Printers remain an essential piece of office and home technology in 2024. From basic black and white printing to professional-quality photo printing, having the right printer for your needs is important. Printer technology continues advancing each year with faster print speeds, higher print quality, and more connectivity options.
In 2024, some of the best printers provide robust features while remaining easy to set up and use on a daily basis. Key considerations when choosing a printer include print speed, print quality, paper handling and capacity, connectivity and mobile printing options, operating costs over time, and scanner and copy functions if needed. Whether printing text documents for school or work, family photos, artwork, or marketing materials for a business, the printers featured below represent the best across common printer types and uses today.
Inkjet Printers – Best for Home Use
Inkjet printers make up the majority of home and home office printers thanks to their print quality, especially with photos and graphics, and affordable upfront printer cost. Leading inkjet printer brands today include Canon, HP, and Epson.
- Canon PIXMA G620 Wireless MegaTank – One of the best values for home printing today comes from Canon’s MegaTank line, with the PIXMA G620 model offering excellent print quality and a huge supply of ink. The G620 printer includes enough ink to print up to 6,000 black/white pages or 7,700 color pages to start with the initial ink bottle set. From documents to photos, it produces lab-quality prints up to 8.5” x 11”. Six individual ink tanks are easy to refill, reducing long term operating costs substantially over standard ink cartridges. This Canon inkjet printer also copy and scans with ease using the 2.4” LCD screen interface and built-in wireless connectivity.
- HP DeskJet 4175e All-in-One – For families who frequently print from multiple devices, the DeskJet 4175e gives you robust home printing from HP. As an all-in-one printer you get scanning and copying functions in addition to two-sided printing from the 250-sheet paper capacity tray. Two extra paper trays feed up to 50 sheets of specialty paper like photos and envelopes. Both WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity gives you true wireless printing form phones, tablets and computers. HP+ subscribers can enable advanced cloud printing features with this model as well.
- Epson EcoTank ET-2850 – Epson offers its own version of high-capacity inkjet printers with the EcoTank line. The ET-2850 model supplies up to two years of ink with each refillable ink tank set, keeping operating costs far below standard ink cartridges over time. This black and color inkjet printer has a handy 30-page auto document feeder for the scanner and copier functions. An intuitive control panel and print speeds up 12.7 pages per minute make it among the easiest to use for multiple paper sizes up to legal 8.5”x14”.
Laser Printers – Best for Offices
Laser printers provide fast black and white text printing relied on by many offices today. They output crisp text and graphics perfect for volumes of reports, forms, school work and other documents. Leading brands of laser printers include Brother, Canon, HP and more.
- Brother HL-L3210CW Compact Laser Printer
Easy to set up for wireless office use, the Brother HL-L320CW laser printer connects over WiFi and Ethernet networking. A compact footprint takes up less space while supporting 250-sheet paper capacity and automatic two-sided printing. Precise laser toner technology outputs 3000×1200 dpi resolution at speeds up to 19 pages per minute. The HL-320CW works right out of the box with multiple devices and printing features that make it our pick for best basic laser printer today.
- HP Color LaserJet Pro M255dw
For offices that need the professionalism of full color documents, HP’s Color LaserJet Pro M255dw brings speed, quality and robust paper handling. It includes automatic two-sided color printing, 20-page auto document feeding for copies and scans, a built in Ethernet port. Printing at up to 21 pages per minute in black or color, documents take on a presentable style with this capable color laser printer from HP.
- Canon imageCLASS MF644Cdw All-in-One Laser Printer
Canon hits all the productivity marks with the imageCLASS MF644Cdw all-in-one color laser printer. It copies, scans in color, faxes, supports secure printing via PIN codes, offers optional fax forwarding to email, and automatic two-sided printing. Large paper capacity lets you add a 550-sheet paper drawer to supplement the main 250-sheet capacity. Integrated printing from popular cloud services like DropBox and Google Drive simplifies digital workflows for any type of office.
