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Deeper Dive: Our Top Tested Picks
Best All-in-One Home Printer for Most Users
Brother MFC-J4335DW
Shoppers with less than $200 to spend can choose from a number of all-in-one inkjets that don’t take much desk space, but the Brother MFC-J4335DW goes beyond that with duplex printing, faxing (either as a standalone fax machine or from almost any app on your PC), a 20-page automatic document feeder, and low running costs of under a penny per black page and under a nickel per color page. The ADF doesn’t handle double-sided pages, but you have to sacrifice something in this price range.
Both homes and small (to be honest, very small) offices can readily make room for this Brother printer. You won’t use its fax capability often, but you never know when you might need it, and its competent paper handling joins its more-than-adequate text and better-than-adequate graphics quality.
Type
All-in-one
Color or Monochrome
Color
Printing Technology
Inkjet
Connection Type
USB, Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi Direct
Maximum Standard Paper Size
Legal
Number of Ink Colors
4
Number of Ink Cartridges/Tanks
4
Rated Speed at Default Settings (Color)
19 ppm
Rated Speed at Default Settings (Mono)
20 ppm
Monthly Duty Cycle (Recommended)
250 to 2,000
Monthly Duty Cycle (Maximum)
30,000 pages per month
Printer Input Capacity
150 + 1
Cost Per Page (Monochrome)
0.9 cents
Cost Per Page (Color)
4.7 cents
Scanner Type
Flatbed with 20-page ADF
Maximum Scan Area
Legal
Scanner Optical Resolution
1,200 by 2,400 pixels per inch
Standalone Copier and Fax
Copier, Fax
Learn More
Best Laser Home Printer for Most Users
HP LaserJet M209d
The HP LaserJet M209d hits all the right notes for a small-office or personal monochrome laser printer, including speed, quality, and a reasonably low running cost. The combination makes it a strong contender for the mono laser printer you want sitting on your desk. Paper handing is typical for the price and suitable for the range from a personal printer to a shared printer in most small or home offices. In addition to a 150-sheet drawer for up to legal-size paper, the printer supports automatic duplexing.
If you’re looking for a small-office or personal mono laser printer, the HP LaserJet M209d belongs on your shortlist.
Type
Printer Only
Color or Monochrome
Monochrome
Connection Type
USB
Maximum Standard Paper Size
Legal
Number of Ink Colors
1
Number of Ink Cartridges/Tanks
1
Rated Speed at Default Settings (Color)
NA
Rated Speed at Default Settings (Mono)
30 ppm
Monthly Duty Cycle (Recommended)
200 – 2000
Monthly Duty Cycle (Maximum)
20,000 pages per month
Printer Input Capacity
150
Cost Per Page (Monochrome)
3.7 cents
Cost Per Page (Color)
NA
Scanner Type
N/A
Maximum Scan Area
N/A
Scanner Optical Resolution
N/A
Standalone Copier and Fax
N/A
Learn More
Best Ink Tank Printer for Homes
Canon Maxify GX5020
Non-AIO inkjets are uncommon items these days. But if all you want to do is print documents and, perhaps, glossy-paper photos en masse, and maximize your savings on ink while doing it, look into this Maxify model. Cheap ink is its biggest selling point: You won’t get a classic AIO scanning or copy function (though Canon offers a sort-of copy workaround, letting you shoot a document with your phone’s camera and print it in one step), but you will get a bulk-ink design that takes refills from bottled ink. Our math based on Canon’s yield claims and bottle costs works out to 0.5 cent per monochrome black page and 0.7 cent per color page. And that’s before you factor in Canon’s full-size ink bottles bundled with the printer. (Plus, before we forget to mention: The output looks very good.)
The Maxify is geared toward home offices, but it can serve the needs of a heavy-printing family, too. It’s all about printing enough, day in and day out, to leverage the low ink costs, since the printer itself, like most bulk-ink/bottle-refill models, is priced on the high side for the feature set. But if you have a home business, plus a family that hits a printer hard for schoolwork or hobbies, it’s an excellent longer-term money-saver.
