The best printers you can buy in 2023
1. Canon Pixma TS205: The best budget printer
Price: £75 | Buy now from Amazon
The Pixma TS205 is one of the cheapest printers you can buy, and when you look at what it’s missing – no Wi-Fi, no scanner, no cloud or smartphone-friendly features – it’s really not hard to see why. All you get is a compact inkjet printer that connects via USB, printing black text pages at a slow-ish 7.5ppm, and pages with colour graphics at a painful 1.6ppm. To make things worse, it’s noisy while doing so.
However, that doesn’t mean the TS205 doesn’t have its plus points. It works perfectly well for basic, low-volume home printing and ink costs are lower than for some more expensive printers. Most importantly, print quality is surprisingly good, with bold, punchy graphics, crisp black text and even decent-looking photos – despite a slightly warm colour bias. It’s both capable and cheap as chips.
Key specs – Technology: Thermal inkjet; Maximum print resolution: 4,800 x 1,200dpi; Scan specifications: N/A; Recommended monthly duty cycle: N/S; Dimensions (HWD): 255 x 426 x 131mm; Weight: 2.5kg; Maximum paper size: A4/legal
2. Canon Pixma TS3450: The best budget MFP
If you’re looking for one of the most affordable multifunction printers around, the Canon Pixma TS3450 is a great option. Despite costing less than most basic printers, it comes with a flatbed scanner on the top for both scanning and copying duties. Print quality is great for the price, but you don’t get top-end features such as automatic duplex printing.
What’s even better is that Canon isn’t looking to trick you into buying a cheap printer with cripplingly expensive refill costs. At the time of writing, monoprints worked out to around 3p per page, while colour prints cost just over 6p per page. For the occasional user, that makes it an exceptionally good value for money, with little to pay up-front and reasonably priced consumables.
Key specs – Technology: Thermal inkjet; Maximum print resolution: 4,800 x 1,200dpi; Scan specifications: 600 x 1,200dpi; Recommended monthly duty cycle: N/S; Dimensions (HWD): 145 x 435 x 327mm; Weight: 4kg; Maximum paper size: A4/legal
3. Canon Pixma G650: The best printer for cheap photo printing
The Canon Pixma G650 takes all the great things about ink tank printers and throws in the ability to print decent photos. On photo paper, at the highest settings, the photos printed by the G650 are almost as good as you’d get from the best cartridge-based models.
And with refillable ink tanks running costs are far lower, with A4 mono prints only costing 0.4p each and colour pages costing 1p.
The G650 is a bit on the slow side but, if you can live with that, its combination of low running costs and great print quality is hard to beat.
Key specs – Technology: Thermal inkjet; Maximum print resolution: 4,800 x 1,200dpi; Scan specifications: 600 x 1,200dpi; Recommended monthly duty cycle: not stated; Dimensions (WHD): 445 x 167 x 340mm; Weight: 6.6kg; Maximum paper size: A4/legal
4. Brother DCP-J1200W: The best printer under £150
Brother has performed a small miracle with the DCP-J1200W. Not only does it cost less than £100 to buy but you won’t get stung by replacement ink prices, either. Brother’s cartridges last for 750 pages and cost 3p per page for mono and 6.2p per page for colour prints. This won’t worry even cheaper-to-run ink-tank printers but it’s an attractive price for a multifunction printer that’s so affordable to buy.
To further sweeten the deal, the printer is surprisingly well-equipped. It doesn’t have a snazzy touchscreen of its own but a handy smartphone app helps you control all manner of scanning and copying functions. The print quality is decent, too.
Key specs – Technology: Inkjet; Maximum print resolution: 6,000 x 1,200dpi; Scan specifications: 1,200 x 2,400dpi; Recommended monthly duty cycle: 50-1,000 pages; Dimensions (HWD): 161 x 435 x 359mm; Weight: 6.5kg; Maximum paper size: A4/legal
5. Canon Maxify GX5050: The best ink tank printer for the office
Ink tank printers were originally aimed at home consumers, but the Canon Pixma GX5050 is a different proposition. Clearly targeted at small offices, this isn’t just about the smart white styling – it also has a range of features that make it more office-friendly, including its voluminous 250-sheet paper tray and automatic double-sided printing. What it doesn’t have is a scanner, so you can’t use it as a standalone device to make copies or scan documents.
