Best printers with scanner in India for 2023

Best WiFi printer for home use in India

Best printers for home use in India in 2023

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Today's budget printers don't skimp on features or print quality and come loaded with additional functions like copy, scan, and even fax.</li><li>For our guide to the best budget printers, we focused on models priced under a hundred dollars.</li><li><p><strong>With its plentiful features, great print quality, and very low price, our pick for the best cheap printer is the <a href="https://amzn.to/2P95MjN" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Canon Pixma TR4520</a>. Following close behind is our second favorite, the <a href="https://amzn.to/2Eg1i4J" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Epson Expression Premium XP-7100</a>.</strong></p></li></ul><p>Whether you need to churn out pages upon pages of a college class essay, scan receipts, create graphics for a scrapbook, or make copies of a business contract, a modern printer is a handy computing peripheral to have around. Even if your printing needs are limited, many printers today can do more than just print, and they are relatively compact and operate wirelessly, so they can be tucked away in a closet or cabinet.</p><p>And don't let a small budget hold you back: For a low price, you can get a high-quality printer that produces crisp text and colorful photos. You'll also find that many affordable printers are multifunction units that can scan, copy, and even fax, and include useful features like an automatic document feeder, auto-duplexing (two-sided), and wireless connectivity. With these extras, a printer is a great tool for digitizing hard-copy documents, even if you never print a single page.</p><p>Budget models tend to use inkjet technology, but there are also good laser options. Affordable laser printers are generally barebones and print in only black and white, but our recommendation is fast and reliable, and makes great-quality prints. </p><p>Do keep in mind that while these printers aren't expensive to buy, they can be expensive to maintain, particularly inkjet models. This is the case if you print often, or you make a lot of high-quality color prints like photos or scrapbook printables. Heavy-duty users should look at the cost of ink replacement and the page yields before investing in a unit. Also, while we tried to pick products from reliable brands, printers are mechanical - with many moving parts, they can fail.</p><p>As a tech journalist who has covered printers for nearly 15 years, I have tested a variety of models, from single-function inkjet devices to wide-format photo printers and high-end, multifunction laser units. Considering pricing, features, ease of use, and reliability, these are the best budget printers.</p><h2><strong>Here are the best budget printers you can buy:</strong></h2><ul class="summary-list"><li><strong>Best budget printer overall: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07G5XZVLG/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=biipg_120919_best-printers-under-100-20&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;creativeASIN=B07G5XZVLG&amp;linkId=8d1bcada8e01105c0de9a8510267bf88" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow nofollow nofollow">Canon Pixma TR4520</a> </strong></li><li><strong>Best budget photo printer: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07FN93WW7/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=biipg_120919_best-printers-under-100-20&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;creativeASIN=B07FN93WW7&amp;linkId=6eddd1bd9cc9d92fd47c061df8c17d80" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">Epson Expression Premium XP-7100</a></strong></li><li><strong>Best budget compact printer: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01GAIU7HG/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=biipg_120919_best-printers-under-100-20&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;creativeASIN=B01GAIU7HG&amp;linkId=0ff299a7b62b7794c06ab5376f171646" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">HP DeskJet 3755</a></strong></li><li><strong>Best budget laser printer: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07FN93WW7/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=biipg_120919_best-printers-under-100-20&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;creativeASIN=B07FN93WW7&amp;linkId=6eddd1bd9cc9d92fd47c061df8c17d80" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow"></a><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00LEA5EHO/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=biipg_120919_best-printers-under-100-20&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;creativeASIN=B00LEA5EHO&amp;linkId=65ce7e37608bbe8b73c9809ddcb9058c" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Brother HLL2320D</a></strong></li><li><strong>Best budget color laser alternative: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07JMF95S9/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=biipg_120919_best-printers-under-100-20&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;creativeASIN=B07JMF95S9&amp;linkId=a96af38ed3e7d69b0486c6c8a28479e1" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow nofollow nofollow">Epson WorkForce Pro WF-3730</a></strong></li></ul><p><em>Updated on 12/10/2019 by Les Shu: Replaced all recommendations with newer options. Updated copy and formatting.</em></p><p><a href="http://e.businessinsider.com/join/ci/insider-picks">Subscribe to our newsletter.</a><br /><br />Find all the best offers at our <a href="https://coupons.businessinsider.com/">Coupons page</a>.<br /><br />Disclosure: This post is brought to you by the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/insiderpicks">Insider Picks</a> team. We highlight products and services you might find interesting. If you buy them, we get a small share of the revenue from the sale from our commerce partners. We frequently receive products free of charge from manufacturers to test. This does not drive our decision as to whether or not a product is featured or recommended. We operate independently from our advertising sales team. We welcome your feedback. Email us at insiderpicks@businessinsider.com.</p>

