benchmarksutra Printer Score: How We Rate Printers

Quick Verdict

The benchmarksutra Printer Score turns seven documented ratings into five buyer-specific results. This refresh researched 33 candidates, ranks 30 and holds three where the remaining evidence is incomplete. Running cost uses explicit replacement-supply arithmetic; a score never stands in for a print test. The method keeps a mono ink tank, a colour home all-in-one and an A3+ photo specialist in the profiles relevant to their jobs.

Researched, not hands-on tested.Final editorial review: 9 November 2026. India offer and consumable price snapshot: 8 November 2026. Scores are our editorial assessment of published specifications, supply costs and India support. We did not print test pages, measure speed, inspect photographs or run reliability tests.

Prices change frequently.The prices on this page were correct when we wrote and checked it, but they may have changed by the time you read this. Check the current price on the retailer's page before you buy.

Seven ratings, with the evidence visible

Profile weights

Original benchmarksutra research. Not a hands-on test.

Each weight column totals 100. Multiply each /10 rating by its weight, add the products and divide by 10. Sort on the unrounded result, then display the nearest whole number using half-up rounding. A visible tie may conceal a small unrounded difference. Budget uses home weights; laser uses office weights. The photo profile gives the specification proxy 50 points, so read its limitation before interpreting a high score as proof of a better photograph.

A worked home-profile result

Epson EcoTank L3250 totals 74.75 before rounding, displayed as 75/100. Those points describe this profile’s documented tradeoff, not a percentage of print quality achieved in a laboratory.

The running-cost bands

For a colour printer, adjust by 0 when the full-colour document allowance is at most ₹0.30; subtract 0.5 up to ₹0.45, 1 up to ₹0.60, 1.5 up to ₹1 and 2 above ₹1. The minimum is 1. Use full precision: ₹0.10333 is above ₹0.10 even though both may look like ₹0.10 at two decimals. A monochrome model receives no colour adjustment.

Use one compatible capacity, and add separate parts once

Black cost is its selected price divided by yield. A colour-document allowance adds every selected colour’s price divided by yield, including a tri-colour cartridge where used. Select one verified compatible capacity per colour. Smaller GI-71S and full-size GI-71 bottles are alternatives, as are CL-57 and CL-57S; adding both would double-count consumption. A Canon 925 already contains toner and drum. A Brother separate drum is added once to its compatible toner system. No unpriced high-yield option receives an invented price.

Epson EcoTank L3250 — supply arithmetic

Mono = 379.0/4500 = 0.084222 rupees/page. Colour full-ink allowance = mono + 434.0/7500 + 448.0/7500 + 434.0/7500 = 0.259689 rupees/page. Includes black and all colour inks; not measured cost.

This calculation uses one capacity option for each colour. A larger and smaller compatible cartridge are alternatives, not cumulative supplies. A toner cartridge that already contains its drum is counted once; a genuinely separate matching drum is added once. Manufacturer yields are estimates, not a promise for your documents.

Brother HL-L2440DW — supply arithmetic

Mono = 11000.0/5000 + 4800.0/13000 = 2.569231 rupees/page.

This calculation uses one capacity option for each colour. A larger and smaller compatible cartridge are alternatives, not cumulative supplies. A toner cartridge that already contains its drum is counted once; a genuinely separate matching drum is added once. Manufacturer yields are estimates, not a promise for your documents.

Replacement-supply allowance, not measured running cost

Where to buy (11 Nov 2026 prices):Epson EcoTank L3250:MD Computers(₹18,999); Canon PIXMA G3010:Computech(₹13,899); Brother DCP-B7640DWB:Computech(₹22,000). The totals above use the offers we checked.

The illustration uses 7,200 pages: 200 a month for 36 months. Colour-capable printers use 80% mono and 20% colour documents; mono models use all mono. It charges replacement supplies on every page and gives no credit for bundled starter ink or toner. It isnot actual three-year cash ownership cost. It excludes paper, electricity, cleaning, wastage and maintenance parts with no verified replacement interval. A part-used bottle is treated proportionally; actual purchases come in whole bottles or cartridges. Displayed per-page figures are rounded; scores use full precision.

Original benchmarksutra research. Not a hands-on test.

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Yield and price sources are not interchangeable

Use maker India prices first where published. Canon’s figures in this snapshot are published MRPs, not stock-confirmed purchase offers. Where maker pricing is unavailable, an exact original-labelled retail reference is used and identified; seller authorisation is not assumed. The selected Epson 057 prices are out of stock. HP’s generic GT53XL/GT52 bottle-page yields are conservative references and are not silently replaced by a different model’s in-box yields. Record the test basis because brand-method bottle yields and ISO toner yields do not describe every document equally.

