It’s fair to say that printers are hardly the most exciting electronic gadgets, but when you need a physical copy of something, what will your smartphone or laptop do about it? Printers remain a necessity for a lot of us, and if you’re in the market for one, this shortlist of our favorite printers available in 2024 should help narrow down your choice.
In this list of the best printers, we’ve tried to cover as many bases as possible: Inkjet, laser, photo printing, premium, and budget. Whatever your needs are—and it’s probably best to figure these out before you go shopping so you know what you’re looking for—you should be able to find something that matches your requirements in the list below.
Brother MFC-L2750DW
The best laser printer
Dimensions: 16.1 x 15.7 x 12.5 inches
Color print speed: N/A
Mono print speed: 34 pages per minute
Type: Laser
Available for: $300
In our experience, Brother laser printers usually get on with the task in hand speedily and with the minimum of fuss. What’s more, color isn’t the must-have feature that you might think: Unless you’re printing photos or brochures, monochrome will do you very nicely.
Enter the Brother MFC-L2750DW: it’s an older model, but still a strong and reliable one (you don’t need more RAM and a faster CPU in your printer every year, after all). If you need a workhorse to handle a serious amount of documents, this may be the model for you.
It prints quickly, the running costs are low, you can load it up with a lot of paper (up to 300 sheets at a time), and it’s not going to break the bank either. Admittedly it’s not the most stylish or compact printer you’ll ever see, but that’s not what’s most important here.
Canon MegaTank Pixma G3270
The best inkjet printer
Dimensions: 16.4 x 13.3 x 7 inches
Color print speed: 6 images per minute
Mono print speed: 11 images per minute
Type: Inkjet
Available for: $230
The Canon MegaTank Pixma G3270 is a solid and reliable inkjet that would suit a busy family or home office. While it sits somewhere in the mid-range in terms of price point, it doesn’t compromise too much when it comes to printing speeds and output quality.
There are some features missing—like automatic duplex—to make the printer more affordable, but they’re trade-offs most people won’t mind making. It’ll print, scan, and copy, and the on-board controls and screen make every operation very straightforward.
It’s a well-put-together unit, and most importantly of all, the monochrome and color printing is of a consistently high standard—crisp, clear, and punchy. Considering the price you’re paying upfront for this printer, you won’t be disappointed with its level of output.
HP Smart Tank 5105
The best general-purpose printer
Dimensions: 17.1 x 14.2 x 6.2 inches
Color print speed: 5 pages per minute
Mono print speed: 12 pages per minute
Type: Inkjet
Available for: $200
HP has been making office equipment and electronics for a long time now, and printers like the Smart Tank 5105 can generally be relied upon to come up with the goods when needed. It’s well-built, relatively affordable, and capable of producing great prints.
This unit covers scanning and copying very capably, as well as printing. It meets our criteria here of being a great general-purpose printer that’ll turn its hand to just about anything—whether you need photo prints or document scans.
While it doesn’t hit the heights of some of the dedicated-purpose printers and more expensive models out there, it fits the bill nicely if you need something for the home office or the family. The setup and operation are both simple and straightforward.
