Short answer: UK public libraries most often charge 20p to print an A4 page in black and white, and most charge between 40p and 70p for colour. We checked the published prices of 33 library services across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland in October 2026: the median was 20p a page for black and white (range 10p to 40p) and 60p for colour (range 40p to £1.81). 17 of the 33 charge exactly 20p for black and white.
Library printing prices at a glance
- Typical black and white A4: 20p (17 of 33 library services).
- Cheapest black and white: 10p (Stockport, Trafford and Warwickshire).
- Most expensive black and white: 40p (Cardiff and Windsor and Maidenhead).
- Typical colour A4: 60p; lowest 40p (Cumberland, Leeds, Newcastle upon Tyne, South Ayrshire and Westmorland and Furness), highest £1.81 (Sandwell).
- Double-sided: most libraries charge per side, so a double-sided sheet usually costs twice the single-sided price. Cambridgeshire publishes a separate double-sided price (40p black and white).
What UK libraries charge to print: 33 library services compared
Prices are for A4, single-sided, as published by each library service on its own website when we checked on 19 October 2026. Follow the link to see the current price before you go.
| Library service | Black and white | Colour | Price list |
|---|---|---|---|
| England | |||
| Barking and Dagenham | 20p | 55p | link |
| Birmingham | 20p | £1.00 | link |
| Bradford | 20p | 70p | link |
| Bristol | 15p | 65p | link |
| Cambridgeshire | 30p | 80p | link |
| Camden | 20p | £1.00 | link |
| Cumberland | 20p | 40p | link |
| East Sussex | 26p | 62p | link |
| Hartlepool | 20p | 50p | link |
| Hertfordshire | 25p | 65p | link |
| Islington | 20p | 55p | link |
| Kent | 20p | 70p | link |
| Leeds | 20p | 40p | link |
| Lewisham | 20p | 50p | link |
| Manchester | 20p | 50p | link |
| Medway | 25p | £1.00 | link |
| Newcastle upon Tyne | 20p | 40p | link |
| Norfolk | 20p | 50p | link |
| North Northamptonshire | 25p | 75p | link |
| Nottingham | 20p | 50p | link |
| Sandwell | 31p | £1.81 | link |
| Stockport | 10p | 50p | link |
| Surrey | 30p | 60p | link |
| Trafford | 10p | 50p | link |
| Warwickshire | 10p | £1.00 | link |
| Westmorland and Furness | 20p | 40p | link |
| Windsor and Maidenhead | 40p | 80p | link |
| Scotland | |||
| Edinburgh | 35p | 65p | link |
| South Ayrshire | 20p | 40p | link |
| West Dunbartonshire | 15p | 60p | link |
| Wales | |||
| Cardiff | 40p | £1.35 | link |
| Vale of Glamorgan | 25p | 45p | link |
| Northern Ireland | |||
| Libraries NI | 20p | 50p | link |
Most library services charge per side; some publish a price per sheet or per print, so a double-sided sheet may cost the same or twice the single price. Edinburgh publishes its photocopying price (35p, or 30p a page for 11 or more pages), which we have listed. Hertfordshire's price is from its Welwyn Garden City Library page. A few councils' prices could not be read from their websites and are not included.
Can you print at the library?
Yes. Almost every UK library service offers printing and photocopying, though not always in every branch: Kent, for example, says it doesn't offer printing in every library, so check before you travel. What differs from council to council:
- Printing from your own phone or laptop. Many library services let you send a document from your own device and print it at the library. Norfolk takes documents by email (Word, Excel, PDF and common image files) and holds them for up to 24 hours; Manchester and Barking and Dagenham charge the same for Wi-Fi printing as for printing from a library computer.
- Cash or card. Some libraries take cash only (Stockport says most of its libraries do, and Hartlepool and South Ayrshire list printing as cash only), while Windsor and Maidenhead takes card only. Bring both if you can.
- Library card. You don't always need to be a member to photocopy (Manchester says no membership is needed), but you usually need a card to use a library computer.
- Children's prices. A few services charge children less. Bristol, for example, gives children under 15 their first 10 black and white sheets free each session.
Library, home or online: which is cheaper?
It depends on how many pages you need and whether you already have a working printer. These examples use the typical library price above; home printing with genuine standard ink cartridges (about 11p a black and white page and 23p a colour page including paper, at the manufacturers' quoted page yields); and printle's prices in October 2026, printed and posted with tracked delivery (free over £10, which is why the 100-page and 50-colour-page jobs include none).
| Job | Library | Home printer | printle, posted |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 B&W pages | £1.00 | ~55p | £5.39 |
| 10 B&W pages | £2.00 | ~£1.10 | £6.19 |
| 50 B&W pages | £10.00 | ~£5.50 | £9.99 |
| 100 B&W pages | £20.00 | ~£11.00 | £12.00 |
| 20 colour pages | £12.00 | ~£4.60 | £10.99 |
| 50 colour pages | £30.00 | ~£11.50 | £15.00 |
The library and home figures leave out getting there, the printer itself, and cartridges that dry out between jobs. Pages with pictures or dense text use more ink than the manufacturers' yield tests, which assume light coverage.
What that means:
- A few pages, library nearby and open: the library is usually the cheapest way to get a printout.
- A working printer with ink at home: home printing costs the least per page.
- Longer documents, or anything in colour: from around 50 black and white pages, or for colour, an online service can cost less than the library, and it comes to you.
- No time to get to a library, or it needs to go to someone else: an online service posts it to any UK address.
How we checked these prices
On 19 October 2026 we read each library service's printing charges on its own website and recorded the A4 black and white and A4 colour prices exactly as published, with a link. We did not use third-party lists. Where a council lists different prices for printing and photocopying, we used the printing price. Home printing costs use genuine HP, Canon and Epson cartridge prices from one UK retailer on the same day and the page yields the manufacturers quote. We plan to check the prices again every six months. If your library's price has changed, email info@printle.co.uk and we'll update the table.
Need it printed without a trip to the library?
printle prints your PDF and posts it to you, tracked and sent flat in a hardbacked envelope. Black and white starts at 12p a page on larger orders and colour at 30p, with delivery from £3.99 and free on orders over £10.00. Upload and print a document, or see other places to print documents.
This guide is published by printle (printle.co.uk), an online print and post service in Ramsey, Cambridgeshire.