The best budget printers

Printer companies use an outdated business model so you pay more for ink cartridges than for the printer itself

<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/28827865.cms" />This is an age-long question – should we buy a new ink cartridge or go for a refill? While the companies want us to buy a new one every time the ink cartridge finishes, there are times when going for an alternate method yields better results. There are numerous <keyword id="53666" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="Printer">printer</keyword> manufacturers present in India. <keyword id="6367983" type="CITY" weightage="60" keywordseo="HP">HP</keyword> is the most popular brand and is leading the <keyword id="47445" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="40" keywordseo="Indian-market">Indian market</keyword> with over 50% market share; <keyword id="37530" type="CITY" weightage="40" keywordseo="Canon">Canon</keyword> is in the second spot with over 20%, followed by Epson and <keyword id="10591" type="CITY" weightage="40" keywordseo="Samsung">Samsung</keyword> (Gartner report).<br />
<br />
However, what most people do not know is that the printer companies do not make much profit by selling a printer, the real profit lies in the printer ink business. A customer will buy a printer once in three to five years; however, they buy ink cartridges/refills two to three times in a year. The companies’ research extensively to provide customers with best inks and at the same time, try to keep the costs low. The deskjet printer segment has come a long way. If we look back, the inks offered by these companies half a decade ago were quite expensive to acquire. But now things are changing and the companies are offering cheaper yet efficient inks that last for longer.<br />
<br />
<strong>So, how much does it cost?</strong><br />
The market for refill inks has been quite forceful since a long time. One can get a three colour deskjet refill from places such as Nehru Place in Delhi for as low as Rs 90. Many opt for this because it does not cost much. However, the original inks prices are coming down gradually to lure the customer back to original inks.<br />
<br />
HP says they have introduced high yield cartridges priced between Rs 475 and Rs 546. These inks give you over 1,500 pages and do not harm the printers. As a third option, there are Chinese ink tanks available in the market as well. These are not as cheap as the refills but are not as expensive as the original cartridges, they are somewhere in between. However, we do not suggest you go for them as the print results are very poor and in many cases they destroy the printers.<br />
<br />
<strong>What are the perils of <keyword id="2015391" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="Refill-Ink">refill ink</keyword>?</strong><br /> This is by far the most important question one can ask before opting for a refill ink. The bright side of opting for a refill is the price. They are inexpensive, but it does have a set of flaws attached to it. If the cartridge is not refilled by a professional, the <keyword id="2015397" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="ink-Tank">ink tank</keyword> might start leaking in the printer and obliterate it from further use.<br />
<br /> Another point one has to consider is that the refill inks will never give you the same results as an <keyword id="2015396" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="Original-ink">original ink</keyword> cartridge will give you. Even if you print at the best settings it will not be great. At times the cartridge or the printer might just reject the refilled ink cartridge. The printers are programmed to recognise the original and duplicate inks.<br />
<br />
Though 95% of the times the printer will let you print with the refilled cartridge, the desktop software will not show the ink levels and other related features. Hence, you will never know when you have to again go for a refill. You will come to know once you start getting a blank print or a print with one missing colour. Talking about which, at times when you go for a refill the printer ends up using one colour more than the other. Again, one cannot track, which ink is low as the software will not show the ink levels.<br />
<br />
<strong>How many times can I refill the cartridge before buying a new one?</strong><br />
Ideally one can refill the print cartridge three times before throwing it away. The ink cartridges are not built for prolonged use and sometimes a kept original ink also goes bad. Wear and tear sets in after couple of months of use and one can see the chip behind the cartridge going bad. As a result, the printer is not able to detect the ink tank and you will not be able to print.<br />
<br />
<strong>Verdict</strong><br />
With the prices of original inks coming down drastically users are able to print three to four times the amount of pages they can with a refilled ink. If you look at the costs, refilling a tank four times will still be cheaper than buying one original cartridge. However, one has to look past the costs here. Using an original ink will keep the printer safe and elongates its life. The users will be able to see ink levels and would know when to buy a new one.<br />
<br />
But the most important factor here is the print quality. With original inks users can get the best print quality, which is not possible with a refill. Today as opposed to five years ago, going for an original ink makes more sense than going for a refill, as it gives you both safety and quality. If you do not care about the print quality and are one of those who replace the printer every two years, you can go for a refill. But make sure after every two to three refills you buy an original ink cartridge and throw the old one away. <br />


