Best Inkjet Printers in India - Reviews and Comparison 2021

Ink and laser are the two categories in which a printer is usually differentiated. However, under ‘ink’ type, we further have two categories, i.e. inkjet and ink tank printers.

Inkjet printers have a place for direct cartridge through which the ink is supplied whereas an ink tank printer comes with a large ink tank-like reservoir which continuously supplies ink to the printer.

On the one hand, ink tanks are traditional, and on the other hand, inkjet is a more modern type. Undoubtedly, the ink tank is preferred due to the continuous supply of ink, but, inkjet printers are more convenient when it comes to handling the ink. 

Both types of printers have their own minus plus especially from a cost point of view. The cartridge printers are cheaper due to the old style of machinery, but they can prove heavy on your pockets. While, ink tank printers, may cost a tad bit higher on the machine, but they are comfortable for ink refills.

There are three types of ink cartridges, namely two, four and inkwell. A printer comes with any one of them.

• Two ink cartridges: A printer with this type has room for one black cartridge and an all-in-one colour cartridge.

• Four ink cartridges: This includes a black cartridge, and three separate cartridges for cyan, magenta, and yellow. It is famous by the name - CMYK colour model.

• Inkwells: Printers with inkwell does use cartridges but draws the ink from large, refillable wells.

Of course, out of the three, inkwells proves to be the most economical in the long run.

The network connectivity of the printer matters. Earlier printers had USB ports or the ethernet for connectivity purpose. However, the Wi-Fi networking option is the new demand in the market as it offers convenience. Such a printer can be configured to operate securely in a network area with wireless capabilities. Most of the routers come with a WPS setup function, and an all-in-one function printer with a WPS setup only makes configuring the printing machine easy. Another solution, which is not as good as wireless but certainly better than the wired printer, is picking a printer that has a built-in network card. This can be connected to a network’s available port, and then there is no need to share the printer from a network PC.

As per our research, we believe that a printer must have a speed of printing at least five colour pages per minute and ten black-and-white pages per minute. Waiting for too long for a page getting printed is not only frustrating but also reduces productivity.

Printing speed depends on ceratin factors including what you are printing (text or images), what cartridges you are using (black or colour), the type of paper you are using and the quality of the print. Whatever be the case but a thing that is sure is, the text documents on a “grayscale” printer setting prints is much faster than a full-colour photo demanding high resolution. 

Print speed is either measured in ppm or ipm. Ppm refers to “pages per minute”, and ipm stands for “images per minute”.  They sound similar, but their calculation is slightly different.  Ppm means the print speed of a standard page of text – graphics. Its total doesn’t include time taken to print complex images.  Images per minute, on the other hand, is more accurate as it uses the same standard set of MS Word, Excel and Adobe test pages in its calculation. 

Print quality is measured in dpi, i.e. dots per inch. It refers to the density of dots that can be printed in one inch. More dots printed per inch means high-resolution text or image.

According to us, the minimum resolution for a black-and-white is 600 x 600 dpi. Whereas, a black-and-white printer with resolutions of 2400 x 1200 will produce high-quality print. Speaking of the colour, 1200 x 1200 dpi is the minimum requirement. And to get the best-coloured printout, look for a printer with a resolution of 4800 x 2400.

A duty cycle means the maximum number of pages that a printer can print in a month. A home printer is good enough if it has a duty cycle of 5000 pages. However, for office use, you need a high duty cycle printer which has a high range of about 20,000 to 25,000-pages.

A printer with a duplexing feature can print paper on both sides simultaneously. Although duplexing is a common feature, its availability in budget-friendly products is not much. The duplexing feature ensures hassle-free printing and saves your time as you don’t have to flip the page and re-insert it manually. The feature is useful, especially when you are printing in batches.

Besides the auto-duplexing feature, get a printer that also has an Automatic Document Feeder (ADF). The name says it all; this feature proves to be beneficial when you are running batch photocopies or prints as it will detect the paper automatically and use it.

