Best Budget Inkjet Printers for Back-to-School in 2026

Back-to-school printer shopping is really an ink-cost decision disguised as a hardware purchase — the cheapest printer up front is often the most expensive one to actually run for a full school year. This guide covers five inkjet printers from about $60 basic models to $150 ink-tank machines, weighing both sticker price and realistic cost per page for dorm rooms, home desks, and shared family printing.

1. Epson EcoTank ET-2850 — best overall for the school year

The EcoTank line replaces disposable cartridges with refillable ink tanks that ship with enough ink for roughly two years of average home printing, which matters most for students who’ll be printing syllabi, essays, and worksheets nonstop through the semester. The upfront price is higher than a basic cartridge printer, but the cost per page is a fraction of the alternative.

• Street price in 2026: $130-$160
• Why it’s a good buy: dramatically lower cost per page than cartridge printers, ideal for heavy document printing
• Where to buy: Amazon, Walmart, Best Buy

2. Canon PIXMA MG3620 — best budget cartridge printer

For students who print infrequently, a cheap cartridge printer can beat an ink-tank model on total cost, since the EcoTank’s upfront premium doesn’t pay off without heavy volume. The PIXMA MG3620 covers basic printing, scanning, and copying with reliable wireless setup from a phone or laptop.

• Street price in 2026: $60-$80
• Why it’s a good buy: the lowest upfront cost here, reasonable for light, occasional printing
• Where to buy: Amazon, Walmart, Best Buy

3. HP OfficeJet Pro 9015e — best for a shared family printer

Families sending one kid off to college while still printing for the rest of the household benefit from a higher-duty-cycle machine like the OfficeJet Pro, which handles faster print speeds and heavier weekly volume than entry-level inkjets. HP’s Instant Ink subscription is optional but can lower per-page costs further for high-volume households.

• Street price in 2026: $130-$170
• Why it’s a good buy: built for higher print volume across multiple users, not just one student’s workload
• Where to buy: Amazon, Walmart, Best Buy

4. Canon PIXMA TS6420a — best for photo and project printing

Students in design, photography, or arts programs often need better photo output than a basic document printer provides. The TS6420a uses a five-ink system that produces noticeably better color and detail on photo paper than typical four-ink budget models, while still handling everyday text documents fine.

• Street price in 2026: $80-$100
• Why it’s a good buy: meaningfully better photo quality than budget inkjets, without stepping up to a dedicated photo printer’s price
• Where to buy: Amazon, Walmart, Best Buy

5. Epson EcoTank ET-2400 — best compact dorm option

A smaller footprint than the ET-2850 makes this a better fit for a cramped dorm desk, while still keeping the refillable-tank cost savings that make EcoTank printers worth the higher sticker price for heavy users. It skips some of the faster-model’s speed and connectivity extras in exchange for a smaller physical size.

• Street price in 2026: $100-$130
• Why it’s a good buy: most of the EcoTank ink savings in a footprint that actually fits a dorm desk
• Where to buy: Amazon, Walmart, Best Buy

How to get the best price

• Calculate cost per page, not just sticker price, before buying. A $60 cartridge printer can easily cost more over a school year than a $150 ink-tank model once replacement cartridges are factored in.
• Buy during late-July and August back-to-school sales windows. Office supply and electronics retailers consistently discount printers hardest during this exact period.
• Check for bundled paper or ink included at purchase. Some back-to-school promotions throw in a ream of paper or a starter ink kit that offsets the effective price further.
• Use a student discount or retailer card at checkout. Best Buy’s student offers and store cards at office supply chains often stack with an existing sale price.

The takeaway: light, occasional printers should stick with the Canon PIXMA MG3620 and pocket the savings, but anyone printing regularly through a full semester will come out ahead with an EcoTank model despite the higher upfront cost. Buy before the last week of August — that’s when back-to-school printer inventory and pricing both tend to get worse as stock thins out.