Best Home and Photo Printers

Shopping for a new printer? Here, we explore a dozen of today’s best bets for the home-based user, taking into account key considerations such as price (you’ll find nothing here over $300), reliability, manufacturer track record, user opinion, editorial preference and more. But don’t let this roundup be your only guide – also be sure to check the Digital Trends reviews department (and the Internet in general, for that matter) for full-blown case studies to get a good feel for what’s really going on with your favorite models before you buy.

Standalone Laser Printers

HL-2170W
Brother
Estimated street price: $100

It’s small, it’s cheap, it connects to your system wirelessly, and it’s universally loved by those who own it. What’s not to like? You might want to turn to its little brother, the HL-2140, if you’d rather go corded, but the Energy Star-compliant HL-2170W is otherwise the reigning king of low-dollar lasers.

ML-1630W
Samsung
ESP: $200

You know those annoying TV advertisements where some handsome guy in a perfectly tailored suit saunters through his palatial penthouse suite, gazing through the floor-to-ceiling windows at the unwashed masses below? You don’t? Well, anyway, Samsung’s glossy, piano black ML-1630W monochrome laser printer would look positively delicious perched just so on his gorgeous marble desk. That it’s quiet and fast – though perhaps not totally efficient on a cost per page basis – certainly doesn’t hurt.

HL-4040CDN
Brother
ESP: $250

A color laser for less than $300 was unheard of even just a few years ago, yet now these high-tech machines are within the grasp of just about anyone seriously considering a printer. Yes, it’s a rather stout fellow, tipping the scales at a desk-collapsing 74 lbs, but the HL-4040-CDN delivers sweet perks such as two-sided documents, print speeds that approach 21 pages per minute, and high-capacity toner cartridges.

Multifunction Lasers

SCX-4200
Samsung
ESP: $150

Samsung’s tiny, affordable SCX-4200 is further proof that multifunction lasers are becoming a definite option for even the most meager home office setup. It doesn’t do faxes, but it’ll efficiently handle everything else you expect from an all-in-one device, and it won’t gobble down toner while it’s at it. If black and white are all you need, and your wallet screams for mercy every time you open it, look no further.

MFC-7840W
Brother
ESP: $270

Brother products tend to dominate the laser portion of this roundup, and the MFC-7840W is a prime example why. Reviews across the board, both professional and consumer, consistently gush about its speed, its capabilities, its relatively small footprint, and its low cost per page. Wireless connectivity doesn’t hurt, either.

1235cn
Dell
ESP: $350

We bump over our self-imposed $300 threshold just this once for the Dell 1235cn color multifunction laser printer. Why? Because Dell is just a wee bit green, and we like that. Not only is the brand new 1235cn Energy Star-certified, but it sports eco-conscious printing options and features returnable, high-volume toner cartridges.

Multifunction Inkjets

Workforce 600
Epson
ESP: $180

Epson’s latest high-end inkjets are strikingly pretty, and the Workforce 600 is no exception. It’s more than a pretty face though – the Workforce 600 essentially handles everything and anything you’ll ever need a printer to do, and does so with the greatest of ease. Epson’s ink management routine is a bit finicky, but the Workforce 600’s workhorse ethic is hard to deny.

X7675
Lexmark
ESP: $200

You don’t find a five-year warranty on much these days, especially in a complex multifunction inkjet printer. Yet that’s precisely what Lexmark offers with its X7675, a machine that also offers perks such as a user-friendly control panel, extra-large ink tanks, and impressive, though not overly expedient, printing.

Pixma MX850
Canon
ESP: $200

Canon flaunts the MX850 as the "ultimate all-in-one" printer, and critics and end users seem to agree – particularly when it comes to the quality of its text, graphics, and photo printing. Never have end users had such a top-notch selection of multifunction inkjets as they do today, and this Canon hovers near the top.

Photo Printers

Selphy
Canon
ESP: $50 – $150

You’ll have to choose for yourself which of the half-dozen models in Canon’s Selphy line of printers works best for you, but there are several commonalities between them. For starters, Selphys are neither inkjet nor laser – they’re dye-sublimation, a technology once reserved for high-end commercial printing. They’re also ridiculously portable, thusly making any of them a good bet for your next vacation. And although they certainly don’t brandish a ton of advanced features, they do turn out perfectly lovely small-format photos.

Artisan 800
Epson
ESP: $250

It’s really a multifunction inkjet, but we’ve included it here in our Photo Printer category because it is, primarily, one hell of a nice photo printer. Sure, you can use it do all those other things a general office printer does, but the cost of ink is relatively high and the unit isn’t really built for the heavy going. But that sweet 7.8-inch touch panel is the cat’s meow, and the prints are near-perfect.

Check out our review of the Artisan 800.

Photosmart B8550
HP
ESP: $250

Multifunction inkjets will usually do a good job printing photographs. But if you really want to dig in there and play, and particularly if you already own a multifunction device of some sort, a dedicated photo printer is the way to go. The Photosmart B8550 will print both small (4×6) and big (13×19), and do it from your PC or from virtually any type of memory card. And the results are near-lab quality.