With so many technologies and capabilities available, choosing a printer isn't easy. Don't assume you'll find the perfect printer anytime soon. No matter the cost, printers get paper jams. They run out of ink and toner. Network connectivity can be challenging. That's just the nature of printers. I don't know why, but it's important to understand and accept.

Now that I've lowered your expectations, let me encourage you! There are some great affordable printers out there, depending, of course, on exactly what you need a printer to do. Here are my top three picks for your consideration, with links available at www.everydaycheapskate.com/printers.

BEST INEXPENSIVE LASER PRINTER. The Brother HL-L2380DW is a great choice for people who need to print, scan or copy term papers, tax forms, concert tickets and other black and white documents from home, home office or dorm room. This printer handles automatic two-sided printing. It's pretty speedy, too, at 32 pages per minute, with a cost per page of about 2.3 cents, which includes wear and tear on the drum.

This Brother model is quite easy to set up and will be a reliable addition to your home computer network. Expect this printer to work well with any current laptop, desktop, smartphone or tablet, including Chromebooks.

The paper tray holds 250 sheets of paper, and the printer itself has a draft or "save more" setting that allows you to conserve toner when the document you print does not require professional quality. But when that is needed, the printer outputs sharp professional black-and-white pages at up to 2400 by 600 dpi resolution. It costs bout $129.

BEST INEXPENSIVE ALL-IN-ONE PRINTER. If you need a printer to do it all — wireless printing, scanning, copying and faxing — you want a high-quality all-in-one color printer. My pick for the best inexpensive is HP OfficeJet 8720 Al-in-One Printer because it's a workhouse that is not frustrating to use or difficult to set up. Print from anywhere using your smartphone or tablet. This beauty prints and scans two-sided documents in black and white or color. This printer has tons of additional capabilities, including wireless printing, Wi-Fi direct (no network required), borderless printing and a legal-size scan bed, to name just a few.

Per-page print costs for this printer are lower than those of most competing inkjet printers, at 1.6 cent per page for black and white and 8.1 cents for color. This is just an excellent, affordable, beautifully designed all-around piece of equipment for home or home office It costs about $190.

BEST INEXPENSIVE PHOTO INKJET PRINTER. If you're into photography and you want to print gallery-quality photos up to 13 inches wide, the term "inexpensive" becomes relative. A quality photo printer can cost thousands of dollars. Given that information, the Epson SureColor P600 is my pick for best inexpensive photo printer. This machine uses pigment inks that produce fade-resistant photographs, unlike those you would get from an online service. This printer is fabulous to work with, too, with its touchscreen control panel, built-in Wi-Fi connectivity, and wired Ethernet and USB ports. Maintenance is quite simple as well. This inkjet printer delivers professional-quality color prints and black-and-white photographs that are as close to traditional darkroom photos as you will find. It costs about $770.

Mary invites questions, comments and tips at [email protected], or c/o Everyday Cheapskate, 12340 Seal Beach Blvd., Suite B-416, Seal Beach, CA 90740. This column will answer questions of general interest, but letters cannot be answered individually. Mary Hunt is the founder of www.DebtProofLiving.com, a personal finance member website and the author of "Debt-Proof Living," released in 2014. To find out more about Mary and read her past columns, please visit the Creators Syndicate webpage at www.creators.com.