The Very Best Home Printers

Cost per page: 3.7 cents | Type: B&W laser printing, print speed: 32 ppm | Resolution: 2400 x 600 DPI | Connectivity: wireless 802.11 b/g/n, USB 2.0, Wi-Fi Direct | Mobile printing: Apple AirPrint, Brother iPrint&Scan, Mopria, Cortado | Size: 14.0” x 14.2” x 7.2” | Extra features: double-sided printing, manual feed slot, works with Alexa

The overwhelming favorite black-and-white home printer is the Brother HL-L2350DW. The experts I spoke to love its simplicity, breezy setup, compact design, and affordability (it’s the least expensive monochrome printer on the list). The HL-L2350DW is a humble workhorse that offers double-sided printing, wireless printing from your phone or laptop, and a print speed of up to 32 pages per minute. “This is not for sleek, glossy documents,” says Dave Baker, founder and copy chief at Super Copy Editors, who uses his for proofreading. “Plus, you’ll save money on ink cartridges since it uses only black ink.” Jonathan Treble, CEO of PrintWithMe, says, “It offers everything you need for simple black-and-white printing.” And although this printer doesn’t have a scanner, Treble says the multitude of scanning apps available nowadays makes it a nonissue for most people. It also lasts. Strategist editor Maxine Builder, who purchased her HL-L2350DW five years ago, says the printer is still working just fine, and, despite the occasional connectivity issue, she still recommends it. It’s low-maintenance, she says, which is what a printer should be. “I really don’t think about my printer much at all, which is the best compliment I can give.”

Cost per page: not listed, standard refill $67 | Type: inkjet color printing with pigment-based (black) and dye-based (color) ink, 12 ppm (B&W), 5 ppm (color) | Resolution: 1200 x 1200 DPI (B&W), 4800 x 1200 DPI (color) | Connectivity: wireless 2.4GHz, Bluetooth Low Energy, USB 2.0 | Mobile printing: HP Smart app, Apple AirPrint, Mopria | Size: 17.11” x 14.23” x 6.19” | Extra features: flatbed copier and scanner, manual double-sided printing, borderless printing

Leah Fowler, owner of Nebraska-based Fowler Invitations, sells digital vellum-wrap designs for wedding invitations. She swears by HPs, and a favorite model of hers is the Smart Tank 5101, a durable inkjet machine good for everyday color printing but that can also handle card stock and thicker paper, making it ideal for home crafts and school projects. Fowler found it easy to set up and says it connected right to the Wi-Fi. Katherine Jacques, senior category merchant of Staples U.S. retail, agrees, telling me HP Smart Tanks are “great options” for those looking for high image quality without spending too much on ink. The cartridge-free high-capacity refillable ink tanks and the up to two years of ink included in the box make it a solid cost-saving purchase, explains Jacques. The Smart Tank 5101 can also copy and scan, and it has Wi-Fi and mobile printing. It does not have faxing capabilities, however; if you need a color printer that can do that, you should consider the Brother MFC-L3710CW below.

According to Fowler, the HP Ink subscription service that you can link the 5101 with is “super affordable.” The printer also has sensors that let users know when it is running low on ink. They can opt to get refills sent automatically once ink levels drop below a certain point, and, if they’re printing more than usual, can also receive notifications so they won’t be hit with surprise charges.

Cost per page: 2.7 cents | Type: B&W laser printer, 36 ppm | Resolution: 2400 x 600 DPI | Connectivity: wireless 802.11 b/g/n, Ethernet, USB 2.0, Wi-Fi Direct | Mobile printing: Apple AirPrint, Brother iPrint&Scan, Mopria, Cortado | Size: 16.1” x 15.7” x 12.5” | Extra features: copier, color flatbed scanner, double-sided printing, LCD touchscreen, manual feed slot, works with Alexa

Sometimes your printer finds you, which is what happened to Jason Reif, a film and commercial producer based in Brooklyn. He inherited his Brother DCP-L2540DW, the older version of this printer, in 2017 after it was used as the set printer on season two of High Maintenance. As a set printer, it was too bulky, explains Reif, since “you have to lug them around everywhere you go,” but it worked perfectly for his home-office setup. If you’re looking for a black-and-white laser office printer, “it’s got all you need,” he says. Like Reif’s model, the DCP-L2550DW has wireless and automatic double-sided printing, color scanning, Wi-Fi, and mobile printing, Bluetooth and Ethernet connection options, and a low-toner mode to save on ink. Not that he needs to replenish often: “The last time I ordered toner for our printer was in 2021.” When Reif’s not using it to scan a stack of releases for work, “I use it almost exclusively for printing out USPS return labels because of all the eBay shopping I’m doing.”

