In comparison to other options, a great all-in-one (AOI) printer should be able to handle almost, if not all, of your office’s needs. With that said, it should be capable of beyond the basic functions of printing papers, reports, and photographs, as well as copying and scanning. Some even offer the ability to fax documents, making it a multipurpose device for your office and home. But with so many choices in the market, where do you even begin? Finding a model with the proper set of features may be difficult given the variety of print technologies and brands available. So to help you out, I’ve made an easy-to-follow guide on how to buy an all-in-one printer this 2021.
So, whether you need a small and inexpensive device for home use or a more powerful printer that can handle high workloads, my all-in-one printer buyer’s guide is here to assist you in finding one that will properly meet your needs.
All-in-one printers (also known as multifunction printers or AIOs) are a type of printer that performs many tasks in addition to just printing text. Copying, scanning, and even faxing your papers are examples of such functions. Nowadays, you may now pick from a large choice of inkjet and laser-based all-in-one printers from a wide range of printer manufacturers and brands. Given the range of print technologies and brands now available on the market, selecting a model with the perfect mix of characteristics might be a little tough.
To assist you, I’ll go through some of the most important considerations to make when purchasing an all-in-one printer.
What’s The Purpose Of Your All-In-One Printer?
Since their invention, printers have gone a long way. They’re no longer just tools for printing text on paper. The best printers nowadays are all-in-one printers that have several functions such as photocopying, scanning, and sometimes even faxing. However, depending on your particular requirements and how you want to use your printer, the “best printer” may differ from person to person.
For the most part, you’ll want a printer that you can use to its maximum potential. The last thing you want is to purchase a printer that has features and functions you’re not going to be using. All-in-one printers aren’t cheap devices, after all. As a result, it’s important that you remember what you’d like your printer to do for you. To start, try asking yourself these questions:
Are you primarily looking for a basic printer to print text on a piece of paper for you? Or are you looking for a printer that can copy and scan high-resolution photos and documents as well? How about printing capacity? Do you require a printer that can handle huge workloads or will you only be printing a few documents? Is faxing a must-have feature or an afterthought?
Once you have the answers to these questions then your choices for AIOs will surely narrow down and picking one will be a touch easier. Apart from that, printers are reliant on the products you intend to print. You must also consider the text, images, photographs, labels, and whether you will print in color or black and white.
All-in-one printers may also be divided into categories based on their intended application. Will it just be for personal use? For your workplace? Or perhaps both? Regardless of its intended use, below are some features I highlighted that are focused on particular tasks.
You’ll most likely be worried about photo quality if you’re looking for an all-in-one printer for home use. As a result, an inkjet printer is your best bet. If you want to print photographs from practically any source, including cellphones, USB keys, memory cards, cameras, slides, film strips, and even original photographic prints, you’ll need a photo-lab all-in-one printer.
On the other hand, if you want to use an all-in-one printer for both your office or schoolwork, you’ll probably be more concerned with its text printing skills than with its photo printing capabilities. You will, however, require a laser or laser-class printer for this. The difference between these two categories is that the latter contains LED printers and, on rare occasions, inkjet printers.
Aside from that, you’ll want it to be fax-capable and feature an automatic document feeder (ADF) for scanning, copying, faxing, and emailing multipage documents. Certain all-in-one printers employ inkjets to create high photo-quality prints while also adding features like an ADF and a fax modem to meet your home office printing needs.
Although the capabilities of the two most prevalent technologies used in printers, laser and inkjet, are continuously overlapping, there are still significant differences between the two.
Inkjet printers – dye or pigment-based ink is used in inkjet printers. They’re an excellent choice for customers that need high-quality graphics and print a lot of them. Home users, as well as home, school, and small offices that print image-heavy documents, choose inkjet printers.
Laser printers – toner is used in laser printers to print text and graphics. They’re typically larger than inkjet printers and print at a faster rate. Due to its business-focused features, such as optional trays for greater capacity, huge replacement supply yields, and superior security features, laser printers are frequently chosen by larger enterprises and busy offices with high print volumes.
To put it simply, laser printers produce better-quality text than inkjet printers. Inkjet printers, on the other hand, tend to always produce better-quality images than laser printers can. It’s important to remember, however, that both technologies have evolved greatly in recent years. You may even discover that certain printers can easily meet or surpass your expectations.
When buying a printer for your house, you shouldn’t overlook how the printer connects to a computer or other devices to print papers and photos. Despite the fact that many printers on the market may connect to a wired or wireless network for easy sharing, most manufacturers prefer to have their printers connect directly to a single device. Knowing the advantages of each printer type, on the other hand, will greatly help you in making the best purchasing decision possible.
Wired Printers
Most printers still use a USB to connect directly to a computer, allowing the printer and computer to communicate at high rates. These wired printers are often easy to set up, and your PC’s operating system may be able to immediately detect and install drivers to get you started. A network may also be used to share a connected printer, allowing other users to send print jobs to it. Other users, on the other hand, will lose their connection if the printer’s PC goes down.
Wireless Printers
Unlike wired printers, wireless printers are commonly connected by Wi-Fi.
In addition to the regular network setup, you must provide your Wi-Fi password to allow the device to view and join the network. Because connecting an 802.11b device to a faster 802.11g network may cause data flow to be hindered, you must also find out whether the network type and printer capabilities are compatible.
Furthermore, a wireless printer will necessitate the installation of driver software on each computer that will have access to the printer.
Network Printers
If you want to provide many individuals instant access to your printer, you’ll need one that connects directly to your network. A connected network printer connects to a router instead of a PC and uses an Ethernet cable rather than a USB connection.
These printers, on the other hand, take longer to set up since you must enter your network credentials into the device to have access to the system. In addition, connecting a network printer requires the installation of software on each computer before it can print to the new device.
Which One Should You Choose?
At the end of the day, you are the only one who can decide which printer type is ideal for you. All you have to do now is make sure you buy the one that will meet and fulfill your needs.
Wired printers are typically the cheapest and easiest to set up for people who do not have a lot of knowledge when it comes to technical stuff. Meanwhile, network printers are a far better alternative for houses with a large number of family members or several users that need to share the same device.
Wireless printers, on the other hand, are always the best alternative when it comes to personal preferences. They combine the benefits of a wired network printer with the flexibility of being able to deploy the device anywhere as long as it finds a strong Wi-Fi signal, giving you the most ideal configuration possibilities.