However, it is one of the cheapest printers to run that we’ve ever reviewed, able to print up to 30,000 pages with the ink supplied in the box, and pages costing around 0.2p each, whether printing in mono or colour. The downside to this is that the resolution isn’t as high and the ink isn’t as bright and vibrant as on consumer models, where decent photo printing is a higher priority.
For volume printing in a busy small office, however, the Maxify GX5050 is cost-effective to run, with all the features you need.
Key specs – Technology: Thermal inkjet; Maximum print resolution: 600 x 1,200dpi; Scan specifications: N/A; Recommended monthly duty cycle: 45,000 pages; Dimensions (HWD): 238 x 399 x 416mm; Weight: 9kg; Maximum paper size: A4/legal
6. Epson EcoTank ET-1810: The best budget ink-tank printer
Price: £145 | Buy now from Amazon
Ink tank printers offer voluminous ink capacity and microscopic printing costs but can be expensive to buy. The Epson EcoTank ET-1810 addresses this problem by whittling away the fancy extras that help justify the cost of more expensive models, including core MFP features such as scanning and copying. What’s left behind is a more affordable ink tank printer that’s just as good at printing as more expensive models.
There’s no compromise on printing costs, which remain at the base ink tank standard of 0.2p per page for mono printing and 0.4p per page for colour. It also comes with enough ink in the box to print 3,600 mono pages and 6,500 colours.
While the price of the printer is still a little higher than cheaper cartridge-based models, it’s great value for money if you’re looking for low printing costs above all else.
Key specs – Technology: Piezo inkjet; Maximum print resolution: 5,760 x 1,440dpi; Scan specifications: N/A; Recommended monthly duty cycle: N/S; Dimensions (HWD): 169 x 375 x 347mm; Weight: 2.9kg; Maximum paper size: A4/legal
7. Canon Pixma TS8350: The best inkjet printer for photos
Price: £177.73 | Buy now from Amazon
Canon’s high-end Pixma printer is the versatile home printer to beat, not only because it’s a surprisingly stylish MFP, but because both its speeds and print quality are so good. It’ll reach speeds of over 15ppm in black-and-white and over 5ppm in colour, and output 10 x 8in photo prints in under 30 seconds. It’s just as speedy with its scanning and copying functions too.
Meanwhile, print quality is excellent across the board, with text that wouldn’t disgrace an office laser printer and some of the best quality photo prints we’ve seen outside a specialist photo printer. Business graphics can be dark, with the ink saturating the paper, but nothing too disastrous, while printed illustrations look fantastic. With rock-solid wireless connectivity and a practical approach to paper handling, the only problem here is high running costs, but if you’re not printing large amounts of colour documents and photos, this is one of the best printers around.
Key specs – Technology: Thermal inkjet; Maximum print resolution: 4,800 x 1,200dpi; Scan specifications: 2,400 x 4,800dpi (24-bit); Recommended monthly duty cycle: N/S; Dimensions (HWD): 141 x 373 x 319mm; Weight: 6.6kg; Maximum paper size: A4/legal
8. Epson EcoTank ET-2850: The best inkjet printer for low running costs
If you’re looking for an ink-tank printer, you’re probably on the hunt for low running costs, minimal fuss and plenty of useful features. The Epson EcoTank ET-2850 ticks all these boxes, with running costs as low as inkjet printing gets.
It sits in around the middle of Epson’s ink tank printer range, and so sheds a few specialist extras, such as the ability to send faxes and an automatic sheet feeder for the copier function. However, this keeps the overall price down to a reasonable level. Epson has focused the printer on the core features, and you still get automatic duplex printing for the money.
