Xiaomi Inkjet Printer: for the office or at home for $219.99

We’ve already tested the compact photo printer, we’re currently waiting for the “Pocket Printer“, which doesn’t even need any replaceable parts. But Xiaomi wouldn’t be Xiaomi if it weren’t for the classic inkjet printers. In October such a printer was introduced – of course again in the typical design and with app support.

• Xiaomi Inkjet Printer
  • at GearBest for $219.99 | Banggood for $277.99

Externally, the printer is very similar to the photo printer mentioned above, which we have already had in our office since mid-2019. Mostly in white with strongly rounded corners and edges at the bottom and a light grey upper side. It is as if the photo printer had simply been enlarged by the factor 1.5.

A lot has happened inside, because a completely different printing process is used here. We remember: The photo printer uses the so-called thermosublimation process, which does without ink but requires special photo paper. The inkjet printer now (as the name suggests) relies on inkjet printing. No special paper is needed for this. But the focus here is now on documents and not on photos.

But now also DIN A4 sheets can be printed. According to Xiaomi, one set of ink cartridges is enough for 9,500 pages of color printing or 3,200 pages of black-and-white printing. The cartridges must then be replaced. Where one gets replacement and what this will cost is not yet known. Provided that the printer is continuously connected to the mains, the print head cleans itself automatically every seven days.

The printer is equipped with a 1.2 GHz quad-core processor. It also has WLAN and can of course be used with the Xiaomi Mi Home App. So you can print scanned images directly with the Mi Home App and use further smart features. However, functions that can be used with WeChat are likely to be limited to the Chinese market again.

Evaluation

Sure, Xiaomi can hardly surprise you anymore. When a printer is announced, the reaction is rather: “Of course, why hasn’t it already been there?” Nevertheless, Xiaomi always has the potential to deliver an interesting product, especially in terms of price and performance. The price alone doesn’t say much; it’s only worth it if the printer is also convincing in its application.

A bigger problem might be the availability of the printer cartridges. This has to be given for years (or you have to stock up directly), and so far it is not sure how easy it will be to get the cartridges. So we are keeping an eye on the Xiaomi inkjet printer, but don’t see yet that it is suitable for a mass product for the western market, especially since there are enough alternatives.

Do you have an opinion about the printer? Write it to us in the comments.