Type
Printer Only
Color or Monochrome
Color
Connection Type
USB, Wi-Fi, Ethernet, Wi-Fi Direct
Maximum Standard Paper Size
Legal
Number of Ink Colors
4
Number of Ink Cartridges/Tanks
4
Rated Speed at Default Settings (Color)
15.5 ppm
Rated Speed at Default Settings (Mono)
24 ppm
Monthly Duty Cycle (Recommended)
200 – 3,300
Monthly Duty Cycle (Maximum)
45,000 pages per month
Printer Input Capacity
250 + 100
Cost Per Page (Monochrome)
0.5 cents
Cost Per Page (Color)
1.2 cents
Scanner Type
N/A
Maximum Scan Area
N/A
Scanner Optical Resolution
N/A
Standalone Copier and Fax
N/A
Learn More
Best Ink Tank Printer for Business
Epson EcoTank Pro ET-5850
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 (and impressive graphics, too). 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.
Assuming you stick to letter- and legal-size paper instead of the wide-format media supported by its EcoTank Pro ET-16650 sibling, the ET-5850 is virtually ideal for small businesses and workgroups that crank out 3,000 to 4,000 pages per month. It was arguably the first successful office implementation of the bulk-ink concept that slashed consumer printers’ page costs—to under a penny for black and white—but those printers don’t have the chops for busy office duty. This one does.
Type
All-in-one
Color or Monochrome
Color
Connection Type
Wireless, Ethernet, USB, Bluetooth
Maximum Standard Paper Size
Legal
Number of Ink Colors
4
Number of Ink Cartridges/Tanks
4
Rated Speed at Default Settings (Color)
25 ppm
Rated Speed at Default Settings (Mono)
25 ppm
Monthly Duty Cycle (Recommended)
3,300
Monthly Duty Cycle (Maximum)
66,000 pages per month
Printer Input Capacity
550
Cost Per Page (Monochrome)
2 cents
Cost Per Page (Color)
2 cents
Scanner Type
Flatbed with ADF (Standard or Optional)
Maximum Scan Area
Legal
Scanner Optical Resolution
1,200 by 2,400 pixels per inch
Standalone Copier and Fax
Fax, Copier
Learn More
Best Color Laser All-in-One Printer
Brother MFC-L3780CDW
Color laser all-in-one printers are neither cheap (this one’s $500) nor compact (about 50 pounds), but the Brother MFC-L3780CDW is a worthy workhorse with a recommended monthly usage of 4,000 pages. It has a 50-sheet automatic document feeder, a multipurpose tray, and a 250-sheet paper drawer. It bolsters the usual Ethernet and Wi-Fi office network membership with versatile connectivity for mobile devices. And its output quality is exceptional.
This is a printer built for business use, but its price isn’t so out of reach that smaller companies can’t consider it. The MFC-L3780CDW will tempt large and small enterprises alike with its rock-solid performance and competitive running costs (about 12.3 cents per color page and 2.3 cents per black-and-white page).
Type
All-in-one
Color or Monochrome
Color
Connection Type
Wi-Fi, Ethernet, USB, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi Direct
Maximum Standard Paper Size
Legal
Number of Ink Colors
4
Number of Ink Cartridges/Tanks
4
Rated Speed at Default Settings (Color)
31 ppm
Rated Speed at Default Settings (Mono)
31 ppm
Monthly Duty Cycle (Recommended)
4,000
Monthly Duty Cycle (Maximum)
50,000 pages per month
Printer Input Capacity
250
Cost Per Page (Monochrome)
2.3 cents
Cost Per Page (Color)
12.3 cents
Scanner Type
Flatbed with ADF
Maximum Scan Area
Legal
Scanner Optical Resolution
1,200 by 1,200 pixels per inch
Standalone Copier and Fax
Copier, Fax
Learn More
Best Mono Laser All-in-One Printer
Canon imageClass MF455dw
Photo-perfect color inkjets get all the attention, but compact, low-cost monochrome laser printers will never die for small offices and workgroups that mostly crank out black-and-white text documents. Heavy-printing families can use them too, especially if they have a student or students who print lots of worksheets or report drafts. For these uses, Canon’s imageClass MF455dw is the mono laser AIO of the moment that others will have to beat, and the pricing is aggressive, too. It’s part of an imageClass line with slight feature variations, and this model adds faxing if you need it. A big, easy-to-use touch screen and flexible paper handling for both printing and scanning make it a great utility player, and the mono output quality is excellent.
