You might want to print a calendar, gig tickets, a boarding pass or some photos you’ve taken on your phone. Many printers are multi-function and therefore also handy for scanning and copying, too. Whatever your needs, buying a new printer can be a confusing process. Not only do you have to worry about the upfront cost and whether it can print a good photo, but you’ve also got to consider print speeds, ongoing costs and a host of potential features. We cover all these areas in our full reviews, which you can read if you want to read more about each printer. It’s worth bearing in mind that the printer market moves slowly, and the latest printers aren’t always the best. Printer tech moves slowly so reviews might not be from this year or even the year before that but they stay on sale for a long time unlike categories like phones or laptops. Read on below our chart for more in-depth printer buying advice on things like whether to choose inkjet or laser.
Best printers 2022
How to choose a printer
There’s no single printer that will suit everyone, so while the list below is ordered it’s best not to worry too much about the number beside it. We’ve mixed together home and business printers, multifunction, colour and mono.
Prints quickly Excellent quality Inexpensive to buy and run
Mobile apps aren’t always intuitive Bulky design Photos need glossy paper
This is a great value all-in-one printer that’s easy to set up and use. It’s also no slough with lots of features and versatile printing including documents and photos. Cheaper printers can be expensive to run but the TS7450 doesn’t even fall into this category. The mobile apps are a little frustrating at times but print quality is good, although you’ll want to stick to proper glossy paper for photos. Note that the TS7451 is the same printer, only in white.
Attractive price Fast printing speeds 2-sided printing Good text and photo quality
No ADF Can’t print on A4 glossy paper
The Envy Inspire 7220e is an excellent all-rounder for those needing to regularly print text and photos at good speeds and affordable costs. The printer looks nice, has wide support for different wireless printing services and offers high-quality results. It doesn’t have an automatic document feeder but that’s normal, so as long as you don’t need to print on A4 glossy paper, it’s a bit of a steal.
Very cheap Easy to use Good photo & graphics quality
Average text quality Needs Instant Ink to keep running costs down
It’s basic in style and design with things like a simple LCD display but keeps costs down, especially if you use HP’s Instant Ink subscription service.
Cost per page is very low Good print speed Excellent print quality
Pigment black isn’t ideal for photos Lack duplex copying One year warranty
It’s more expensive to buy the device itself than cartridge rivals but may well work out better value in the long run. And it has virtually the same specs as higher-end EcoTank models, including the PrecisionCore print head. One of the main practical downsides is that it doesn’t offer duplex printing and Epson only offers a one year warranty or 50,000 pages – whichever comes first.
Painless setup Versatile, multi-function device Fast print speeds
Large footprint Scanner is A4, not A3 A full set of genuine cartridges is expensive
Those needing a reliable workhorse for the home or office will get a printer that’s fast, versatile with various functions and can be easily controlled and managed from your phone. It also offers reasonable running costs if you buy XL cartridges but bear in mind the genuine ones are costly and the scanner available is limited to A4 size.
Cheap High quality printing Connectivity
Slow printing Expensive ink
This is not only affordable but offers great quality printing for a range of jobs, including colour images. This is even a copier and scanner too so you’re getting a lot for your money. It’s quite slow so isn’t a workhorse and you’ll want to get XL cartridges to keep running costs down. For printing the occasional letter, boarding pass or family photo without breaking the bank it’s perfect.
2-sided printing Decent performance
Single-sheet scanning No colour screen Running costs
The Brother DCP-L3510cdw uses LEDs instead of a laser, but it’s very similar and can reliably handle lots of printing with crisp quality at a decent speed. You’ll need more room for it than a typical inkjet printer but running costs over the long term are more affordable and with Brother’s EcoPro subscription you get the printer for just £1.20! This model has a basic LCD screen but still has useful features including 2-sided printing, a single-sheet scanner and Wi-Fi, complete with AirPrint support.
Excellent print quality 2-sided printing Scanner with ADF
No screen Paper pickup & feeding issues
Like other HP printers, the value is best when used with the Instant Ink cartridge subscription. The Envy Pro 6420 (or 6455 in the US) has lots of things to like including excellent print quality, two-sided printing and an automatic document feeder (ADF). However, there’s no screen but worse is that it struggles to cope with heavier weight paper if that’s something you plan to use.
Low cost per page Cheap within EcoTank range Excellent print quality Sublimation possibilities
Flimsy build Won’t print A4 borderless One year warranty
It still offers excellent printing quality and could be used for sublimation too, although can’t be reverted back. There are a few things to bear in mind with this cheaper EcoTank model, though. It won’t print borderless, the black tank is no bigger than the others, the plastic build is basic and it doesn’t offer duplex printing either. if none of this matters to you then it makes for a good value option in the ink tank market.
Lightweight portable design USB charging Wi-Fi
Expensive black ink Small paper capacity No multi-function
It’s not particularly fast and replacement black ink is expensive but the quality is as good as a conventional rival. There’s also USB charging so you can even print when away from mains power. They’re all good and we keep an eye on the best printer deals here. As a basic rule, if you need to print only text, and a lot of it, a mono laser printer will offer the crispest text output and the best combination of fast page-per-minute output and low ink costs. If you need to print photos, choose an inkjet printer. A dedicated photo printer with individual cartridges for each colour will suit those who print only photos. If you’re working from home and need to print a lot, a laser printer is likely going to be a better option. You can also read our more in-depth comparison of the pros and cons of each type of printer. Most manufacturers quote a ‘page yield’ estimate for their ink cartridges, which is the typical number of pages you can expect to print before the cartridge runs out of ink. You can use the page yield to calculate the average cost per page and you’d be surprised to find how much this can vary from one printer to another. Of course, if output quality matters more to you than cost, scoot over to the other end of the cost spectrum where there are more specialised printers that use five or even six inks for printing photographs. Those additional inks can produce excellent results for your photo prints, but they add to the cost, sometimes pushing the cost for photos up to 10p or more per page. Some brands offer a cartridge subscription service, like HP’s Instant Ink, to keep costs to a minimum. Some models even include a fax machine. If you require a scanner and a photocopier as well as a printer, you’ll save money by buying in all-in-one – but if a standalone printer suits your needs, you may be able to spend less. Other useful features to look out for include additional USB ports and memory card slots that will allow you to print photos direct from a camera. High-capacity paper trays capable of holding hundreds of sheets of paper, or an automatic document feeder that can handle scanning and copying work while you go and do something more important, might be worth looking out for. Double-sided printing is handy for halving your paper usage. It’s also worth thinking about the bundled software that comes with your printer. Some printers include software that provides basic editing features, such as red-eye removal or adjusting the colour balance – some even allow you to perform simple editing tasks using controls on the printer itself. Tech Advisor’s Reviews Editor, Chris has been reviewing all kinds of tech for over 10 years and specialises in audio. He also covers a range of topics including home entertainment, phones, laptops, tablets and more.
