The State of Home Printing 2026: Fewer Printers, Steady Ink Demand and More Locked Cartridges

A Castle Ink research report. Published October 2026 by Bill Elward, founder of Castle Ink. Free to cite with attribution and a link to this page.

Summary: Americans shop for printers far less than they did 20 years ago, but they still buy ink for the ones they own. Google search interest in "printer" fell 56% between 2004 and 2019, while interest in "printer ink" in 2025 was within 2% of its 2004 level. Many of those printers are old: we researched 493 popular printer models in depth this year, and of the 398 whose status we could confirm, 82% are no longer sold new. Genuine cartridges for older printers cost more, and many owners have printers built to refuse cheaper cartridges: 89% of the HP inkjets we checked use firmware that can block cartridges without an HP chip.

Key findings

• People stopped shopping for printers, not printing. Search interest in "printer" fell by more than half between 2004 and 2019. Interest in "printer ink" held up far better: it was 16% lower in 2019 and only 2% lower in 2025 than in 2004.
• Most popular printers are no longer sold. Of the 398 printer models with enough owner demand for us to write a dedicated ink guide, and whose status we could confirm, 328 (82%) are discontinued.
• Ink for older printers costs more. Genuine cartridges for older HP printers that HP no longer sells on its own store cost a median of 12.79¢ a page at national retailers, about 2.6 times the 4.92¢ median for cartridges still sold direct.
• Lock-in depends on the brand. 95 of 107 HP inkjets we checked (89%) use HP dynamic security, which can block cartridges without an HP chip. For 22 of 37 Epson models we checked, Epson states the printer is designed for Epson cartridges only or that firmware updates can stop non-Epson cartridges being recognized. We found no cartridge blocking on any of the 61 Canon or 23 Brother models we checked.
• Owners notice. Cartridge-recognition problems were among the most-reported complaints for 57% of the Epson inkjets and 51% of the HP inkjets we researched, against 9% of Canon inkjets.

1. Americans stopped shopping for printers, but not for ink

We tracked three search terms on Google Trends for the United States from 2004 to 2025: "printer", "ink cartridge" and "printer ink". Google scores each term from 0 to 100 against its own peak, so the useful comparison is how each line changed over time, not which score is higher.

Annual averages of monthly Google Trends scores, United States. Each term was queried separately and is scaled to its own peak. Sources: printer, ink cartridge, printer ink.

The pattern is consistent. Interest in buying or researching printers fell steadily from 2004 to 2019, the years when smartphones, email attachments and cloud documents made printing optional. The urgent search, for ink for a printer someone already owns, held up far better. The pandemic briefly lifted all three terms in 2020, with "printer ink" peaking at 76.3, and all three fell back from their pandemic peaks by 2022.

"Printer" rose again in 2025, to its highest annual average since 2009. Some of that may be 3D printing: "best 3D printer" and "3D printer filament" were among the fastest-rising related searches. We would not read the 2025 bump as a revival of home printing.

2. Most printers people still feed are no longer sold

This year we researched 493 printer models in depth for our ink and toner guides. We chose them by owner demand: they are the models people search for when they need ink or toner. For each one we checked the manufacturer's and major retailers' listings to see whether it is still sold new.

Of the 398 models whose status we could confirm, 328 (82%) are discontinued. The share varies by brand:

Printers outlive their shelf life. A household that bought a printer eight or ten years ago, and still uses it a few times a month, has little reason to replace it. The manufacturer, meanwhile, has moved on to newer models and newer cartridges.

3. Ink for older printers costs more

Our Printer Ink Price Index priced 32 common cartridges in August 2026 against the manufacturers' own page yields. For cartridges still sold on the manufacturer's store, the median genuine cartridge cost 4.92¢ a page.

Twelve widely used HP cartridges, including the 61XL, 63XL, 65XL, 950XL, 951XL, 96 and 98, are no longer sold on HP's own online store. Their printers are still in use, so national retailers still stock them. At retailer prices those cartridges cost a median of 12.79¢ a page, about 2.6 times more. Three tri-color cartridges cost more than 19¢ a page.