You can make the most of the memory card slot by ensuring that the card slot is compatible with your memory card(s). We say so because memory slot specifications vary greatly, and older-style memory cards hardly work with the latest multifunction printer models.

All printers can accommodate legal-sized regular paper, but for specific papers like cardstock, index cards, or envelopes, you need a printer that can print on these particular papers. Also, you need to consider the paper size. If you want to print on large paper, don’t buy a small printer.

When you are buying a multi-functional printer, then the size of the scanner and copying machine also matters. The printer might be enough to print on large paper, but it could be capable of scanning or copying small sized documents. Therefore, get a high-end all-in-one printing machine that has a separate scanner feeding tray on the top. You can use it to scan large size papers and also, scan them all into a single PDF file.

Yield refers to the total number of pages a printer can print when the cartridge is fully loaded, or the ink tank reservoir is completely filled. An ideal yield number is at least 1000 pages, be it black & white or coloured print. However, compact and budget-friendly printer models can give you even a 500-page yield, and that works well for minor requirements.

Printer inks are expensive, and before you know it, it is time to purchase. In fact, for most people ink (inkjet or ink tank printer) or toner (laser printer) replacement is a pain point for the printer. Therefore, ink replacement cost is vital to take into consideration while buying a printer.

As discussed above, the ink-based printer is either an inkjet or ink tank printer. In an inkjet printer, if the cartridges run low, take it out and replace it with another. Whereas, in the ink tank printer, you have to refill the tank. Ink tank printers is a bit high priced, but it has low ink replacement cost.

With evolving technology, the cost of printing is coming down. You can get a print at a price as low as 4 or even 5 paise. Calculating the cost-per-page is easy. You have to compare the ink cost with the yield expected from the ink cartridge. Simply, divide the cost of the cartridge by the expected yield to calculate the cost-per-page.

There are other factors as well that can help you in saving some bucks. For example, not just the type of cartridge, but its brand also matters. Similarly, choose a refillable cartridge as that will facilitate saving. You should ask yourself, how much it will cost if the printer breaks down, or how much energy will the printer use.

While buying any electronics or tech-related product, ‘ease of use’ should be considered. After all, you are buying it to make things easier for you and save time and not to spend time on learning its functioning every time you use it.

When it comes to printer, you want a smooth ride from installation to troubleshooting. Therefore, check for a few things like if it can easily load media and have an automatic document feeder. Furthermore, is the ink tank refilling procedure hassle-free and things don’t mess up at the time of ink filling in the ink tanks. It is an ideal printer if it has simple buttons and if it can print in just a single command.

Today printers are smart enough to have mobile accessibility. The mobile accessibility feature gives you more control on your printer, and you can have a printout just at a tap of your mobile. Moreover, the modern-day wireless ink printers have mobile phone compatibility, which makes things easier. Brands come with their own applications, and you can operate your printer using them, or you can also use a third-party app.

The display screen is a good-to-have feature as having a screen helps you to use the printer more efficiently and with more access. 

Not just the shape and size, but the weight of the printer also determine the portability of a printer. If you have small space reserved for the printer, get a compact version printer. In that case, you may have to let go of the scanner and copier functionality. Similarly, if the area for the printer is not designated, pick a lightweight printing machine.

Printers don’t come at a low price, therefore, when you are putting such huge money than why not buy a machine that does more than printing?

The multi-functional printer, also known as, all-in-one function printer takes a few more jobs than printing which includes scan, copy and fax. A printer with standard printer functions can limit your purpose and usage. However, if you already have a machine specifically serving your fax, copy or scan purpose, only then it is worth buying a printer which performs only printing task.

Most printers come with a minimum of a 1-year warranty. One year is acceptable as long as the company provides you with the required and instant support. Your print can get stuck, or it might need a sudden troubleshoot, or the ink cartridge can cause a problem. 

Regarding customer service, you can know best about it from the customer reviews available on Amazon or other best e-commerce site.

