Buying a Printer Will Save You Money
Save this article to read it later.
Find this story in your account’s‘Saved for Later’section.
Comment
Welcome to Stationery Week on the Strategist, where we’ve been obsessively researching and testing office supplies — everything from pens, pencils, and paper to task chairs. For more, head to ourStationery Week hub.
Imagine a world where all the clothes that never quite fit were gone, along with all the gadgets and appliances that failed to meet your expectations. Imagine all the money you paid for those disappointing objects back in your pocket. For me, that life began the day I finally bought a printer.
For most of my adult life, anytime I needed a return label, I’d make a note to print it at the office or library, only to ignore or forget it repeatedly until the return window closed. Then it’d be on me to sell the item, which meant facing the same label-printing issue on eBay or Poshmark, sorting through the bots and flakes on Marketplace, or — more likely — keeping it for entirely too long before eventually donating or trashing it.
I can’t tell you how much money and time I lost to this inertia over the years, but it was certainly worth a lot more than the $135 it would’ve cost to just buy the basic laser printer that our friends at the Vergehave been recommendingfor three years running. “My own Brother laser printer, whose model number I no longer remember and do not care about, has been operating flawlessly for nearly 10 years now,” writes editor-in-chief Nilay Patel. “We have replaced the toner once in that time, and it has never asked me to sign up for a subscription or fallen off the Wi-Fi.” I have theupgraded version of this printerin my apartment — with dual-sided printing capabilities — and, like Patel, I’ve never once had a problem with it through many years of ownership.
New! You can now save this product for later.
If you just don’t have room to store such a large gadget, you can probably still make space for a decent thermal label printer, such asthis Bluetooth-equipped model. These inkless shipping-label specialists are barely bigger than a hardcover book and can be had for under $100. I bought one to determine if it lives up to its stellar user-review rating and was surprised by how much I enjoyed using it. It comes with 50 labels that are easy to load, and it prints quickly and accurately. I loved being able to just tear, peel, and stick the labels onto packages without futzing with a clunky tape dispenser. It does require an app to print wirelessly from your phone or computer, but it’s simple to use — it’s just a matter of using the file browser to find the right document — and I appreciate that it didn’t make me sign up for yet another single-use account.
New! You can now save this product for later.
Besides making it easier to print shipping labels provided by a vendor or e-commerce platform, having your own printer also helps you save money on shipping costs. For years, I’ve usedPirateshipto swap obscure bike parts and clothing with fellow cycling nerds all over the country, and its rates are typically about half of what UPS or the post office would charge for the same package.
What else is a printer good for?
Shipping labels and the occasional paper form (such as a passport renewal or visa application) were my original impetus for getting a printer, but in the years since, I’ve come to rely on it for so much more — especially as I’ve grownincreasingly weary of all the screen timein my life.
Printing recipes makes them easier to follow in the kitchen and also allows me to annotate as I go along. I keep a folder of the ones I like nestled into my cookbook shelf, and the misses go straight in the recycling.
I also find that longform articles are easier to both read and absorb when printed. I lay them out two pages per sheet, which results in a booklike format that also saves paper.
While I can’t speak to this from personal experience, parents are a particularly printer-dependent bunch. “You order so much more stuff when there are more people in your household, so the number of shipping labels I need has increased substantially since having kids,” said mother of two and Strategist senior editor Winnie Yang. “I’ve also printed out lots of coloring and activity pages (especially during the pandemic), homework my 10-year-old forgot to bring home from school, sheet music for orchestra, and plenty of forms and registrations.” Senior editor Jen Trolio added that printing forms is still a necessity for many organizations outside of school, like Girl Scouts or youth sports leagues. She added that it’s also handy for fundraisers: “We recently made a QR code linked to the Girl Scout Cookie ordering website and printed it on a yard sign and some slips we could leave in mailboxes.”
Other printers we like
More From The Strategist
- The Back-to-School Hall of Fame
- The Best Things Strategist Editors Have Bought This Year (So Far)
- Everything You Need to Outfit Your College Dorm
- The Strategist Summer 100
The Strategistis designed to surface useful, expert recommendations for things to buy across the vast e-commerce landscape. Every product is independently selected by our team of editors, whom you can read abouthere. We update links when possible, but note that deals can expire and all prices are subject to change.
