PLENTY of people still need one of the best printers in their homes.
Whether you have to print out documents for work, or you've got university essays and projects to hand in, you don't want to be reliant on a creaking piece of kit from the early noughties.
The first choice you have to make when choosing between printers is whether you want an inkjet printer or a laser printer.
The two types of printer differ significantly, which we show below.
Inkjet printers
Inkjet printers tend to handle colour printing better than laser printers, although they're a little slower to print out large amounts of text.
Plus, although they tend to be cheaper upfront, inkjet printers usually cost more to run than laser printers because of ink costs (although that could change with the inclusion of integrated ink tanks).
Inkjet printers are the way to go if you have to print out a mix of documents including picture-heavy sheets that contain a lot of colour.
You'll also want an inkjet if you're planning on printing off any of your own photos.
Laser printers
Laser printers excel at producing black text-based documents quickly, which is great if you're printing out long contracts or manuscripts on a regular basis.
They can be used to print off simple graphics, but don't specialise in pictures, and the cost per page is usually lower with laser printers than inkjet models.
They also tend to be a bit larger than inkjet printers.
Where can I buy printers?
Finding a site with the best printer deals can be challenging at times, as printers are often in high demand. To help you find the best printer deals, here are few trusted sites we have selected for you.
- Buy Printers at Amazon
- Buy Printers at Argos
- Buy Printers at Currys PC World
- Buy Printers at John Lewis
- Buy Printers at Viking
- Buy Printers at eBay
- Buy Printers at Printerland
- Buy Printers at Ryman
- Buy Printers at Printerbase
- Buy Printers at Box
- Buy Printers at Very
1. HP Deskjet 2724
- HP Deskjet 2724, £49.99 from Argos – buy here
If you want a printer that does it all, without breaking the bank, you won't be disappointed with the HP DeskJet 2724.
It's got a built-in scanner, has Wi-Fi connectivity and can be connected to using a variety of apps.
The downsides of this printer include having to manually re-insert paper into the tray if you want to print double-sided, and its relatively expensive cartridges.
Still, for people who don't print every day, this printer will cover all of your basic needs at a great price.
2. Brother HL-L2310D
- Brother HL-L2310D, £79.99 from Argos – buy here
While this laser printer doesn't have a lot of bells and whistles, if your only need is having your text-based documents printed off quickly, this Brother model is the way to go.
It'll do two-sided printing and manage up to 30 pages a minute.
The toner cartridges aren't too expensive either, so it'll be relatively cheap to run.
The downside is that it has no scanner and no Wi-Fi connectivity.
But if you want something to plug and play with a USB port, this could be the printer for you.
3. Canon Pixma TS8350
- Canon Pixma TS8350, £139.99 from Amazon – buy here
The Canon Pixma TS8350 is one of the best printers you can buy for your home right now.
With an elegant design, a beautifully large touchscreen, and multiple connectivity features, the TS8350 is a truly versatile printer.
It features a 100-sheet input tray at the front, an additional one at the back for photo printing, and can also print on both CDs and nail stickers.
In addition, the TS8350 is compatible with a number of mobile apps, and thanks to its dual-band 802.11n connectivity, can send and print large files over the internet quite quickly.
Running costs could be lower here, but if you don't print too often, and value scanning and mobile connectivity highly, the TS8350 could easily be the right printer for you.
We have recently reviewed this printer and you can read more about it here.
4. HP Envy Pro 6420
- HP Envy Pro 6420, £89.99 from Amazon – buy here
Another great home printer by HP, the Envy Pro 6420 offers a number of great features at a truly bargain price.
This 35-page auto document feeder features scanning, copying, and faxing capabilities, and is compatible with the HP Smart app, allowing you to print and scan documents and photos from anywhere.
The HP Envy Pro 6420 can reportedly print 10 black and white pages per minute or 7 pages in colour, and also supports double-sided printing.
In addition, the printer is compatible with HP's Instant Ink program, which will deliver some serious savings if you print often, and a lot.
Being designed for cloud printing, the Envy Pro 6420 does not have an Ethernet port, but with both Bluetooth and self-healing Wi-Fi connectivity, you won't have any issues printing from either desktop or mobile devices.
And if you don't mind spending a little more for slightly better specs, you should check the HP Envy Pro 6420e and the HP Envy Pro 6430.
5. Canon PIXMA G4511
- Canon Pixma G4511, £269.99 from Amazon – buy here
Epson started the trend of Tank printers; which means instead of using cartridges to refill your ink, you buy bottles that you empty into the printer.
That means you tend to get a lot more bang for your buck and you're not stuck buying expensive cartridges which increase your costs every time you run out of ink.
The downside of these printers is that they tend to be more expensive outright, but you should make a good slice of your money back if you use it regularly for a few years.
Canon has entered the Tank game though and this PIXMA G4511 has a great range of connectivity options, including Wi-Fi, and has a scanner and fax built-in.
It's expensive, but it's economical and was even awarded a Which? Best Buy.
6. Epson EcoTank ET-4750
- Epson EcoTank ET-4750, £319.97 from Amazon – buy here
Printing your favourite pictures from your cameras and phones at home has been an expensive business in the past.
But thanks to this EcoTank from Epson, it's more affordable than ever.
It's got refillable ink tanks rather than cartridges to keep your costs low.
And reviewers have praised the quality of the images they've gotten out of it.
7. Canon i-Sensys MF264dw
- Canon i-SENSYS MF264dw, £378.29 from Amazon – buy here
If you demand a top-quality document printer, this Canon model should fit the bill.
It prints text accurately and quickly (28 sheets per minute) and Canon claims that its toner tank can regularly deliver up to 2500 pages per month.
The i-Sensys will connect to Wi-Fi, it has a scanner built-in and it has an automatic document feeder that allows you to quickly scan and copy multi-page documents.
It's expensive, but it's got low running costs and will get the job done.
Enjoyed our round-up of the best printers for the home? At Sun Selects we're all about recommending the top tech products.
We've also picked out the best cheap printers on the market.
And if you're in the market for a new broadband subscription or some anti-virus software for your PC, we've got you covered.
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