Small offices and workgroups will benefit from the AIO features the most, but don’t discount this model for a heavy-printing home. You won’t use it for photo or image printing, but for raw document input and output, it’s a super deal.
Type
All-in-one
Color or Monochrome
Monochrome
Connection Type
USB, Ethernet, Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi Direct
Maximum Standard Paper Size
Legal
Number of Ink Colors
1
Number of Ink Cartridges/Tanks
1
Rated Speed at Default Settings (Color)
NA
Rated Speed at Default Settings (Mono)
40 ppm
Monthly Duty Cycle (Recommended)
750 to 4,000
Monthly Duty Cycle (Maximum)
Not rated
Printer Input Capacity
250+100 expandable to 900
Cost Per Page (Monochrome)
2.25 cents
Cost Per Page (Color)
NA
Scanner Type
Flatbed with Single-Pass Duplexing ADF
Maximum Scan Area
Legal
Scanner Optical Resolution
600 by 600 pixels per inch
Standalone Copier and Fax
Copier, Fax
Learn More
Best Photo Printer
Epson Expression Premium XP-7100 Small-in-One Printer
Epson’s Expression Premium XP-7100 is an affordable, capable photo-centric printer for families and home offices, taking little desk space to deliver five-ink prints (the CMYK quartet, plus a “photo black” ink) that outshine your local drugstore’s offerings. This printer also excels as a general-purpose AIO for copying and scanning, with robust connectivity and a 30-sheet, single-pass, auto-duplexing ADF.
If you want to print good-looking keeper photographs for preserving and distributing memories and family milestones, the XP-7100 is your machine. It churns out above-average bright and vibrant images with accurate colors and respectable detail.
Type
All-in-one
Color or Monochrome
Color
Connection Type
Ethernet, USB, Wireless
Maximum Standard Paper Size
Legal
Number of Ink Colors
5
Number of Ink Cartridges/Tanks
5
Rated Speed at Default Settings (Color)
11 ppm
Rated Speed at Default Settings (Mono)
15 ppm
Monthly Duty Cycle (Recommended)
2,000
Monthly Duty Cycle (Maximum)
Not rated
Printer Input Capacity
120
Cost Per Page (Monochrome)
5 cents
Cost Per Page (Color)
13.7 cents
Scanner Type
Flatbed with ADF (Standard or Optional)
Maximum Scan Area
Legal
Scanner Optical Resolution
1,200 by 2,400 pixels per inch
Standalone Copier and Fax
Copier, Fax
Best Snapshot Photo Printer
Canon Selphy QX20
Canon’s Selphy QX20 produces high-quality wallet-size prints, delivering almost everything you could ask for in a compact photo printer. Unlike most competing models, which offer business-card-size or square (Instagram-style) prints, the QX20 can handle either. And it offers plenty of other reasons to pick it up. At the top of the list is its high-quality, long-lasting output, thanks to its dye-sub technology, along with Canon’s notably easy-to-use print and editing app.
A key issue when choosing a snapshot photo printer is that it must be able to print in the size and format you want. If you need the QX20’s two print sizes (square and business-card-shaped) from one compact printer, it’s pretty much the only choice.
