Canon PIXMA G3290 Cost per Page: Tied for the Ink Tank Color-Cost Lead
The Canon PIXMA G3290 is an ink tank printer that prints, copies and scans, with auto-duplex, Wi-Fi and a touchscreen, and it sells for $270. Running it costs $0.38 per 100 pages in black and $0.97 in color. The black figure traces to the CN-GI21-BK bottle, $23 for 6,000 pages.
The nearest rival from outside Canon, Epson's EcoTank ET-2980, undercuts this printer on black cost per page at $0.29 per 100 pages but runs pricier in color at $1.08, and it costs more to buy at $330. It also drops the touchscreen and prints at 15 ppm. Canon's own black rate still ties for 6th of 30 ink tank printers on black cost per page, a mark eight machines share.
Within Canon's own ink tank lineup, the entry-level PIXMA G3270 costs $249 against this printer's $270, though it drops the auto-duplex and touchscreen; its $0.38 black and $0.97 color rates per 100 pages match this printer's exactly, part of a five-way tie for 1st of 30 ink tank printers on color cost per page. The G6020, at $324, adds Ethernet but drops the touchscreen; the G7020, at $380, adds Ethernet and fax but likewise drops the touchscreen.
For a reader who never needs color, the HP LaserJet Pro 4006dw trades ink for toner: print-only, with no copy or scan, at $2.23 per 100 pages in black and $400 up front. It adds Ethernet, and at 47 ppm it far outpaces this printer's 11 ppm. This printer's own black cost per page ranks 7th of 97 printers across every type InkTax tracks.