Conclusion
Overall, whether you’re looking for a home or office all-in-one printer, I hope our buyer’s guide on how to buy an all-in-one printer was able to help you out in finding the most suitable model for you.
Do you already own an all-in-one printer for your home use? Did your favorite unit make it into our list? Was our article helpful? Let me know in the comments section below if you have any questions, suggestions, or insights to share. I would love to hear all your thoughts!
The Canon Pixma G6020 MegaTank is an excellent all-in-one printer that can handle a wide range of tasks. It has a supertank ink system that produces an astounding number of pages while having a pretty inexpensive refill ink, making printing in bulk very affordable. It’s also made for printing and copying in mid-volume for a family’s home office.
The G6020 comes with enough ink to print thousands of pages, much like the other entry-level all-in-one printers in the same range. However, many inexpensive bulk-ink printers demand you to compromise your productivity and other convenience features in order to achieve their low operating costs. This is not the case at all with the G6020.
Although it lacks an automated document feeder (ADF) for scanning and copying multipage documents, its large paper input trays, strong networking choices, and other useful features more than make up for it to be a good all-in-one printer for your home.
If you’d like to find out more, just keep scrolling to read our review below.
The most obvious reason to favor the Canon Pixma G6020 MegaTank is the use of refillable ink tanks, which enable significant ink savings and dramatically low print prices, thanks in part to the thousands of pages worth of ink that come free with the printer. However, the G6020 provides much more than just low-cost printing.
The compact form is suitable for use in any home office, but don’t let its size fool you. The G6020 also offers a plethora of handy features that will surely benefit any home. To be more specific, you get twin paper trays with a total capacity of 350 pages as well as an automatic duplexer for quick two-sided printing. Additionally, due to their built-in scanning and copying, both features give a speedy performance.
Overall, it has all a home office needs (as long as you don’t require faxing). And, despite its affordable price, it can handle far bigger workloads than the average low-cost inkjet in the market.
The maximum monthly duty cycle for the G6020 is 5,000 pages, however, Canon hasn’t officially provided a suggested monthly volume. With that in mind, I don’t think this implies you can print 5,000 pages every month on this small printer without it wearing out. As a safe recommendation, I would suggest not going over 3,000 pages per month.
Furthermore, the G6020 allows voice-activated instructions to do things like monitoring ink levels, reviewing alerts and other notifications, and printing hands-free via Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant smart home devices, just like many inkjets from Epson and HP nowadays. You can also utilize Siri from Apple, Cortana from Microsoft, or other voice-activated services that are readily available.
Features & Specifications
Brand: Canon
Dimensions: 15.9 x 14.6 x 7.7 inches
Weight: 1 lb.
Technology: Inkjet
Printing Speed: 13.0 ipm (black), 6.8 ipm (color)
Paper Sizes: 3.5” x 3.5”, 4” x 4”, 4” x 6”, 5” x 5”, 5” x 7”, 7” x 10”, 8” x 10”, Letter, Legal, U.S.#10 Envelopes
The G6020 features a tiny body that makes it ideal for use in any home office. The model weighs 17.8 pounds and is measured 15.9 x 14.6 x 7.7 inches. For a model with ink tanks, this is rather compact compared to other similar printers. It has a duplexer for printing two-sided documents, but it lacks an automated document feeder (ADF) for multi-page copying and scanning.
When it comes to the overall design, the G6020 is definitely pleasing to the eyes and has fantastic build quality. Despite being entirely made of plastic, the printer feels solid and well-made. The scanner’s lid can stay open without assistance, preventing it from dropping while the ink tanks are being refilled. It can also stretch to handle thicker papers or volumes.
So you don’t have to manually open the tray and perhaps stop an ongoing print job, the front input tray contains a tiny window where you can view how much paper is left. It’s also worth noting that the printheads are completely replaceable, which makes it a lot easier to repair them if they ever get damaged or clogged.
The control panel also features a few physical buttons for choosing operations and browsing settings menus. For example, there are specific buttons for copying/scanning in black-and-white and color. Additionally, a tiny monochrome LCD sits in the center of the display. Owing to the absence of illumination on the two-line display, it might be a bit difficult to read in dimly lit settings.
Print Speed
The G6020 has a monochrome print speed of 13 pages per minute (ppm), which is 4.3ppm quicker than earlier MegaTank models but slower than most competitors in the same league.
To be more specific, the G6020 produced a five-page monochrome document in 33.5 seconds, or 9 pages per minute, which is just a little below the average. Keep in mind, the category average is 9.1 pages per minute. Furthermore, the G6020 produced a six-page document with a mixture of text and color images in 2 minutes, 46 seconds, or 2.2 pages per minute, which was slower than the industry average of 2.6 pages per minute.
In terms of print speed, depending on what you’re using the printer for, this can be a deal-breaker or it won’t be an issue at all. Like many entry-level printers, you can’t really expect the G6020 to have outstanding printing speeds, but it’s definitely decent enough for any casual user.
So if you’re only going to be using this as a home printer, then the slightly sluggish print speed shouldn’t bother you at all. Not to mention, despite its below-average print speed, what you can count on with the G6020 is its excellent printing quality.
Print Quality
The Canon Pixma G6020 MegaTank, like most of Canon’s previous Pixmas models, produces high-quality prints with well-shaped, readable text at all point sizes along with highly detailed, bright, and properly colored pictures.
The G6020 produced color graphics with a high level of fine detail, appealing textures, and vibrant, natural-looking hues. However, there was some very minor banding, but you’d have to hunt for these problems on purpose to really notice them. Color images printed on both sides were also equally amazing.
Overall, I have no issues with the print quality of the G6020, and I have no reservations about utilizing this printer in a more professional setting that requires marketing materials to create a strong first impression.
Ink Costs
The G6020’s use of refillable ink tanks results in exceptionally reduced ink prices, with text pages costing only 0.2 cents and color pages costing only 0.8 cents.
The G6020 comes with three bottles of black ink (enough to print up to 18,000 monochrome pages) and one set of color bottles (enough to produce roughly 7,700 color pages when paired with black ink).
Both monochrome and color printing are amazing deals, depending on what you print.
Despite the fact that you’ll pay two to four times more for the printer than you would for a comparable non-bulk-ink device without the supertank ink system, the refillable ink tanks on the G6020 will save you a lot of money in the long run.
