Whether you work from home or an office, owning an affordable printer will boost your productivity and improve efficiency resulting in the growth of your business. However, getting a budget-friendly printer can be a struggle. Luckily, the market has provided you with many brands to select from, and therefore, it is crucial to know what you want in a printer, so you make the right decision. Today’s article focuses on the best printers under $300.
How do they function? What are the key features, their pros, and cons? These are various questions you should ask as a buyer before you invest your money in any printer. If you’re knowledgeable about printers, you are one step ahead, but if not, we still got you as we will give you useful information on each printer. Grow your business by getting high-quality printing of documents and photos.
Our Recommendations
- Canon IP8720 Wireless Printer – Best Overall
- Brother MFC-J985DW Inkjet Printer – Best Fit-Anywhere Printer
- HP LaserJet Pro M281fdw All-in-One Wireless Printer – Best All-In-One Printer
- Canon PIXMA G6020 Wireless All-in-One Mega Tank Printer – Best Ink-Saving Printer
Canon IP8720 Wireless Printer
If you are in the market for a printer that will help you cherish your memories, the Canon IP8720 is the best choice. The printer allows you to print stunning borderless photos up to 13” x 19”. The product comes with an auto power on that conveniently automatically powers up the printer when you send photos or documents to be printed. The design is compact, saving up space in your home or office.
It has built-in wireless connectivity that enables you to connect your mobile devices for easy and quick printing around the house or office. Aside from that, you can use the free PIXMA Printing Solutions (PPS) to print your photos or documents straight from your mobile devices. AirPrint allows compatibility to your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch so you can effortlessly connect to print.
The Canon PIXMA IP8720 uses a six-individual tank system that offers high performance and includes gray ink for excellent detail in your black & white and color photos. A plus is the superior resolution of 9600 x 2400 color dpi that produces incredible quality in both business documents and photos. Print web pages and documents with fast speeds of 10.4ipm (images per minute) for color and 14.5ipm for black.
Pros
- Supports wireless and USB connectivity
- Produces reliable and great prints
- Easy to use and set up
- Print borderless 4” x 6” photo in 36 seconds
- Offers CD/DVD printing
- Comprehensive instructions
Cons
- Plastic paper guides/flaps
Brother MFC-J985DW Inkjet Printer
Owning a printer that produces high-quality documents and photos is a boost to your work. The Brother MFC-J985DW is engineered with essential features that allow you to print with confidence. First, it has a compact design that fits perfectly anywhere you place them without taking much of your space. It’s cost-effective since the Brother INKvestment color cartridges are innovative and offer low-cost printing—less than one cent per page for black & white, and less than five cents per page in color. You can print 1200 pages in color for under $15 and 2400 pages in black for under $25.
It is equipped with a 2.7 inches touchscreen display that enables you to navigate the powerful features infused in this printer. Another desirable element is automatic duplex printing. Printing on both sides of a paper cuts down paper usage reducing printing costs to saving your money. The printer supports Wi-Fi Direct, Bluetooth, and wireless connectivity platforms. All these options allow you to connect to laptops, tablets, desktops, and mobile devices. Simply put, you have versatile options to choose from for easy and convenient printing.
The Amazon Dash Replenishment deal, upon activation, measures the toner level and orders more from Amazon when it’s low, ensuring your business keeps running smoothly. The printer allows you to scan documents directly from the machine to the popular cloud services such as Dropbox, Google Drive, and more. The Brother MFC-J985DW is suitable for business owners of small and large organizations.
Pros
- It’s compact and lightweight
- Low printing costs
- Wireless connectivity
- Automatic duplex printing
- Up to 20 sheet ADF
- 2-year limited warranty
- Freephone support for the life of your printer
Cons
- Does not come with full cartridges
HP LaserJet Pro M281fdw All-in-One Wireless Printer
If you desire big performance in a small package, the HP Pro M281fdw is the best option. It’s designed with a small fitting that will suit your home or office perfectly. It’s an all-in-one printer meaning you will print, scan, copy, and fax. The printer offers a host of features that enables high performance and quality services. For starters, it supports wireless and USB connectivity that allows you to connect all your devices such as smartphones, tablets, laptops, and more for quick and straightforward printing.
The printer is designed for productivity to support office work teams of 1-10 individuals looking for growth in their business. The machine allows you to print high-quality color documents quickly and conveniently. Aside from that, it offers two-sided printing, meaning you will cut down paper use, reducing printing costs. Also, auto document feeder is included, so you don’t have to keep feeding documents allowing you to focus on other tasks.
A 2.7” color touchscreen is included to ensure easy navigation of the selection menu for proper operation. The product has a fast printing speed of up to 22 pages per minute black/color, with the first page printed as fast in 10.3 seconds black and 11.7 seconds color. It offers an input tray paper capacity of 250 sheets.
Pros
- Offers wireless and USB connectivity
- A fast printing speed of up to 22 pages per minute
- 250-sheet paper capacity
- It’s a multi-purpose printer
- Automatic document feeder and duplex printing
- 1-year limited hardware warranty
- Wi-Fi and Ethernet capability
Cons
- The toner is a bit expensive
Canon PIXMA G6020 Wireless All-in-One Mega Tank Printer
The Canon PIXMA G6020 is a must-have for people who want to print, scan, and copy without the worry of replacing costly ink cartridges or waiting for a new set of ink to be delivered. The product gives you exceptional value with an ink savings of $1,175 from a full set of color ink and three black bottles in the box. The Canon Mega Tank ink bottle has over 30x the amount of ink compared to equivalent standard black and color ink cartridge sets.
If you like the idea of a multi-purpose machine, this printer is excellent as it offers printing, scanning, and copying services. It also delivers high-quality and beautiful borderless photos. Additionally, it comes with wireless connectivity that enables you to connect all your favorite devices for quick and convenient printing.
The product features a high yield of up to 6,000 pages of black text and up to 7,700 vivid color pages. The printer’s hybrid ink system utilizes both dye-based and pigment-based ink. Dye-based color inks deliver vibrant and colorful images while the pigment-based black inks deliver long-lasting, sharp black text. The printer also has IFTTT supports to help you connect to Canon Inkjet Cloud Printing Center.
Pros
- It’s a multi-purpose printer
- Delivers high-quality documents and photos
- Supports wireless connectivity
- Maximum resolution of up to 1200 x 2400 dpi
- Exceptional value with an ink savings of $1,175
Cons
- Installation instructions are not clear
Verdict
If you are on the hunt for a printer under $300 that will enable you to complete printing tasks efficiently, the above compilation of printers is the perfect guide for you. All the options in this roundup are suitable for small business owners who deal with small to medium printing needs. These printers are equipped with impeccable features that enhance their production. The elements help reduce printing costs, cutting down on your expenses. They give impeccable performance delivering high-quality documents and photos that are professional to ensure you don’t compromise your work.