For a small UK office, the lowest running cost does not belong to one brand. Canon and Epson ink tank bottles cost under a quarter of a penny a page on their published yields, Canon's 100-page ink plan undercuts HP's by £2 a month, and OKI offers the longest warranty, though only with conditions. This guide answers the questions buyers keep asking about running costs, promotions, warranties and support, using only prices and terms the manufacturers publish, as displayed on 5 November 2026.
Which printer brand has the lowest running costs?
On refill cost alone, the two ink tank systems we checked are close. Canon's GI-56BK black bottle is £13.99 for up to 6,000 pages, or 0.23p a page. Epson's 113 EcoTank black bottle is £18.49 including VAT (£15.41 excluding VAT) for 7,500 pages, or 0.25p a page including VAT.
Those are supply-only figures for one bottle each. Canon's page does not say whether its price includes VAT, so the two are not a perfect match, and neither covers the printer itself, power or servicing. The honest reading is that both suit a shortlist, not that one wins.
Brother's laser route has a different cost shape. Its HL-L2445DW costs £163.92 including VAT, takes toner of up to 3,000 pages in high yield, and uses a separate DR2510 drum unit that Brother lists at £118.85 including VAT for 15,000 pages. Count the drum in your costs as well as the toner.
Which brand's features justify paying more?
Canon and Epson both describe pigment ink for office documents. Canon says its black ink does not blur easily or become wet when used with a highlighter marker and keeps small characters legible, and its bottle design is made to stop you filling a tank with the wrong ink. Epson describes the 113 series as fast-drying all-pigment ink with smudge and highlighter-resistant prints.
Brother's case rests on workflow. The HL-L2445DW prints up to 32 pages a minute and has a separate drum and toner, which suits a shared, text-heavy office. These are manufacturer claims about specific models, so test a sample print on the paper you actually use before buying a fleet.
Which printer brands run promotions right now?
Epson is advertising up to £70 cashback on selected EcoTank printers, for purchases between 17 August 2026 and 31 January 2027. You must claim online within 30 days, upload your receipt and add a photo of the printer's serial number. These offers are time-limited and were checked on 5 November 2026, so confirm on the brand's own site before you buy.
The claim steps matter as much as the headline. Missing the 30-day window can remove the saving, so someone in the office needs to own it. Record the full purchase price in your books and treat the cashback as a separate, later receipt. Canon's examined MegaTank cashback ended on 3 November 2026, so it is no longer a live saving.
How do HP, Canon and Epson ink subscriptions compare?
All three charge by pages printed rather than ink used, and deliver ink automatically when the printer runs low. HP's Instant Ink lists 10 pages for £1.79, 50 for £4.49, 100 for £6.49, 300 for £13.49 and 700 for £28.99. Canon's PIXMA Print Plan lists 30 pages for £2.49, 60 for £3.99, 100 for £4.49, 200 for £8.99 and 500 for £17.99. Epson's ReadyPrint Flex plans start at £1.99 a month. The pages do not say whether prices include VAT.
At 100 pages, the one allowance HP and Canon share, Canon's £4.49 is below HP's £6.49. The chart divides each fee by its allowance to show the cost per page if every page is used. These are our calculations from displayed prices, not savings claims from either brand.
Cost per page if every page is used
Monthly plan fee divided by the plan's page allowance, in pence per page, from prices displayed on 5 November 2026.
View the data
| Category | Pence per page |
|---|---|
| HP 100 pages | 6.49 |
| Canon 100 pages | 4.49 |
| HP 300 pages | 4.5 |
| Canon 200 pages | 4.5 |
| HP 700 pages | 4.14 |
| Canon 500 pages | 3.6 |
A 100-page plan on which only 50 pages are printed costs 8.98p a page on Canon and 12.98p on HP, before rollover. The rollover rules differ too. HP lets unused pages build up to three times the plan allowance on ink plans, with extra sets of 10 to 15 pages at £1.50. Canon rolls unused pages over for one month and charges £0.10 for each extra page. Epson advertises a two-month rollover.
Which brand offers the longest warranty for a small office?
