Best Inkjet Printers for Pet Sitters and Dog Walkers Running a Home Business

Pet sitters and dog walkers running a home-based business need to print client intake forms, vaccination waivers, service agreements, and the occasional flyer or business card, but most don’t need — or want to pay for — a heavy-duty office machine. This guide covers five inkjet printers between $50 and $150, chosen for low-cost printing of everyday documents, simple wireless setup for printing from a phone between appointments, and low ink costs for occasional, irregular use.

Because pet care businesses print in bursts rather than daily, favor a printer with ink that doesn’t dry out between uses over one optimized purely for volume.

1. Canon PIXMA TS3520 — best budget all-rounder

The TS3520 covers contracts, waivers, and the occasional flyer without a big upfront cost, and its simple app makes printing directly from a phone easy between client visits. Street price runs $50-$70.

• Why it’s a good buy: low cost of entry for a business that only needs light, occasional printing
• Where to buy: Amazon, Walmart, Best Buy

2. HP OfficeJet 3830 — best for combining printing with scanning contracts

The built-in scanner lets you digitize signed client agreements and vaccination records on the spot, which matters for a business that depends on having liability paperwork on file. Street price runs $70-$100.

• Why it’s a good buy: scan-to-email functionality that keeps signed pet care paperwork organized without a separate scanner
• Where to buy: Amazon, Walmart, Best Buy

3. Epson EcoTank ET-2400 — best for printing flyers and referral cards regularly

Businesses that lean on printed flyers and referral cards to grow their client list benefit from the EcoTank’s refillable ink tanks, which make frequent marketing-material printing far cheaper over time. Street price runs $130-$150.

• Why it’s a good buy: dramatically lower per-page cost for anyone printing marketing materials regularly rather than occasionally
• Where to buy: Amazon, Best Buy, Walmart

4. Canon PIXMA TR4720 — best for printing from a phone on the go

Designed around mobile printing, this model makes it simple to send a waiver or receipt to print from a phone right after a client meeting, without needing a laptop at all. Street price runs $70-$90.

• Why it’s a good buy: strong mobile-app printing support for a business run mostly from a phone
• Where to buy: Amazon, Walmart, Best Buy

5. Brother DCP-J1050DW — best for occasional heavier printing batches

For a sitter juggling multiple clients who occasionally needs to print a stack of intake packets at once, this model’s faster print speed and duplex printing save both time and paper. Street price runs $90-$120.

• Why it’s a good buy: two-sided printing cuts paper costs on multi-page client packets and contracts
• Where to buy: Amazon, Walmart, Best Buy

How to get the best price

• Buy during back-to-school season, when entry-level inkjet printers see some of the year’s deepest discounts even outside office-focused promotions.
• Factor in ink cost, not just the printer price, since a cheaper printer with expensive cartridges can cost more over a year of light business use than a pricier EcoTank model.
• Watch for bundled ink promotions, since many retailers throw in a year or two of extra cartridges with new printer purchases during seasonal sales.
• Track the exact model on a price-alert tool, since small home-office printers rarely go on deep sale outside of specific calendar windows.

The takeaway: the Canon PIXMA TS3520 is the cheapest sensible starting point, the HP OfficeJet 3830 earns its keep with built-in scanning for paperwork, the Epson EcoTank ET-2400 pays for itself if you print marketing materials often, the Canon PIXMA TR4720 suits a fully phone-run business, and the Brother DCP-J1050DW is the right call for occasional heavier printing batches.