In A Nutshell
Now that we have discussed the things we liked and disliked about the Canon Pixma G6020 MegaTank, here’s a narrowed-down list of the good and the bad with this particular all-in-one printer.
Pros
Ink tanks and refills are supplied, resulting in extremely reduced ink expenses.
Two paper trays and a duplexer are included.
Speedy scanning and copying.
Cons
Lacks an automated document feeder.
No faxing capabilities.
Our Final Verdict
The Canon Pixma G6020 MegaTank is an excellent home all-in-one printer. It features a terrific ink tank system that can produce a large number of black and color pages while keeping the ink bottles inexpensive, making it highly cost-effective in the long term. Its printing quality is just as good, but print speeds are a little slower than average. Because there is no automated document feeder on the built-in scanner, scanning multi-page documents can take a while too. But despite that, the G6020’s inexpensive entry-level price, low ink expenses, and top-notch print, copy, and scan quality, this all-in-one inkjet printer provides a lot of value.
Do you already own an all-in-one printer for your home use? Did you get the Canon Pixma G6020 MegaTank? Was our review helpful? Let me know in the comments section below if you have any questions, suggestions, or insights to share. I would love to hear all your thoughts!
Epson‘s WorkForce Pro product range caters to small workgroups and office settings, but they’re also terrific printers for home use. This particular lineup offers a diverse range of printers, including the Epson WorkForce Pro WF-3820, which we’ll be reviewing for today. This all-in-one printer is here for all of your printing needs. A compact device with a comprehensive range of capabilities that goes beyond printing to increase and maximize productivity.
With that being said, let’s dive in further and see what the fuss is all about. If you’d like to find out more and see if this all-in-one printer is worth the try, just keep scrolling to read our review below.
The Epson WorkForce Pro WF-3820 is one of the best all-in-one wireless printers you can acquire for your home office or your small business if you’re on a budget. This is a low-cost printer that supports Wi-Fi Direct, Wi-Fi via a router, Apple AirPrint, and Mopria Print Service. So you have a lot of options when it comes to networking.
Furthermore, this printer has an Ethernet interface and can print directly from USB flash drives. It’s well-built and strong for the price, and the cartridges and any potential paper jams are simple to remove and rectify. Among the scanning features of the Epson WorkForce Pro WF-3820 are a flatbed scanner, an automated document feeder, and built-in fax.
Three color cartridges are provided, and the total color document production is fairly decent. As a result, you just need to replace the color that has gone out, saving you money in the long run. This model prints photos at a respectable speed, with good quality and highly accurate colors. Monochrome sheets and documents, on the other hand, print almost instantly.
On the other side, its automated document feeder does not support duplex scanning. This makes processing long, double-sided sheets challenging for the machine. It also has low black page yields, which means you’ll have to replace the cartridge frequently if you’re printing monochrome pages in bulk. Apart from those little issues, this is a terrific all-in-one printer that you should really consider if you’re on a budget.
What We Love About The Epson WorkForce Pro WF-3820
Design & Build
At first glance, the WF-3820 definitely shares a similar look with the rest of its siblings in the WorkForce line. This isn’t a bad thing at all. In fact, the overall design of the WF-3820 is a pleasant addition to any workstation. It not only features a rounded edge for a sleek appearance, but it also has a matte black finish that gives the printer a very premium and high-end appeal.
But the thing I like best about this printer is that it isn’t your usual chunky and bulky business printer. The WF-3820 is a pretty compact printer that fits easily into any small office or household, measuring only 16.7 inches by 14.9 inches by 9.8 inches. Not to mention, this equipment is rather easy to move, weighing only 19.4 pounds. Moving this from different areas of your office won’t be too much of a hassle.
Furthermore, the WF-3820, like the other printers in the same lineup, has a built-in ADF on top as well as a flatbed for scanning multipage documents. The ADF on the WF-3820 can hold up to 35 pages and is manual-duplexing. To scan the opposite sides, you’ll have to flip a stack of two-sided sheets.
It also incorporates a 2.7-inch color LCD touchscreen on the front panel for simpler control and printing preparation. You can view the display from a variety of angles thanks to the tilted panel.
The WF-3820 also has one 250-sheet drawer that may alternatively be configured to handle 50 sheets of premium picture paper or ten #10 envelopes in terms of paper handling and capacity. With a suggested monthly print and copy volume of 1,300 pages, it has a maximum monthly duty cycle of 26,000 pages.
Terrific Functionality
The WF-3820 is a wireless all-in-one printer that comes with a full suite of features, including printing, copying, scanning, and faxing. It delivers reliable performance for each function which can significantly contribute to your productivity.
Apart from that, it also introduces a new level of printing experience with its PrecisionCore Heat-Free technology. With a maximum print quality of 4800 x 2400 dpi, this equipment is capable of handling any document you throw at it. The automated duplexer also allows you to print two-sided documents without the need for user interaction.
Additionally, the WF-3820 also has a scanner, allowing you to store crucial documents in digital form on your computer or in the cloud. A flatbed or ADF scanner with a stable optical resolution of 1200 dpi can be used. This scanner can scan documents up to 8.5 inches by 11.7 inches and save them in the most common formats including PDF, JPG, and PNG.
If that’s not enough, the WF-3820 also works well as a fax machine, at a speed of 33.6 Kbps. This feature allows you to send and receive both mono and color faxes.
Decent Printing Speed
The Epson WF-3820 produces monochrome pages at 21 pages per minute (ppm) and color prints at 11 pages per minute (ppm), which is faster than your typical low-end business all-in-one printer. Personally, I don’t think this is the fastest printer on the market, but I would admit that it is fairly quick when compared to other inkjets in its class. If you’re going to be using this for casual printing or mainly for home use, then the printing speed should be more than enough to satisfy you.
High Quality Prints
When it comes to printing quality, the WF-3820 provides professional output quality. For each document, including text-heavy contracts, graphics-heavy reports, and even marketing pictures, this printer delivers terrific print outputs for its price. It produces very readable and well-shaped characters while working with text. Surprisingly, this inkjet printer could generate crisp and deep black color comparable to laser printers.
