Deeper Dive: Our Top Tested Picks
Best Value All-in-One Inkjet Printer for Light Duty
Brother MFC-J4335DW
- Duplex printing
- Fast print speed for the price
- Fax function
- Prints from and scans to mobile devices
- Low price plus low cost per page
- ADF does not support duplex scanning
- Text quality is poor at small font sizes and with some stylized fonts
The Brother MFC-J4335DW offers everything you need in a four-function AIO for light-duty use, and it stands out for its combination of performance, price, and running cost. The 150-sheet tray will let you to print up to roughly 600 sheets per month without having to refill it more often than about once a week, while auto duplexing and a bypass tray to feed single sheets add convenience. The combination of a low initial price and low ink cost also means you don’t have to print much before the savings makes the total cost of ownership lower than for most less-expensive printers. Paper handling for scanning is typical for the price, with a flatbed plus a 20-page ADF for simplex (one-sided) scanning at up to legal size. Most important, the MFC-J4335DW delivered snappy speeds on our tests for the price, plus more-than-acceptable output quality for most business and home use.
The small size—just 8.1 by 18.1 by 13.2 inches (HWD)—makes the MFC-J4335DW a particularly good fit in a small or home office where space is tight, or as a personal printer in a larger office. Its one important limitation is that the only way to scan both sides of a page is to scan each side manually, so you’ll need to look elsewhere if you need to scan multi-page, duplex (two-sided) documents very often. But for one-sided scanning, copying, and faxing, as well as low-cost printing at up to 600 pages per month, the MFC-J4335DW is hard to beat.
Type
All-in-one
Color or Monochrome
Color
Printing Technology
Inkjet
Connection Type
USB, Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi Direct
Maximum Standard Paper Size
Legal
Number of Ink Colors
4
Number of Ink Cartridges/Tanks
4
Rated Speed at Default Settings (Color)
19 ppm
Rated Speed at Default Settings (Mono)
20 ppm
Monthly Duty Cycle (Recommended)
250 to 2,000
Monthly Duty Cycle (Maximum)
30,000 pages per month
Printer Input Capacity
150 + 1
Cost Per Page (Monochrome)
0.9 cents
Cost Per Page (Color)
4.7 cents
Scanner Type
Flatbed with 20-page ADF
Maximum Scan Area
Legal
Scanner Optical Resolution
1,200 by 2,400 pixels per inch
Standalone Copier and Fax
Copier, Fax
Learn More
Brother MFC-J4335DW Review
Best Value All-in-One Laser Printer for Light Duty
Brother MFC-L3780CDW
- Prints, scans, copies, and faxes
- Relatively fast
- Competitive toner costs
- Excellent print, copy, and scan quality
- 50-page single-pass auto-duplexing ADF
- Wide range of wireless connection options, including NFC
- Modest 30-sheet multipurpose tray
The Brother MFC-L3780CDW offers excellent output quality with relatively low print costs, making it our top recommendation for a color laser all-in-one printer for home or small offices. It prints, scans, copies, and faxes at a relatively fast speed, and its competitive toner costs mean it could have a lower total cost of ownership than many competitors, depending on how much you print. The image quality of the prints, copies, and scans is excellent. And it has loads of wireless options, including NFC. The main potential drawback is its modest 30-sheet multipurpose tray, which could be limiting if you print often on envelopes, labels, or glossy paper.
Small or home offices that need excellent quality from an all-in-one printer without upending their budgets should put the MFC-L3780CDW at the top of their lists.