It’s the running costs that are the headline event, though. Epson provides enough ink in the box to print 14,000 mono and 5,200 colour pages and, once you’re through that, it doesn’t cost much to print more. Replacement ink comes in refill bottles and mono pages work out at a cost of 0.2p each and colour prints cost 0.4p.
Key specs – Technology: Piezo inkjet; Maximum print resolution: 5,760 x 1,440dpi; Scan specifications: 1,200 x 2,400dpi; Recommended monthly duty cycle: N/S; Dimensions (HWD): 187 x 375 x 347mm; Weight: 5.4kg; Maximum paper size: A4/legal
9. Brother MFC-J4540DW: The best MFP for maximum features
The Brother MFC-J4540FW is an office printer with all the trimmings, yet is available for a very reasonable price. It’s a true all-in-one, with the usual trio of printer, scanner and copier functions, but includes fax capabilities for good measure.
It connects to your network using Wi-Fi or Ethernet and can be stacked up with 350 sheets of paper across two paper trays. The printer produces two-sided prints automatically to save on paper and the top-mounted automated sheet feeder makes short work of copying jobs.
It’s an inkjet printer that uses cartridges for convenience but its running costs are comparatively low. Once you’ve consumed the 3,000 pages worth of mono prints and 1,500 pages of colour that come in the box, replacement cartridges work out at 0.7p per mono page and 2.7p per colour page. Typically, this is only bettered by tank-based printers, which tend to cost significantly more to buy.
Key specs – Technology: Inkjet; Maximum print resolution: 1,200 x 4,800dpi; Scan specifications: 1,200 x 2,400dpi; Recommended monthly duty cycle: 30,000 pages; Dimensions (HWD): 250 x 435 x 335mm; Weight: 10.4kg; Maximum paper size: A4/legal
10. HP OfficeJet Pro 9022e: The best office MFP for high-speed printing
If you work your printer hard and produce a lot of printed documents, you might also spend a lot of time waiting for them to appear. The HP OfficeJet Pro 9022e inkjet aims to make this wait for a thing of the past, producing mono text documents at a blistering 20.5ppm.
It’s so fast it’s faster than some laser printers and while mixed colour and mono documents are produced at a more sedate 8.5pp it’s still significantly faster than most inkjets.
The printer is easy to connect to Wi-Fi or Ethernet for sharing around the home or office, and uses the HP Smart app, so you can print and scan from any device with ease. It has two 250-sheet paper trays, so you can stock it up with plenty of paper.
A nice bonus is that the printer also comes with a free six-month subscription to HP’s Instant Ink service, which sends replacement ink cartridges to you in the post, so they’re ready and waiting when the printer runs dry. Printing costs after this are competitive, particularly if you print a lot.
Key specs – Technology: Thermal inkjet; Maximum print resolution: 4,800 x 1,200dpi; Scan specifications: 1,200 x 1,200dpi; Recommended monthly duty cycle: 30,000 pages; Dimensions (HWD): 318 x 437 x 396mm; Weight: 11.66kg; Maximum paper size: A4/legal
11. HP Color LaserJet Pro M255dw: The best home office colour laser printer
For those looking for a smaller colour laser printer, suitable for a small or home office, there’s the HP Color LaserJet Pro M255dw. It doesn’t have all the bells and whistles you would expect from a printer designed for a large-scale office, but it doesn’t scrimp on the essentials.
With a 250-sheet paper tray and an output tray that holds up to 100 sheets, it doesn’t need constant attention and, should you need to take control, all its functions can be accessed through a 2.7in smooth-scrolling colour touchscreen.
Its black and white prints are excellent with sharp, crisp text that can take close examination. These prints cost 2.6p each and are churned out at a rapid 17 pages per minute. However, colour prints are slower to produce, at 9.3 pages per minute, pricey at 13.5p each and quality is okay rather than amazing. If you’re expecting to print lots of photos rather than the occasional bit of spot colour or report-style graphics and charts, consider an inkjet instead.