The WF-3820 also performs admirably in terms of charts and graphics. It performed well for tiny lines with no visible strokes, resulting in a smooth printout of Excel drawings and charts. Smooth color dispersion adds value to this entry-level commercial printer in a test with fills and gradients. Despite the fact that it is not a picture printer, the WF-3820’s photo printing capabilities are more than enough for the average user. Across some of the more complicated gradient fills and dark backgrounds, it creates vibrant colors with little to no banding.
Our Least Favorite Things
High Running Costs
Black pages cost roughly 3.6 cents each page and color pages cost about 11.7 cents each when you buy Epson’s highest-yield ink cartridges for this all-in-one printer. These figures aren’t out of the ordinary for business-oriented printers in this price bracket, but if you’re printing in large quantities, they’ll rapidly add up.
Before being enticed by a low purchase price, make sure you examine the printer’s lifetime cost of use. You have a variety of alternatives for lower-cost printing now that a number of bulk-ink printers are available. Certain printers may even initially cost more than the WF-3820, but depending on how much you print, you might save hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars over the printer’s lifetime.
In A Nutshell
Now that we have discussed what we liked and disliked about the Epson WorkForce Pro WF-3820, here’s a narrowed-down list of the good and the bad with this particular all-in-one printer.
Pros
Overall design and build quality is excellent.
Impressive color accuracy for photo printing.
Lots of scanning features.
Generous connectivity options for you to choose from.
Cons
High running costs.
Yield for black pages is quite mediocre.
Our Final Verdict
To sum it all up, the Epson Workforce Pro WF-3820 is quite a game-changer. It combines ease and dependability with professional output quality without breaking the bank. Thanks to Epson’s sophisticated print technology, simple setup, and consistent print speed, all your printing concerns will be put to rest as this all-in-one printer will surely do everything for you without the frills and fuss.
Do you already own an all-in-one printer for your home or your office? Which one did you get? Was our review of the WF-3820 helpful? Let me know in the comments section below if you have any questions, suggestions, or insights to share. I would love to hear all your thoughts!
For those of you who either work or study from home, the best all-in-one printer for home use this 2021 is a huge must-have for your personal workspace. If you already don’t have one, then this is the perfect time to invest in one. It’s not only a necessity but also more cost-effective to have a printer that can handle all of your printing and scanning needs.
The best all-in-one printer, in comparison to other alternatives, should be able to do almost, if not all, your office demands. As such, it should be able to perform anything from printing papers to faxing documents, reports, images, as well as copying and scanning, making it a versatile tool for your workstation.
With that being said, the best all-in-one printers are more than capable of fulfilling your expectations. But with so many options in the market, how do you know which one is for you? To make things easier, we rounded up our top recommendations below for you.
So whether you require a tiny and economical device for home usage or a more powerful printer that can manage greater workloads, our list of the best all-in-one printer for home use this 2021 is here to help you in finding one that will best suit your needs perfectly.
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What Are All-In-One Printers?
All-in-one printers (also known as multifunction printers) are a type of printer that has a variety of functions in addition to printing. Such functions can include copying, scanning, and even faxing your documents. Nowadays, printer manufacturers provide a wide range of inkjet and laser-based all-in-one printers for you to choose from. So finding a model with the proper set of features can be difficult given the variety of print technologies and brands available in the market right now.
To help you, let me go over some of the most important things to keep in mind before you go shopping for an all-in-one printer.
Purpose Of Your All-In-One Printer
Printers have come a long way since their inception. They’re no longer just tools that can simply print text on paper. Nowadays, the best printers are all-in-one printers that offer a number of functionalities such as photocopying, scanning, and sometimes, even faxing. However, the “best printer” might vary from person to person based on your personal criteria and how you intend to use your printer.
For most of you, you’ll surely want a printer that you can utilize to its full capacity without wasting the money you spent on it. After all, all-in-one printers don’t come cheap. As a result, it’s important that you keep in mind what you want your printer to perform for you.
Are you primarily interested in having it print text on a sheet of paper for you? Or do you also want a printer that can copy and scan high-quality photographs and documents? What about printing capacity? Do you need a robust printer that can print out heavy workloads or will you just be printing light loads of documents? Is faxing capabilities important or not a priority? The list goes on and on.
Aside from that, printers are also dependent on the items you plan to print. Text, graphics, pictures, labels, and whether you’ll be printing in color or black & white are all options you need to consider as well.
Is Your Printer For Only For Home Use Or More?
All-in-one printers can also be classified according to your intended use. Will it just be for home use? For your office? Or both? We’ll be mainly focusing on all-in-one printers for home usage in this article, but if you’re also intending to use your printer for a home office or your remote studying needs, I’ll also be discussing below some features you can consider for these certain tasks.
If you’re searching for an all-in-one printer specifically for home usage, you’ll most likely be concerned about photo quality. This means an inkjet-based printer is your best option. You’ll also need a photo-lab all-in-one printer if you’re interested in printing images from nearly any source, including smartphones, USB keys, memory cards, cameras, slides, film strips, and even original photographic prints.
On the other hand, if you plan to utilize an all-in-one printer for your home office or school works as well, you’ll probably be more concerned with its text printing capabilities than with photographs. That said, you’re going to need a laser or laser-class printer for this. The distinction between these two types is that the latter category includes LED printers and sometimes, even inkjets.
Apart from that, you’ll also certainly want it to have faxing capabilities as well as an automated document feeder (ADF) for scanning, copying, faxing, and emailing multipage documents. Certain all-in-one printers offer models that use inkjets in order to produce good photo quality prints while also including amenities like ADF and a fax modem to cater to your home office printing demands.
Inkjet Or Laser Printers?
Although the capabilities of the two most prevalent technologies used in printers: laser and inkjet, are continuously overlapping, there are still significant differences between the two.
Inkjet printers – dye or pigment-based ink is used in inkjet printers. They’re an excellent choice for customers that need high-quality graphics and print a lot of them. Home users, as well as home, school, and small offices that print image-heavy documents, choose inkjet printers.
Laser printers – toner is used in laser printers to print text and graphics. They’re typically larger than inkjet printers and print at a faster rate. Due to its business-focused features, such as optional trays for greater capacity, huge replacement supply yields, and superior security features, laser printers are frequently chosen by larger enterprises and busy offices with high print volumes.
To put it simply, laser printers produce better-quality text than inkjet printers. Inkjet printers, on the other hand, tend to always produce better-quality images than laser printers can. It’s important to remember, however, that both technologies have evolved greatly in recent years, and you may discover that certain printers meet or surpass your expectations.