Type
Printer Only
Color or Monochrome
4-pass color
Connection Type
Wireless
Maximum Standard Paper Size
Wallet-size
Number of Ink Colors
3
Number of Ink Cartridges/Tanks
1
Rated Speed at Default Settings (Color)
1 print per 40 seconds
Rated Speed at Default Settings (Mono)
1 print per 40 seconds
Monthly Duty Cycle (Recommended)
Not rated
Monthly Duty Cycle (Maximum)
Not rated
Printer Input Capacity
10
Cost Per Page (Monochrome)
68.3 or 75 cents
Cost Per Page (Color)
68.3 or 76 cents
Scanner Type
N/A
Maximum Scan Area
N/A
Scanner Optical Resolution
N/A
Standalone Copier and Fax
N/A
Learn More
Best Portable Document Printer
Brother PocketJet PJ883
The printer market is flush with portable printers that can print snapshot-size or Instagram-style square photo prints, but much less common are truly portable printers that can churn out letter-size documents in a pinch. 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. It’s not cheap, the thermal paper has a limited life without fading, and the output is strictly monochrome, but the connection flexibility and extreme portability (it weighs just 1.34 pounds, including its battery) make this model a winner for this very specific usage case. Note that Brother offers a host of slight-variant PocketJet models that differ according to print resolution, battery inclusion, and connectivity.
This is a niche printer, mind you. Portable models like this one are commonly used for applications that require printing in a vehicle—say, receipts in a delivery truck or tickets in a police car. But their lightness and compactness also suit them for everything from printing a roofing proposal at a potential customer’s kitchen table to churning out invoices or info at a street fair. It’s all about the business you are in. You’ll need to keep a cache of the special paper, but you’ll never have to fuss with ink tanks.
Type
Printer Only
Color or Monochrome
Monochrome
Connection Type
USB-C, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi Direct, NFC
Maximum Standard Paper Size
Legal
Number of Ink Colors
1
Number of Ink Cartridges/Tanks
0
Rated Speed at Default Settings (Color)
N/A
Rated Speed at Default Settings (Mono)
13.5ppm
Monthly Duty Cycle (Recommended)
Not rated
Monthly Duty Cycle (Maximum)
Not rated
Printer Input Capacity
1
Cost Per Page (Monochrome)
6 to 9 cents per page
Cost Per Page (Color)
N/A
Scanner Type
N/A
Maximum Scan Area
N/A
Scanner Optical Resolution
N/A
Standalone Copier and Fax
N/A
Learn More
Best Label Printer
Epson LabelWorks LW-PX300
Just right for light-duty plastic label printing, refrigerator magnets, and more, the Epson LabelWorks LW-PX300 Full Printer Kit delivers industrial-style labeling at low cost, making it attractive to small businesses and even hobbyists who want professional-looking labels. It capably handles a variety of media, including standard plastic labels for home or business use, heat-shrink tube tape for labeling cables, and magnetic decals that make excellent promotional fridge magnets. The level of capability for the price makes the LW-PX300 a clear Editors’ Choice pick for low-volume printing of industrial labels.
For light-duty industrial-style labeling—whether for a small business identifying cables, pipes, and bins; a hobbyist straightening up a workshop; or a small retailer or kitchen-table-based online shipper adding bar code labels to merchandise—the Epson LW-PX300 is close to ideal.
Type
Printer Only
Color or Monochrome
Monochrome
Connection Type
None
Maximum Standard Paper Size
18mm roll
Number of Ink Colors
1
Number of Ink Cartridges/Tanks
0
Rated Speed at Default Settings (Color)
N/A
Rated Speed at Default Settings (Mono)
6 mm / 0.24 inches per second
Monthly Duty Cycle (Recommended)
Not rated
Monthly Duty Cycle (Maximum)
Not rated
Printer Input Capacity
1 cartridge roll; sizes up to 30 feet
Cost Per Page (Monochrome)
varies with width and label length
Cost Per Page (Color)
N/A
Scanner Type
N/A
Maximum Scan Area
N/A
Scanner Optical Resolution
N/A
Standalone Copier and Fax
N/A
Learn More
Buying Guide: The Best Printers for 2024
Printers vary widely based on whether they’re for home use or business use (or dual use in a home and home office), what you intend to print with them, and whether you need color printing or just monochrome. In particular, text, graphics, and photos each require different capabilities to print at high quality. Even if you print just one kind of output most of the time, you also may want a printer that can do other things well. So be clear on the full scope of your printing needs before you buy.
