Working from home has brought its own brand of struggles and triumphs, from wrangling children and pets to figuring out new technology. An oldie but a goodie that we will always need for our home offices is the humble printer. Whether it’s printing out necessary documents to sign, compiling spreadsheets, or the multitude of other tasks you’ll need to take on, you need a printer that packs a punch without knocking out your wallet. But which are the best inkjet printers on the market, according to the tech experts?
Inkjet printers are a type of printer that uses ink droplets to create images on paper. The ink is sprayed onto the paper through tiny nozzles in the print head, which are controlled by electronic circuits. The nozzles can be arranged in a variety of patterns, including a linear array or a matrix, and can vary from a few hundred to several thousand. Inkjet printers can produce high-quality images with excellent color accuracy and resolution, making them popular for printing photographs and other graphics. They are also relatively affordable and easy to use, making them a popular choice for home and small office use.
Inkjet printers come in a variety of sizes and configurations, from small desktop models to large-format machines used for printing banners and posters. They can use a variety of ink formulations, including dye-based and pigment-based inks, which offer different advantages in terms of color vibrancy, longevity, and water resistance. One disadvantage of inkjet printers is that they tend to be slower than other types of printers, particularly when printing large documents or high-volume print jobs. However, many newer models have improved speed and efficiency, and some are even capable of automatic two-sided printing and other advanced features.
We have scoured the market for the best inkjet printers for your home office, backed by expert reviews which analyzed printers based on quality of output, time to print, extra features, and price. If you’ve got your own suggestions, please leave them in the comments section below!
The List: Best Inkjet Printers, According to Experts
1. HP OfficeJet Pro 9015e All-In-One Printer
This device is our pick for the best all-around printer. Why? Your home office usually ends up being a one-size-fits-all space, so most people will benefit most from a one-size-fits-all printer that can handle multiple tasks. All-In-One printers are great for the home office as they can scan, copy, and print.
The 9015e offers high-quality printing, an all-in-one function to get more done, and an automatic document feeder. It can print and scan 2-sided documents automatically, saving you time, and up to 22 pages per minute in black or 18 pages per minute in color. In addition, the 9015e comes with HP+ which includes a six-month subscription to HP’s Instant Ink subscription plan.
PCMag says “The Instant Ink Subscription Plan can drive its operating costs down to as little as 3.5 cents per page—any page, whether double-spaced black text or a letter-size borderless photo. That makes Instant Ink ideal for families that print plenty of pics, but the OfficeJet Pro lives up to its name as ideal for home or micro offices that need both great-looking text and colorful marketing materials.”
Wirecutter likes the 9015e and says “…it is the best one for most people. It is remarkably easy to set up and use, hitting a sweet spot of speed, print quality, and reliability that other printers can’t match.”
2. Epson EcoTank Photo ET-8550
If you’re looking for an option that prints high quality photos, but still has all the power and capabilities of the best printers on the market, the ET-8550 might be for you. Epson delivers a high-performing printer that can put out crystal-clear photos. With a huge range of ways to print from Wi-Fi to USB, SD cards, and Ethernet connectivity, the ET-8550 makes itself a great little tank.
Forbes loved the optimized all-in-one options for the printer, saying, “The Epson EcoTank Photo ET-8550 has a premium price, but it also is a premium all-in-one. It’s a superb choice for printing photos, graphics, flyers, or worksheets. Unlike normal all-in-one models, Epson has optimized this printer specifically for photo output.”
The EcoTank part refers to a refillable ink tank. Instead of ink cartridges, you pour more ink into the tank when the ink runs low. This is a great green option, making the ET-8550 powerful and responsible. In their review, RTINGS.com summarized, “The Epson EcoTank ET-8550 printer is among the best photo printers we’ve tested. It stands out for its photo printing quality and exceptionally high page yield. However, there are significantly cheaper printers with better color accuracy.”