Wired Vs. Wireless Printers
One of the factors to consider when purchasing a printer for your home is how the printer connects to a computer or any other device to print out documents or photos. Although many printers on the market provide the ability to connect to a wired or wireless network for convenient sharing, most manufacturers tend to make their printers employ a direct connection to a single device. With that said, knowing the benefits of each printer type can significantly help you in making the best purchasing decision possible.
Wired Printers
Most wired printers connect directly to a computer through USB, allowing the printer and computer to interact at fast data transmission speeds. These printers are often simple to set up, and your PC’s operating system may be able to identify and install drivers for you automatically to get you started. A wired printer may also be shared via a network, allowing other users to send print jobs to the device. However, other users will lose their connection if the PC linked to the printer goes down.
Wireless Printers
Unlike wired printers, Wi-Fi is usually used to connect a wireless printer. To allow the device to view and connect to the network, you must input your Wi-Fi password in addition to the standard network setup. You must also ensure that the network type and printer capabilities are compatible since connecting an 802.11b device to a faster 802.11g network might cause data flow to be slowed. In addition, a wireless printer will require driver software to be installed on every computer that will have access to the printer.
Network Printers
You’ll need a printer that connects directly to your network if you want to provide many people instant access to it. A connected network printer connects directly to a router rather than a PC and utilizes an Ethernet cable instead of a USB connection. However, because you must enter your network credentials into the device to enable access to the system, these printers take longer to set up. Furthermore, connecting a network printer necessitates the installation of software on each computer prior to it being able to print to the new device.
Which One Should You Choose?
At the end of the day, only you can decide which printer type will suit you best. You only need to make sure that you’re getting the one that will meet and satisfy your requirements.
For folks who do not have much knowledge about the technical stuff, wired printers are frequently the cheapest and easiest to set up. Meanwhile, for homes that have a lot of family members or with several users that need to share the same device, network printers are a much better option.
But when it comes to personal preferences, wireless printers are always the best option for me. They combine the advantages of a wired network printer with the flexibility of being able to deploy the device anywhere as long as it detects a strong Wi-Fi signal, offering you the most options when it comes to setting up your gadgets.
Our Top Recommendations
1. Epson EcoTank Pro ET-5850
Overview
The Epson EcoTank Pro ET-5850 combines cheap ink costs with a slew of business-friendly features that makes it worthy of claiming the top spot on our list here. Undoubtedly, this is one of the best all-in-one inkjet printers we’ve seen for home use, and it also works great for a small business or your home office.
The refillable ink tanks of the EcoTank design come with enough extra ink bottles to print thousands of pages. It’s a small business printer capable of printing over 3,000 pages each month, so it can certainly handle everything you throw at it.
Furthermore, the EcoTank Pro ET-5850 printer has scan, copy, and fax capabilities, as well as twin 250-page paper cassettes, a 50-sheet automated document feeder, and a big, easy-to-operate 4.3-inch touchscreen.
Not to mention, the ET-5850 provided some of the quickest printing we’ve seen, as well as crisp, clear text that rivaled that of a laser printer. Copying and scanning also showed the same speedy, high-quality performance, making this the ideal all-in-one printer for home offices in need of a full-featured multifunction printer.
The true allure, though, is the ink savings, with per-page prices as low as 0.4 cents for text pages and 1.6 cents for color pages. Although the initial cost is a little high, the mix of quality, features, and cheap running costs makes this one of the greatest investments you can make for your home and office.
2. Epson Workforce Pro WF-3820 Wireless Inkjet All-in-One Color Printer
Overview
If you’re on a tight budget, the Epson WorkForce Pro WF-3820 is one of the best all-in-one wireless printers you can get for your house. The Epson WorkForce Pro WF-3820 is a low-cost printer that supports Wi-Fi Direct and Wi-Fi via a router, as well as Apple AirPrint and Mopria Print Service. So, when it comes to networking, you’ve got a lot of possibilities.
Aside from that, this printer also includes an Ethernet port and can print straight from USB flash drives. For the price, it’s really well-built and sturdy, and the cartridges and any possible paper jams are simple to remove and correct. The Epson WorkForce Pro WF-3820 also has a flatbed scanner, an automatic document feeder, and built-in fax among its scanning functions.
The overall color document yield is decent, and three color cartridges are included. As a result, all you have to do is replace the color that has run out, which will save you money in the long run. In terms of printing speed, this model produces photographs at a reasonable rate, with acceptable quality and very accurate colors. Monochrome pages and documents, on the other hand, print quickly as you might expect.
Its automatic document feeder, on the other hand, does not offer duplex scanning. This makes it difficult for the unit to process long, double-sided papers. It also has low black page yields, which means that if you’ll be printing monochrome pages in quantity, you’ll have to replace the cartridge regularly. Apart from those little flaws, if you’re on a budget, this is a fantastic all-in-one printer that you should really consider.
The HP OfficeJet Pro 8035e (also known as the OfficeJet Pro 8025 in the UK) seems fashionable and small enough to fit easily on a desk in your home office without taking up too much room, thanks to its colorful accents of either coral, teal, or gray. For excellent wireless connectivity, it also has built-in self-healing Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi Direct, and Bluetooth. This eliminates the hassle of connecting your mobile devices for cloud printing using AirPrint or Google Cloud Print.
Not to mention, because it uses Alexa voice commands, you can easily talk to your printer to make it operate and come alive. Overall, this competent all-in-one printer has a lot to offer, including fast printing speeds, a large paper capacity, and user-friendly touchscreen controls.
The Brother MFC-J995DW is an all-in-one inkjet printer that can handle practically any task you throw at it. This printer features a flatbed scanner with high resolution and color depth, as well as a sheetfed scanner that can automatically handle multi-page documents. It supports Apple AirPrint for mobile printing, as well as Ethernet, USB cable, and Wi-Fi printing.
It has a great design that makes accessing the ink cartridges from the front straightforward, and it appears to be well-made overall. Because of its excellent INKvestment Tank Ink System, which produces a huge number of printed pages, you should not need to replace the cartridges very frequently, cutting the cost-per-print.
Despite the fact that the photographs have some little banding, they look to be detailed and of great quality. The two input trays can handle a variety of paper sizes, with the rear feeder working best for smaller picture paper.
