When it comes to select, the best home printers, the users demand as much efficiency, as of the professional printers available in the market. Office use printers, however, far excel in quality, performance and above all the price where office printers are usually bulky is design with a high cost; home use printers tend to be simpler, and lightweight in design available at a much lower price.
So what to look for and how to select the most suitable printer for home use. The basic thing, however, to look for is the simple operating system, since users at home don’t have the expert technical knowledge; therefore a simple system is easy to operate. Also, that should be compact, simple in design and lightweight since the home setup is quite different from office setup and therefore a lightweight printer and small in size is best for the home use with consuming less energy.
There are though many printers available in the market from different companies; HP has always been topping the list of best printers for domestic use. Following HP, there comes then Canon, providing some best quality printers and then the Workforce printers all aims to give a combination of good feature and performance in their products.
So first on the list is the:
1) HP Deskjet 3630
Priced at £35 the basic features involve the printer with its smart, and decent design it is a much light – weighted product with 4.2kg. Also, it allows the usage of paper sizes of A4, A5, A6, B5, Borderless A4, Borderless A5, and Borderless B5, providing a paper capacity of 60 sheets.
The Deskjet printer can print, copy and scan with and in addition to the ubiquitous USB connection, it supports HP ePrint, Wi-Fi networks, and Wi-Fi Direct. The wireless feature helps you get prints from devices such as smartphones and tablets even if you don’t have a wireless router.
However, there needs to be considered one problem that is of cartridges, usually inexpensive printers are meant that the cost goes high up on the links and shop – bought cartridges are expensive to buy, but HP gives you the opportunity for a monthly subscription of Instant Ink that would help the users to save some decent amount of bucks and might save you from regular buying of cartridges.
Sadly, the touch system is missing in the Deskjet and you have to configure Wi-Fi settings through HPs own app, however, its simple to use and you all have to do is to tell the app which network the Wi-Fi should use. Fortunately, the app is available for Mac and Windows and it downloads the necessary software as well.
With simple technology and the availability of all the basic features, the Deskjet is a good choice for people with decent needs for printouts daily in a cheap and affordable price with the recommended print per month is near 250 sheets.
Pros: Low-priced, High resolution, quality prints, Instant Ink Feature, Easy to use and can be operated by Smartphone or Tablet.
Cons: A3 prints not available, No individual color cartridge, PPM needs improvement and Boring design.
2) Epson Workforce Pro WF-4630
The next in the category is from the Workforce.
Intended for small businesses and group of people the very best quality of Epson Pro WF-4630 is that it gives the fastest printing and scanning speeds. Along with speed, the Epson gives the solid print qualities and with the use of XL print cartridges, it gives an economical printing just like laser printers.
Some highlighting features to look are that it gives the print speed up to 20 ppm in black or color. It has a Print resolution of 4,800 x 1,200 and is applicable on A4, A5, A6, B5, C4 (Envelope), C6 (Envelope), DL (Envelope), No. 10 (Envelope), 9 x 13 cm, 10 x 15 cm, 13 x 18 cm, 13 x 20 cm, 20 x 25 cm, 100 x 148 mm, 16:9, LT, HLT, LGL, User defined. The paper capacity tends to be 330 sheets.
However, one of the apparent drawbacks you could find in the Epson Pro- 4630 is its design and weight 14.35 kg means, which means it, is not compact and lightweight.
Priced at, £130 though much expensive to buy the makers claims to have installed the inkjet technology that gives you print at a better value which means it saves from the frequent expenditures on cartridges when compared with the HP’s Deskjet.
Though it doesn’t have the touch system but the presence of the USB portal instead of SD card slot. The printer also supports the printing and scanning using Wi-Fi from Mac, PC or smartphones running iOS or Android.
Epson’s Workforce is perhaps the best choice if you have the needs of volume printing and wants it at an economical cost.
Pros: Fast performance, Wi-fi, and Ethernet supported, High-quality prints, Can be used for Office purposes too, Multifunctionality; excellent scanning, copying and faxing. Cheap Running cost.
Cons: Big size; not easily movable.
3) Canon Pixma TS8050
Canon Pixma printer is best suited for users with occasional needs since it’s a simple product meeting the basic printing needs. The features that make it one of the desirable choices is, first its weight, with just the weight of 6.5 kg it’s much lighter than Epson’s 4630. Also, it is a compact product that means it is easy to handle and carry. It gives you the limited selection of Paper sizes and that are A4, A5, B5, DL (Envelope).
However, it’s a bit expensive printer but doesn’t compromise on the quality of the printout, it has had the approximate resolution up to 9,600 x 2,400. The speed is also decent 15 ppm for black, and 10 ppm for color. This is on par with the Epson’s workforce.
Though there tend to be many features missing it is not a bad buy if you need it to meet your basic printing, copy and printing needs.
Pros: High-quality prints, Wireless printer, Touchscreen for easy use, Perfect for printing photographs, Auto 2-sided printing (duplex), Cloud printing available.
Cons: Increased ink usage, Expensive and Not recommended for those who don’t print out pictures more often.
4) Epson WorkForce WF-2660
Again on the list is another printer from Epson. The Epson WF-266O is intended for users with minimum or moderate needs for print out per month. This printer gives the feasibility to get a print, copy, scan in one single device that can be connected wirelessly through the USB port, Wi-Fi, Ethernet, cloud-based service or through Near Field Communication (NFC). This allows printing and scanning with any mobile device giving you a resolution up to 4,800 x 1,200 matching the laser-like quality.
