Printer pricing works backwards from most purchases. The machine is often sold close to cost, and the money is made on what it consumes. Comparing printers by their purchase price alone is how people end up spending far more than they planned.
Work out the cost per page
Every cartridge has a stated yield, the number of pages it is expected to produce. Divide the cartridge price by its yield and you have a cost per page you can actually compare.
A printer that costs GH₵500 less but uses cartridges costing twice as much per page will be the more expensive machine within a few reams of paper. If you print more than occasionally, do this calculation before you choose.
Three kinds of printer, three cost shapes
| Type | Machine price | Cost per page | Suits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inkjet with cartridges | Lowest | Highest | Occasional home printing |
| Ink tank | Higher | Lowest | Regular printing, photos, small offices |
| Laser | Higher | Low for text | Documents in volume, sharp text |
Ink tank printers, where you pour ink into a reservoir rather than slotting in a cartridge, have changed this calculation. If you print regularly, the higher purchase price usually repays itself.
Laser printers suit text. For documents, a mono laser is cheap per page, fast, and the toner does not dry out between uses. If you print a handful of pages a month, that last point matters more than it sounds.
Ink dries out
An inkjet that sits unused for weeks can clog, and clearing the heads consumes ink. If you print rarely and unpredictably, a laser avoids the problem entirely.
Black and colour are different products
This catches people out when comparing prices. A black cartridge and a colour cartridge for the same printer are different items at different prices, and a listing that says only "HP 207A" has not told you which one it is.
PriceGenia treats ink and toner colours as separate products for exactly this reason, so a black cartridge is never compared against a colour one. When you search, check the colour on the page matches the one you need.
Combination packs are a genuine saving when you need both. Compare the pack price against buying the two separately rather than assuming.
Compatible and refilled cartridges
Third-party cartridges cost less. The trade-offs are real: print quality varies between suppliers, some printers warn about non-original cartridges, and a leak can damage the machine.
If you try them, start with one and see how it prints before buying a box. For a printer still under warranty, check what the warranty says about non-original consumables.
Check the cartridge is sold here
Before buying any printer, search for its cartridges and confirm they are stocked by more than one shop in Ghana. A good printer whose ink is hard to find locally is a poor purchase. This is a case where comparing prices before you buy the machine saves you later.
Before you pay
Note the exact cartridge numbers your chosen printer takes, check their price and yield, and work out the cost per page. Then compare printers on that figure.