You should be aware, however, that while the first page prints quickly, the printing performance for subsequent pages does not increase at all. In addition, the color accuracy is merely passable. This color quality should be sufficient for most casual printing, but it is not recommended if accurate color reproduction is necessary.
It’s also worth noting that the Brother MFC-J995DW does not allow Bluetooth printing. Regardless, this is a terrific multi-functional printer that is ideal for home use.
If you’re seeking a better photo printer for your house, the Canon PIXMA TR8620 is an all-in-one printer worth looking into. It has a lower page yield and cost per print than the Brother MFC-J995DW, as well as a slower printing speed, but it produces far better-looking pictures and supports printing over Bluetooth.
While the Brother MFC-J995DW reproduces colors more precisely, the difference between these two printers is minor, and you may not notice it if you’re only using this printer on a very casual basis. This machine produces photos with high-quality resolution and vibrant colors that are free of banding. In addition, the Canon PIXMA TR8620 supports Apple AirPrint, Mopria Print Service, and Wi-Fi Direct, to name a few networking options.
Features & Specifications
Brand: Canon
Product Dimensions: 13.8 x 17.3 x 7.5 inches
Product Weight: 17.4 pounds
Technology: Inkjet
Printing Speed: 15 ppm
Paper Sizes: Up to 8.5 x 11 inches.
Paper Capacity: 100 sheets.
Color: Black.
Extra Special Features: 4.3″ LCD touchscreen, 20 Sheet Auto Document Feeder, Canon PRINT app, and Auto 2-Sided Printing.
Pros
Excellent photo printing quality.
Has Bluetooth connectivity and a number of other connectivity options.
Cons
Slow printing speed.
Lower page capacity.
Rating: 9 out of 10.
Where Can I Buy The Canon PIXMA TR8620 All-In-One Printer?
6. Canon Color imageCLASS MF743CDW All-in-One Wireless Printer
Overview
If you’ve had enough inkjet printers on this list, the following printer may be a nice surprise. If you’ve been looking for a laser printer to put in your house, the Canon imageCLASS MF743Cdw is a good option.
Although its cost-per-print is greater than that of other of the printers on our list, the printer itself is less expensive while still enabling you to use laser printing technology. It produces color documents in a fraction of the time and with far more accurate colors. Furthermore, because the drum unit is built into the new cartridges, you won’t have to buy it separately when replacing the toner.
Overall, the Canon imageCLASS MF743Cdw is an excellent all-in-one printer for small home offices. It includes a flatbed scanner that can handle huge manuals or vast amounts of paper, as well as an automated document feeder that scans in both ways. While toner cartridges are more expensive, they have incredibly high yields, meaning they won’t need to be replaced as often, saving you money.
Not to mention, the Canon imageCLASS MF743Cdw is fairly easy to connect to because it’s supported by a wide range of connecting methods for you to choose from.
Features & Specifications
Brand: Canon
Product Dimensions: 18.8 x 18.8 x 18.4 inches
Product Weight: 64 lbs.
Technology: Laser
Printing Speed: Up to 28 ppm (black)
Paper Sizes: Up to 8.5 x 14 inches
Paper Capacity: 50 sheets
Color: White
Extra Special Features: Works with Alexa, 5″ intuitive color touchscreen with smartphone-like usability.
Pros
Many connectivity options to choose from.
Supports Alexa voice commands.
Great high quality build and design.
Relatively low costs per print with monochrome pages.
Offers high-yielding cartridges.
Cons
Printing speed could be better for black and white pages.
Bulky.
Rating: 8.5 out of 10.
Where Can I Buy The Canon Color imageCLASS MF743CDW All-in-One Wireless Printer?
The use of refillable ink tanks, which provide substantial ink savings and radically cheap print costs, owing in part to the thousands of pages worth of ink that come included with the printer, is the most apparent reason to prefer the Canon Pixma G6020 MegaTank. But the G6020 offers so much more than just low-cost printing.
The small body is ideal for use in a home office, but it’s not short on features, including twin paper trays with a total capacity of 350 pages and an automatic duplexer for easy two-sided printing. Both provide quick performance, thanks to their built-in scanning and copying.
All in all, it has everything a home office needs (as long as you don’t need to fax). And, despite its low price, it can manage significantly larger workloads than the ordinary inexpensive inkjet, with a suggested monthly duty cycle of up to 3,300 pages.
When looking for a new printer, there are a few things to keep in mind. Obviously, you want a printer that is capable of producing high-quality results. However, we wanted to provide the best all-in-one printers for you on this list so that choosing a new printer would be less stressful for you. As a result, we researched a wide range of all-in-one printers that can do a little bit of everything well.
In our search, we chose these specific models as there were the ones that would operate best in a family home as well as in your home office. Hopefully, you’ll be able to find what you’re looking for here.
Do you already own an all-in-one printer for your home use? Did your favorite unit make it into our list? Was our article helpful? Let me know in the comments section below if you have any questions, suggestions, or insights to share. I would love to hear all your thoughts!
Choosing the best printer for your home can sometimes be a task more difficult than you might expect. There are a variety of printing methods to choose from, each with its own set of advantages and disadvantages. On top of that, printers also come in a variety of sizes and builts, ranging from space-friendly devices to bulky machines. So to help you out, here’s a quick guide on how to buy a printer for your home this 2021.
As I have just previously mentioned, printers come in a wide range of types, uses, as well as the technology used to produce such pages. Gone are the days when printers were merely used for printing. Nowadays, printers can also copy, scan, and fax among other things.
One of the best advancements made in this modern era is the invention of wireless connectivity with our printers. What a relief to be free from those pesky cords, right? Now you have an array of connectivity options to choose from to make printing even more convenient and easy for you.
However, finding the right kind of printer for you will solely depend on your criteria, requirements, and preferences. What you think might be a good printer might not do the job for some. So in order to do know which printer works best for you, you must first answer this question: what’s the main purpose of your printer?
At the end of the day, I’m sure that the majority of you undoubtedly want a machine that you can use to its full potential without squandering your investment. After all, printers don’t come cheap, and buying the wrong one might cost you more than you’d expect.
As a result, it’s critical that you remember what you want your printer to do for you. Are you primarily interested in having it print text on a sheet of paper for you? Or do you want a printer that can also print and scan high-quality photos and graphics?