Most printers are designed with either business (usually office) or home use in mind. Generally, business models are geared toward outputting text if they are mono printers, and both text and graphics if they are color models. Home printers (typically inkjets) favor photos and often graphics, as well.
Special-purpose options include label printers, portable printers, and dedicated and near-dedicated photo printers. (Even among specialty printers, 3D printers are a special case, and beyond the scope of this discussion.)
Should I Get an All-in-One Printer, or a Single-Function Model?
Most printers today add extra functions beyond printing. The additions always include scanning, which can be convenient and economical if you have light- to moderate-duty scanning needs. If you don’t need scanning or related features like copying and faxing at all, however, or your scanning needs are heavy-duty, you might be better off with a single-function printer and a separate scanner.
Most lasers, and some inkjets, with extra functions include “multifunction printer” or “MFP” in the name, while most inkjets, and some lasers, use “all-in-one” or “AIO.” The two terms, and their acronyms, are interchangeable. Along with scanning, the additional functions almost always include some combination of standalone copying, standalone faxing, faxing from your PC, standalone emailing, emailing through your PC, and standalone copying to and printing from online systems.
Office MFPs typically include an automatic document feeder (ADF) to handle multipage documents and legal-size pages. Many ADFs can handle two-sided documents—either by scanning one side and flipping the page over to scan the other side, or by employing two sensors to scan both sides of the page in a single pass. Some single-sided ADFs let you scan one side of a stack of pages, flip the stack manually to scan the other side, and then automatically interfile the pages in the right order.
(Credit: HP)
Some inkjet AIOs offer additional printing options, including printing on optical discs. Many let you print documents and images from, and scan to, mobile devices. Some models let you email documents to the printer from anywhere in the world, then print them out. Our roundup of the best all-in-one printers will help you sift through the many options out there.
Is Inkjet or Laser Better?
Generally, business models use laser or similar technology (more on that shortly) and are geared toward text, or text and graphics, while home printers are generally inkjets and favor photos and graphics. Within each printer category, quality for each kind of output varies widely. Some business printers can handle all three types well enough for in-house printing of brochures and other marketing materials, for example.
The two most common technologies, laser and inkjet, increasingly overlap in capabilities, but there are still differences. Most lasers and LED printers (which are identical to lasers other than using LEDs for a light source) print higher-quality text than most inkjets, and almost any inkjet prints higher-quality photos than most lasers. However, some inkjets today print text that’s nearly laser quality, except for a tendency to smudge if they get wet, while some lasers print photos at what’s known as business quality, which translates to good enough for a trifold brochure. Which is the best printer tech for you depends very much on what you print.
What Are the Most Common Types of Printer?
Beyond questions of technology and output type, there are several more finely grained categories of printer to known in your search for the best printer model for you. Knowing the best printer category for your needs will massively narrow down your options right from the start.
Home printers (approximate price range: $50 to $250) are almost exclusively inkjets (with the exception of some small-format dedicated photo printers). They are built for low-volume printing, tend to be slow, and also tend to have high ink costs. They typically print photos better than text, and may or may not print graphics well. Almost all of them are all-in-ones. If your budget is tight, and you want a single printer for text, graphics, and photos that handles photos reasonably well, this is where to start looking for an inexpensive printer.
(Credit: Canon)
Home-office printers ($100 to $400) are largely inkjets or inexpensive mono lasers, and are built for low- to mid-volume printing. Most inkjets in this category are all-in-one printers, geared primarily toward text and graphics printing, though some also handle photos well, while most lasers are printers only. Paper capacity starts at about 100 sheets, though higher-end models can hold up to 500 sheets. Most of these printers are also suitable for micro offices (with up to five people), and many are perfectly fine choices for households, especially for students printing a lot of documents for school.