Demystified: Original Printer Cartridge Vs Refill Ink

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container float_right"><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/525ff4d0ecad045a01aaec3c-977-732/fax-2.jpg?maxX=480" border="0" alt="fax" width="480" /><p class="source"><span><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/kalleboo/3911994284/">Karl Baron/Flickr</a></span></p></div><p></p></div>Whether you want to print your boarding pass, photographs, or important documents, having a functional at-home printer is a convenient time saver.</p>
<p>The experts over at <a href="http://all-in-one-printers.findthebest.com/">FindTheBest</a> compiled a list of the best home printers. To rank this list, they looked at expert reviews from various electronics websites.<span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;"><br /></span></p>
<h2>10. Brother HL-2240 ($56)</h2>
<p>If you're looking for a basic, black and white laserjet printer to print out a lot of pages quickly, the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00450DULW/?tag=findthebest_all-in-one-printers-20">Brother HL-2240</a> is a great (and cheap) option. Its abilities don't extend far beyond basic printing, but it'll print 24 pages per minute to get the job done.</p>
<h2>9. HP LaserJet P3015dn ($750)</h2>
<p>The <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002JE7FBW/?tag=findthebest_all-in-one-printers-20">HP LaserJet P3015dn</a> is best for a home that needs very large amounts of printing done - think home office amounts. The speed of printing almost doubles that of the Brother HL-2240 at 42 pages per minute, and its trays can hold a total of 600 pages for maximum printing without having to refill often. </p>
<h2>8. HP Photosmart 7510 ($329)</h2>
<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container float_left"><div class="image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/53befbe469bedd1a1a1a7816-503-347/screen%20shot%202014-07-10%20at%204.46.58%20pm.png" border="0" alt="HP Photosmart 7510 All-in-One" width="480" /><p class="source"><span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005N3FMDE/?tag=findthebest_all-in-one-printers-20">Amazon</a></span></p><p class="caption">HP Photosmart 7510</p></div><p></p></div>The <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005N3FMDE/?tag=findthebest_all-in-one-printers-20">HP Photosmart 7510</a> is a laserjet with fast color printing abilities. It accomplishes all of the basics with its scanning, copying, and printing of high quality photos.</p>
<h2>7. LEXMARK E462DTN ($690)</h2>
<p>For a reliable and lasting printer that will likely more than fulfill any household's needs, the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002O0KKBS/?tag=findthebest_all-in-one-printers-20">LEXMARK E452DTN</a> is a pricey yet competent device. The model has a maximum monthly duty of 80,000 pages, and accepts all kinds of media types and sizes like envelopes, transparencies, folios, and more.</p>
<h2>6. Ricoh Aficio SP C240SF ($499)</h2>
<p>The <a href="http://www.officemax.com/technology/new-technology/new-printers/product-prod4930053">Ricoh Aficio SP C240SF</a> is an all-in-one printer with scanning, copying, faxing, and photo printing capabilities. Its print speed for color and black and white pages is slower than average, at roughly 16 pages per minute, but its large tray can hold 751 pages.<a href="http://www.officemax.com/technology/new-technology/new-printers/product-prod4930053"></a></p>
<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container float_left"><div class="image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/53befa14ecad04624dd9ba99-508-333/screen%20shot%202014-07-10%20at%204.39.15%20pm.png" border="0" alt="Epson Stylus Photo R3000" width="480" /><p class="source"><span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004IZN3RK/?tag=findthebest_all-in-one-printers-20">Amazon</a></span></p><p class="caption">Epson Stylus NX515</p></div><p></p></div></p>
<h2>5. Epson Stylus NX515 ($380)</h2>
<p>For families who like to fill the photo albums, the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004IZN3RK/?tag=findthebest_all-in-one-printers-20">Epson Stylis NX515</a> offers impressive image quality. The printer has WiFi, ethernet, card, and USB slots so that you can upload photos with ease. It also comes with built-in editing tools, like red eye correction. </p>
<h2>4. HP Officejet 6500A Plus e-All-in-One ($759)</h2>
<p>Print vibrant, borderless color photos and posters with standout text with the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003ZUXXP6/?tag=findthebest_all-in-one-printers-20">HP Officejet 6500A</a>. Its features include smart phone photo printing, color faxing, and above average speed printing for both black and white and color.</p>
<h2>3. Canon Pixma MX340 Wireless Office ($300)</h2>
<p>With the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0032AN4N0/?tag=findthebest_all-in-one-printers-20">Canon </a><a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0032AN4N0/?tag=findthebest_all-in-one-printers-20">Pixma Mx340</a>, you can print wirelessly from multiple devices throughout your home, including photos from iPhone and iPod touches. The fax aspect of the printer is also notably quick. </p>
<h2>2. HP Officejet Pro 276dw MFP ($335)</h2>
<p>The <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00B1HXHLU/?tag=findthebest_all-in-one-printers-20">HP Officejet Pro 276dw Multi Function Printer</a> is ideal if you're looking for an all-in-one, high quality device that can copy, fax, scan, and print. Its sheet capacity and speed are both lower than average, but it offers very low cost per page printing.<a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00B1HXHLU/?tag=findthebest_all-in-one-printers-20"></a></p>
<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container float_right"><div class="image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/53bef99569beddc5091a7815-681-506/screen%20shot%202014-07-10%20at%204.36.53%20pm.png" border="0" alt="Amazon HP Pro X551dw" width="480" /><p class="source"><span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AAHMRC2/?tag=findthebest_all-in-one-printers-20">Amazon</a></span></p><p class="caption">HP Officejet Pro X551dw</p></div><p></p></div></p>
<h2>1. HP Officejet Pro X551dw ($600)<span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;"> </span></h2>
<p><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">This wireless color photo printer scored the highest on <a href="http://all-in-one-printers.findthebest.com/l/698/HP-Officejet-Pro-X551dw">FindTheBest</a>. The <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AAHMRC2/?tag=findthebest_all-in-one-printers-20">HP Officejet Pro X551dw</a> is energy and cost efficient; speedy, with a rate of 42 pages per minute; and compatible with various types of paper and envelopes.</span></p>

