Effortlessly print, scan, and copy without having to leave the house.
By Kaz Weida Updated: Jul 01, 2024 12:06 PM EDT Jump to Products Save ArticleGear-obsessed editors choose every product we review. We may earn commission if you buy from a link. Why Trust Us?
Our professional and personal lives continue to become increasingly digital, with more and more that exists in the cloud, but a completely paperless world hasn’t yet materialized. Whether you’re working from home or managing the documentation of daily life for yourself or the whole family, the urgent need to scan, copy, and print pops up more often than you’d think.
Fortunately, modern home printers are compact, reliable, and cost-effective, and these multi-taskers are only getting more so with each generation. The printers recommended below include options for assorted jobs and projects whether that's producing crisp photos or printing out PDFs. Some printers offer additional features like the ability to scan, copy, or even fax documents, which can make these electronic partners the reliable workhorse of your home office.
The Expert: I have worked remote for the better part of a decade, so I am familiar with home printers and why it’s worth it to have one. In our suburban Salt Lake City home, our printer does double duty serving both the needs of my business and those of my tween daughter who loves to print and create photo collages. After extensive research, our family traded in our old inkjet printer that gobbled up its own weight in cartridges for a new wireless laser printer that transformed how we scan and print photos and documents.
Before buying a home printer or replacing an old one, you will need to determine what type of printer best suits your needs. Take into account where you will store the printer—do you need a compact version that will be taken out only when it’s needed or do you have a a home office where space isn’t an issue? It’s also smart to factor in the cost and access to ink refills so you get a true sense of not only the initial cost, but the expenses you will incur during the life of the printer.
Types of Printers
Either an inkjet or laser printer can meet your needs, but there are significant differences in print quality and cost. Inkjets, which use either ink cartridges or an ink tank, excel at printing in color and may be more adept at certain print jobs such as photos.
While inkjet printers are relatively inexpensive up front, the cost of replacement ink cartridges can quickly balloon your bottom line. These cartridges are pricey when you consider the amount of ink that they have—basically enough to print a few hundred pages.
That’s why tank printers, which let you refill ink more affordably, are increasingly popular alternatives to traditional inkjets. The amount of ink means you can print more—possibly thousands of pages versus hundreds—before you are ready for a refill.
Laser printers come in monochrome (which print in black and white) and color versions. Monochrome printers, which are capable of printing text lightning fast, may be more expensive up front, but you’ll save money in the long-term because laser printers print far more pages than an inkjet before running out of toner. The downside? If you want to print in color, laser color printers can be quite expensive both to purchase and use.
Cost and Convenience of Ink Refills
If you print often, and haven’t done your research in advance, you may learn the true cost of having a home printer the hard way. Replacement cartridges can be expensive, but trying to use third-party suppliers who offer alternatives that cut cost, may end up costing you in the end. These cartridges may cause damage to your printer or sacrifice reliability in the bargain.
Many manufacturers offer trial ink or toner subscriptions when you first purchase a printer at no additional charge but once the free trial runs dry, you’ll need to pay to keep the refills coming. For this reason, an expensive tank inkjet printer can be more cost-effective over time.
Function and Usability
Printers do much more than just the basic printing these days. Although an all-in-one printer that scans, copies, and faxes may be more expensive upfront, you’ll save on both space and cost by not having separate components for each of these tasks.
Look for additional efficiency or cost-saving features built for your specific needs like duplex printing, which allows the printer to use both sides of the paper.
The best possible print quality will cost you, so consider how much high-quality printing you might actually do. For most households, a laser printer or a cheap inkjet tank printer is more than adequate for typical print jobs—those that include birthday invitations to work presentations.
If you do find yourself needing to print photos and other graphics at home, it may be worthwhile to invest in a separate printer for photos to maximize print quality while minimizing ink or toner usage.
Print Speed and Connectivity
Most modern printers have a multitude of ways to connect to your computer or phone. While it may work to have the printer tethered to a desktop, most operate on Wi-Fi connections that let you print from devices on the network.
Some home printers offer cloud printing which connects you to platforms like Google Drive, Dropbox, and others for easy access to printing and scanning anywhere you have an internet connection.
Determine how much space you have for your home printer. If you have a dedicated desk, then printer dimentions may be of little concern. But if your printer is crammed into a cabinet or needs to be carried from place to place, you’ll want to focus on something wireless and portable.
Some printers are specifically designed for travel and can accommodate small print jobs on-the-go but you’ll sacrifice speed and quality for the luxury of convenience.
If you’ve owned an inkjet printer, you’ve likely found yourself frustrated by insatiable cartridges that tend to guzzle ink. Even if you use a printer infrequently, you can find yourself replacing expensive cartridges for just a light one- or two-page print job. You’re not imagining this phantom drain phenomenon.
Unfortunately, inkjet printers not only use ink to print on the page, but also for maintenance. Leaving the printer on between uses may reduce the ink used during this maintenance cycle—without requiring a ton of electricity to keep it running. You can also save significantly by purchasing XL ink cartridges in bundles.
If you print only a few times a year and seem to always have to buy new ink whenever you go to print, you’ll probably be better off printing through your workplace, the library, or another service from stores like Staples or FedEx. This issue occurs only with inkjet printers. If you won’t be using your printer daily, you may instead want to consider laser printers that use toner instead of liquid ink, because toner won’t dry up between use.
To make the recommendations below, I leaned heavily into my own experience using several printers in my home office. My work reviewing home electronics and technology products over the past decade guided me in which key features and specifications are most optimal for home printing needs.
I also weighed the cost of each printer in terms of initial purchase and the tab it runs up in long-term ink or toner usage. Additionally, I scoured customer reviews to get a sense of what has worked and what hasn’t for most folks. Finally, I factored in the testing and research of Hunter Fenollol and Paige Szmodis, and their contributions to the earlier versions of this article.