Best printer reviews 2020The 6 Best Home Printers - Winter 2021 Reviews
Updated Dec 17, 2020 at 09:24 am
By Bhabani
Best Home Printers78 Printers Tested
Store-bought printers; no cherry-picked units
Easily comparable results
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When shopping for the best printers for your home office or even for the whole family to
best printer reviews 2021
Best Home Office Printer: Canon imageCLASS MF743Cdw
Canon imageCLASS MF743Cdw Design
Canon imageCLASS MF743Cdw
SEE PRICE BestBuy.com
7.7
Family
9.0
Small/Home Office
8.6
Student
8.6
Black & White
6.5
Casual Photo
Type All in One
Technology Laser
Wireless Yes
Color Yes
SuperTank
No
The Canon imageCLASS MF743Cdw is the best home office printer that we've tested. This all-in-one laser model 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 model. 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.
See our review
INKJET ALTERNATIVE: HP OFFICEJET PRO 9025
HP OfficeJet Pro 9025 Design
HP OfficeJet Pro 9025
SEE PRICE BestBuy.com
Type All in One
Technology Inkjet
Wireless Yes
Color Yes
SuperTank
No
If you'd prefer to have an inkjet printer instead, consider the HP OfficeJet Pro 9025. Its page yield isn't as high as the Canon imageCLASS MF743Cdw, and its color accuracy isn't as good, but it has a better scanner resolution and photo printing quality. The HP has the same scanner features as the Canon, but its scan resolution can be increased to 1200 DPI. Its cartridges are much more affordable, and the overall cost-per-print is cheaper. Photos have bright, vibrant colors, and the quality is decent overall. You can connect to it via Ethernet, USB, or Wi-Fi, and it has external storage support, but you can't connect to it via Bluetooth.
Overall, if you want a printer with superior page yield and color accuracy, get the Canon, but if you need a higher scan resolution and for printing better-looking photos, get the HP.
See our review
Best Family Printer: Brother MFC-J995DW
Brother MFC-J995DW Design
Brother MFC-J995DW
SEE PRICE Amazon.com
8.7
Family
8.0
Small/Home Office
9.3
Student
8.3
Black & White
8.0
Casual Photo
Type All in One
Technology Inkjet
Wireless Yes
Color Yes
SuperTank
No
The best home printer for family use is the Brother MFC-J995DW. This all-in-one inkjet option feels very well-built and provides easy access to ink cartridges from the front. Thanks to its INKvestment Tank Ink System, it has an incredibly high page yield and you shouldn't need to replace the cartridges often; this helps keep the cost-per-print exceptionally low. The cartridges also come in high-yield versions which should last even longer.
It has an excellent scanner, including a flatbed with high resolution and an automatic document feeder. It has impressive photo printing quality with reasonable color accuracy, and its rear input tray can print some small photo sizes. There are many connection options, including Ethernet, USB cable, and Wi-Fi, and you can also print directly from a USB thumb drive or via Apple AirPrint. You can also use the Brother iPrint&Scan app to copy, scan, print, and perform maintenance tasks.
Unfortunately, it can't scan double-sided documents automatically, so you need to manually flip each page, which can become time-consuming. Also, it's somewhat slow at printing black-only text documents, and it can't print 2" x 3" photos. Nevertheless, this is an excellent family printer, and it's among the best inkjet printers we've tested.
See our review
ALTERNATIVE WITH BETTER PHOTO PRINTING QUALITY: CANON PIXMA TR8520
Canon PIXMA TR8520 Design
Canon PIXMA TR8520
SEE PRICE Amazon.com
Type All in One
Technology Inkjet
Wireless Yes
Color Yes
SuperTank
No
If you're looking for an all-in-one printer that has better photo printing quality, the Canon PIXMA TR8520 is a great option. Its cost-per-print is much higher than the Brother MFC-J995DW, and its page yield isn't as good, but the photos are more detailed, and the printer has excellent connectivity options. Photos come out looking vibrant and have no banding on the grayscale, although colors may be a little oversaturated. Its outstanding connectivity options allow you to connect via Ethernet, USB, Bluetooth, and Wi-Fi, and you can even print directly from your Apple or Android device.
If you want an inkjet that will cost you less in the long run and has a higher page yield, get the Brother, but if you need excellent photo quality and the option to print via Bluetooth or from your mobile device, the Canon is one of the best home printers available.
See our review
Best Black & White Home Printer: Brother MFC-L2750DW
Brother MFC-L2750DW Design
Brother MFC-L2750DW
SEE PRICE BestBuy.com
3.7
Family
8.0
Small/Home Office
7.1
Student
9.1
Black & White
2.3
Casual Photo
Type All in One
Technology Laser
Wireless Yes
Color No
SuperTank
No
The best black and white home printer we've tested in the Brother MFC-L2750DW. It's a monochrome laser model that has great build quality and provides easy access to paper jams. It has exceptional scanner features, including a flatbed scanner, an automatic document feeder that performs duplex scanning, and fax capabilities. You can connect to it via Ethernet, USB, Wi-Fi, AirPrint, and Mopria Print, and you can also download the Brother iPrint&Scan app to print, scan, and perform maintenance tasks.
It has an exceptionally high page yield, meaning you can print large amounts of pages before the toner cartridge needs replacing. This helps to keep the cost-per-print incredibly low. High-yield versions are also available, and these should last even longer, though we haven't tested them. It takes some time for the first page to come out, but subsequent pages print significantly faster. The two input trays have sliders within them to adjust to different paper sizes.
