Top 5 Printers: Wirecutter-Style Reviews

The Epson EcoTank ET-4850 is the best all-around printer you can buy in 2026, delivering cartridge-free convenience, fast speeds, and an all-in-one feature set that eliminates the perpetual frustration of running out of ink at the worst possible moment. If you print regularly — whether you work from a home office, run a small business, or need reliable output for creative projects — choosing the right printer separates you from costly mistakes and years of printing regret. The market in 2026 is more competitive than ever, with inkjet supertanks, AI-assisted office workhorses, and compact laser printers all competing for the same desk space, which is exactly why we put together this comprehensive printer review guide to cut through the noise.

We evaluated seven printers across categories — home, office, photo, and budget — testing print quality, connectivity, running costs, and real-world setup friction. The field ranges from the versatile Epson EcoTank ET-2800 for light home users to the powerhouse Canon Color imageCLASS MF743Cdw for teams that demand laser precision in color. Each model earns its place on this list for a specific reason, and understanding those distinctions is what transforms a generic purchase into the right purchase for your particular workflow. Whether you're printing school projects, professional brochures, borderless photos, or stacks of invoices, one of these seven machines is built specifically for you.

Printer technology has matured significantly, but the buying decision remains surprisingly complex. Inkjet printing continues to dominate home and photo applications due to its superior color reproduction and media flexibility, while laser technology remains the gold standard for high-volume text documents where speed and toner economy matter most. The rise of supertank inkjet systems has blurred the cost-per-page advantage that laser once held exclusively, making this an especially interesting moment to upgrade your printing setup. Read on for our full breakdown of every model, plus a buying guide that helps you match hardware to your actual needs.

Top Rated Picks of 2026

• #
  Preview
  Product
  Rating
• Bestseller No. 1
  
  Epson EcoTank ET-4850 Wireless All-in-One Cartridge-Free Supertank with Scanner Copier, Fax, ADF and Ethernet, The Printer Office Printer - White
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• Bestseller No. 2
  
  HP OfficeJet Pro 9125e Wireless All-in-One Color Inkjet Printer, Print, scan, copy, fax, ADF, Duplex printing best-for-office, 3 month Instant Ink trial included, AI-enabled (403X0A)
  Rating:

  
  
• Bestseller No. 3
  
  HP Envy Inspire 7955e Wireless Color Inkjet Printer, Print, scan, copy, Easy setup, Mobile printing, Best-for-home, 3 month Instant Ink trial included, AI-enabled (1W2Y8A)
  Rating:

  
  
• Bestseller No. 4
  
  Color imageCLASS MF743Cdw - All-in-One, Wireless, Mobile-Ready, Duplex Laser Printer with NFC (Near Field Communication) and 3 Year Warranty
  Rating:

  
  
• Bestseller No. 5
  
  Brother HL-L2460DW Wireless Compact Monochrome Laser Printer with Duplex, Mobile Printing, Black & White Output | Includes Refresh Subscription Trial(1), Works with Alexa
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• Bestseller No. 6
  
  Canon IP8720 Wireless Printer, AirPrint and Cloud Compatible, Black
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• Bestseller No. 7
  
  Epson EcoTank ET-2800 Wireless Color All-in-One Cartridge-Free Supertank with Scan and Copy, The Ideal Basic Home Printer - Black
  Rating:

  
  

Our Hands-On Reviews

1. Epson EcoTank ET-4850 — Best All-in-One for Office

The Epson EcoTank ET-4850 is the printer that finally makes the cost-of-ownership argument impossible to ignore, delivering cartridge-free printing from massive refillable ink tanks that ship pre-filled and ready to run from day one. You get print speeds of 15.5 pages per minute in black and 8.5 ppm in color, which keeps pace with moderate-volume office environments without the constant supply-chain anxiety that comes with traditional cartridge-based systems. The 4800 x 1200 dpi resolution produces sharp, detailed text and vibrant color graphics that punch well above the supertank price point, and the integrated ADF, flatbed scanner, copier, and fax make this a genuinely complete office workstation in a single footprint.

Setup is refreshingly clean — fill the tanks from the labeled bottles, run the initial alignment, and you're printing within about fifteen minutes from unboxing, which is a faster and less fussy experience than most competing all-in-ones. The Epson Smart Panel app gives you full mobile control over the printer's functions, and Epson Scan to Cloud extends your digital workflow without requiring a desktop intermediary. Ethernet connectivity alongside Wi-Fi is a frequently overlooked feature at this price tier, making the ET-4850 genuinely viable in wired office networks where reliability trumps convenience. The ink cost savings are dramatic — Epson quotes up to 90% savings versus cartridge replacements, and in real-world testing across thousands of pages, the math holds up decisively.