However, the print speed is average i.e. 13ppm for black and 7.3ppm for color. Also it enables to use paper sizes of A4, A5, A6, B5, C6 (Envelope), DL (Envelope), No. 10 (Envelope), Letter, Letter-Legal, 10 x 15cm, 13 x 18cm, 16:9, User defined.
Also, one of the decent features of this printer is its the body which is made up of plastic and weight around 6.7 kg which means its compact and lightweight. A bit slow in performance, the Epson gives you the all the needed wireless features for its functioning while giving a tough competition to some very expensive printers in the market in terms of quality and price at $100 only.
Pros: Excellent scanning and copy performance, High-quality prints and faxes, Wifi and Ethernet-enabled, Prints from the Cloud.
Cons: Paper capacity small; caters only 150 sheets, Noisy, a little slow and has lots of buttons.
5) Canon Pixma MG7150
So here comes another one from Canon. It would not be wrong to call it a bad pick at a bit expensive price while being an all-rounder giving you high-quality photo prints on A4 or even below pages at the print resolution up to 9,600 x 2,400
Other specifications are it gives you the moderate print speed of 15ppm for black and 10ppm for color. On Paper sizes A4, A5, B5, Letter, Legal, Envelopes (DL size or Commercial 10), 20 x 25cm, 10 x 15cm, and 13 x 18cm with a Paper capacity tray of 145 sheets.
However, the device tends to Weight 8.2kg, which is slightly heavier than other mentioned printers in the list.
The biggest benefit you could enjoy in this printer is that uses the system of six single inks, which means you don’t need to replace the whole cartridge instead only can replace the ink cartridges that are necessary.
The MG7150 is a wireless printer with an inbuilt system of AirPrint for Apple devices so you can easily print with your Apple phone and tablets. However, Android users need to download the application from Google Store first to use this printer.
With a touchscreen system present, it makes it very much easy to use it definitely gives some high-quality print of photos and documents. Enthusiasts would definitely be tempted to buy it.
Pros: Advanced printer look, Wireless, AirPrint and cloud print, Card slots available, Compact Flash, Touchscreen and touch buttons, High-resolution printing.
Cons: The Low capacity for sheets, NFC support not available, A little noisy and Not recommended to those who don’t need to print photographs.
6) HP Envy 5540 All-in-One printer
We have updated our list of best home printers and proudly include HP Envy 5540 printer first, because of its quality features in the cheap price tag.
Almost all of HP printers are high quality and reliable, but HP Envy is manufactured for a purpose to outdated the rest of the home printers in line.It has excellent printing performance and works on almost all paper sizes; A4, A5, B5, DL, C6 and A6 too. It can carry up to 125 sheets in its paper tray.
You might expect a home printer that works on high resolution (4,800 x 1,200) to work slowly but that’s not the case of HP Envy 5540 as its printing speed is relatively fast as it prints around 10 black pages per minute and 5 color pages per minute, which is very acceptable for home use.
What makes it more user-friendly is its feature of supporting smart app that can be used to operate the entire printer from your smartphone. Envy 5540 is also easy to install and configure, providing everything you seek in a home printer at a very affordable price.
Pros: Fast photo print performance, Wifi and Wifi Direct available, Automatic Duplexer, 4-by-6-inch photo tray, Mobile printing.
Cons: No fax, No Ethernet, Not recommended for business use.
7) Epson Picture Mate PM-400
Another addition in the list of the easiest and quality home printers is Epson PictureMate
which is a cute, lightweight printer designed to bring your digital pictures to life by printing them on a high resolution over the pages of 4 x 6 and 5 x 7 sizes.
As most printers these days have touchscreens that can be difficult to understand sometimes, Epson put few buttons for easy navigation in PictureMate PM-400; even a kid can operate it.
It is a portable, small printer with the paper capacity of 50 sheets. Having the print resolution of 5,760 x 1,440, PictureMate prints pictures in seconds.
However, it is a bit pricey printer as compared to other such printers available in the market, providing same features. But we guess the high price tag of Epson PictureMate is not because of its features but for its size and portability.
Pros: High quality and lively photo color prints, Fast performance, can be operated through Smartphone or Tablet, Memory card and USB keys supported, can print directly from Camera and Computer.
Cons: High-Priced, Big in size, not easily movable, AC power required.
8) HP DESKJET 1010
And if you’re looking for a cheap home printer that doesn’t compromise on its quality, HP Deskjet 1010 is the one you should get. It may not offer the fancy features like scanning or wireless printing, but its printing quality is up to the mark.
HP has priced DeskJet 1010 quite affordable for anyone to have this printer at home for basic printing functions. With the capacity of 60 sheets, It can support A4, A5, A6, B5 sizes of paper and a DL envelope. It also has an adjustable slider that can be used to print postcards, small brochures, photos etc.
HP Deskjet 1010 is extremely easy to set up and handle as it carries only one power button; rest is all done through the software installed in your PC.
Pros: Quality prints on affordable price, Compact size.
Cons: Expensive running cost.
9) Brother MFC-J5330DW
Some printers may be a little expensive to buy but the cost to run them is always cheap. Such printers are few in the market and Brother MFC is one of them.
This printer is big in size because of the big service it offers; It can handle both A4 and large A3 sizes papers. Printing quality is excellent as well as the speed it functions on. Perfect for people who are looking for a flexible and fine printer that works at low cost.
Pros: Low running cost, Fast speed, Duplex print up to A4.
Cons: Big in size, Color photo printing has average results.
Let us know which one of these printers you would prefer for home use and why, in the comments below. Also, follow us on Twitter @Facts_Chronicle for more tech reviews’ notifications.