The 6 Best Home Printers - Fall 2020
Reviews

The Canon imageCLASS MF743Cdw is the best home office printer that we've tested. This all-in-one laser printer is made of solid, sturdy plastic, with easy access to the toner and paper jams. It has a flatbed scanner for scanning items like fragile photos and books and an automatic document feeder with duplex scanning. Also, it has a large touchscreen display with good sensitivity and responds fast to touch commands.

The cost-per-print is impressive, and the cartridges have an incredibly high yield, regardless of what you print. Each cartridge has an integrated drum, which means you won't have to buy a separate one when it's time to replace the toner. It prints colored documents much faster than black-only ones and can print photos quite quickly as well. It has exceptional connectivity options, including Wi-Fi, Ethernet, and USB, and it has external storage support for USB flash drives.

Unfortunately, the display screen sticks out on the right-hand side, which prevents you from pressing the printer flush against a wall from this side. Also, while color accuracy is great, photo printing quality isn't as good, but this is to be expected with a laser printer. Also, the cost of replacing the three color cartridges is expensive, which will increase costs over time. That said, this is one of the best all-in-one printers we've tested.

The best home printer we've tested is the Brother MFC-J995DW. This is an all-in-one inkjet model that performs well for any type of printing. It has an outstanding cartridge system that features Brother's INKvestment Tank ink system, which holds more ink per cartridge for a significantly higher yield. Its cost-per-print is simply superb for black and color printing, so costs stay low over time, even if you print a lot. The printing speed is good, and it supports duplex printing as well.

If you need to digitize some of your old photos or scan long documents, the scanner can easily handle the job. However, it can't perform double-sided scanning despite having an automatic document feeder. Also, while printed photos look great, there's some banding when printing certain colors, which may be a deal-breaker if you're looking for the best-looking photos. Color accuracy is okay, although it isn't recommended for professionals whose work needs accurate color reproduction.

This printer has good connectivity options, including support for external storage devices like USB thumb drives and SD cards. It's compatible with Brother's mobile app, which lets you perform most tasks using just your smartphone. Overall, this is a versatile printer that should satisfy most needs and is one of the best printers for college students we've tested.

The best home printer for black-and-white documents that we've tested is the Brother MFC-L2760DW. This monochrome laser printer feels sturdy and well-built, with easy access to paper jams and width sliders in the input tray to accommodate different paper sizes. It has outstanding scanner features, including fax capabilities, a flatbed, and an automatic document feeder that can perform duplex scanning.

Its cost-per-print is very low, and thanks to its high page yield, you shouldn't need to replace the cartridge often, even if you print regularly. The first page takes a bit more time to come out, but its subsequent pages print out remarkably fast. Although it doesn't support Bluetooth, it has impressive connectivity options and is fully compatible with the Brother iPrint&Scan app for mobile devices.

Unfortunately, this printer can't print in color. It's also not meant for printing photos since images come out looking pretty terrible, with lots of graininess and banding. Nevertheless, the Brother is a fantastic option for black-and-white text documents, and it's among the best laser printers we've tested.

The best home printer in the budget category that we've tested is the Canon PIXMA TS5320. This compact, all-in-one printer is a decent choice for families. Its plastic body has a smooth finish that makes it feel good to the touch. It has a flatbed scanner, which is ideal if you need to scan family photographs or documents, and the scan resolution can be increased to 1200 DPI.

The cost-per-print is decent enough, as the cartridges aren't that expensive to replace. There's a high amount of detail to printed photos, which look great overall, and color accuracy is adequate for casual use. You can connect to the printer via USB, Bluetooth, or Wi-Fi, and it's compatible with the outstanding Canon PRINT Inkjet/SELPHY companion app.

Unfortunately, the cartridges have a very low page yield and will need replacing often. It's not very fast at printing, and there's no sheetfed scanner, so you'll have to manually load individual pages for scanning. Also, it doesn't have any external storage support, meaning you can't print off SD cards or USB flash drives. That said, the is one of the best home printers in the budget category that we've tested.