OKI announced a Product Lifetime Warranty Programme offering up to 7 years of cover on eligible printers, depending on the model. You must register the printer within 60 days of purchase and register at least one original OKI toner each year to keep the cover going. The older 3-year programme stays available for eligible models until 31 December 2026.
Epson's extended warranty promotion lists selected EcoTank models at 12 plus 48 months carry-in, so five years, with page limits such as 30,000 or 50,000 pages depending on the model, and claims within 30 days of purchase. Canon's UK store says its warranty is normally two years, extended to three years on selected printers. Brother's warranty page lists a standard 12 months and asks you to register within 30 days for enhanced support. Its 5-year cover applies to TJ series label printers, not ordinary office printers.
Which brand has the best after-sales support and customer service in the UK?
We did not find a comparable UK measure of customer service, first-time fix rates or loyalty for these brands, so we will not name a winner. Warranty length is not service quality, and subscription availability does not prove satisfaction. What you can compare is what each supplier commits to in writing.
For plotters, HP's DesignJet services page names a Next Business Day Onsite Repair service and a Preventive Maintenance Service, sold as a prepaid Care Pack or a subscription. HP notes that availability and specifications vary by product and country, and next business day onsite means an engineer visit, not a guaranteed completed repair. We found no comparable published UK service terms for Canon imagePROGRAF or Epson SureColor, so ask each for a quote with its response and repair terms.
Ask what the cover includes, whether repair is carry-in or onsite, how long a repair takes, what the page limits are and what happens to the warranty if you stop buying original supplies. Make those answers part of the purchase, because a shorter warranty with a defined repair route can serve an office better than a long one that means posting the printer away.
Which ink brands have loyal customers, good content or strong PR?
No published UK dataset we found compares loyalty, retention or PR impact across printer ink brands, so any ranking would be a guess. What the brands do publish is buying information. Canon's PIXMA Print Plan FAQ explains how pages are counted, that a duplex sheet counts as two pages, and that the printer must stay online so ink levels can be monitored. HP's Instant Ink page sets out its plans, rollover and cancellation, and Epson's ReadyPrint pages separate its ink plans.
That is useful content for a buyer, but it is not evidence of engagement or satisfaction. A subscription also creates switching friction, because subscription ink is tied to the plan, and friction is not loyalty. Judge a brand's content by whether it answers your buying questions, and treat a product announcement such as OKI's warranty news as information about terms, not proof of reach.
What do UK rules say about VAT and printer pricing?
UK government guidance says adverts must describe the actual cost accurately, including ongoing costs such as subscription fees and taxes such as VAT. The Advertising Standards Authority says quoted prices must include non-optional taxes that apply to all or most buyers. VAT-exclusive prices are allowed only when everyone the claim is addressed to pays no VAT or can recover it, and the VAT amount or rate must be shown prominently.
For a buyer, ask whether each price includes VAT and whether your business can recover it. Then keep hardware, supplies, plan fees, extra page charges and service cover on separate lines.
How should a small office choose?
Start with real page counts, not the printer's maximum speed or the lowest headline fee. Work out whether a tank printer, a laser or a subscription fits that volume, then test the answer against a quiet month and a busy one. If the numbers are close, let warranty conditions and repair terms decide.
Sources
- Canon UK Store, GI-56BK black ink bottle, 2026
- Canon UK, PIXMA Print Plan monthly ink plan, 2026
- Canon UK Store, Extended printer warranty offer, 2026
- Epson UK, 113 EcoTank ink series, 2026
- Epson UK, EcoTank cashback promotion, 2026
- Epson UK, Extended warranty promotion, 2026
- Epson UK, ReadyPrint Flex ink subscription, 2026
- HP, Instant Ink printer ink subscription, 2026
- HP, DesignJet printer services, 2026
- Brother UK, HL-L2445DW mono laser printer, 2026
- Brother UK, Warranty information, 2026
- OKI Europe, Product Lifetime Warranty Programme announcement, 2026
- GOV.UK, Marketing and advertising law, describing your product
- Advertising Standards Authority, Compulsory costs and charges VAT