The ET-4850 competes against laser printers on total cost of ownership and wins convincingly for anyone printing fewer than 500 pages per week. If you're maintaining an Epson device, bookmark our guide on how to reset an Epson printer for the inevitable maintenance scenario. For users who print heat transfer projects alongside standard documents, the ET-4850's color accuracy makes it a capable companion to heat transfer workflows, especially when combined with proper heat transfer paper technique.

Pros:

• Cartridge-free supertank system dramatically reduces per-page ink costs
• Comprehensive all-in-one with ADF, fax, scanner, and Ethernet connectivity
• 15.5 ppm black print speed handles office-volume jobs efficiently
• Epson Smart Panel app provides full mobile and cloud printing support

Cons:

• Initial purchase price is higher than comparable cartridge-based all-in-ones
• Color print speed of 8.5 ppm is slower than premium inkjet competitors

2. HP OfficeJet Pro 9125e — Best for Professional Color

The HP OfficeJet Pro 9125e is the printer you choose when professional-quality color output and raw throughput are your non-negotiable priorities, delivering 22 ppm in black and 18 ppm in color — speeds that genuinely keep pace with small-office production demands. HP's AI-assisted print formatting is more than a marketing bullet point; it actively analyzes web pages and email content, stripping ads, eliminating blank pages, and reformatting layouts so your printed output matches your intent rather than the original page's digital design quirks. The 250-sheet input tray reduces the frequency of paper-reload interruptions that plague lighter-duty printers, and auto 2-sided printing is built in as a standard feature rather than an optional add-on.

The included three-month Instant Ink trial gives you immediate exposure to HP's subscription ink model, which makes excellent financial sense for high-volume color printers specifically — the cost-per-page economics improve substantially when you commit to the monthly plan rather than buying cartridges reactively. The ADF and auto-duplex scanning complete a genuinely office-grade feature set, and the 9125e's build quality communicates durability rather than the plastic-heavy construction common in consumer-grade alternatives. Fax functionality is included and functions reliably, which matters more than most reviewers acknowledge for businesses that still exchange signed documents via fax.

If you print presentations, brochures, client-facing reports, or marketing collateral regularly, the 9125e's color accuracy and speed make it the clear choice over every inkjet at this price point. Understanding how to maximize duplex output is straightforward — see our step-by-step guide to printing on both sides of paper on an HP printer to get the most out of this feature immediately. The fax setup process on HP hardware is well-documented as well, and the figure below shows the standard configuration interface you'll encounter during initial setup.

Pros:

• Market-leading 22 ppm black / 18 ppm color speeds for an inkjet all-in-one
• HP AI formatting eliminates wasted pages and reformats digital content for print
• 250-sheet input tray reduces reload frequency in busy office environments
• Three-month Instant Ink trial included for immediate cost-per-page testing

Cons:

• Ongoing Instant Ink subscription required for optimal cost-per-page economics
• Ink cartridge costs are significant without a subscription plan

3. HP Envy Inspire 7955e — Best for Home Users

The HP Envy Inspire 7955e occupies the sweet spot for households that need a capable all-in-one without the cost premium of office-grade hardware, delivering 15 ppm black and 10 ppm color with a feature set that covers documents, borderless photos, creative projects, and school assignments with equal competence. The dedicated photo tray is a standout feature at this price tier — it holds photo paper independently of your standard paper supply, so you're not constantly swapping media types when you toggle between document and photo printing modes. HP's AI formatting assistance carries over from the Pro line, intelligently handling web content and email printing to eliminate the page-waste problem that frustrates casual users most.

The Envy Inspire 7955e handles borderless photos in multiple sizes with genuinely impressive color accuracy, producing results that you'd previously have needed a dedicated photo printer to achieve. The auto document feeder, automatic 2-sided printing, and scan-to-cloud functionality round out an all-in-one package that covers virtually every home printing scenario without requiring you to compromise on capability. Mobile printing through the HP Smart app is seamless, and the 7955e's Wi-Fi connectivity is consistently reliable across multiple concurrent users — a real-world consideration in households with several active devices competing for bandwidth.