Home-office printers are a subset of business printers ($100 to $2,500 or more), which range from compact models for low-volume use to gigantic floor-standing units that can anchor a department. Most business printers are lasers (though inkjets have been making inroads into that market for years), and many are monochrome, intended primarily for text rather than graphics and photos. Most are multifunction devices. For many businesses, speed and paper capacity are paramount, and security is important as well, which is why many business printers offer security features such as password-protected printing. Some even employ accessories such as an encrypted hard drive or an ID card reader to limit access to documents.
Regardless of which home or business category a printer is in, cost can be a key factor. In general, the more expensive the printer, the lower its per-page printing costs, while the lower the ink price, the more expensive the printer will be. Whether you’ll save more with a low-cost printer or low-cost ink depends on how much you print (more on this later). Some printer makers also offer ink subscription programs that can lower running costs, particularly if you print close to the number of pages included in the plan.
Near-dedicated photo printers ($400 to $2,000) are designed for professional photographers and photo enthusiasts, but almost all of these photo printers are just as useful for graphic artists, since they also print high-quality graphics. Some are wide-format printers designed to print on paper as large as supertabloid size (13 by 19 inches), and many can print on paper rolls as well. For precision color, they use up to a dozen ink cartridges. With these, ink cost per page is much higher than for office printers, due to the amount of ink they use. 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.
Small-format photo printers ($80 to $250) are dedicated devices built strictly to (you guessed it!) print photos, especially from smartphones. Print sizes can range from wallet-size to 5 by 7 inches, and many models can print only a single size. Most are highly portable, and either come with a battery or accommodate one that you can buy separately.
(Credit: Zlata Ivleva)
Tabloid- and supertabloid-size, printers ($150 desktop printers to multi-thousand-dollar floor-standing beasts) are another subset of business printers. These wide-format machines come in all the same potential variations as other office printers, from mono-only or color-capable, to printer-only or MFP, to inkjet or laser. The difference is they can handle printing on up to tabloid (11-by-17-inch) or supertabloid (13-by-19-inch) size paper. Note that the least expensive in this group are limited to accepting only one large sheet at a time, making them useful for printing at this size in small quantities only, and only occasionally.
Label printers are built to churn out paper or plastic labels. Some include label-design software and connect to your computer, while others are standalone devices, letting you design and print labels using a small, built-in keyboard. Manufacturers of either kind of label printer typically offer a variety of label colors, types, and sizes.
(Credit: Brother)
Portable business printers aren’t common, but they can be useful for applications like printing a proposal for a potential customer while sitting in their office or at their kitchen table, or printing the latest version of a handout for a potential client while sitting in your car, just before a meeting. Typical models in the portable printer category are compact and light, and use inkjet or thermal technologies to print. And most come with a rechargeable battery.
What’s the Best Printer for Occasional Use?
As always, it mostly depends on what you need to print; if photos, probably a low-cost inkjet, but if only text documents, possibly a one-cartridge mono laser. But sometimes, you can tell by the printer’s duty cycle.
If you print only a few pages a day, you don’t have to worry about how much a printer is designed to print, as defined by its recommended (not maximum) monthly duty-cycle-rating. To define those terms? Maximum duty cycle is the absolute most a printer should be allowed to print per month without affecting the maximum number of pages it can print in its lifetime. The recommended duty cycle is usually how much it can handle on a regular basis and still last as many years as it was designed for. It may also be based on the paper capacity and how frequently you can conveniently refill the trays.
(Credit: Brother)
If you print enough for the duty cycle to matter, don’t buy a printer that doesn’t include that information in its specifications. (Many cheap printers meant for occasional use don’t provide duty-cycle ratings at all.) Figure out how much you print by how often you buy paper and in what amounts. If you usually print on both sides of the paper, count each sheet as two pages in your calculations. Then pick a printer designed to print at least that much.
