The Breaker Times

If you’re shopping for the best printers for a home office, an all-in-one is a good choice. Multifunction printers include scanners to digitize receipts, invoices, and other documents. The scan and print functions combine to make copies. Some all-in-one printers can connect to a phone line to act like a fax machine.

Multifunction printers are like the smaller cousins of the bulkier copiers you might see at the office. As our printer buyers’ guide points out, an all-in-one printer usually costs less than it would to buy a printer and scanner separately. Here are some of the best multifunction printers on the market today.

Canon Color ImageClass MF753Cdw

Best all-around multifunction printer

If you’re looking for an all-in-one printer that can print fast and delivers affordable prints, then Canon’s Color ImageClass MF753Cdw should be on top of the list. Strong connectivity options, support for printing from a USB drive, and excellent image quality make Canon’s laser all-in-one printer our top pick for the best all-around multifunction. It includes a full black toner and enough color toner for 1,100 documents.

In my hands-on review of Canon’s Color ImageClass MF753Cdw, I found it to be one of the best color laser printers available. It’s fast and reliable with exceptional print quality for monochrome and color documents. It even does a good job when printing photographs on plain paper.

A 5-inch color touchscreen gives access to the printer’s controls, and as an enterprise-focused offering, the ImageClass MF753Cdw comes with some more advanced features — like support for scripts and workflow profiles — that may be useful for small businesses. With a 300-sheet split paper cassette and the ability to stack in an additional tray for more sheets, the MF753Cdw printer can output at speeds of 35 pages per minute, along with duplex scanning and printing. Print quality is excellent, and costs are $0.02 to $0.04 per page in black-and-white and $0.12 to $0.16 for color jobs.

Canon Color ImageClass MF753Cdw

Best all-around multifunction printer

HP OfficeJet Pro 9125e

Best inkjet multifunction printer

Known for their solid performance when printing photos and graphics, inkjets have been a staple for many homes and home offices. Combining great print performance, an automatic document feeder (ADF) for scanning, a fax, a USB port to print directly from a memory stick, and the ability to do double-sided copies, you’ll end up with a robust and versatile office tool for your filing needs.

HP’s OfficeJet Pro 9125e is an excellent pick in this category. It delivers print speeds of up to 22 pages per minute (ppm) and can handle double-sided prints and scans. For home offices with moderate print needs, the OfficeJet Pro 9125e comes with six months of free ink through HP’s subscription HP Plus cartridge delivery program. Here, you’re looking at an affordable $0.03 per page for black-and-white prints and about $0.10 per page for color. For detailed photo printing, the cost might triple, but this is a very affordable printer for home office use.

HP OfficeJet Pro 9125e

Best inkjet multifunction printer

HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP 4301fdw

Best laser multifunction printer

Historically, laser printers were known for delivering crisp texts and are great for printing documents. The best color laser printers are more versatile machines that can go toe-to-toe with some inkjets for printing graphics. A laser offers faster print speeds and lower long-term costs, making HP’s Color LaserJet Pro MFP 4301fdw a wise choice if you print frequently or in high volume.

I reviewed the Color LaserJet Pro MFP 4301fdw and was impressed by its speed and reliability. It’s a relatively compact option for home use that delivers many of the features found in larger office copiers. Despite its robust features, this LaserJet is smaller than many home printers. That makes it versatile enough to fit into home office spaces, making it a solid option for those hunting for a laser all-in-one. A sturdy build quality and the ability to print 35 PPM and create double-sided copies are some of the key highlights of this printer. Here, black-and-white prints cost $0.02 to $0.05 per page, while color prints come in at $0.12 to $0.18 with great color accuracy. Like many modern HP printers, you can connect the printer to a USB port on your computer and print via Ethernet, Wi-Fi, an external storage drive, or Apple’s AirPrint. For scanning, copying, and faxing, you have a flatbed scanner and a speedy automatic document feeder that can handle duplex scanning.

HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP 4301fdw

Best laser multifunction printer

Epson EcoTank Pro ET-5850

Best tank multifunction printer

Tank printers combine the best qualities from the inkjet and laser printer worlds. With ink stored in large tanks, these printers deliver the pristine image quality you’ve come to expect for photo printing while cutting down on costs, making them more efficient than laser options.

In my Epson EcoTank Pro ET-5850 review, I was surprised that an inkjet could print so quickly without any loss of quality. This inkjet has color laser printer speed without the high energy use and expensive color printing and usually comes with quick performance.