Type
All-in-one
Color or Monochrome
Color
Connection Type
Wi-Fi, Ethernet, USB, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi Direct
Maximum Standard Paper Size
Legal
Number of Ink Colors
4
Number of Ink Cartridges/Tanks
4
Rated Speed at Default Settings (Color)
31 ppm
Rated Speed at Default Settings (Mono)
31 ppm
Monthly Duty Cycle (Recommended)
4,000
Monthly Duty Cycle (Maximum)
50,000 pages per month
Printer Input Capacity
250
Cost Per Page (Monochrome)
2.3 cents
Cost Per Page (Color)
12.3 cents
Scanner Type
Flatbed with ADF
Maximum Scan Area
Legal
Scanner Optical Resolution
1,200 by 1,200 pixels per inch
Standalone Copier and Fax
Copier, Fax
Learn More
Brother MFC-L3780CDW Review
Best All-in-One Inkjet Printer for Heavy Duty
Canon Pixma G7020 MegaTank All-in-One
- Solid feature set, software bundle, and paper capacity for a bulk-ink model
- Superb print quality, especially photos
- Auto-duplexing print engine and ADF
- Super-low running costs
- Faster than previous MegaTank models
- Up to 18,000 pages worth of black ink in the box
- Last decade’s control panel
The Pixma G7020 MegaTank All-in-One is pricier than some models that offer similar performance and features but make you buy ink in cartridges instead of bottles. Print enough, however, and the ink cost savings can make it less expensive in the long run. Both color and mono printing is less than a penny a page, and you don’t even pay that much until you run through the ink that comes in the box—enough for 6,000 text pages or 7,700 standard color pages. The G7020 also offers a generous 350-sheet paper capacity, split between a 250-sheet drawer and a 100-sheet rear tray. And for scanning, copying, and faxing, it supplements its letter-size flatbed with an ADF that can handle 35 letter-size or five legal-size sheets. Output quality for text and graphics is suitable for schoolwork and most business use, and photo quality is quite good.
The G7020 is a near-ideal fit for a family that needs a four-function AIO for both home use like schoolwork and photos, and for medium-to-heavy-duty print needs in a home office. If you don’t expect to print enough over the printer’s lifetime to at least break even on the overall cost of ownership compared with an AIO that uses ink cartridges, you’re probably better off with the lower-priced alternative. But even in that case, there’s something to be said for the convenience of not having to constantly worry about replacing cartridges as each one runs dry on a different schedule.
Type
All-in-one
Color or Monochrome
Color
Connection Type
Wireless, Ethernet, USB, PictBridge
Maximum Standard Paper Size
Legal
Number of Ink Colors
4
Number of Ink Cartridges/Tanks
4
Rated Speed at Default Settings (Color)
14 ppm
Rated Speed at Default Settings (Mono)
9 ppm
Monthly Duty Cycle (Recommended)
Not rated
Monthly Duty Cycle (Maximum)
5,000 pages per month
Printer Input Capacity
200
Cost Per Page (Monochrome)
0.3 cents
Cost Per Page (Color)
0.9 cents
Scanner Type
Flatbed with ADF (Standard or Optional)
Maximum Scan Area
Legal
Scanner Optical Resolution
600 by 600 pixels per inch
Standalone Copier and Fax
Copier, Fax
Learn More
Canon Pixma G7020 MegaTank All-in-One Review
Best All-in-One Tank Inkjet Printer for Low Running Cost
Canon Maxify GX4020
- Prints, scans, copies, and faxes
- Low ink cost
- Ample paper capacity for a busy small office
- Automatic duplex printing
- ADF with manual duplex scanning
- Expensive
- Slow compared with cartridge-based competition
If you need a four-function AIO for a small office or home office, it’s easy to find less-expensive ink cartridge-based models with similar speed, output quality, and features as the Canon Maxify GX4020. But for offices that print enough for cost per page to be a major consideration, the savings in initial cost for those printers can be eaten up quickly by ink costs. With the GX4020’s running cost of 0.1 cent per mono page and 0.9 cent per color page, it doesn’t take many pages per month to hit the break-even point. The GX4020 also offers a solid feature set, including 250-sheet front drawer and a 100-sheet tray at the top rear of the printer (which makes it easy to add or switch paper types). Finally, you can count on text and graphics output quality that’s just short of top-tier for business inkjets.
The GX4020 is an excellent choice for small offices and home offices, offering better paper handling than our previous top pick (the Epson WorkForce ST-C4100) at only a slightly slower speed. It’s a sterling pick, especially if you expect to print enough for the running cost to save you money over time on the total ownership cost.