What Paper Types and Sizes Do You Print On?
Be sure to consider the minimum and maximum paper size you print on, paper thickness, and whether you need a duplexer to print on both sides of the page. If you often print on more than one type of paper—switching to envelopes, checks, or letterhead for example—look for a printer with multiple drawers, or at least a single-sheet bypass tray, so you don’t need to constantly unload regular paper and load your specialty media then reload the regular paper. You’ll also want a paper capacity that won’t require adding paper more often than feels comfortable. A good rule of thumb is that you shouldn’t have to refill paper more than once a week, on average.
How Much Will a Printer’s Total Cost of Ownership Be?
The high cost of printer ink is a traditional sore spot for both home and business customers, which has led to the major manufacturers introducing ways that users can lower their per-page ink costs. But the companies are also preserving their own revenues, which means you need to think in terms of the total cost of ownership —the initial cost plus the total cost of ink over the printer’s lifetime—to know which printer will be less expensive in the long run.
Depending on how many pages you print, paying a high cost per page for a low-cost printer can actually be the less expensive choice. (Our primer How to Save Money on Your Next Printer shows how to calculate the total cost of ownership for inkjets. The same logic works for any printer.)
If you print enough to make a high-cost printer with low-cost ink the more economical choice, note that Epson’s EcoTank and SuperTank printers, Canon’s MegaTank printers, and HP’s Smart Tank Plus printers use inexpensive bottled ink that you pour into internal tanks, while Brother’s INKvestment models ship with high-capacity ink cartridges—in some cases, several sets of them—that offload ink into reservoirs within the printer. HP’s Neverstop laser printers offer a similar approach, just with bulk laser toner. With any of these models, you’ll pay extra up front for the printer, but the included ink will last a long time, and additional bottles or cartridges are notable for their low price. (See more about how to save on printer ink.)
(Credit: Epson)
Ink subscription programs are another way to lower ink costs. HP Instant Ink is the big one here, along with Brother Refresh EZ Print and Canon Pixma Print Plan. All offer owners of select printers the option to pay a monthly fee for printing up to a certain number of pages. The same fee applies for either black or color printing, and each company automatically sends you more ink when you run low. These programs can save you a considerable amount of money, particularly if you print mostly in color and print close to the number of pages included in the plan.
How Fast Do You Need to Print?
If you print only one or two pages at a time, you don’t need a speed demon. In fact, most home printers are not built for speed, and most lasers with high page per minute (ppm) claims leave out the first page when calculating the rating, giving the much slower first-page-out (FPO) time separately. If you print a lot of longer documents, however, the fast speed starting with page 2 is more important, which means you probably want a laser printer.
As a rule, laser printers will be close to their claimed speeds for text documents, which don’t need much processing time. Inkjets often claim faster speeds than more expensive lasers, but they usually don’t live up to these claims. However, inkjet printers have been getting faster, and a few recent high-end models (sometimes dubbed “laser alternative” inkjets) can hold their own against comparably priced lasers for speed. (See how we test printers.)
How Are You Going to Connect Your Printer?
USB ports remain ubiquitous on printers. Most office printers, and an increasing number of home printers, also include an Ethernet jack, Wi-Fi wireless connectivity support, or both, which let you to share the printer with your home or office network. (If you’re having trouble with this feature on your current printer, here’s how to troubleshoot your printer’s Wi-Fi connection.) Printers that offer Wi-Fi Direct (a peer-to-peer protocol that sometimes masquerades under a different name) can connect directly to most Wi-Fi-enabled devices.
Most major printer companies now provide mobile apps so you can snap a photo with your phone and print it out directly, without needing to transfer it to a computer first. Small-format photo printers often support Bluetooth for connecting mobile devices and more. A few printers can connect to a mobile device for printing via Near-Field Communication (NFC) merely by tapping the phone or tablet to a particular spot on the printer, but the NFC fad seems to be fading.
Do You Need Printer Security Features?
