A printer for the home has to be like your family: flexible, economical and adaptable. It should be able to handle anything from schoolwork to family photos, from childhood scrawls to flyers for the local PTA bake sale. My top pick for the best home printer for these different needs is the HP OfficeJet Pro 9125E, an incredibly flexible all-in-one that can scan, copy and print in high quality.
Our testing showed that the best home printers include models from HP, Canon and Brother.
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But because all printing needs are unique, I’ve also picked less expensive options, plus models that can handle bigger print jobs. These printers fit into the modern home, working with laptops, phones, tablets and other connected devices. I’ve focused on their role as printers here, but some can print, scan, copy and even fax. To find out more about these jacks-of-all-trades, check out my all-in-one printers roundup. If your printing needs go beyond the occasional into the habitual, check out my roundup of laser printers that can handle larger printing volumes.
Best Home Printer Overall: HP OfficeJet Pro 9125E
Best Midrange Home Printer: HP Laserjet Pro MFP 3101SDW
Best Value Home Printer: HP DeskJet 4155E
Best Laser Home Printer: Brother HL-L2460DW XL
Best Home Office Printer: Brother MFC-J5855DW
Type: Inkjet | Features: Print/Copy/Scan/Fax | Wireless: Yes | Size: 13.5 x 17.3 x 11 inches | Color print: Yes | Tray capacity: 250 sheets | Ink: 4 cartridges
Best for:
Homes and small offices
Rapid printing, scanning and copying
Anyone who thinks most office printers look ugly
Skip if:
You don’t print enough to get value from the ink subscription
You prioritize photo printing
The HP OfficeJet Pro 9125E is my top pick for the home: It can quickly print, scan, copy and even fax, if needed. It’s a great do-it-all package that should be able to handle all of your home and home office printer needs, from copying permission slips to printing family photos.
The printer is easy to set up. Just plug it in and follow the online guide, which takes you through installing the four ink cartridges, connecting it to your Wi-Fi and printing a test page that the printer itself scans to check that everything is working. This setup guide also links you to the HP Smart app, available for Windows, Mac, Android and iOS. This simple app allows you to print, scan and copy documents over any internet connection. It also allows you to scan a document and send it straight to someone over email or to upload scans to Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive or HP’s own Scan Cloud service.
The HP OfficeJet Pro 9125E prints with great color accuracy and detailing.
Richard Baguley for Forbes
The OfficeJet Pro 9125e also offers ethernet and USB connections, and the small but flexible 2.7-inch touchscreen provides easy access to these features on the device itself. You can also create shortcuts on the display, which is very useful for common tasks.
It’s a fairly large printer, occupying a sizeable 17 by 20 inches when the output tray is extended. It was also the fastest inkjet printer I tested, finishing a 10-page sample document in just 45 seconds. Overall, the print quality was excellent. Graphics looked crisp and vibrant, and the text appeared dark and uniform, though with just a trace of splotchiness on the default “Normal” quality setting. That vanished when I used the “Best” quality setting, but that does slow printing down: My test document took just under two minutes on that setting.
This printer’s one weakness lies with its photo printing. It produced smooth, passable images that I’d deem good enough for home projects, but not of the same caliber as others I tested. If you plan on printing a lot of photos, I’d suggest considering a dedicated photo printer.
The test page is in the scanner and the test copy is in the tray. Note the color accuracy.
Richard Baguley
Like most printers, the real cost is in the consumables, i.e., the ink it uses to print. A replacement set of four EvoMore ink cartridges sells for about $239: $80 for the large black and $53 each for the cyan, magenta and yellow. That’s more than the printer itself. HP claims the black will print 2,500 pages, while the color cartridges are good for 1,650 pages. That’s about 3 cents per black page and about 9 cents per color page.
You can bring those costs down by subscribing to HP’s Instant Ink program, which automatically ships new cartridges to you when the printer detects it’s close to running out. The program’s pricing ranges from 99 cents to $25 per month, depending on how many pages you print, and you get a free six-month trial so you can test the subscription waters. You must sign up for that trial within the first seven days of installing the printer, and doing so requires a credit card. As with many such trials, you’ll need to cancel to avoid getting billed once it expires. You also need to register for HP+ (at no charge) to unlock certain benefits, including a second year of warranty coverage.
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HP Laserjet Pro MFP 3101SDW
I’ve been reviewing technology since 1992 when I joined Amiga Format magazine in the UK. Since then, I have worked mainly in publishing but with sidelines in games production, website authoring, and photography. I was the VP of Editorial Development at Reviewed.com, where I created industry-leading test procedures for products such as televisions, dishwashers, washing machines, coffee makers, and digital cameras. As a freelancer since 2012, I have written for sites like CNET, Wired, Toms Guide, T3 Hackaday, and now Forbes.“,”disableCanonical”:false,”disableDigest”:false,”embargo”:false,”enableContribContact”:false,”enableTwitterFeed”:false,”inactive”:false,”metaDescription”:”I’ve been reviewing technology since 1992 when I joined Amiga Format magazine in the UK. Since then, I have worked mainly in publishing but with sidelines in games production, website authoring, and photography. 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