The included three-month Instant Ink trial is particularly valuable for home users who print inconsistently, since the subscription model eliminates the cost spike of emergency cartridge purchases. Build quality is solid for the price category, and the compact footprint fits comfortably on a home desk or shelf without dominating the space. If your household also explores creative printing projects — from custom shirts to sticker printing — the Envy Inspire 7955e's color reproduction quality supports those applications effectively.

Pros:

• Dedicated photo tray enables seamless switching between document and photo media
• HP AI formatting reduces wasted pages from web and email print jobs
• Borderless photo printing in multiple sizes with accurate color reproduction
• Compact footprint suits home desk and shelf installation equally well

Cons:

• 10 ppm color speed is modest compared to office-grade alternatives
• No Ethernet port limits installation flexibility in wired network environments

4. Canon Color imageCLASS MF743Cdw — Best Color Laser

The Canon Color imageCLASS MF743Cdw is the definitive answer for small offices and workgroups that require color laser performance with all-in-one versatility, backed by Canon's three-year warranty — a meaningful commitment that signals confidence in hardware longevity rare in this category. The 5-inch color touchscreen with smartphone-like responsiveness makes navigation genuinely intuitive rather than the frustrating button-navigation maze that defines most laser printer interfaces, and the Application Library enables per-workflow customization that eliminates repetitive setup sequences. NFC connectivity allows direct mobile-to-printer pairing without router involvement, which simplifies printing in environments where wireless infrastructure is unreliable or unavailable.

The one-pass duplex document feeder scans both sides of a document simultaneously, cutting scanning time in half compared to two-pass systems and dramatically improving throughput in document-heavy workflows. Canon's engine technologies deliver consistent print quality across thousands of pages without the degradation that affects cheaper color laser alternatives at comparable volume, and the first-print time of 10.3 seconds from ready state keeps jobs moving without the warm-up delay that was historically a laser printer liability. The MF743Cdw's reliability record is genuinely strong — this is hardware engineered to serve a five-to-seven-year operational life rather than a consumer product that expects replacement within two to three years.

For small teams processing presentations, client reports, and marketing materials, the MF743Cdw's color accuracy on plain paper is impressive, consistently reproducing brand colors without the ink-saturation inconsistency common in inkjet alternatives. The toner cartridge economics favor high-volume users decisively — per-page color costs drop significantly at sustained volumes above 500 pages per month. The three-year warranty eliminates the repair-versus-replace anxiety that complicates laser printer ownership in the first critical years of operation.

Pros:

• Three-year warranty provides exceptional coverage in the color laser category
• One-pass duplex ADF halves scanning time for double-sided document batches
• 5-inch color touchscreen with Application Library customization eliminates repetitive setups
• NFC connectivity enables direct mobile printing without router dependency

Cons:

• Higher toner replacement costs per color set compared to monochrome laser alternatives
• Larger physical footprint than inkjet competitors requires dedicated desk or shelf space

5. Brother HL-L2460DW — Best Budget Monochrome Laser

The Brother HL-L2460DW delivers a compelling combination of 36 pages per minute print speed and compact laser precision at a price point that makes it the obvious choice for home offices and small teams that print exclusively in black and white at meaningful volume. Dual-band wireless at 2.4GHz and 5GHz covers both legacy and modern network environments without forcing you to troubleshoot band-compatibility issues during setup, and Ethernet and USB interfaces provide wired fallback options that enterprise IT departments frequently require. Automatic duplex printing is standard rather than optional, which reduces paper consumption by approximately 50% on double-sided documents and tangibly extends paper-load intervals on busy printing days.

The Brother Mobile Connect app completes a remote management experience that lets you monitor toner levels, order supplies, and send print jobs from your smartphone without returning to your desk — a workflow efficiency that accumulates into significant time savings across a full work week. Brother's toner cartridge economy is strong at this price tier, with high-yield cartridge options that bring per-page costs well below the per-page cost of any inkjet competitor at equivalent volume. The compact footprint genuinely earns its "compact" designation — this printer occupies significantly less desk space than comparable laser alternatives without sacrificing paper capacity or output speed.

For users who previously relied on a Brother printer and need maintenance guidance, our complete Brother printer reset guide covers the HL-L2460DW's reset procedures for network and factory reset scenarios. The Alexa integration is an underrated convenience addition — voice-activated print job management sounds frivolous until you're in the middle of cooking or a video call and need to trigger a print without sitting down. The Refresh subscription trial provides an automatic toner replenishment option that eliminates the emergency toner purchase scenario entirely.