The 10 Best Home Printers On The Market

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container float_right"><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/547ee7b2dd0895d14e8b46ae-1200-924/280252512_a3c4f43c56_o.jpg?maxX=600" border="0" alt="Baby using laptop" width="600"><p class="source"><span><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/cdharrison/">Flickr/Chris Harrison</a></span></p><p class="caption">A new PC user.</p></img></div><p></p></div>PC makers shipped almost 81 million computers last quarter, which is down 2.4% from last year.</p>
<p>But that's actually good news for the PC market.</p>
<p>The company tracking these stats, IDC, expected a decline of 4.8% during the quarter, according to <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2015-01-12/global-pc-shipments-fall-2-4-in-fourth-quarter-idc-says.html">Bloomberg</a>. So sales were actually better than expected.</p>
<p>For all of last year, total PC sales came in around 308 million, a decline of 2.1%. </p>
<p>That's a lot better than 2013, when sales were <a href="http://www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=prUS24595914">down 10%</a> from the previous year, a record since the time IDC began tracking the market.</p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">The big winner during the quarter was Apple, which saw shipments go up 19% from last year. Apple also saw the highest annual growth among the top 5 PC makers, with </span><a href="http://blogs.seattletimes.com/brierdudley/2015/01/12/idc-pc-sales-slow-in-2014-consumers-buying-again-in-2015/">16% growth</a><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"> in shipments.</span></p>
<p>Lenovo is still the top PC maker in the world, and shipped more than 59 million PCs last year. But HP finished the year strong with a 15% increase in shipments during the fourth quarter, and came in second for the year with more than 56 million PCs shipped.</p>
<p>The good news for PC makers comes as HP prepares to split PCs and printers into a separate business from its other products, such as servers and enterprise software. Microsoft is also gearing up for its next major Windows release, Windows 10, later this year.</p>
<p>The improvement comes partly as businesses replaced old computers running Windows XP, an old operating system that Microsoft stopped supporting in 2014. A rise in cheap computers running Chromebooks and bundles of Windows with Microsoft's Bing search engine also helped shipments, although those boosts might fade in 2015, IDC says.</p>
<p>Still, it looks like the PC market is finally stabilizing - especially as <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/so-much-for-the-tablet-market--the-ipad-has-hit-the-wall-2014-11">tablet sales</a> aren't rising nearly as fast as they used to.</p>