Color accuracy is undoubtedly super important if you’re looking for strictly a photo printer. The nice thing about the ET-8550 is that it can do more, so if you’re looking for document printing as well, it might be a good fit. RTINGS.com did clarify that “…this is a photo printer first, so if you only plan on printing documents, you can easily find cheaper models that can do it just as well…”
3. Canon Pixma MG3620
For home offices that just need a cheap all-around printer that works on the occasions you need it, the MG3620 is great for you. RTINGS.COM likes it for these situations, saying, “If you need a cheap printer for those occasional, once-in-a-blue-moon projects, we recommend the Canon PIXMA MG3620. It doesn’t feel particularly well-built and only has a basic flatbed scanner, but it prints good-quality documents and photos.”
People.com liked it because it was easy to use, saying, “This printer is one of the easiest and most intuitive that our testers encountered. It prints, scans, and copies, but you can use the same interface for all three functions. Long story short: It’s really easy to use.”
4. HP Deskjet 3755
Small but strong would be a good calling card for the 3755. Earning the title of the best compact printer, it fits in a much smaller area while still having a sleek and stylish outside. It’s an all-in-one, too, making it even more of a space saver. It’s relatively inexpensive, making it a great addition to your budding home office.
Although it might seem too good to be true that the smallest printer on the market would have such great all-purpose features, the 3755 surprises. A drawback of this ringer is that it prints slowly, taking its time, so it’s a better option for slower-paced home offices.
It’s even equipped with Wi-Fi-Direct and AirPrint. One of the coolest features, though, is HP’s scan beam, which looks like a handle on top of the cute printer but does the job of a regular flatbed scanner. Documents go in the slot beneath and are drawn through automatically and scanned to be copied.
The 3755 is wireless, making it nice and easy. Zdnet.com found it compatible and interconnected, saying, “It is an inkjet model with cloud printing abilities that works with popular services like iCloud, Dropbox, and Google Drive. To simplify things, there is an AirPrint feature when you are on the go, plus Wi-Fi connectivity that is compatible with your smartphone, in addition to your PC and laptop.”
Techradar found the 3755 to be a great small choice, saying, “This dinky printer, available in a range of colors, is the smallest all-in-one inkjet on the market, and it’ll sit comfortably on any shelf or even fit into a suitcase. Unfortunately, there’s only room for sixty sheets of paper and two ink cartridges on board, so it’s best used for light duties at home rather than in the office.”
5. Brother MFC-J805DW
If you’re looking for cheap and quick, Brother is there for you with the MFC-J805DW. Featuring print, copy, fax, and scan capabilities, including color printing, this wireless printer will give you a lower cost-per-page than almost any other printer. Of course, the drawback of this awesome price savings is a slower print, but if you are willing to wait, your patience will net you a great-looking print or scan on the other side.
When reviewing the MFC-J805DW, Wirecutter said, “If you just want the cheapest prints possible and don’t care about speed, fancy apps, or looks, the Brother MFC-J805DW is an excellent choice. At a mere 0.9¢ per black-and-white page and 4.7¢ for color, it’s one of the most cost-efficient printers you can buy, and the results look great, too.”
RTINGS.com loved the mid-range option, calling it “more compelling” and saying that it offers long-lasting ink in spite of using ink cartridges.
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Note: This article was not paid for nor sponsored. StudyFinds is not connected to nor partnered with any of the brands mentioned and received no compensation for its recommendations.
Regarding HP inkjet printers and their ink program – a recent firmware update takes away from the customer the ability to use 3rd party cartridges. Also, HP’s ink service is not useful for this reason: if you have used their ink subscription program, you cannot mix cartridges purchased at XYZ store wit their ink program cartridges. They are locked out. All or nothing! Another HP gotcha – their consumer line of printers and PCs must be returned to a HP repair depot for repairs while their business lines with the exception of inkjet printers can be repaired under warranty at a local HP authorized repair facility. Very few parts on the inkjets are user replaceable. HP consumer line printers may be cheap but if serviceability is an issue, that needs to be taken into account.