The 6 Best Printers For College Students - Summer 2020
Reviews

The best printer for college students we've reviewed so far is the Brother MFC-J995DW. This is an all-in-one printer that features Brother's exceptional INKvestment Tank Ink System, which holds more ink per cartridge to achieve a higher yield. This means that you don't have to replace the cartridges often, so you end up spending less on replacement ink in the long run. Printing in color is only marginally more expensive than printing in black-only, which is great if you like adding colors to your documents or print a photo once in a while. If you print a lot, there are XXL and XXL Ultra high-yield cartridges available.

This printer's overall printing speed is good, but it depends entirely on what you're printing. For black-only documents, it prints out the first page quickly, but it isn't much faster for the remaining pages. Its printing speed for color documents is the same; however, it's quite fast at printing photos compared to other similar inkjet printers. Photos look great overall, with just a bit of fine banding in certain colors. Most paper sizes are supported up to the legal size, and it can also print on glossy photo paper.

This printer has good connectivity options, including support for USB thumb drives and SD cards. Unfortunately, it doesn't support Bluetooth or printing from Android mobile devices using Mopria. On the bright side, Brother has a superb mobile app that allows you to perform nearly any task directly from your smartphone. Last but not least, it comes with a great scanner that has an automatic document feeder, which makes processing long documents a breeze. It's not the most compact printer for small dorm rooms, but if you're just looking for a printer that can do it all, this is an excellent choice.

The best laser printer for college students we've tested so far is the Canon imageCLASS MF644Cdw. This printer is a good option for those who only need to print documents, as laser printers aren't really meant for printing photos. That said, laser printers are more reliable since you don't have to worry about ink drying up before it's used or clogged nozzles. This printer has an exceptional cartridge system that allows you to print an incredible number of pages before you have to replace the toner cartridges. The downside is that it's significantly more expensive to print in color than to print in black due to the high cost of the color toner cartridges, so color printing should be kept to a minimum.

One big advantage laser printers have over inkjet printers is printing speed. This printer can churn out pages fast, regardless of the type of document that's being printed. On top of that, it has a large 250-sheet input tray and it can perform double-sided printing. Color accuracy is decent and should be fine for most, but as mentioned, photo printing isn't recommended, as printed photos just look awful. And since laser printers apply heat during the printing process, it can't print on any type of glossy photo paper.

The scanner has an automatic document feeder that can perform duplex scanning, but sadly, the scanning resolution is limited to 600 DPI. It supports printing from USB thumb drives, and from mobile devices using AirPrint or Mopria. This printer works with Canon's PRINT Business mobile app, which allows you to do nearly everything using just your smartphone. Overall, even though it isn't as versatile as an inkjet printer, this is a great option for students who mostly print black and white documents with the occasional splash of color.

The Canon PIXMA TR7520 is the best budget printer for college students we've tested so far. This is a small and simple printer that's well-suited for small spaces like dorm rooms. It's decently built, it has a touchscreen display with a user-friendly interface, and its scanner is equipped with an automatic document feeder. It supports wired and wireless connections, but sadly, not external storage devices like USB thumb drives or SD cards. You can also operate the printer using Canon's mobile app, which is compatible with both Andoird and iOS.

The cartridge system on this printer is passable. Its black cartridge's yield is quite low; however, the color cartridges are able to yield many more pages. Thankfully, replacement ink is relatively cheap, and printing in color is only slightly more expensive than printing in black. If you print a lot, there are high-yield cartridges available, and the printer also accepts third-party cartridges, although using them may void the manufacturer's warranty. The main downside with this printer is its printing speed, as it's quite slow at printing black or color documents. On the upside, it's very fast at printing photos and the photos look great.

This printer has two input trays that support most paper sizes, and it can print on glossy photo paper as well. Each tray can hold up to 100 sheets of paper and it can perform duplex printing if you want to print on both sides of the paper. All in all, despite its budget price, this printer has nearly every feature to meet the needs of most college students.