The PC Market May Finally Have Hit The Bottom (For Now)

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/51fa9b916bb3f79e12000004-2403-1609/michael-dell-18.jpg" alt="Michael Dell" data-mce-source="AP" /><p class="source"><span>AP</span></p><p class="caption">Dell CEO Michael Dell</p></div><p></p></div></div>Today, the official word came down: Dell is buying EMC for $67 billion in the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/dell-acquires-emc-vmware-2015-10">biggest tech merger ever</a>. </p><p>For Dell, the goal here is to use EMC's storage know-how to <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/this-is-why-dell-is-paying-67-billion-for-emc-and-how-it-could-backfire-2015-10">diversify its business</a>, as a shrinking PC market threatens the company's future. </p><p>The deal was led by Dell founder and CEO Michael S. Dell personally, alongside<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/silverlake-doubles-down-on-dell-with-emc-2015-10"> private equity firm Silver Lake</a>. </p><p>The funny part here is that back in 2002, this exact same deal almost happened for the exact same reason - but Michael Dell shut down any EMC acquisition talks before they could happen because he didn't want to "bet the company."</p><p>This story comes from a <a href="http://fortune.com/2011/06/13/michael-dells-dilemma/">2011 profile of Michael Dell in Fortune</a>. </p><p>Apparently in the early 2000s, top Dell executives, including former President and CEO Kevin Rollins, were concerned that Dell's fortunes were too heavily banked on the PC industry.</p><p>At the time, Dell's model revolved on its economies of scale, squeezing every inch of efficiency it could out of the PC manufacturing process to sell custom computers at a high margin. Instead of innovating with new kinds of hardware, Dell just pumped out a lot of PCs, quickly. <div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/4f917fe5eab8ea537a000000-3000-2000/ap060724015601.jpg" alt="Dell" data-mce-source="AP" /><p class="source"><span>AP</span></p><p class="caption">In the late 2000's, Dell even tried to make its own retail stores to show its consumer electronics and PCs off to consumers.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>Rollins suggested an acquisition of EMC, then worth $16 billion, to add its <keyword id="6356323" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Enterprise">enterprise</keyword> storage business to Dell's lineup and hedge against any kind of PC shakeup. </p><p>But Michael Dell was spooked. (He was technically no longer CEO of the company, but he still exerted a lot of influence at Dell.) But after a prior acquisition, ConvergeNet, hadn't gone well in 1999, he was gun-shy about any new purchases - let alone one that would drastically change what Dell was all about.</p><p>Michael Dell's big plan was to get into consumer electronics, instead.</p><p>But that didn't really work out: Stuff like TVs and printers were already cheaply available when Dell got into the game, meaning that it's time-tested approach of being cheap and fast didn't really add anything. And because its model didn't leave a lot of room for R&amp;D, Dell couldn't offer consumers anything that wasn't already available elsewhere. </p><p>Fast forward a few years, and those Dell executives look downright prescient. Dell was left behind in a changing market. HP and IBM had invested in their enterprise services businesses, including storage, while Dell's consumer electronics efforts had fallen flat.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/561c48a4bd86efed5b8b6254-788-591/krollins.jpg" alt="former dell ceo kevin rollins" data-mce-source="Wikimedia Commons" /><p class="source"><span>Wikimedia Commons</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>Meanwhile, the commoditization of the PC and the entry of Asian market competitors like Asus and Lenovo meant that Dell's price advantage was melting away. Plus, that lack of R&amp;D meant that Dell was terminally late to mobile and tablets, since it was very much stuck in a PC-first mindset. </p><p>In 2012, Dell's business was seriously lacking. In 2013, Dell and Silver Lake took the company private in the biggest-ever deal of its kind. And today, in 2015, Dell is snapping up EMC after all, for exactly the same reason - protection against a changing PC industry. </p><p>The real question is whether it's too late. Or whether it would have been too late in 2002.  </p><p> </p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/dell-dude-ben-curtis-today-2014-10">WHERE ARE THEY NOW? Here's What The 'Dude You're Getting A Dell' Guy Is Doing Today</a></h3>        <div>            <div>    <script src="http://player.ooyala.com/v3/6e12e8b3387a44daacfb73afba25a76e"></script>    <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="l5NDJ5cDodVrG23lsHuA44EjAGPY-MeQ" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>    <script>    if (typeof RunFunctions === 'undefined') { var RunFunctions = []; }     RunFunctions.push(function()    {         var ooyalapopvideo = OO.Player.create('ooyalaplayer_popvideo', 'l5NDJ5cDodVrG23lsHuA44EjAGPY-MeQ',{ autoplay: 'false' });     });    </script>    <noscript><div>Please enable Javascript to watch this video</div></noscript></div>        </div>        <script>(function() { function createPlayer() { OO.ready(function() { RunFunctions.forEach(function(ooyalaFunction) { ooyalaFunction(); }); RunFunctions = [];}); } createPlayer(); }()); </script>    </div>