In any case, your options in the market are endless and it’s easy to get lost and confused. But listing down a set of requirements and what you plan on mainly doing with the printer might help narrow down your options.
Know The Different Types Of Printers
The market is filled with several kinds of printers that offer all types of purposes and advanced features to catch your eye. Some are designed specifically for casual use, some are made with photographers in mind, while others are geared towards multitaskers. Furthermore, the numerous resolution and speed requirements can often be confusing as well.
So to clear out things for you, I’ve provided a list below of the most common types of printers you’ll encounter in the market. Hopefully, this gives you an idea of which printer is best suited for you.
Home Printers
Mixing home printers with home office printers is something you should avoid. They may sound similar because both printers are commonly found in homes, but their capabilities are often vastly different. Though if your work isn’t too demanding with printing out documents then perhaps, home printers could also suffice.
Despite the fact that home printers, like home office printers, are essentially inkjet printers, they are primarily geared for low-volume printing. They’re slow and, because of the high cost of ink, they’re usually quite expensive to print with. If you’re on a tight budget, this printer might not be the best option.
It’s also worth noting that home printers don’t print text and images as well as professional printers. Almost all of these home printers, on the other hand, are multifunction or “all-in-one” printers. They can scan, copy, and fax in addition to printing.
Home Office Printers
Inkjet printers designed for low- to mid-volume printing make up the bulk of home-office printers. The majority of them are likely to be multifunction printers, which offer consumers a great lot of flexibility. They can also print text and images on top of photographs.
Home office printers come in a variety of paper capacities, ranging from 100 to 500 sheets (though this is usually seen in higher-end models). The majority of these printers are also appropriate for use in so-called “micro workplaces,” which have fewer than five to ten employees.
Aside from that, many of these home office printers are also acceptable for use in residential settings, particularly if you’re a student who will be printing a large number of documents for school on a regular basis or an employee who’s currently working from home.
Business printers, unlike residential and home office printers, are available in a range of configurations. They can range in size from small single-function printers for low-volume printing to enormous floor-standing units that can handle the printing needs of a whole office department.
The bulk of these corporate printers use laser-type technology for printing, but inkjets are gaining popularity as well. Furthermore, the bulk of corporate printers are multifunction machines. Many people still prefer to print in black and white and prefer to create text and graphics over photos.
The speed and paper capacity of a printer are the most crucial elements for many enterprises and workplaces. The printer’s price is also a factor to consider. However, the lower the per-page printing expenses are, the more expensive the printer is to purchase. So purchasing a higher-end model, may save your company money in the long run when it comes to printing.
The cheapest per-page pricing is found in bulk-ink machines, and ink subscription programs are now readily available to assist the cost of ink and toner.
Additionally, most commercial printers in the market have security features too. These include password-protected printing, and some even have extra special features, such as an encrypted hard drive or an ID card reader, to ensure that your files and documents are adequately safeguarded.
Photo Printers
Photographers, both professional and amateur, are the target market for this type of printer. Although photo printers can print both text and images, their primary purpose is to print high-quality photographs.
Some are wide-format printers with massive frames capable of handling large-format paper, and several can also print from rolls. To provide you with accurate and realistic colors, they need up to a dozen ink cartridges. You can end up paying a lot more per page because of the amount of ink they use and the high-quality paper they use to produce the finest results.
There is also a type of printer known as “small-format photo printers” that might be classified as a dedicated photo printer. This type of specialty printer is made to print just images for their owners. Wallet-size prints to 5 by 7-inch prints are available. Keep in mind, however, that certain models can only print in one size.
The majority of these dedicated printers are also small and light, and they either come with a battery or may be used with one that you must purchase separately.
“Specialty printers” include dedicated and near-dedicated photo printers that can only offer one specific type of printing to its user. Label printers also fall under this category. However, even among specialty printers, 3D printers are a unique case and are beyond the scope of this discussion.
Label printers can print labels on both paper and plastic. Some come with label-making software or apps that may be linked to your computer or smartphone. Others are standalone devices with a small built-in keyboard for designing and printing your own labels. These stand-alone label printer manufacturers usually have a large selection of label colors and types to pick from.
Even if you merely intend to only print photographs or labels, there may be instances when you require more from your printer. So, before you make any hurried decisions, I strongly advise that you first comprehend the full scope of your printing requirements.
Despite the fact that the capabilities of the two most used printing technologies are constantly overlapping, there are still major differences between laser and inkjet printers.
For starters, inkjet printers employ dye or pigment-based ink. They’re a great option for customers who require a lot of high-quality graphics printed. Inkjet printers are preferred by home users, as well as home, school, and small business users who print image-heavy documents.
On the other hand, Laser printers employ toner to print text and graphics. They’re usually bigger than inkjet printers and print more quickly. Due to its business-focused features, such as optional trays for greater capacity, huge replacement supply yields, and superior security features, laser printers are frequently chosen by larger enterprises and busy offices with high print volumes.
Simply put, most laser printers and/or LED printers (which are identical to laser printers but use LEDs as a light source) produce higher-quality text than most inkjet printers. Inkjet printers, on the other hand, virtually always produce better-quality images than laser printers.
It’s important to remember, however, that both technologies have evolved greatly in recent years, and you may discover that certain printers meet or surpass your expectations. Not to add, you might be shocked to find out which is the perfect fit for your requirements.
You don’t have to worry about how much a printer can print if you simply print a few pages every day. If you print frequently enough that the duty cycle is important, it’s best to keep an eye on the specifications of a printer’s monthly duty cycle. Calculate how much you print by keeping track of how often and in what quantities you buy paper. Then choose a printer that can do at least that much printing to play it safe.
When it comes to printing speed, printers usually indicate how many pages per minute (ppm) they can produce. Doesn’t it appear to be fairly simple? Unfortunately, it isn’t that easy. Some manufacturers test utilizing basic text documents at the lowest-quality print settings (draft mode) on plain paper to come up with the fastest possible speeds, which will obviously offer the manufacturers the best possible result.
To really find out if a printer’s claims on its printing speed are true, it’s best to test it out for yourself.
Conclusion
We have finally reached the conclusion of our buyer’s guide on how to buy a printer this 2021. I hope this gave you some helpful insight on which kind of printer you should go for and make a wise purchasing decision.