Price refresh and editorial rating rules

Comparison totals include a separately displayed mandatory marketplace fee. Bank offers, exchange values, optional protection and gifts are excluded. For retained models, a movement of at least 10% in the illustrative purchase-plus-supply scenario versus the 6 November baseline changes India value by half a point in the corresponding direction, bounded by 0–10. Otherwise its previous editorial value rating is retained. The two Epson six-ink models also lose half a value point for uncertain individual refill availability. Verified specification and warranty changes update their own rating rows. The restored HP 790 receives an explicit new editorial value rating of 7.

Evidence conflicts that affected this refresh

• Epson L4360: the India technical table says 10.5/5 ipm ISO, while marketing and a regional page say 15/8. We use the lower India table figures. The India page states a 50,000-page warranty cap without an established term in years; we do not assume one year.

• Brother DR-2570: the current India page states 13,000 pages, replacing the prior 15,000-page reference.

• Canon G570: warranty sources conflict on 15,000 versus 30,000 prints. The conflict stays visible.

• HP Smart Tank 790: an exact 4WF66A#ACJ India store page now confirms specifications and warranty, so its old hold has been removed. A support-site locale alone would not establish that a particular retail unit is an India SKU.

Researched models held outside the ranking

Unranked means the evidence needed for a fair current comparison remains incomplete. It does not mean poor hardware or that the model is not sold in India. The Smart Tank 790 was previously held and is now restored after an exact India store page was verified. Epson L3350/L3352 and Brother DCP-T730DW remain expansion candidates outside this 33-model snapshot; no score is invented for them.

How to read the scores

Every printer receives seven ratings out of 10. A buyer profile changes their weights, and the weighted total is divided by 10. Lists sort by the unrounded result; the displayed integer uses half-up rounding. Home weighs quality and running cost at 20 points each; the ink-tank profile gives running cost 35. Office gives speed 25 and features 20. Photo gives the specification-based quality proxy 50, but that proxy is not a measured assessment of a print’s colours, detail or longevity. The budget list uses home weights; laser uses office weights.

Tiers are S at 90+, A at 80–89, B at 70–79, C at 60–69 and D below 60. A score difference is not a percentage improvement in printed quality or speed. Use the relevant profile and the missing-feature notes, rather than treating all printers with the same visible integer as interchangeable.Read the full Printer Score methodology.

Check the job before buying the printer

• Count pages and colour pages separately.A mono machine cannot meet a colour requirement, however low its score-model allowance. If photographs are occasional, compare the purchase premium with the cost of an external print service rather than assuming a dedicated photo printer pays for itself.

• Choose the scanning workflow.An ADF can feed loose documents; books and fragile pages still need a suitable flatbed. Automatic print duplex and two-sided scan/copy are different features. Check both directions explicitly if you handle signed forms in batches.

• Check current drivers for your actual device.Wi-Fi alone does not establish AirPrint, Linux or current macOS support. Use the exact maker model’s download page. Old retailer text may list retired cloud services; those are not a current feature promise.

• Read warranty limits together.“One year or 30,000 pages” ends when the first limit is reached. Onsite coverage may be limited by distance or municipal boundaries. Registration gifts, optional paid cover and retailer-only extended-warranty claims are not automatic additions to the standard maker term.

• Budget for more than ink.Paper, maintenance cartridges, cleaning, waste ink, replacement printheads and low-volume interruptions can affect spending. We have not established a predictable replacement interval for every part, so the supply scenario cannot promise a cash ownership bill.

• Verify refill identity and availability.Match bottle or cartridge code, colour and capacity to the model. Do not use a generic marketplace title as proof of genuine supply or seller authorisation. An out-of-stock published price is a reference, not an available purchase offer.

Related printer guides

• Best Printer for Home in India: November 2026

• Best Ink Tank Printer in India: Costs and Features Compared

• Best Printer Under ₹15,000 in India: November 2026

• Best Laser Printer in India for Home Office and Small Business

• Best Office Printer in India: ADF, Duplex and Running Cost

• Best Photo Printer in India: Six Inks, A4 and A3+ Compared

• Epson L3250 vs Canon G3010: Which Wi-Fi Ink Tank Printer?

• Brother HL-L2440DW vs HP Laser 1008a: Which Mono Laser?

Sources and editorial note

• Epson EcoTank L3250 — official specification

• Epson EcoTank L3250 — checked retailer offer

• Brother HL-L2440DW — official specification

• Brother HL-L2440DW — India warranty evidence

• Brother HL-L2440DW — checked retailer offer

• HP Smart Tank 790 — official specification

• HP Smart Tank 790 — checked retailer offer

Maker specifications and supplies are linked above; the arithmetic tables identify each supply price and yield basis. Final editorial review: 9 November 2026; price and consumable snapshot: 8 November 2026. Global or regional support pages are identified in the research record when used. Model-specific India terms take priority over a retailer title or a generic brand banner. Rankings and buying judgements are original editorial work; commercial eligibility does not determine scores or order.

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