Dell almost bought EMC in 2002 - but Michael Dell blocked the deal

<p><img src="http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/53f63fc76bb3f7ae0bf34f7a-800-75/3d-printinggcpost-page.png" border="0" /></p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container"><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5411eaa36da811f51941de3d-920-518/harvard-absolventin-grace-choi.jpg?maxX=800" border="0" alt="harvard grace choi mink" width="800"><p class="source"><span>Brian Ach/Getty Images for TechCrunch</span></p><p class="caption">Grace Choi, inventor of Mink.</p></img></div><p></p></div>In May, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/mink-3d-printed-make-up-grace-choi-2014-5">Grace Choi presented a startup</a> at New York technology conference, TechCrunch Disrupt. Her idea seemed too good to be true.</p>
<p>Her product, Mink, promised to help anyone easily 3D print their own makeup from any home computer. All that was required was a colorful image from the Internet, a tool like Photoshop that could lift a hex color code, and a Mink Printer, which hooks up to a computer to print specific ink colors on colorless shadows and creams.</p>
<p>While Choi didn't win the startup competition, Mink generated a lot of interest from potential users, top makeup companies and investors. S<span style="line-height: 1.5em;">he has spent the past few months figuring out how to bring 3D makeup printing to the masses, even if it leaves her broke. </span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">And she's decided she <em>really</em> doesn't like venture capitalists.</span></p>
<p>Business Insider caught up with Choi, who gave us a step-by-step guide on how to 3D print makeup using a home computer and a regular HP printer. She also told us how she came up with an idea that could disrupt the $55 billion beauty industry.</p>
<p><a href="how-to-3d-print-lipstick-makeup-eyeshadow-and-nail-polish-from-a-home-computer-2014-9"><strong>Jump straight to Choi's tutorial on how to 3D print makeup from your home computer &gt;&gt;</strong></a></p>
<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_left"><div><div class="image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/54137ae46da811795f583c87-1200-924/mink-3d-print-makeup-grace-choi-founder-2.png" border="0" alt="Mink 3D print makeup grace choi founder" style="color: #000000;"><p class="source"><span>Mink/Vimeo</span></p><p class="caption">Grace Choi applying lipstick she made from her 3D makeup printer.</p></img></div><p></p></div></div>Choi, 30, was raised in Brooklyn, New York. Her parents immigrated from Korea, where her father was an aerospace engineer and her mother was a nurse. In New York, Choi's father opened a small fruit and vegetable shop. "It was a simple store, but he's a great entrepreneur, and I learned a lot from him about negotiating and business," Choi says.</p>
<p>As an undergraduate at Cornell University, Choi majored in hotel administration. But she wasn't ready to settle on a career, so she tried a "bajillion" internships. She spent a year in finance after she graduated in 2005, decided she hated it, then quit. While perusing a Cornell alumni job board, she stumbled across a listing seeking an assistant to a Cornell professor in New York City. The professor, Dr. Martin Prince, was an established inventor and physician who hired her despite her lack of experience in science and medicine. He quickly became Choi's mentor, and she worked as his assistant until 2011.</p>
<p>Under Prince's leadership, Choi was able to work on a number of his inventions, learn from other physicians in his lab, and come up with a few ideas of her own.</p>
<p>In 2010, Choi saw a nationwide casting call from Home Shopping Network for its reality show <span>"Homemade Millionaire," which features </span>aspiring inventors. Determined to cook up a clever idea, Choi went on HSN's site and hunted for inspiration. She noticed jewelry was a major category on the site, and that necklaces, earrings and bracelets were the main featured items. Using magnetic clasps, Choi invented a 3-in-1 necklace that could be easily be converted to a bracelet or pair of earrings by disassembling then reconnecting the magnets. Choi's invention, "Convertible Necklace," won the fifth episode of the show, and her items were sold online.</p>
<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5411e9896da811e61341de3d-1200-310/convertiblejewelry.jpg" border="0" alt="convertible jewelry grace choi hsn"><p class="source"><span><a href="http://www.hsn.com/article/tlc-homemade-millionaire/3870">HSN</a></span></p><p class="caption">Grace Choi (far right) modeling her convertible necklace that won episode 5 of HSN's Homemade Millionaire reality TV show.</p></img></div><p></p></div></div></p>
<p>Choi didn't feel fulfilled as a jewelry inventor though (she says making accessories felt "empty"), so she applied to Harvard Business School, in hopes of increasing her credibility as an inventor and continuing to pursue her own ideas.</p>
