Table of Content
When rounding up home printers to test, we consider color inkjets, black and white laser printers, and high-performing color laser printers. You can utilize either Wi-Fi or Bluetooth connectivity for mobile printing from any device. Scanning multiple pages through the 10-page auto document feeder produces crisp results thanks to the higher-end 600 DPI resolution.
You can get a color laser, but those models are pricier and more complicated to maintain. If your printing needs sometimes include color—whether for home, home office or schoolwork-related tasks—an inkjet is your least expensive and most versatile option. Near-dedicated photo printers and snapshot models both are made for printing photos, but that's where the similarities end between the two.
—BEST FOR PHOTOS—
This review explores how well the best home printers print and scan and how much they cost. For a fun way to print on the go, the HP Sprocket photo printer can’t be beaten. This truly portable printer is no larger than your cell phone and can be taken anywhere you go for instant photo printing.
Beyond the size of the printer itself, some machines in this class need additional space behind them to feed large paper stock or accommodate a roll feeder. Some inkjet printers, not usually photo-first models, work with automatic ink delivery or subscription services like HP's Instant Ink. These can be great deals for consumers who print a lot of photos, since they charge a flat monthly fee for a given number of prints—whether they be letter-size, borderless photos or pages of double-spaced black text. The Pixma Pro-200 isn't the flagship of Canon's photo printers—it's limited to 13-inch-wide media instead of 17-by-22-inch stock or roll paper for banners or panoramas.
Fast Monochrome Printing For Home Offices
To a large extent, a printer's size and weight are dependent on the paper handling features you need, but even so, there are considerable variations. Make sure the printer will fit in its allotted space , and isn't too heavy to move around if you decide to renovate. Very compact printers are available for people who live and work in dorm rooms or other tight spaces.
The 2.7-inch color display is relatively tiny but functional, though some icons may be difficult to click because of the limited space. Setting up this printer is relatively painless with HP’s EasyStart installer and HP Smart app, which connects to your devices over Wi-Fi smoothly regardless of platform. If your printer disconnects from your network at any point, the self-healing Wi-Fi feature automatically attempts to reconnect to your router. That cuts down on hours of troubleshooting on your end over the lifetime of this printer. Lastly, the company offers an Instant Ink subscription service with a variety of tiers and will automatically mail you reasonably priced new cartridges when your ink supply runs low. The ADF doesn't handle double-sided pages, but you have to sacrifice something in this price range.
Brother HL-L9310CDW
Of course, it'll never match the page yield or cost-per-print of a supertank printer like the models we recommend above, but for a printer that uses ink cartridges, it's mighty impressive. It produces high-quality black and color documents, and although it doesn't have the best color accuracy or color range, printed photos still look very detailed. Brother's line of PocketJet printers has been doing that for many years. Our latest fave is the PJ883, a thermal-printing model that uses fax-style thermal paper stock to print without ink. Note that Brother offers a host of slight-variant PocketJet models that differ according to print resolution, battery inclusion, and connectivity. A dedicated monochrome laser printer will cost between $200 and $300.
It prints black and color documents well and does so at a decent speed, churning out 15 black or seven color pages per minute. Printed photos look good but aren't as detailed or color-accurate as the pictures the ET-8550 produces, as this is a general-purpose printer. A Best of the Year winner in 2020, Epson's EcoTank Pro ET-5850 no longer comes with the two years' supply of free ink it was introduced with, but it's still a great deal for high-volume office printing. This all-in-one boasts a 50-page ADF with single-pass auto duplexing, an ample 550-sheet paper capacity, and near-typeset-quality output for text . It's as fast as any of its inkjet and several of its laser competitors, and it'll cost you only about 2 cents per page for both monochrome output and, more impressively, color. This is Canon’s entry-level MegaTank model, bringing you refillable ink tanks and plenty of bottles at a competitive price.
Options include sticker paper, inkjet transfer paper and 100% cotton fine art photo papers. To keep the printer functional, you’ll need to keep it stocked with ink or toner, as well as paper. If it’s a laser printer, a separate drum unit will also need replacing periodically.
Plan on spending between $400 and $800 for home printer better suited for office and leisure use. This price range gets you a mid- to high-end inkjet or color laser printer with faster print speeds and higher quality output. This printer uses a 2.4-inch color display along with buttons on the front panel to navigate among functions. Printing up to 8.5 x 11-inch photos or two-sided documents is also possible, but this slows down print speed. Epson supports wireless printing via several protocols, including Apple’s AirPrint and Mopria. In the mid-price range, this Epson printer will meet most expectations and needs for a home office.
Today’s best All-in-Ones are also typically wireless, which means you don’t have to deal with cords or difficult network configurations. Most will run on a combination of wireless and Bluetooth technologies and can be easily protected from intruders as part of your secured home network. Today’s computer user is busier than ever, and printing is no longer a luxury, it’s a need. Wireless printing is a popular feature to look for when choosing a new printer.
The HP LaserJet Pro MFP M130fn could very well be the best All-in-One laser printer for home use. The printer can scan, copy, and fax in amazing quality, and uses only black toner for a budget-friendly way to achieve the efficiency of an enterprise printing machine. For your specialized photo printing needs, many companies sell specialty photo papers that work with most inkjet printers.
First, let's define photo printers by the two broad extremes we mentioned up top. Limited to Bluetooth (not Wi-Fi) printing from the iOS or Android Sprocket app, the Select is a convenient gadget that offers easy integration with Facebook, Google Photos, and Instagram. We wish HP offered non-sticky stock, but this printer is tops for handing out pics at parties and family gatherings.
It prints good-quality documents and photos, but unlike the models above, it yields significantly fewer prints, meaning you'll have to replace the ink cartridges often. The cost per print is still low because the ink cartridges are relatively cheap; it just requires a lot of maintenance. Also, since it uses a tri-color cartridge, you have to replace the entire cartridge if one color runs out, which is wasteful.
Total cost per page is higher still, because their inks are designed to print on a range of expensive, high-quality papers, each of which can give the image a somewhat different look. It might be small, but the Lexmark MB3442adw has the features and specifications of an accomplished office printer. It’s a four-in-one device, which means you have a fax facility in addition to printing, scanning, and photocopying. Printing at a rate of 42 pages per minute is among the fastest laser printers around. There’s plenty of room for paper, too, with a 350-sheet main tray and the option to upgrade, so it’s unlikely you’ll ever need another home printer.
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