Nothing beats a coloured image produced by an inkjet printer. However, invest in a good-quality inkjet printer- the one with no less than six ink pots. You can find such printers from brands like Epson and Canon. Cheap inkjet printers use a lot of ink as their cartridges have room for a small amount of ink. You end up using so much ink that very soon you out-price your printer.

Inkjet printers are ideal for students, home use and small office needs. If you need a printer for printing the documents, a laser printer is better. They are fast and perfect for high volume printing. You can use an inkjet printer for bulk printing, but that would be incredibly expensive due to often ink replacement need.

Laser printers have improved with time giving quality photo prints, but they are not at par with inkjet printers. Since you are professional, get a professional photo inkjet printer for the best image quality.

• Occasionally print documents and coloured images.

• Often print a lot of high-resolution coloured images. However, in this case, look for cheaper ink cartridge replacements.

• Print on other paper types besides the typical printer paper.

The critical difference between the two types of ink printer is their printing capacity. Inkjet printers come with ink cartridges, and they are right for minimal or regular printing. Whereas, ink tank printers are suitable for high usage printing. If your needs include printing loads and loads of documents or photos, go with ink tank printer.

Yes, you can do so if your camera and printer can be connected using Wi-Fi. Simply, link the printer to your camera using Wi-Fi and print as many photos as you want.

Yes, wireless printers sometimes slow down the Wi-Fi network, and, in a few cases, even the router can downgrade.

• Cost-effective printing.

• Easy instructions and operation.

• Fast printing.

• Quieter as compared to dot matrix.

• High-quality pictures.

• Detailed printing.

• Multifunctions- scan, copy, or fax. 

Paper jam is a common issue in all types of printers. Paper jam does not necessarily mean that your printer needs replacement or repairment. It can happen due to other reasons like the use of thick paper or papers are not correctly placed in the input tray.

Gone are those days when the colour ink used to be too expensive. Today, that rate of colour ink is close to the price of black-and-white ink. It is better to buy a colour printer, and if you need to do some savings on ink, take a black-and-white printout.

Evidently, you will save a lot if you buy a multi-function printer rather than buying separate machines for printing, scanning, faxing and copying. Also, multifunction printers are more cost-effective from the maintenance point of view and just need one power source, helping you to reduce the energy costs.

Yes. Multifunction printers have been made using new technology, and therefore, they are faster than traditional printers. Not just printing task, but they can perform scanning, copying and faxing quickly.

Multifunction or all-in-one function printers are available in several shape and size in the Indian market. You can choose as per the area available in your home or office. However, no matter how big or small a multifunction printer is, it will always consume less space than four separate devices for printing, scanning, faxing, and copying.

Things have changed now. Today's electronics are designed to be safe even if you left them on for the whole day, and it includes printers. However, leaving a device on for 24/7 does consume a lot of electricity, irrespective of the device. Power adaptors are notorious for using more power than the device itself.

Ink cartridges do dry out if they are left unused for an extended period. Running a small print job every week is the ideal solution here as that keeps the cartridge primed. To keep all cartridges prime, run a print job with all cartridge colours. Another way to prime your cartridge is by running the printhead cleaning function on the printer. You may need to do this more number of times to get the best results.

With Wi-Fi Direct, there is no need to use a router as a medium. Ultimately, there are less set up steps, and you can easily connect all your devices directly to your printer. You will be independent of the router’s signal for printing.

You need an app that is compatible with both your device and the operating system on your smartphone. Different printer brand has different apps. Also, check the app available on the OS platform that your smartphone and tablet support.

Yes. The app can be used as a remote control for the printer. You can switch the printer on/off or change its settings using the application. On some models, the app provides you information like the best cartridges and the ink toner levels, without having to open the printer. High-end printer models even let you scan documents on your phone, convert them into PDFs or JPEGs that you can further print on your printer.

No, an internet connection is required in the case of cloud printing. For a Wi-Fi printer, you need a Wi-Fi router and no active internet connection.