<p>While at Harvard, Choi came up with her first beauty product, which was inspired by a popular cosmetic in China, BB cream. BB Cream was a tinted moisturizer that Choi felt could be big in the United States as a blend of lotion and concealer. Choi created her own line of the cream, dubbed it "<a href="http://thedailyobsession.net/2012/07/best-bb-cream-grace-choi-harvard/">Grace Choi Porcelain Skin BB Cream</a>" and priced it at $34 per bottle. Choi had long felt Asians were underrepresented in beauty industry marketing, and she'd struggled to find skin care products that catered to her skin tone. She was determined that her line would be different.</p>
<p>"I felt pretty insignificant when there was no Asian Cover Girl model," she says. "America is supposed to be progressive."</p>
<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container float_left" style="width:250px"><div class="image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/54132d5eecad04464f9d1186-193-295/grace-choi-cream.png" border="0" alt="Grace Choi cream" width="250"><p class="source"><span>Grace Choi</span></p><p class="caption">Choi's BB cream was the first cosmetic product she created.</p></img></div><p></p></div>Choi approached a Harvard mentor with her cream idea and asked for advice: She had a limited amount of money to spend on the product line, but she wanted to offer options for many skin tones. How, she wondered, could she do that efficiently?</p>
<p>The mentor's response startled her:</p>
<p>"Go with the lighter shades," the mentor told her. "Those people have more money to spend."</p>
<p>"That response really hit a nerve with me," Choi says. She didn't realize it then, but that comment led to the idea for Mink. With Mink, "the color [variety] question doesn't have to come up, because the Internet solves that. Every color is free on the Internet," Choi says.</p>
<p>When she graduated from HBS in 2013, she was recruited by Burger King to work on food innovation for the fast food chain. After three months, though, Choi felt out of place and left the job. She went back to inventing.</p>
<p>Choi says there wasn't one "aha" moment for her 3D makeup printer. </p>
<p>"<span>When I started at business school and was trying to make a cosmetics product I realized, '</span>Oh, this is how a cosmetic is made.' And I thought, 'It's so interesting how it's so inefficient,'" <a href="http://nymag.com/thecut/2014/06/custom-color-makeup-helps-stop-racism-in-beauty.html">Choi told New York Magazine</a> in June. "<span style="line-height: 1.5em;">I wanted to do something more meaningful and impactful. I decided I wanted to tackle challenges in the beauty industry. </span><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">The challenges are diversity issues and issues with women's confidence."</span></p>
<blockquote class="pullquote"><span>The makeup industry makes a whole lot of money on a whole lot of bullshit. </span><span>They charge a huge premium on something that tech provides for free. That one thing is color.</span></blockquote>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Choi started mulling over a way to bring down makeup prices. She realized what makeup companies primarily charge a premium on - the colors and dyes they use in their formulas - is actually cheap to acquire before it's mixed into the creams. She wondered if there was a way to use the four computer printer colors (Black, Cyan, Yellow and Magenta) to allow anyone to mix their own makeup colors cheaply from home. </span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><span>"</span><span>The makeup industry makes a whole lot of money on a whole lot of bullshit," Choi explained during her TechCrunch Disrupt presentation. "</span><span>They charge a huge premium on something that tech provides for free. That one thing is color."</span></span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">It took Choi one month to go from the idea stage to having a semi-working prototype. That may sound fast, but Choi insists any curious self-starter can pull off something similar.</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">"There are so many learning tools now, like Google, and tons of people you can ask questions of," she says. "I worked a lot of the prototype for Mink out in my head and thought, 'What materials would I need to make this work?' Then I'd do small tests and take a little ink and mix it together with raw materials. I'd go to Staples and Best Buy and look at every single printer and open up the printers to examine the inside."</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Choi says she went through about 20 printers to find one that would print the best results and cover an entire eyeshadow pan, for example.</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Choi's solution prints just a top layer of ink onto a blank (white) shadow, cream or moisturizer. It could be seen as a problem that the ink doesn't seep all the way through like consumers are used to when they buy makeup. Choi actually thinks it's a good problem that could save consumers money.</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">"Mink only covers the top layer, but not a lot of people use all the eye shadow they buy," says Choi. "A girl's makeup junk drawer is a clear sign that the system of makeup is not working. There's too much of it you have to buy. So what I tell girls with Mink is, 'Listen, when you want that neon purple eyeshadow that's trendy, just print the top layer. When you're done with that color, scrape it off, and print the next color on the remaining blank eyeshadow.'" </span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">In other words, Mink prints sample sizes, rather than making consumers commit to entire products.</span></p>