Key specs – Technology: Laser; Maximum print resolution: 600 x 600dpi; Scan specifications: N/A; Recommended monthly duty cycle: 40,000 pages per month; Dimensions (HWD): 297 x 392 x 297mm; Weight: 14.8kg; Maximum paper size: A4/legal
12. Brother MFC-J6955DW: The best inkjet MFP for larger offices
Price: £423 | Buy now from Cartridge People
Offices with more than a handful of staff need a printer that can cope with the increased volume of work. Laser printers are usually the first choice, but they don’t have to be, with the Brother MFC-J6955DW proving that inkjet printers have small office potential.
This printer/copier/scanner/fax can perform all its functions up to A3 size. This makes for a large device, with the A3 scanner bed needing a significant footprint that’s larger than most standard printers. It’s space well used, though, with plenty of room given over to paper storage, so you don’t have to keep refilling it.
It’s also a speedy printer, being both quick off the blocks and capable of churning out reams of pages. It prints at a cost-efficient 1.2p per mono A4 page and 3.2p per colour A4 page, which isn’t as cheap as rivals with ink tanks, but still provides decent value running costs.
Read our full Brother MFC-J6955DW review
Key specs – Technology: Inkjet; Maximum print resolution: 1,200 x 4,800dpi; Scan specifications: 1,200 x 2,400dpi; Recommended monthly duty cycle: 3,500 pages; Dimensions (HWD): 375 x 576 x 477mm; Weight: 24kg; Maximum paper size: A3
13. Epson Expression Photo HD XP-15000: The best A3 photo printer
Price: £274 | Buy now from Currys
If you need to go bigger with your photos than an A4 print, step up to the Expression Photo HD XP-15000. With a six-colour, 5,660 x 1,440 dpi print system and Claria Photo HD prints, it’ll print sensationally sharp and detailed photos with perfect skin tones and precise shade control, along with high-contrast monochrome stills. Black text and colour graphics lack the punch you’d get from the best office printers, but none of them is going to give you such great photo prints – and particularly not at A3+ sizes.
Needless to say, it’s not especially quick, though photo printing speeds remain competitive, and costs are as high as you’d expect from a specialist photo printer. You also have to live without scan or copy features. Still, to get a printer this compact and this inexpensive that delivers such high-quality results is quite extraordinary. Keen photographers need to look no further.
Read our full Epson Expression Photo HD XP-15000 review
Key specs – Technology: Thermal inkjet; Maximum print resolution: 5,660 x 1,440dpi; Scan specifications: N/A; Recommended monthly duty cycle: N/S; Dimensions (HWD): 159 x 479 x 370mm; Weight: 8.5kg; Maximum paper size: A3+
14. Epson EcoTank ET-8550: The best A3 printer that doesn't cost the earth to run
Price: £780 | Buy now from John Lewis
Although it’s expensive to buy, the Epson EcoTank ET-8550 is a very cost-effective printer, particularly if you’re looking to print a lot of A3 photos. It’s a six-ink, multifunction printer that uses Epson’s EcoTank ink system, which stores ink in large reservoirs. These can hold enough ink to print thousands of photos and are replenished from affordable 70ml bottles.
This allows Epson to whittle down the cost of photo printing, with 6x4in colour photos costing just 3.4p each. Unlike other photo printers, it’s also a good all-rounder, more than capable of taking on regular printing jobs. It doesn’t have the sharpest output at standard settings but with black text documents working out to 0.2p each, it’s as good value as four-colour ink tank models.
In summary, then, it’s expensive – and you should only consider it if you intend on printing loads of big photos – but it’s a superb all-rounder.
Key specs – Technology: Thermal inkjet; Maximum print resolution: 5,760 x 1,440dpi; Scan specifications: 1,200 x 4,800dpi; Recommended monthly duty cycle: N/S; Dimensions (HWD): 169 x 523 x 379mm; Weight: 11.1kg; Maximum paper size: A3+
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