nothing, and the “cheap” plan evaporates the moment you have one busy month. The maths only works if your printing is consistent month to month — which occasional printing, by definition, isn’t. Occasional printer + subscription = paying for the privilege of owning a printer that judges you. Stick with the print shop.

Quick Tips

• Print shops win below ~400 pages per year
• Ink dries out — occasional use is inkjet’s worst case
• If you must buy: cheap mono laser, not inkjet
• Libraries are the cheapest convenient option
• Batch printing into monthly trips

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does it cost to print at a UK library?

Typically 10–20p per black-and-white A4 page, more for colour. Most libraries offer wifi printing from phones and laptops.

Why does my inkjet always run out so fast?

Starter cartridges hold little ink, cleaning cycles waste ink, and infrequent use causes drying and clogging — all of which inflate the real cost per page.

What’s the cheapest printer to run?

Ink tank printers have the lowest per-page cost but high upfront prices. For occasional use, a basic mono laser (£80–£120) is the sweet spot of reliability and running cost.

Are supermarket compatible ink cartridges any good?

Often perfectly fine — reputable compatible brands work well in most printers at a third of the price. Avoid the absolute cheapest unbranded ones (leak risk), and note some printer firmware updates deliberately block compatibles. For occasional use, compatibles slash the running cost.

The Bottom Line

For genuinely occasional printing, the print shop (or library) wins — no upfront cost, no dried cartridges, no maintenance Sundays. You’d need to print 400+ pages a year before owning makes financial sense. And if you do buy, make it a mono laser: the only home printer that tolerates being ignored for months. How Can I Speed Up an Old Laptop Without Buying a New One