Cost per page: not listed, $105.99 for refill | Type: inkjet color printer (dye based), print speed: 53 seconds per 8” x 10” bordered color photo | Resolution: 4800 x 2400 DPI | Connectivity: wireless 802.11a/b/g/n, 2.5/5.0GHz, Ethernet, USB | Mobile printing: Apple AirPrint, Mopria, Easy-PhotoPrint Editor, Cloud Link, Canon PRINT | Size: 25.2” x 15” x 7.9” | Extra features: LCD display, manual feed slot, auto paper width detection, paper feed skew correction

Professional photo printers can cost thousands, says Adorama’s Nadziejko, but for someone who wants a quality photo printer for their home, the Canon PIXMA PRO-200 is a more affordable option. With borderless printing and wireless printing capabilities, it’s also more forgiving for the occasional user, Nadziejko says. “It’s dye-based so you don’t have to print as often” as you would with a pigment-based printer. It’s an ideal printer for the photo hobbyist, someone who won’t be shooting all the time and doesn’t need business-grade prints, he says, adding that Canon photo paper also tends to be cheaper than that of some competitors.

Cost per page: not listed, $38 for standard paper and ink refill set | Type: photo printer (dye-based), approx. 47 seconds for a 4” x 6” photo | Resolution: 256 Levels Per Color | Connectivity: wireless 802.11 b/g/n, 2.4GHz, USB | Mobile printing: Apple AirPrint, Canon PRINT app, Mopria | Size: 7.1” x 5.4” x 2.5” | Extra features: borderless printing, LCD printing, reprinting, power save mode, red-eye correction, memory card slot

The Canon SELPHY CP1300 prints postcard-size photos directly from your phone, and is a lifesaver for Daily Show writer Devin Delliquanti, who uses it for last-minute school assignments for his kids, saving him an evening trip to CVS or Kinko’s. “It’s the night before and, oh my God, I need a picture of my son and his family and his grandparents, but I can just print out a picture” at home, Delliquanti says. “It’s a relief.” He got his CP1300 as a Christmas gift circa 2018 and loves that its compact design means “it’s not as clunky” as other printers. The dye-sublimation technology the CP1300 uses to print means photos dry quickly, are smudge free, and are water-resistant.

Cost per page: 22 cents | Type: inkjet color printer (pigment based), 29 ppm (B&W), 25 ppm (color) | Resolution: black: 1200 x 1200 DPI, color: Up to 4800 x 1200 | Connectivity: wireless 802.11a/b/g/n, Ethernet, USB 2.0, Wi-Fi Direct | Mobile printing: Chrome OS, HP Smart, Apple AirPrint, Mopria | Size: 18.11” x 13.43” x 9.21” | Extra features: double-sided printing, touchscreen display

When curriculum specialists Catherine Coyle and Aimee Jensen look to print out worksheets and lesson plans, they both agree the inkjet HP OfficeJet Pro 8025e is the one to use. For Coyle, who is a former grade-school teacher and the creator of Classroom Creations, the 8025e’s automatic double-sided printing is a must-have feature, and the HP Instant Ink plan keeps refills affordable. She uses her printer four to five times a week, and often features it in her TikTok videos previewing her teacher resources. “I get comments all the time on my social media asking what printer I use. People say that the colors are really vibrant,” Coyle says. Jensen, a third-grade teacher and creator of Aimee’s Edventures, agrees. She’s had her OfficeJet Pro 8025e for three years and loves how vivid the colors are, and says the wireless printing ensures she can quickly print the classroom resources she makes for children and teachers from her devices. Jacques also likes the OfficeJet Pro 8025e, and says it “keeps up with my business needs, but also supports my home-printing needs like photos and color documents.”

Cost per page: 3.7 cents | Type: laser B&W printer, 36 ppm | Resolution: 2400 x 600 DPI| Connectivity: wireless 802.11 b/g/n, Ethernet, USB 2.0, Wi-Fi Direct | Mobile printing: Apple AirPrint, Brother iPrint&Scan, Mopria, Cortado, NFC | Size: 16.1” x 15.7” x 10.7” | Extra features: copier, flatbed scanner, color touch screen, double-sided printing, toner save mode

Ackerman says the Brother HL-L2395DW was the one printer he found that not only worked for him, but for his mother as well. As someone who used to review printers at CNET, Ackerman says of all the models he tested, this printer was “the one that made me not want to throw it out the window.” With black-and-white laser printing, an LCD touchscreen display, and automatic double-sided printing, the printer also has a 250-sheet paper capacity and print speed of 36 pages per minute, the fastest among the printers on this list. Refill toner cartridges start at around $45, but Ackerman says he finds third-party toner on Amazon for much cheaper that works just as well. He has had this printer for three or four years, and the reliability and ease of it led him to gift one to his mother, who uses it for crafting. “She has not come to me and asked me to come troubleshoot her printer,” Ackerman says of the HL-L2395DW. “The ultimate endorsement I can give is that she never asks about it.”