Having grown used to printer idiosyncracies—even the infamous “replace cyan cartridge” message —we’ve learned to adapt to their quirks. The best printer brands for home use, each manufacturer targeting a slightly different need, doesn’t ever derail our home office hours, no matter the problem. They process home office spreadsheets, spit out perfectly composed school reports, and layer color after color on properly inserted photography paper, turning treasured digital-only media into physical photos. 

It’s all down to breaking down what each brand does best. Instead of assuming a needle-in-a-haystack approach, looking through masses of printers on Amazon, manufacturer-blind and aimless, sifting through endless options and features, we’ve intelligently spotted the printer vendors who best satisfy particular media output expectations. After all, life really is too short to argue over whether cyan is that essential, no matter how feature-rich the manufacturer has made the device.

What to Look for in a Home Printer Setup

A wired or wireless connection ranks highly among consumers. If you’ve got a standard home office setup, a desk and computer ruling the furniture layout, consider staying with a USB connection and cable. The layout is a little more restrictive, but it takes the load off of a potentially overburdened router. For widespread use and access for all, a wireless home printer is good for printing, home businesses, and everything between.

Strangely enough, other than a home computer, which invariably comes with an intuitive operating system anyway, a tough learning curve often accompanies that slender device. Even wireless setups don’t bow to simple home electronics conventions. Simple wireless is likely to be built in, but then there are USB connections, ethernet, and Wi-Fi Direct as well. For the last one, think network-less connectivity, no router required.   

Our advice, then, is as follows: keep the manual nearby, or download an online copy. Install the drivers released for the machine, never relying on generic Windows or Mac copies, which are bound to lack features anyway. From here, seek out a machine that fits your needs. If it’s just for office work, plain black and white, a fully-featured laser printer is the logical choice. Buyer beware, color laser printers can be expensive, but they’re fast and built to output sharply rendered text.

Inkjet technology is the buzzword you’ll hear most when buying a printer for the home. The devices work in color and black and white—but then we’re back to cyan issues—and they’re affordable, leaving plenty of room for all kinds of desirable extras, like all-in-one functionality, duplex printing, and photo printing. Just as a quick by-the-way, duplex printing is simply the process involved in putting print on both sides of a sheet of paper.

A lot more equipped now to deal with brand-specific pros and cons, let’s see which manufacturer matches your home needs. Your family, whether for homework or recipe printing, will also be interested in our results, so pull up a couple of extra chairs or text them the link to this post. A household name in printing, HP is our opener brand. 

Best Printers for Home Use – Highly Rated and Recommended at Every Budget!

• Epson EcoTank ET-2850 all-in-one

• Brother MFC-J5855DW INKvestment inkjet printers

• Brother MFC-J1170DW Wireless Inkjet

• HP Smart Tank 7602 

• Epson Expression Photo XP-8700 Wireless All-in-One

• HP LaserJet MFP M234sdw

• Canon Pixma Pro 200

• Canon Color ImageClass MF753Cdw

• Canon MegaTank Pixma G3290

• Lexmark C3326dw

Any of the HP or Canon models will perform with distinction. We tested the HP Smart Tank 7602 exhaustively and found its print quality and speed entirely on point. It printed and scanned, even made us a cup of coffee on command. Not really, not with the last one, but surely it’s just a matter of time. The Canon Pixma TR8620a was also added at the last minute. Its sharp 4.3 inch LCD touchscreen and 4800×1200 dpi print resolution took care of professionally written documents, complete with creatively added letterheads. It’s also an all-in-one device, so it can do all the usual copier and scanning work, such as document enlargements and reductions, 1200×2400 dpi optical document scanning, and far more besides.

The only other feature we researched but didn’t put high on our priorities list when looking for the best printer brands for home use was input and output capacities. Large media sizes naturally suited the Lexmark printers. The Lexmark C3326dw came fitted with a 100 sheet output bin and a 250-page input. On the other hand, the paper trays on the Pixma and AIO models were smaller and a little more flimsy when it came to build quality. Plan accordingly if higher outputs are likely.

The brands listed here—and these are the headliners— offer reliable options that are tailored to a variety of needs. Whether for home photo editing, document printing, or general home office work, you’ll find a budget-friendly model to meet your unique needs. Premium all-in-ones are, of course, the logical fit for the home, reducing device footprints, but we suggest selecting one brand and sticking with it. 

HP and Canon are always going to hit all the right notes; it’s difficult to argue against the sheer number of versatile options available from these brands. For more particular applications, perhaps security-sensitive print work, consider Lexmark, but be prepared for a slightly steeper learning curve.