The price of inkjet printers when purchased is a significant advantage in homes and offices, with standard ones ranging from $50 to $200 (the average cost of laser printers is $350), and 72% of the global home users purchase inkjet gear, according to IDC 2023 (offices account for 58%). For example, the HP DeskJet 2755, priced at $89, has wireless print and scan features (1200 dpi resolution) and costs $0.05 for one black-and-white page ($0.15 for color), versus $0.08 for a laser product ($0.25 for color). A home user environment proved that at 1,200 pages per year, the inkjet solution cost was $214 and the laser solution cost was $386, a 45% difference.
Print quality and productivity meet a number of needs: Epson EcoTank ET-3850 employs PrecisionCore micro-piezoelectric technology, nozzle density 400 / inch, prints 5760×1440 dpi photos (color restoration level Delta-E≤1.2), printing speed black and white 15 pages/minute (color 8 pages/minute). In office settings, the Canon MAXIFY GX7021 prints 3,000 pages per month (140ml ink capacity) and includes automatic double-sided printing (12 sides/min), which improves contract processing speed by 34% (compared to single-sided laser devices). According to the Office Productivity Study, the teams working with inkjet devices spent an average of 18% less time on tasks (from 3.2 to 2.6 days).
Energy-saving and environmentally protective features meet modern standards: power consumption by inkjet printer during stand-by mode is a minimum of 1-3W (5-15W for laser devices), in accordance with Energy Star standards (yearly power consumption 25kWh, laser devices 120kWh). The Brother MFC-J4335DW uses an on-demand ink supply system (INKvestment Tank), which reduces waste ink by 90% (traditional ink cartridges produce waste ink around 20ml/month), and the ink bottle recovery rate is 98% (recovery rate of the toner cartridge is 35%). Eu research also shows that home users switching to inkjet machines can reduce their annual carbon footprint by 0.8 tons per machine, and small offices can save 2.4 tons of carbon (based on 5 devices).
The HP Smart Tank 580 is 38×45cm (average size of laser multifunction machine 50×55cm), reduces desktop space by 27%, and has scanning (optical resolution 1200×2400 dpi), fax, and wireless connectivity (transfer rate 867Mbps). The Epson WorkForce WF-2950 also supports voice control (≤0.5-second response) and mobile printing (iOS and Android compatible) with a 41% usage increase for consumers at home (from 3 to 5 pages per day). Market statistics project that by 2023, the global home market penetration of inkjet printers will be 68% (9% growth rate annually) and their modular repair concept will reduce the cost of troubleshooting to $25 / time ($80 / time for laser products).
The price-performance tradeoff makes it the mass-market choice: At a median cost of $0.04 per page for inkjet ($0.07 for laser), and besides an initial acquisition price as low as a third of laser equipment ($59 for the HP DeskJet 4155e), savings in average annual budget for consumer users is $120 and $480 for businesses (for a 10-man team). According to NPD market research data, home photo printing market inkjet devices held 89% (color accuracy 98% sRGB range) of the market share, and small and medium enterprise business procurement increased by 12% year by year, confirming its “cost-effective + multi-function” two-way competitiveness.