Pros:

• 36 ppm print speed leads the budget monochrome laser category decisively
• Dual-band Wi-Fi (2.4GHz/5GHz) plus Ethernet and USB for universal connectivity
• Automatic duplex printing standard — reduces paper use and reload frequency
• Alexa integration enables voice-activated print job management

Cons:

• Monochrome output only — no color printing capability whatsoever
• No scanner or copier — dedicated printer only, not an all-in-one

6. Canon PIXMA iP8720 — Best for Large-Format Photos

The Canon PIXMA iP8720 solves a specific problem with elegant precision: it delivers 13 x 19 inch large-format photo output at a price that dedicated photo enthusiasts can justify without requiring commercial-printer-level investment. The six-color ink system, which adds a dedicated gray ink channel alongside the standard CMYK and photo cyan/magenta cartridges, achieves a tonal depth and shadow detail in black-and-white photographs that four-color systems fundamentally cannot match. The 9600 x 2400 maximum color dots per inch resolution with 1-, 2-, and 5-picoliter droplet sizes produces gallery-quality output at the 13x19 format that photographers previously needed a dedicated wide-format printer to achieve.

AirPrint and cloud compatibility provide seamless integration with Apple and Google ecosystems, so printing from your phone or tablet is immediate without driver installation or app configuration. The wireless connectivity covers the range of a typical home without signal degradation that frustrates users who keep their printer in a back room or secondary workspace. The noise level of approximately 43.5 dB(A) during operation is present but not disruptive — comparable to a quiet conversation — which matters for home offices where acoustic comfort affects daily concentration and productivity.

Where the iP8720 demands honest acknowledgment is in its single-function identity — this is a dedicated photo printer, not an all-in-one, and you accept that constraint deliberately in exchange for photo quality that no all-in-one at this price delivers. Ink costs are higher per print than supertank alternatives, but the quality premium justifies the economics for photographers producing prints for display or sale. For users exploring print-on-demand creative applications, the iP8720's output quality makes it a natural companion to printable vinyl and transfer paper workflows alongside traditional photo printing.

Pros:

• 13 x 19 inch large-format photo output accessible at a consumer price point
• Six-color ink system with dedicated gray for superior black-and-white photo tonal range
• 9600 x 2400 dpi resolution with picoliter droplet precision for gallery-quality prints
• AirPrint and cloud compatibility for frictionless Apple and Google device integration

Cons:

• Dedicated printer only — no scanner, copier, or fax functionality
• Per-print ink costs are higher than supertank alternatives for standard document printing

7. Epson EcoTank ET-2800 — Best Budget Home Printer

The Epson EcoTank ET-2800 is the entry point for the supertank revolution that has transformed the home printer value equation, delivering cartridge-free printing with replacement ink savings of up to 90% compared to traditional cartridge-based systems in a compact all-in-one that handles documents, photos, and creative projects without the ongoing supply anxiety that defines conventional inkjet ownership. The included ink bottle set is equivalent to approximately 80 individual cartridges, giving you enough capacity to print up to 4,500 pages in black or 7,500 pages in color before you need to purchase a refill — a supply horizon that transforms the printer from a recurring cost center into a reliable long-term tool. Micro Piezo Heat-Free Technology delivers vivid, detailed output while consuming less energy than competing inkjet technologies, which is a meaningful operating cost advantage over a multi-year ownership period.

Print speeds of 10 pages per minute handle household print volumes efficiently without the wait-time frustration of older budget inkjets that rendered high-volume jobs genuinely painful. The wireless connectivity is reliable and straightforward to configure, and mobile printing through the Epson Smart Panel app works consistently across Android and iOS devices without the periodic reconnection issues that plague cheaper wireless printer implementations. Scan and copy functionality rounds out the all-in-one feature set, giving you a complete document management solution in a footprint that fits comfortably on a small desk or shelf.

The ET-2800 is the right printer for households with light-to-moderate printing needs who are done paying cartridge prices — and who want the supertank advantage at the lowest possible entry cost. The tradeoffs relative to the ET-4850 are real: no ADF, no fax, no Ethernet, and slower color speeds. But for a single-user household printing under 200 pages per month, those omissions are irrelevant, and the savings you accumulate on ink over two to three years of ownership are the practical story here. This is the printer that makes the $2.99-per-cartridge model feel definitively obsolete.

