You know you want easily read text and have crisp graphics, but do you prefer inkjet or laser? Do you need the printer to have a built-in scanner or just deliver documents as quickly as possible with no bells or whistles? And will you be forking out hundreds for replacement cartridges once you’ve committed?
Inkjet printers are the most popular option for home use, and tend to be cheaper to buy upfront. They print using hundreds of tiny ink dots on the page – the higher the dots per inch (dpi), the better quality the printing. Inkjet printers tend to be a little slower than laser printers and usually use ink cartridges, which need replacing regularly and can be expensive.
Laser printers use a fine powdered toner instead of ink. Lasers beam an image of the document you want to print onto a photo-sensitive drum, which transfers the information to paper with toner powder using wizardry (aka static electricity). The toner needs replacing less often than ink making laser printers a popular choice for offices, where more printing is required at faster speeds.
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Most printers will connect to your device wirelessly now but if you only plan on printing from one computer and are looking to cut costs, wired options can work out cheaper. Otherwise, a wireless printer will mean you can also print from a smartphone or tablet. If you’re planning on printing photos, be sure to choose a printer designed for the job and pay attention to the resolution to ensure the quality. Some printers even come with a USB slot to print directly from a memory card if needed.
We tested how all these printers performed using both our PC and our iPhone, producing a mixture of black and white documents and colour photos. We considered how quickly each printer worked, the quality of the finished document and crucially, the ongoing costs for ink.
If you want to keep costs under £100, you won’t get better than this printer. Its simple minimal design and no-frills operation means it’s a cinch to get up and running and you won’t need to pore over an instruction manual for hours.
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There’s no touchscreen but it connects to WiFi quickly, supports Apple AirPrint and can be controlled via the free Brother app which does everything you’ll need including scanning and copying. We also liked how easy it was to keep an eye on ink levels using this.
The printer takes all sorts of paper up to A4 including envelopes and we were impressed by the quality of printing, even though it was a little slower to start than more expensive models. Even photo prints were decent quality, particularly given the price of the printer.
Our only real gripe is that it doesn’t print on both sides of the paper automatically, though you can just flip the page over manually for double sided printing. Best of all, we loved the fact the cartridges came included in the box ready to go and we didn’t need to sign up to an ink subscription service. Replacement cartridges print a whopping 750 pages too so the printer is fairly reasonably priced to run and a no-brainer for the average home user.
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This isn’t the smallest printer to squeeze onto your desk at home, but it’s a cut above the average all in one printer and is even made from over 45 per cent recycled plastic. With functions including copying, scanning and automatic two-sided printing, it supports Apple AirPrint and can handle anything you throw at it, producing envelopes, labels and pages up to A4.
Photos turned out particularly well, with super-sharp images and vibrant colours. We especially loved the fact there is a separate tray for photo paper, so you don’t need to remove normal printer paper every time you want to print a photo instead.
We were also big fans of the HP Smart app, which made it easy to scan, print and copy without turning a computer on. If you want to control everything from the printer itself, the colour touch screen makes this model feel a lot more expensive than it is. Six months ink is included if you sign up to HP’s Instant Ink subscription service, but a monthly fee will apply afterwards unless cancelled. However, if you’d rather buy cartridges as you need them instead, running costs are on the pricey side.
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Got your heart set on a laser printer but not the price tag? This mono laser printer from Brother is a winner for fast, fantastic quality printing with no messing – though bear in mind there’s no scanning or copying function.
It comes ready to go with an included toner that should produce around 700 pages, which is ideal to get printing straight away without worrying about ongoing costs. When the time comes to switch out the toner, replacements are available that yield an impressive 1200 pages so you can install and forget all about it again.
We also liked the printer’s dark grey colour, which looked sleek on our desk, and the fact we could load it with 250 pages at a time so it never ran out of paper mid-print. It’s quiet to run, prints on both sides automatically so it’s super-speedy and offers unrivalled print quality, producing excellent, sharp results every time.
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But top-notch printing at this price has to come with a downside: it can only print in black and white and does not work wirelessly, so you won’t be able to print from mobile devices. You will also need a USB cable to plug the printer into your computer as it doesn’t come included in the box.
Forget boring boarding passes and school projects. Printers don’t just have to be about the dull things in life. This brand-new smartphone printer will bring your photos to life in seconds for instant pocket-sized mementos and home décor. Available in soft pink, clay white or space blue, the printer is up and running in moments once you’ve loaded it with film and charged it with the included USB charger.
There’s a free instax mini Link App to print images straight from a smartphone and it can even print stills from a video, which we thought was pretty nifty. Credit card sized photos are printed almost immediately and quality is excellent.
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Printing can also be done continuously - up to around 100 prints per charge via Bluetooth - and there’s a built-in motion control feature to take photos on your phone remotely. But the real fun starts when customising photos. The printer can also be used as a tool to draw in the air and create bubbles, neon, spray paint and more that will automatically appear on the print, while the app can be used to include different frames, stickers and text on the photo. While this obviously won’t replace your home’s bog- printer, we had brilliant fun playing with the effects and reckon this would be a dream present for any teenager.
It’s not easy to avoid crippling cartridge costs, whichever printer you buy. But if you want to keep costs to an absolute bare minimum after the initial outlay, this Canon printer is unbeatable. Unlike all other inkjet printers we tested, it doesn’t use cartridges but refillable ink tanks that will run and run before you’ll need to top up. The two black ink bottles included should print an incredible 12, 000 pages (and 26 per cent more if you stick with Economy mode), while the colour inks in the box will produce around 7, 700 pages.
We had never used a refillable ink tank printer before but found it straightforward and mess-free to set up. Although it takes a while to get going and is a little noisy, print quality is fantastic too, producing noticeably sharp photos that are also available borderless if preferred.
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The printer has a double-sided function and we loved the fact it’s able to print banners up to 1.2 metres in length to liven up our next birthday party. It won’t scan or photocopy though, and offers no wireless capability so you’ll need it plugged into your computer at all times. A small price to pay for cutting those ink costs.
If you’re not planning on printing out your life story, but need a cheap, reliable printer at home for the odd document, this Canon model is a great choice. Despite the bargain price, it supports handy wireless connection so you can print from any device and print quality is very good. It’s neat and compact out on a desk too, with a paper tray that flips back into the lid when not in use. We also liked the fact it was easy to operate using the buttons and 3.8cm LCD screen on top of the printer rather than always having to refer to an app.
Printing is a little slow compared to more expensive models, but for average home printing, this shouldn’t be an issue. It also offers borderless printing and accepts paper up to A4 size including envelopes and photo paper, although printing photos is even slower and two-sided printing must
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