Printer security is often overlooked, but at your peril. Hackers can gain access to a network through the printer, and in any office printer that you’re not right next to, sensitive documents in the paper tray can be seen by prying eyes before you get to them. Many business-centric models include a private printing feature, so that after you send the print job to the printer, you have to enter a PIN at the printer’s control panel to actually print it.
For business printers in particular, firmware should be kept updated, as it often repairs vulnerabilities, and any printer hard drives should be encrypted. Many manufacturers offer administrative tools to help IT departments ensure printer security.
How Do You Gauge Printer Size and Weight?
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 (in all three dimensions, including paper feeders and output trays that may need to extend), 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.
Should You Buy Third-Party Printer Ink?
For inkjet tank printers and bulk toner laser printers, ink or toner from the printer manufacturer doesn’t cost enough to be an issue. For cartridge-based printers, third-party ink often costs significantly less. But be aware that it can also come with a whole tank full of issues.
First, there’s no guarantee that you’re going to get the same quality ink from a third party that you would when buying the manufacturer-branded product. Also, using ink that isn’t approved by the manufacturer can violate your warranty. And don’t think you can get away with secretly using that renegade ink: If your printer has an internet connection, it may well report your violation to the manufacturer. Sometimes, with firmware updates, we’ve seen the use of third-party ink “deauthorize” the use of the aftermarket cartridge.
Many printer manufacturers now offer ink subscriptions, so new ink shows up at your door when you need it. If that’s available for your model, it can often be the best way to go.
Should You Buy Cheap Printer Paper?
For everyday printing, store-brand 20-pound weight paper will usually serve nicely. However, you’ll often get better looking output if you step up to a higher-quality paper. For lasers, as well as for inkjet text and graphic printing, that means a heavier weight, and possibly a brighter white level. For photos on inkjets, it means getting matte presentation paper or photo paper. Getting photo or matte paper that’s the same brand as your printer will usually be the best choice; printer manufacturers design ink and paper to work together and often offer a variety of presentation and photo papers.
Recycled paper also offers acceptable quality, and you can find 100% post-consumer-content recycled paper for many uses, including cover stock and bright white paper suitable for business use. There are other kinds of eco-friendly paper as well, such as all-purpose paper made from sugar cane and photo paper made from cotton. Do your small part to save a tree and research eco-friendly media options. Any modern printer will handle them well.
What Type of Printer Is Best for Home Use?
What kind of printer you get for your home depends on what you plan on printing. As a general rule, if you print text only, or text and graphics that don’t need color, a mono laser printer will do the trick. If photos are on your agenda, you need an inkjet or dedicated small format photo printer. If the only color output you print is graphics, you probably want an inkjet as well, but if you print infrequently, an inexpensive color laser may be the better choice. Laser printers have the advantage of being able to sit for months without being used, and then simply turn on and work, without the clogged nozzles or wasted ink for cleaning them that inkjets sometimes need. If you plan on doing any scanning or copying, but not so much that you need a standalone scanner, you should look to an all-in-one or multifunction printer. Decent AIOs aren’t that much more expensive than their printer-only counterparts.
Should You Buy a Refurbished Printer?
Printers have reached the point where improvements are infrequent and incremental, so buying a printer that’s a few years old isn’t going to mean sacrificing any groundbreaking technology. That said, if you buy a refurbished or used printer, get it from a trustworthy source, make sure it’s been recertified by the manufacturer, and look for a reasonable warranty and return period. Here’s what to know before buying refurbished electronics.
Ready to Buy the Right Printer for You?
Based on our advice above, and our key picks for various usage cases below, you should be ready to shop. Keep in mind what you need to print, how many pages you need to print, and how much you’re willing to pay up front and per page, and you’ll be sure to find the best printer for you. If you’re replacing an old printer, recycle or donate it so it can become someone else’s refurbished bargain.
If money’s tight, start with our picks for the best cheap printers, and check out how to save money on ink. If you’re shopping for a business, we’ve got the best business printers rounded up for you as well.