• Be safe

If you are going to open the printer due to any reason, make sure it is switched off. This will prevent both you and the printer from any damage.

• Printer place

Don’t put your printer in any open space. For the best performance, put it in a place that gets plenty of ventilation. A dusty location will shorten the life of your printer by damaging its head and rollers.

• Keep it clean

Any machine needs regular cleaning to perform well. Build up dust, ink, and other debris inside a printer can cause jams and ink streaks.

Use a damp cloth to clean your printer from the outside. Internals can be cleaned with a lint-free cloth. Do not use any liquid to clean the inside of the printer as moisture can lead to poor performance. In fact, you can use a small vacuum cleaner to clean the printer from the inside.

• Avoid clogged ink nozzles

Clogged nozzles is a common problem faced by inkjet printer users. It happens due to dry ink as that blocks the nozzles. The best way to avoid clogged ink nozzles is to print something regularly. Therefore, even if not required, get into the habit of printing a page every week.

• Choose the right ink cartridge

There are two options when it comes to buying the right ink cartridge for your printer- original ink cartridges made by the printer manufacturers or use compatible inks made from third parties.

Compatible inks have reached a point where they can give the same results as that produced by original inks at a lower price. Moreover, they are made from recycled cartridges, so not only you will save money but the environment as well.

Additionally, you need to consider what type of cartridge you need to get. For example, if you print lots of photos, buy photo ink cartridges for better results.

• Choose the right paper

A paper can bring a significant difference in printing. You can actually differentiate between a good print and a substantial print due to paper.

For the best outcome, we recommend using the paper of the same brand from which your printer belongs. For example, the HP Photo Paper will give the best result when used with an HP printer. The manufacturers created the ink, and therefore, they know exactly how the ink bond to surfaces on specific paper coatings.

• Give printer heads a clean

The white lines running across freshly printed documents or photos is the indication that it is time to clean the print head. You can refer to the manual to find out how to clean the print heads correctly. Most printers come with a self-clean function which you can activate with a few clicks; however, you can always wash them manually.

• Fix mechanical errors

Paper jam is the most commonly occurred mechanical error. Besides, smudges and occasional errors do get in between your printing task. However, proper maintenance can reduce the chance of happening of such mistakes and prolong the life of your printer.

• Install the cartridges right

Different printers have different mechanism for installing ink cartridges. Therefore, check your printer’s instruction manual before installing the ink cartridge. If that is not available, download a PDF version of that manual or seek help from YouTube videos.

• Cleaning schedule

Timely cleaning of the printer cartridge prevents dust accumulation and smooth printer working conditions. Therefore, do not ignore your printer and fix the schedule to clean it properly. You can do this once or twice a month.

• Keep the cartridge hydrated

To prevent your ink cartridge from having a premature death, keep it hydrated. Also, keep checking the coloured inks regularly as they can run out entirely when not used for a long time. While printing, either printer or connected computer shows the ink level status messages, do not ignore them and take timely action.

• Upright position

Store ink cartridges in an upright position, i.e. the nozzle should be in the upper position. If the ink is partially used, place the nozzle in an airtight space. You can use polythene paper that is tightly wrapped with duct tape.

Tens of thousands of units of Epson L3150 has been sold, and this has helped the brand to dominate in the printer for home area. However, besides this, there are a lot of other things that have helped it become our comparison winner.

L3150 is a refillable multi-functional ink tank printer. It has 10 ipm (black & white) and 5 ipm (colour) printing speed. This speed has been measured according to the ISO standards; hence, it is more reliable than ppm. The page yield is 4000 pages for black and white prints and 7500 pages for coloured prints. 7 paise and 18 paise is the ink cost for black & white printing and colour printing respectively. It supports maximum paper thickness with 180 GSM. The input tray capacity is 100 sheets. On the downside, both duplexing and ADF feature is missing. Also, it does not have any display functions. Therefore, you need to rely on the blinking LEDs to understand the commands.