Pros:

• Up to 90% savings on replacement ink versus cartridge-based alternatives
• Included ink set equivalent to ~80 individual cartridges — exceptional initial capacity
• Micro Piezo Heat-Free Technology reduces energy consumption versus competing inkjet systems
• Compact all-in-one with scan and copy fits small home desk footprints comfortably

Cons:

• No ADF, fax, or Ethernet — feature set suited for single-user home use only
• 10 ppm speed is modest by 2026 inkjet standards for busy households

Choosing the Right Printer: A Buying Guide

Inkjet vs. Laser: Matching Technology to Your Workflow

The inkjet-versus-laser decision is the foundational choice that shapes every subsequent evaluation, and the correct answer depends entirely on what you print rather than on any general superiority claim either technology makes. Inkjet printers — particularly supertank models like the ET-4850 and ET-2800 — dominate photo printing, color accuracy on specialty media, and flexible paper handling for creative applications. They print on thicker substrates, glossy photo paper, and specialty transfer media that laser printers cannot accommodate. Laser printers excel at high-speed text document production with toner economics that favor volumes above 500 pages per month, and they produce sharper text edges on plain paper than inkjet alternatives at equivalent price points.

The cost-per-page picture has shifted considerably in 2026 with the widespread availability of supertank inkjet systems. Traditional cartridge-based inkjet printers remain the worst value in printing technology — the hardware is cheap, but the cartridge economics are punishing for anyone printing more than 50 pages per month. If you're still running a cartridge-based inkjet, the upgrade case to either a supertank or a laser printer is economically compelling regardless of volume. For color printing above 300 pages per month, laser represents the clear long-term value; for color printing under 300 pages per month, supertank inkjet delivers comparable per-page economics with superior media flexibility.

All-in-One vs. Dedicated Printer: How Many Functions Do You Actually Use?

All-in-one printers command a price premium over dedicated printers, and that premium is well justified for users who actively use scan, copy, and fax functions — and meaningless for users who don't. Be honest about your actual use patterns rather than aspirational ones. If you scan documents once a month, a flatbed scanner in your all-in-one is a used feature; if you scan daily for a home business, the ADF and duplex scanning on models like the ET-4850 and MF743Cdw are critical productivity features you'll use constantly. Fax functionality is genuinely important in 2026 for real estate, healthcare, and legal-adjacent professions — if your work requires fax, eliminate any printer without it from consideration immediately regardless of other merits.

Print Volume and Cost Per Page: Running the Real Numbers

Every printer purchase is a two-cost decision: the hardware price and the consumable cost over the ownership period. A printer that costs $80 at retail but charges $25 per ink set for 200 pages is more expensive to own than a $280 printer with $15 ink bottles that cover 4,500 pages — the math becomes clear within six months of regular printing. Calculate your monthly page volume honestly, multiply by the per-page cost of your candidate printer's consumables, and project that figure across 24 months before comparing hardware prices. For users printing under 100 pages per month, the supertank inkjet economics are exceptional; for users printing 500 or more pages per month in black-and-white, monochrome laser delivers the lowest per-page cost available in the consumer market.

Connectivity and Mobile Printing in 2026

Every printer on this list supports Wi-Fi, but connectivity quality varies considerably beyond that baseline specification. Dual-band Wi-Fi (2.4GHz and 5GHz) as found on the Brother HL-L2460DW resolves the band-compatibility issues that cause intermittent wireless failures in modern networks where 5GHz coverage is inconsistent in specific locations. Ethernet remains the definitive reliability standard for office environments where stable, always-available printing is a hard requirement rather than a nice-to-have. NFC direct printing, available on the Canon MF743Cdw, enables one-tap mobile-to-printer connections that bypass router infrastructure entirely — valuable in environments with complex network security policies that complicate standard wireless printer configuration. AirPrint support is non-negotiable for households heavily invested in Apple devices; verify compatibility explicitly before purchasing if your workflow is primarily iOS and macOS.

Questions Answered

Next Steps

1. Check current pricing on Amazon for your shortlisted model — printer prices fluctuate frequently, and the cost delta between two competing models often closes or reverses within a few weeks of your research.
2. Calculate your actual monthly page volume by checking your current printer's supply consumption history, then run the per-page cost math against the consumable pricing for your top two candidates before committing.
3. Verify that your candidate printer is compatible with your operating system, mobile devices, and home network band (2.4GHz versus 5GHz) before purchasing to avoid setup friction on delivery day.
4. If you're considering an Epson EcoTank model, read our Epson printer reset guide to familiarize yourself with maintenance procedures you'll eventually need.
5. If your workflow includes duplex or specialty media printing, review the relevant setup guides — particularly our HP duplex printing guide for HP models — to configure your new printer correctly from the first session.

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