Top Printers 2023

With unremarkable features and output quality for the price, HP's Smart Tank 5101 All-in-One Printer might seem an odd entry-level pick for homes and home offices. But its low running cost means you shouldn't count it out.

Canon's imageClass MF264dw II offers solid print speeds, clean output quality, and roomy paper handling, but its ADF limitations make it a good choice only if you don't need to scan or copy two-sided documents.

The Canon Maxify GX3020 offers suitable paper capacity and a low running cost for heavy-duty printing, making it a good home printer or personal printer in a large office, as long as your scanning needs are minimal.

The Epson WF-2960 delivers good-quality text and graphics at default settings, making it an easy light-printing solution for homes and micro offices that need everything that an all-in-one can do: print, fax, scan, and copy.

The Canon PIXMA TS6420a is decent for family use. It has a flatbed scanner to fulfill basic needs, like digitizing a few photos, recipes, or signed documents. It prints high-quality documents; it's just slow, so you may have to wait a while when printing multi-page documents. Printed photos look very detailed, but the colors aren't very accurate, especially blues and reds. It doesn't print many pages before its cartridges run out of ink, so you need to buy new cartridges often.

The Pantum P3012DW is great for black and white printing. It yields a remarkably high number of pages at an outstandingly cheap cost-per-print, which keeps prints economical in the long run. However, it isn't as good as most higher-end laser models or supertank inkjets. It's compatible with high-yield cartridges, though. It prints black pages at a remarkably fast speed, although it does take a little long to warm up and begin printing after going unused for a while. Unfortunately, its two-line LCD screen is very simplistic, and the printer itself is hard to set up for use with your local wireless network.

It's not cheap to operate, but the entry-level Canon Pixma TR4720 prints exceptionally well, making it a good choice for family rooms and home offices.

The HP ENVY Inspire 7955e is fair for general home and family use. It has both a flatbed scanner and ADF, so you can easily scan a variety of media, and it prints decent-looking, good-quality photos. Unfortunately, colors look noticeably off, and it struggles to print natural-looking scenes. While the cost-per-print is reasonably low, paying for replacement cartridges can quickly pile up if you print lots.

The HP Tango X printer is disappointing for family use. It doesn't print many pages before its cartridges run out of ink, meaning you'll be spending a lot of money to replace them often if you print a lot. Also, since it's a printer-only unit, it doesn't have a flatbed or a sheetfed scanner. On the bright side, while its color accuracy is disappointing, its printed photos look good. Plus, you can use the mobile app to watch ink levels and paper levels.

Canon's Pixma G1220, though no speedster, prints in top quality and delivers some of the lowest running costs available. It's a fine photo-printing value for families and home offices with modest output needs.