The copy function is superb as you can copy sheets with a quick copy button in the interface. Also, you can enlarge the copy size from 25% to 400%. Speaking of the scanner, it uses flatbed image scanned mechanisms.

We are impressed by the spill-free mechanism of the ink tanks. Also, we found the transparent ink tanks cool as it helps you check the ink levels without using any computer software. Wireless connectivity features are great. L3150 has a single-band WiFi router with WiFi direct support. You can send wireless commands with the manufacturer’s mobile apps or Google Cloud Print like third-party printing apps. 

Canon Pixma G3000 has been made to meet the broad requirements of the customers. The body is made from high-quality plastic, and the design is perfect for homes and small offices. The ink tank is built within the body due to which dimension has increased a little bit.

This all-in-function printer has a high-quality print resolution (4800×1200) as well as superb scanning resolution (600×1200 dpi). The printer has impeccable photo print quality as well. It supports paper up to 275 GSM. On the downside, the G3000 is a bit heavier and doesn’t have a display screen. It makes some noise and doesn’t provide ADF function.

The printing speed is 8.8 pages per minute for black and 5 pages per minute for colour. The copy function prints maximum of 20 prints at one time.

It is an ink tank type printer. Therefore, you can store ample ink and enjoy low-cost printing with maximum yield-7000 pages. G3000 supports GI-790 CYMB inks which cost around ₹ 2200 (full-bottle). It is compatible with third-party ink cartridges as well. The print cost per paper comes about to be 8 paise for black and 21 paise for coloured prints.

Canon G3000 is equipped with various connectivity options. The brand provides wired USB as well as wireless WiFi connectivity. With WiFi connectivity, you can print anytime and from anywhere. Since it supports Canon SELPHY App, you can print and scan documents wirelessly.

The printer supports both OS- Windows and Mac, and it comes with a one-year onsite warranty.

With quality printouts, Canon has made a dedicated space in people’s hearts. It is an ink efficient and least effort demanding printer. The wireless features and built-in WiFi connectivity lets you print from any corner of your home. Moreover, it eliminates the need for connecting the printer to a device through a USB cable. Thanks to applications like canon SELPHY and third-party apps-Google, you can even give a print command through your smartphone.

We really like its premium finish and white & dark blue colour. The built-in mechanism of self-cleaning makes maintenance easier for you. It is a multi-functional printer supporting print, scan and copy.

The printer has outstanding page support. You can take out a print on A4, A5, Letter, Legal, and B5 and the input tray can be loaded with 60 pages at one time. The printing speed is 4.0 ipm (colour) and 8.0 ipm (black). Interestingly, it meets the standard ISO guidelines as the cost of printing a black page is ₹ 1.4 and a colour page is ₹ 4. In contrast to Canon G3000, this is the most lightweight printer on our list at 3.5 kg.

This is an inkjet printer supporting two cartridges PG47 and CL57. With a complete cartridge, it gives a page yield of 400 black pages and 180 colour pages. And if you use the original Canon cartridge, you can make the most of the PIXMA cloud link. This feature lets you directly print from any popular online services like Twitter, Dropbox, Evernote, and Facebook.

Users admire it more due to the unique Auto Power On/Off feature. The feature detects a print command and the printer automatically switches on and even switches off after a specific timing.

HP has always been famous among Indian customers for high-quality printers. These days, their 400 series ink tank printer is occupying the market, and HP 410 is their cheapest and popular printer model in the series.
We really admire the design of the printer. It is compact and rigid. You can place it anywhere and move it without much effort. The body has an extension which is the ink tank, and you can separate the tank if required.

HP 410 is an all-in-one function printer that supports scanning and copying as well. You can print 8 black and 5 colour pages per minute. It offers borderless printing as well. The company claims that the printhead will stay for a maximum of 5 years, if that happens, it will be a great relief for the users. Moreover, ink drying will not be an issue if you do not use it for about two weeks.