Multifunction Printers – Best All-in-One Printers
If you want one printer to copy, scan, fax and print with robust paper handling, a multifunction or all-in-one printer delivers. Today’s leading multifunction printers come from trusted brands like Brother, Canon, HP with more advanced features.
- Canon MAXIFY GX7020 MegaTank Business Inkjet
Canon marries business-class printing and their high-capacity MegaTank ink technology perfectly with the MAXIFY GX7020. Designed for high print volume offices, it outputs vivid color at up to 14 ipm using pigment black and dye color inks Supports up to legal 8.5” x 14” paper sizes automatically feeding from the 500-sheet capacity tray. MegaTank ink bottles conveniently recharge ink tanks to power through 30,000 black or 15,000 color pages at pennies per page. Add full scanning, copying, faxing, Ethernet and WiFi connectivity perfect for serious business functions.
- HP LaserJet Pro M479fdw
Manage secure printing for the whole office using HP’s Color LaserJet Pro M479fdw thanks to built in Ethernet and wireless networking. It supports HP security and management software as an enterprise workhorse printer. Automatic two-sided printing, 50-page auto document feeding, copying, scanning and fax functions provide complete all-in-one capabilities. Expand input capacity to 850-sheets for high duty cycle printing. Output professional style color documents at up to 27ppm print speeds.
- Brother Business Color Laser Printer HL-L9310CDWT
Brother’s flagship business color laser printer packs in every feature a demanding office needs. The HL-L9310DW prints, copies, scans, faxes and manages paper for ongoing productivity. Toner supplies yield 6,000 page black and 5,000 page color toner capacity. Integrated wireless and Ethernet connectivity enables cloud printing workflows. Print up to 33ppm for black and up to 30ppm for full color documents. Designed for high monthly print volumes, this Brother color laser printer also delivers lowest operating costs in its class.
Specialty Photo Printers – Best Photo Printing Quality
Casual smartphone pictures or professional photography masterpieces alike deserve the print quality from today’s best photo printers. Leading brands for quality photo printing are Canon, Epson and HP.
- Canon SELPHY CP1300 Wireless Compact Photo Printer
Print smartphone candids and favorite family photos with ease using Canon’s compact Selphy CP1300 printer. This lightweight photo printer fits anywhere, prints directly from USB thumb drives, cloud services and mobile devices. Simple controls and built-in WiFi make wireless printing a breeze from phones. The CP1300 uses dye sublimation thermal transfer technology to output lab-quality prints up to 4”x6”. Add creative effects too like stickers, filters and more. Economical too using inexpensive ink and paper packs compared to commercial print shops.
- Epson SureColor P700 Photo Printer
Serious hobbyist photographers gain exceptional print quality with Epson’s finely-engineered SureColor P700. It’s designed for true Photography use from prints up 13” wide on cut sheet media. Achieve gallery show quality results thanks to new Ultrachrome HD inks matching advanced color gamut capabilities. Includes specialty black inks for either glossy or matte finishes too. Print directly from USB, cloud services, mobile devices and of course, computers over dual band WiFi. For color accuracy, built in calibration tools maintain overall imaging excellence from this incredible Epson photo printer.
- HP Tango X Smart Home Photo Printer
The Tango X by HP may be the easiest to use compact wireless photo printer yet. Simply connect your phone and use the HP Smart app to print 4”x6” snapshots instantly. Smartphone cameras capture great everyday moments, and now the HP Tango X enables quick prints of them without using a computer. For quick printing convenience load up compatible 2RM instant ink cartridges. But Tango X works with standard high-yield cartridges too. With compact, modern styling finished in three premium colors, the smartly designed HP Tango X fits small spaces. So print and display custom photos easier than ever.
Conclusion
In 2024, excellent printers exist for home, office, or professional photography needs when you select the right model designed for how you intend to use it. From built-in cloud connectivity to printing from mobile devices, today’s printers fit modern workflows. Leading brands Canon, HP, Epson, and Brother continue driving printer innovations and capabilities forward. Key features now acceleration productivity, reduce operating expenses, and produce impressive quality too. So research thoroughly, and the printer you choose can serve your printing needs both effectively and economically for years ahead.