<p><iframe width="853" height="480" frameborder="0" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/cBZHFUQiP8Q?rel=0"></iframe></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Right now Choi doesn't have any employees, and she doesn't have any traditional funding from investors, although she's taken a lot of meetings. She says she butted heads with a number of venture capitalists and, in some cases, got into yelling matches over the direction she should take Mink. </span></p>
<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_left"><div><div class="image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/536d1739eab8eaac7e3e69be-677-368/screen shot 2014-05-09 at 12.58.00 pm.png" border="0" alt="Mink"><p class="source"><span><a href="http://techcrunch.com/2014/05/08/an-interview-with-mink-ceo-grace-choi-whos-taking-on-the-55-billion-beauty-industry-with-a-3d-makeup-printer/?ncid=twittersocialshare">Screenshot / TechCrunch</a></span></p><p class="caption">A Mink-branded makeup printer could be on the way, but Choi says she'd rather teach the world how to build their own printers first.</p></img></div><p></p></div></div></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">The venture capitalists, Choi says, wanted her to produce an official Mink printer and start making money immediately. But Choi believes Mink will be best served by teaching the world how to make its own 3D makeup printers from home. She wants to start a beauty revolution first, and a business second.</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">"I'm definitely not meeting with anyone who has 'VC' in their title ever again," Choi says. "I think they're a little too rushed. Mink could disrupt an entire market, and with that kind of opportunity, it's best to take your time. The way for me to kill Mink would be for me to come out with a printer that's sucky....<span>The whole model for entrepreneurs is like, 'I'm going to make a billion dollars then donate a chunk of my money to charity.' Not to judge other people, but just throwing money at stuff doesn't add value. I think sharing the journey of building the business adds value."</span></span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/54137bf16bb3f7c745e92dd2-510-382/grace-choi-mink.jpg" border="0" alt="grace choi mink"><p class="source"><span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/MHacksHackathon/photos/a.141653152661790.30621.124349814392124/335337403293363/?type=1&amp;theater">MHacks/Facebook/Grace Choi</a></span></p><p class="caption">Grace Choi showing how to hack together your own 3D makeup printer from a regular HP printer at a hackathon.</p></img></div><p></p></div></div>Down the line, Choi agrees that a Mink-branded printer could make sense. But she also thinks that if she teaches the world to print its own makeup and turns every young girl into her own L'Oreal shop, business opportunities will arise naturally. Choi envisions a world where celebrities have iTunes-like pages for makeup, where a girl can log on and print Kim Kardashian's exact lipstick shade to wear. And if DIY makeup becomes popular, consumers will need easily-accessible FDA-approved inks, which could be Mink branded, or raw makeup materials like white creams and lipsticks to print on top of, which Mink could also sell.</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">"One person alone can't disrupt this entire beauty market," Choi says. "Together, as a community, we can disrupt it. I'm willing to take a hit financially because my number one motivation is for change. This is a very important social mission for me. I think of Mink as an educational tool for kids, and one that can get girls interested in technology. </span><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">I don't need to be on some billionaires list. I'm aggressive and I'm going to make this happen. Before I die, this [beauty revolution] will happen."</span></p>
<p><strong><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-3d-print-lipstick-makeup-eyeshadow-and-nail-polish-from-a-home-computer-2014-9"><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Now check out Choi's step-by-step guide for how to hack your home printer to 3D print nail polish, lip gloss, eye shadow and other makeup &gt;&gt;</span></a></strong></p>
<p><iframe width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" src="//player.vimeo.com/video/105411537"></iframe></p>
<p><a href="http://vimeo.com/105411537">Hack Your Own Mink - Happy Minking! ;)</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user31891465">Minnie Mink</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p>

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