The printing quality is excellent. For b&w printing, the resolution is 1200 x 1200 dpi, and for colour printing, the resolution is 4800 x 1200 dpi. Speaking of the scanner, it has a CIS flatbed scanner.

Ink cost can be a real pain but with HP 410 that will not be the case. The original ink bottles will cost you about ₹ 2000. One refill will give you 8000 colour prints and 4000 black and white prints. Moreover, the printer offers more than one connectivity options- Wi-Fi, USB, and HP smart app.

HP DeskJet 3636 is an all-in-one Wi-Fi printer and has a lot of exciting features to offer to give you a hassle-free working experience. 

One of its exclusive features is - it works with Alexa and Google Assistant. It has an in-built voice activation system, you simply pass the command, and your job gets done from your comfort zone & hands-free. Furthermore, you can print and scan the documents not just by using a desktop but also a smartphone and tablet.

The paper support feature is fantastic. The printer is ideal for A4, B5, A6, DL, and envelope pages. It prints superb quality images with a print resolution of 4800 x 1200 dpi in colour and 1200 x 1200 dpi in black. This device comes with the original ink cartridge, and in one refill it gives around 480 black and white and 150 coloured printouts. The printing speed is also impressive with 8.5 ppm (b&w) and 6 ppm (colour). The cost per page comes out to be ₹ 1.4 and ₹ 4.5 for black & white and colour prints respectively.

The printer has a smart document management feature that helps you save a lot of space. It has a compact all-in-one design which fits nicely on a desk, shelf, in fact, anywhere you need it. Furthermore, the HP ePrint feature even lets you print and scan when you are on the go.

The easily recycle policy is the highlight of this printer. Under this, you can recycle the original HP ink cartridges for free. Since it comes for free, so it is no less than a reward. However, we call it a highlight because it helps in saving the environment (read fact 7). The printer has almost all the features present in other ink-based printers. This is one feature that other brand printers must also have.

This compact all-in-one printer is a combination of affordability, impressive feature set, high-resolution printing, and easy cartridge management (only two cartridges). It is an ideal choice for moderate use in a home or small office. Along with printing, it can scan and copy documents on a flatbed construction. 

Although bagging a sixth place on our list, but this printer is easy to set up and use. It is engineered for regular use and high volume printing. You can print 7.5 black & white paper in a minute and 5.5 colour sheets per minute.

It is an inkjet printer and accepts one black and one colour cartridge. In a single refill, you can have 1500 black and white and 750 colour printouts. Due to inkjet, the printing cost per paper is a bit higher; however, it meets the ISO standard.

You can enjoy brilliant prints on A4, B5, A6, DL envelope with DeskJet 4729. To be precise, the print resolution is up to 4800 x 1200 optimised dpi for colour and up to 1200 x 1200 rendered dpi for black and white.

If speed is what you’re after, then your search ends with Brother DCP-T510W. It has the maximum printing speed amongst all the printers on our list, i.e. 12 ipm for black & white and 6 ipm for colour. The printer can print a wide range of paper sizes-A4, Letter, Legal, Mexico Legal, India Legal, Folio, Executive, A6, Envelopes, Photo (4" x 6")/(10 x 15 cm), Photo 2L (5" x 7")/(13 x 18 cm), and Index card.

This low power consuming printer is compatible with two types of ink - BTD60BK, BT5000. Moreover, it has an ink tank rather than inkjet cartridges due to which you bear low printing cost per paper. The page yield is mindblowing too -13000 pages (black & white) and 5000 pages (colour). You need not worry about the printing quality as it facilitates a maximum resolution of 1200 x 6000 dpi.

The LCD screen in the printer multiplies productivity. It allows for easy navigation of print settings. You can view error messages and get an onscreen guide for quick self-solution without delaying the print job.

This printer is compatible with various OS including Windows, Mac and Linux. Speaking of network connectivity, it offers Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi-direct connectivity. Therefore, you can print or scan paper using any smart device in wireless mode. Moreover, you can use USB port connectivity for the conventional PC-printer method.