Unfortunately, since it's a monochrome model, you need to make sure you won't need to print in color before committing yourself to buy it. Also, photos look terrible, with lots of graininess and banding, but this isn't surprising for a laser. All in all, this is a remarkable black and white model for home use, and it's also among the best printers for small businesses we've tested.
See our review
Best Budget Home Printer: Canon PIXMA TS5320
Canon PIXMA TS5320 Design
Canon PIXMA TS5320
SEE PRICE BestBuy.com
7.1
Family
3.9
Small/Home Office
7.2
Student
5.0
Black & White
7.5
Casual Photo
Type All in One
Technology Inkjet
Wireless Yes
Color Yes
SuperTank
No
The Canon PIXMA TS5320 is the best home printer in the budget category we've tested. This all-in-one inkjet model prints impressively detailed photos with fairly accurate colors. It has two input trays that hold a total of 200 sheets, and both have width sliders to accommodate different paper sizes. Its rear tray accepts photo paper and can print in most photo sizes.
Its flatbed scanner has high resolution and color depth, with hinges that can lift higher to scan textbooks and other thick documents. It has great connectivity options, letting you print via USB cable, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, AirPrint, and Mopria Print Service. It has a decent cost-per-print thanks to its reasonably priced cartridges, but you may need to replace them often, which may increase the total cost.
Unfortunately, it has a terrible cartridge system and it doesn't yield many pages for either black or color documents. Also, it prints both types of documents very slowly. Its build quality is mediocre, with some of its parts feeling flimsy and fragile. Nevertheless, this is a decent multi-purpose model for its price point, and it's among the best home printers we've tested.
See our review
Notable Mentions
HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M479fdw: The HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M479fdw is a good alternative to the Brother MFC-L3770CDW, but it's a lot more expensive. See our review
Epson EcoTank ET-2760: The Epson EcoTank ET-2760 is a good family printer with an outstanding supertank system, but it doesn't print very fast and the scanner lacks an automatic document feeder. See our review
Brother HL-L2370DW: The Brother HL-L2370DW is a monochrome printer with a high page yield, and its print time is quite fast. However, it doesn't have an automatic document feeder for quickly processing multi-page documents. See our review
HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M479fdw: The HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M479fdw is a great alternative to the Brother Canon imageCLASS MF743Cdw, but the cost of its cartridges are much more expensive. See our review
Brother MFC-L3770CDW Laser: The Brother MFC-L3770CDW Laser is an excellent home printer, but its page yield is inferior to the Canon imageCLASS MF743Cdw. See our review
Recent Updates
12/17/2020: Updated text for clarity and accuracy; no changes to product picks.
10/22/2020: Replaced the Brother MFC-L3770CDW Laser with the Canon imageCLASS MF743Cdw, added the Brother as a Notable Mention.
08/28/2020: Added the HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M479fdw as a Notable Mention.
07/17/2020: Replaced Brother HL-L2730DW with Brother MFC-L2750DW for 'Best Monochrome Home Printer'.
All Reviews
Our recommendations above are what we think are currently the best home printers for most people. We factor in the price, feedback from our visitors, and availability.
If you would like to do the work of choosing yourself, here's the list of all our printer reviews. Be careful not to get too caught up in the details. While no printer is perfect for every use, most are good enough to please almost everyone, and the differences are often not noticeable unless you really look for them.
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HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M479fdw
2019
7.1
9.0
7.9
8.8
6.2
SEE PRICE
Canon imageCLASS MF743Cdw
2019
7.7
9.0
8.6
8.6
6.5
WhiteSEE PRICE
Brother MFC-L3770CDW Laser
2018
6.4
8.9
7.7
8.4
4.8
WhiteSEE PRICE
Canon imageCLASS MF644Cdw
2019
6.4
8.9
7.8
8.4
4.6
WhiteSEE PRICE
HP OfficeJet Pro 9025
2019
8.2
8.3
8.2
8.4
7.5
SEE PRICE
Epson EcoTank ET-15000
2020
7.9
8.3
8.7
8.6
7.3
WhiteSEE PRICE
HP OfficeJet Pro 7740
2016
8.4
8.2
8.2
8.4
7.7
Black & WhiteSEE PRICE
Canon imageCLASS MF445dw
2019
3.8
8.1
7.6
9.2
2.4
WhiteSEE PRICE
Epson EcoTank ET-3760
2019
7.8
8.1
8.8
8.4
7.1
WhiteSEE PRICE
Epson EcoTank ET-4760
2019
7.8
8.1
8.8
8.4
7.0
BlackSEE PRICE
WhiteSEE PRICE
HP OfficeJet Pro 9015
2019
8.5
8.1
8.2
8.2
7.7
SEE PRICE
Lexmark CX331adwe
2019
5.2
8.1
8.0
8.5
3.1
WhiteSEE PRICE
Brother MFC-J995DW
2018
8.7
8.0
9.3
8.3
8.0
GraySEE PRICE
Brother MFC-L2750DW
2019
3.7
8.0
7.1
9.1
2.3
BlackSEE PRICE
Epson WorkForce Pro WF-4830
2020
8.3
7.8
8.2
7.7
7.9
BlackSEE PRICE
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