Inkjet is where the money goes. In the same index, the median genuine inkjet cartridge cost 7.92¢ a page against 3.32¢ for toner, and every cartridge above 12¢ a page held 300 pages or fewer. By volume, genuine inkjet ink worked out to a median of about $12,400 a gallon (full breakdown).

4. Many printers are built to refuse cheaper cartridges

For each model we checked the manufacturer's own statements about third-party cartridges. HP says printers that use "dynamic security" are intended to work only with cartridges that have a new or reused HP chip, and that firmware updates can block cartridges that worked before. Epson warns on many models that firmware updates may stop non-Epson cartridges working.

On HP printers the block applies whether or not the owner signs up for HP+. HP+ adds a further condition: once it is turned on during setup, the printer must use Original HP ink and stay online, and it cannot be switched off later.

Owners feel it. In the owner complaints we collected for each model, cartridge-recognition problems ("cartridge not recognized", "incompatible cartridge", chip errors after a firmware update) were among the most-reported issues for 57% of Epson inkjets and 51% of HP inkjets, against 9% of Canon inkjets.

5. What printer owners complain about most

Across all 493 models, these were the most common themes in the owner complaints we collected:

Connection problems now outnumber paper jams: printers that depend on an app and a network connection fail in new ways. Cartridge-recognition problems are about as common. Some are hardware faults, but many follow from printers designed to accept only the maker's own chips.

6. Has AI dented printing?

Not visibly, yet. "Printer ink" search interest dipped from 64.5 in 2022 to 60.6 in 2024, about 6%, then returned to 64.9 in 2025, slightly above its 2022 level. So far, search data shows no lasting drop in demand for ink since AI tools went mainstream. The printing most at risk from AI is the office kind: drafts, forms and sign-and-return paperwork that can now be reviewed and signed on screen. Home, school, photo, label and small-business printing look far more durable.

What this means for printer owners

• Check the running cost, not the sticker price. Cost per page varied nine-fold across the genuine cartridges in our index. Our ink cost calculator estimates your yearly spend.
• Before you buy, check whether the printer can block third-party cartridges. On HP models, look for "dynamic security" in the datasheet. Our printer guides flag it wherever the manufacturer says so.
• An old printer that still works is usually worth keeping. Ink for older models is still widely available. On HP printers with dynamic security, choose remanufactured cartridges that keep the original HP chip, and be aware that HP firmware updates can block cartridges that worked before.
• Look up your exact cartridge. Our printer ink guides cover more than 500 models.

Frequently Asked Questions

Methodology

Search interest. Google Trends, United States web search, January 2004 to December 2025, collected in June 2026. Annual figures are averages of monthly scores. Each term was queried on its own, so each is scaled 0 to 100 against its own peak; we compare changes over time, not levels between terms. Google Trends shows relative interest, not search volume.

Printer research. 493 printer models (360 inkjet, 133 laser; 227 HP, 102 Canon, 89 Brother, 65 Epson and 10 others), researched June to October 2026 for our printer ink and toner guides. Models were chosen by owner demand, not at random, so the sample leans toward popular and older models that people still need supplies for. Sold-new status comes from manufacturer and major U.S. retailer listings; where we could not confirm it (95 models), the model is left out of that figure. Cartridge-blocking status comes from manufacturer datasheets and support statements; models without a clear statement are left out of that figure.

Owner complaints. For each model we recorded up to five of the most-reported problems from retailer reviews, manufacturer support forums and owner communities, then grouped them by keyword. A model counts in a category if any of its top complaints matches. Treat these shares as approximate.

Ink prices. From the Castle Ink Printer Ink Price Index, August 14, 2026: manufacturer store prices (or national retailer prices where the manufacturer no longer sells the cartridge) divided by the manufacturer's ISO page yield.

Disclosure. Castle Ink sells remanufactured ink cartridges and compatible toner, so we have a commercial interest in cartridge prices and lock-in. Every figure here comes from public sources or our own research, and the method is described above so it can be checked.