With the tank, Epson says you can print up to 7,500 monochrome pages or 6,000 color pages, which not only saves you money but also helps the environment with less waste. At four-tenths of a cent for a monochrome page and a penny per color document, ink costs are no longer a consideration. The automatic document feeder can also handle duplex scanning at up to 1,200 dpi.

The first page rolls out in just 5.5 seconds, which is even faster than a laser printer. Print speeds reach 25 pages per minute, with terrific photo print detail, accurate colors, and crisp text. This makes the printer feel like the best of both worlds, combining the strengths of inkjet technology with the precision of laser printing. Epson also makes other tank printers that are more modestly priced if you don’t need this much speed.

Epson EcoTank Pro ET-5850

Best tank multifunction printer

Epson EcoTank ET-2850

Best all-in-one for photo prints

The Epson EcoTank ET-2850 all-in-one printer delivers exceptional photo print quality, making it an ideal choice for anyone that likes pictures, whether for work or home use. Borderless printing is supported on full pages and photo cards with nice exposure even on plain paper.

With a massive supply of ink, enough for up to two years of printing, the EcoTank ET-2850 lives up to its name as a very economical printer. The included ink bottles yield approximately 6,500 black and 5,200 color pages.

Photo printers aren’t the fastest. The EcoTank ET-2850 manages just 10 pages per minute in black and 5 ppm in color. As an all-in-one, it can also scan at up to 1200 dpi, high enough to scan photographic negatives in crisp detail. You’ll never have to run out to the office store for a color copy, but you can only do one page at a time with the flatbed scanner.

With an upfront cost of around around $300 and a a cost per page measured in tenths of a cent , this printer offers significant savings for frequent printers. The EcoTank ET-2850’s photo quality, refillable ink tanks, and convenient scan and copy featrues make it ideal for home users seeking hassle-free printing.

Epson EcoTank ET-2850

Best all-in-one for photo prints

Brother MFC-J1205W

Best budget all-in-one

Brother’s MFC-J1205W INKvestment Tank is a budget compact all-in-one printer that’s ideal for small home offices. Measuring 17.1 inches wide, 14.1 inches deep, and 6.3 inches tall, it’s designed to fit in tight spaces. The printer features a simple design with five buttons, no screen, and a front-loading paper tray and an output bin for easy access.

The MFC-J1205W delivers good printing performance, producing crisp text and color graphics at speeds of up to 16 pages per minute for black-and-white documents and 9 ppm for color documents. However, photo prints lack saturation and contrast. While scanning is fast, multipage documents require manual feed since there’s no automatic document feeder.

Priced at $129, the Brother MFC-J1205W offers good value, with low running costs of 3 cents per monochrome page and 6 cents per color page. Brother calls it a tank printer, but it uses large ink cartridges that yield up to 750 pages.

While not ideal for photographic prints or scans, the MFC-J1205W is a nice cost-saving choice for home offices. Its compact design, ease of use, and affordable price make it a solid choice for anyone who wants a reliable, space-saving printer solution.

Brother MFC-J1205W

Best budget all-in-one

HP OfficeJet 250

Best portable Brother MFC-J1205W

Designed for mobility and portability, the HP OfficeJet 250 is one of the most compact multifunction printers on the market. It’s the perfect tool for traveling salespeople or anyone who needs to make a quick print on the go thanks to the built-in rechargeable battery. Unlike other compact printers, HP’s OfficeJet 250 can also scan and copy, but it does lose faxing functionality.

The OfficeJet 250 comes with a built-in automatic document feeder, making scanning easy — even while you’re mobile — but you are still limited to simplex scans. Print speeds are on the slower side at around 10 pages per minute, but the upside is that despite its versatility as a travel tool, print costs aren’t that high, averaging around $0.08 to $0.12 per page. The OfficeJet 250 can connect wirelessly to your laptop or smartphone for a cable-free print experience, allowing you to turn any coffee shop into your mobile office.

HP OfficeJet 250

Best portable Brother MFC-J1205W

You’ll be sure to get top quality results from any of the all-in-one printers on this list. They aren’t always the most affordable, however. If you’re working with a tight budget, check out our list of the best cheap printers.

Sometimes, initial savings end up costing more over time. For fast, durable printers with long-term savings, you might want to focus on the best color laser printers.