Did this article help you out? Have you already bought a printer for yourself? Let me know in the comments section below your experiences or if you have any questions or suggestions to share. I would love to hear all your thoughts!
Small offices and home offices alike will appreciate the Brother MFC-J995DW All-in-One Printer, which delivers a nice blend of convenience and productivity advantages. This particular printer provides a lot of versatility in any environment you put it in thanks to its excellent features. If you’d like to learn more about this printer, just keep scrolling to read our review below.
The Brother MFC-J995DW is an all-in-one inkjet printer that can handle practically any task you throw at it. This printer features a flatbed scanner with high resolution and color depth, as well as a sheetfed scanner that can automatically handle multi-page documents. It supports Apple AirPrint for mobile printing, as well as Ethernet, USB cable, and Wi-Fi printing.
While it’s a printer ideal for home offices, this particular model is also versatile enough to be used in plenty of other areas such as smaller offices. Thanks to its impressive INKvestment Tank System, the MFC-J995DW can easily yield larger volumes of paper without a fuss. On top of that, the INKvestment Tank System also allows the cartridges to be replaced less frequently, cutting the cost-per-print.
However, when it comes to photo printing, the results may just be slightly less than ideal. Although the photos printed look to have some little banding, they appear to still be detailed and of decent quality. On the upside, the two input trays can easily handle a variety of paper sizes, with the rear feeder working best for smaller photo paper.
You should be aware, however, that while the first page prints quickly, the printing performance for subsequent pages does not improve at all. In addition, the color accuracy is just passable. This color quality should be sufficient for most casual printing, but it is not recommended if accurate color reproduction is necessary for your line of work.
It’s also worth noting that the Brother MFC-J995DW does not allow Bluetooth printing. I don’t find this minor drawback particularly a major deal-breaker but that depends on who’s using it. Regardless, this is a terrific multi-functional printer that is ideal for both home and small office use.
To be honest, the MFC-J995DW’s overall design is pretty plain and there’s really nothing extraordinary about it. However, the simplicity and straightforwardness of its design make it very user-friendly and easy to understand even for people who are not so knowledgeable about handling complicated printing machines. So this is something I can truly appreciate and commend.
Weighing in at 19.2 pounds with dimensions of 7.7 by 17.1 by 13.4 inches (HWD), the printer’s general construction feels really solid and sturdy. The ink cartridges are easily accessible from the front, and the scanner lid and input tray are quite well-made. But the power wire isn’t removable.
The front control panel is angled upward 45 degrees, making the 2.7-inch color touch screen easier to operate. Most menu selections were easy to navigate using the touchscreen display, while items that required a full keyboard to fit on the screen, such as a Wi-Fi password, made operating it a little more difficult. If you’re going to put the unit on a low table, the panel should be slanted upward 90 degrees.
The USB and ethernet connections are situated inside the printer, underneath the scanner bed, and the cables are routed through grooves to the printer’s back. If you plan on using these ports, the cable routing will reduce the length by roughly one foot, thus you may need longer cords. Wireless, USB, and Ethernet connections are available, as well as near-field communication (NFC) for usage with a mobile device.
Cartridge System
Brother has dropped a new generation of its INKvestment ink-cost savings technology with the MFC-J995DW, which carries more ink per cartridge. The INKvestment Tank System is a cross between a conventional cartridge system and a cartridge/onboard tank setup. When you’re short on cartridges, you still buy and replace them, but the cartridges are now emptied into internal secondary tanks.
The electronics of the cartridge have been shifted to the interior tanks, resulting in a large increase in the capacity of each of the replaceable cartridges, which as Brother claims, up to one year’s worth of ink.
In addition, instead of displaying those terribly inaccurate ink volume indicators, Brother instead has included a gauge in the MFC-J995DW that counts how many pages you’ve printed and estimates how many you have left. The printer also monitors ink levels and alerts you when they’re low, similar to HP’s Instant Ink program, and you can order replacement cartridges straight from the control panel.
Printing Quality
Across the board, the printing quality of the Brother MFC-J995DW was excellent. The text was sharp and dark, though duplex printing produced somewhat lighter text. Colors were decent and beautifully saturated, and graphics were reproduced with a lot of detail. Graphics looked just as good in duplex prints as they did in single-sided prints too.
However, color accuracy could use some improvements and if you’re looking for a printer to use mainly for photo reproduction, this might not be the printer for you.
Printing Speed Is Okay
When you’re in an office setting, quick and fast outputs are key to maximum productivity. Especially if one of your regular daily tasks includes printing out large volumes of documents. While the Brother MFC-J995DW shines in almost any aspect of printing, its printing speed is no exception.
Overall, the printing speed of the MFC-J995DW is adequate, and it is somewhat faster than other models under the same manufacturer. Producing speed varies little between the first and subsequent pages of black and white documents while printing color pages is just as fast as printing black-only documents.
Our Least Favorite Things
Photo Printing Output Is Subpar
The biggest disadvantage I found with the Brother MFC-J995DW Printer is its photo printing output. It’s actually not that bad and it’s decent enough to suffice for casual photo prints that don’t require you to print out with 100% color accuracy, however, it definitely could use some improvements. Scanning photographs also somewhat resulted in muddy outputs that lacked contrast and detail.
In A Nutshell
Now that we have discussed the things we liked and disliked about the Brother MFC-J995DW, here is a narrowed-down list of the good and the bad with this particular printer.
Pros
Perfect for family use and home/small office use.
Excellent printing capacity that can easily handle printing large volumes of documents.
INKvestment Tank Ink system allows you to save money from replacing your ink cartridges too often.
Simple, straightforward design with a sturdy, high-quality build.
Cons
No Bluetooth capabilities.
Photo printing is just okay.
Our Final Verdict
The Brother MFC-J995DW is an all-in-one wireless inkjet printer that’s ideal for both home and small office use. This model includes a number of small office capabilities that allow it to yield large volumes of pages as well as high-capacity ink cartridges at a low cost per page all thanks to its INKvestment Tank System. According to Brother, the INKvestment Tank cartridges included in the package might last up to a year, making it one of the greatest all-in-one printers for low-cost ink we’ve seen in the market.
Do you already own the Brother MFC-J995DW? Or are you still contemplating it and checking out other printers? Let me know in the comments section below if you have insights, questions, or suggestions to share. I would love to hear all your thoughts!
