Looking for the top printer options for your home or small office? Our printer experts have researched dozens of printers, comparing the ins-and-outs of speed, quality, and usability. As a great all-around printer, the HP OfficeJet Pro 9014e is the best. The OfficeJet has company though. If you’re looking for a smaller option, or perhaps a laser printer, we have great alternatives which we’ve listed below, that also come highly recommended.
HP OfficeJet Pro 9014e
The best overall
HP has spent years ironing out the kinks in the Office Jet line and updating the technology for the modern home or office. The result is the OfficeJet Pro 9014e, an incredibly advanced printer that works to make printing, scanning, copying and faxing — if not pleasant — then reliably manageable. It has a 22 page per minute (ppm) printing speed (B&W), automatic 2-sided scanning up to 1200 dpi, a 35-page automatic document feeder, and a 25-sheet paper tray.
The colour touchscreen allows you to change settings and choose your tools, with plenty of options for sending scans to email, the cloud, or a device of your choice (with Alexa and Google Assistant compatibility, working by voice is also an option). Or you can use the HP smart app, which allows you to control the printer from afar and even monitor your ink levels. That’s only the start, if you want to dig into Smart Tasks, this allows you to optimise the printer for specific programs like QuickBooks.
Connection options include major Wi-Fi Direct features. If you’re printing over Wi-Fi, you also get a nice intelligent Wi-Fi connection that monitors for connection problems and fixes itself when possible. Since this is HP, the printer also comes with a variety of security features like encryption and password protection.
Few printers have ever shown such quality from top to bottom. However, we will note that while it’s a bit more compact than previous models, this printer still takes up quite a lot of space, so you’ll need to make some room for it.
Why we love it:
- Efficient and reliable multi-function printer
- Easy to use touchscreen
- Can be used alongside the HP app
HP OfficeJet200 Mobile Printer
The best small printer
For the average home, dorm or even business, printing needs might be rare. Everyone has gone digital and PDFs can easily be signed on your computer. However, sometimes you need to print something. For those jobs, the HP OfficeJet200 steps in. The printer has great colour accuracy for printing photos, and optional high-yield cartridges for greater flexibility, depending on what you want to print. Designed to fit in a bag, this portable printer can be taken anywhere for all your printing needs.
Why we love it:
- Print from a laptop or mobile device
- Use Wireless Direct to print, when there’s no available Wi-Fi
Brother HL-L3230CDw
The best colour laser printer
If you want a laser printer for your home or office, the Brother HL-L3230CDW is a safe bet, a compact device that you can get at an affordable price. This printer can blaze through jobs at a rate of 27ppm, and it holds 250 sheets of paper; both of these factors make it a good choice for offices, where people may need to print out a lot of documents without waiting for someone else’s job to finish.
The printer isn’t just fast; it also supports duplex printing for double-sided pages. Whatever you print will probably look great, as it can print full-colour documents at 2,400 by 600dpi.
Why we love it:
- Reliable and fast
- Quality printing in B&W and in colour
HP ENVY Pro 6430 Wireless All-in-One Printer
The best smart printer
To make sure you’re working efficiently and effectively, having a printer that can do multiple tasks is a necessity, and the HP ENVY Pro 6430 All-in-One Printer is just that. It can print, scan, and copy. Moreover, it also features automatic two-sided printing and produces borderless photos. With the HP Smart app, you can easily set up the printer and share the inkjet printer across all your devices for remote use.
Why we love it:
- Easy to set up and use, even remotely
- Multi-function printer; print, scan and copy
- Beautiful borderless photo printing
Research and buying tips
Which printer has the cheapest ink?
Affordable ink depends on several different factors: How much the cartridges cost up front, how much ink the printer uses on average, and how long cartridges last. Ultimately, it’s best if you take a look at specific models and check how much the cartridges are, and how long they appear to last (usually measured in page yield). Even within the same brand, ink costs can vary considerably based on the printing machine.
In general, you should look for printers that offer a high page yield for their cartridges, and cartridges that are more affordable compared to alternatives. These two stats combined can tell you a lot. Inkjet printers with their liquid ink cartridges tend to cost more over time than laser printers with their large toner cartridges. All our top brand picks, like Canon, HP, and Epson, tend to be quite efficient. Our HP picks in particular may be a good choice if you want to save money on ink (we were a little disappointed in our Canon Pixma model’s ink performance, however).
What printer has the longest lasting ink cartridges?
Laser printers with their toner cartridges have high initial costs for replacing toner, but toner lasts longer than almost any other printer ink type. However, if you want a home or small business printer, then a laser printer probably isn’t on your list. In that case, we suggest you take a look at our top HP OfficeJet pick. HP offers very high-quality ink cartridges for its OfficeJet models, and they’ll last longer than most alternatives.
What printer is the cheapest to operate?
We have already established that aside from the high initial costs, laser printers tend to be more affordable in the long run because they are so cheap to operate. However, let’s say that you’re looking only at inkjet printers: What should you look for? Your best options will be well-known, dependable brands that create higher-end printers designed for lighter office work.
Printing hasn’t gone by the wayside yet. We understand that though many things may be mostly digital, there are times when you need to print. We’ve come up with a list of the best printers for those instances. With smart technology, both wired and wireless connections, depending on the needs of your home or office, these printers are all made by trustworthy, reliable brands and any of them will be a smart addition to your home or office.