Type
All-in-one
Color or Monochrome
Color
Connection Type
Ethernet, USB, Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi Direct
Maximum Standard Paper Size
Legal
Number of Ink Colors
4
Number of Ink Cartridges/Tanks
4
Rated Speed at Default Settings (Color)
13 ppm
Rated Speed at Default Settings (Mono)
18 ppm
Monthly Duty Cycle (Recommended)
Not rated
Monthly Duty Cycle (Maximum)
33,000 pages per month
Printer Input Capacity
250 + 100 + 1
Cost Per Page (Monochrome)
0.14 cents
Cost Per Page (Color)
0.85 cents
Scanner Type
Flatbed with 35-page ADF
Maximum Scan Area
Legal
Scanner Optical Resolution
1,200 by 1,200 pixels per inch
Standalone Copier and Fax
Copier, Fax
Learn More
Canon Maxify GX4020 Review
Best All-in-One Inkjet Printer (Tabloid)
Brother MFC-J6955DW
- Fast
- Prints and scans on up to tabloid-size paper
- Single-pass duplex scanning
- Three paper trays
- Supports printing and scanning from mobile devices
- Can’t print on or scan supertabloid-size paper
The tabloid-size Brother MFC-J6955DW all-in-one printer is a compelling choice for small offices and workgroups. The MFC-J6955DW offers a solid combination of print speed and paper handling for both printing and scanning at up to tabloid size. Graphics on plain paper delivered vibrant color and smoothly shaded gradients in our tests, while the text quality is good enough for most business purposes. For scanning, the printer offers an automatic document feeder (ADF) that can hold 50 sheets of up to tabloid- or A3-size paper. Even better, it offers single-pass duplex scanning, meaning it can scan both sides of each page at once, for faster copying, scanning, and faxing.
If your micro or small office needs the ability to scan at tabloid size, the MFC-J6955DW is the exact right fit.
Type
All-in-one
Color or Monochrome
Color
Connection Type
USB, Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi Direct, NFC, Ethernet
Maximum Standard Paper Size
Tabloid
Number of Ink Colors
4
Number of Ink Cartridges/Tanks
4
Rated Speed at Default Settings (Color)
30 ppm
Rated Speed at Default Settings (Mono)
30 ppm
Monthly Duty Cycle (Recommended)
Not rated
Monthly Duty Cycle (Maximum)
40,000 pages per month
Printer Input Capacity
250+250+100
Cost Per Page (Monochrome)
1 cent
Cost Per Page (Color)
4.9 cents
Scanner Type
Flatbed with ADF; both Tabloid size
Maximum Scan Area
11″ x 17″
Scanner Optical Resolution
1200×1200 pixels per inch
Standalone Copier and Fax
Copier, Fax
Learn More
Brother MFC-J6955DW Review
Best All-in-One Inkjet Printer for Photos
Epson EcoTank Photo ET-8500 Wireless Color All-in-One Supertank Printer
- Terrific print quality, especially photos
- Significantly low running costs
- Two years’ warranty with registration
- Excellent connectivity options
- High initial purchase price
- Lacks an automatic document feeder
Printing photos at home can quickly get expensive. It’s an issue the Epson EcoTank Photo ET-8500 addresses head-on, slashing costs courtesy of its tank design and low-cost ink. Epson says the ink cost for a borderless 4-by-6-inch photo is 4 cents, roughly one-tenth the cost for an otherwise-equivalent cartridge-based printer. That’s a savings of more than $1 for three photos, or more than $100 for every 300. Over the ET-8500’s lifetime, you can easily save enough to cover the full price of the printer.
The six-color ink system is another key feature, adding Photo Black and gray to the usual cyan, yellow, magenta, and black. The extra inks boost color accuracy and deliver subtle gradations for both color and grayscale photos as large as a borderless 8.5 by 11 inches. Paper capacity in the front trays is suitable for printing more than 80 small-format photos and 400 sheets of plain paper per month while holding paper refills to about once a week. An additional 50-page rear tray makes it easy to add or switch to different papers, and the printer even supports printable CDs. AIO functions beyond printing are limited to copying and scanning on the letter-size flatbed.
The ET-8500’s low running cost makes it the printer of choice for anyone who wants to print lots of high-quality photos and winces at the idea of paying for the “privilege” of constantly changing ink cartridges with a less-expensive printer. Others may consider it worth the high initial cost just to avoid having to deal with six individual cartridges running out of ink, each on its own schedule. Keep in mind, as well, that the ET-8500 can serve as a standard home printer with a low running cost for anything from printing recipes or homework to light-duty home-office needs.
Type
All-in-one
Color or Monochrome
Color
Connection Type
Ethernet, USB, Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi Direct
Maximum Standard Paper Size
Legal
Number of Ink Colors
6
Number of Ink Cartridges/Tanks
6
Rated Speed at Default Settings (Color)
12 ppm
Rated Speed at Default Settings (Mono)
16 ppm
Monthly Duty Cycle (Recommended)
Not rated
Monthly Duty Cycle (Maximum)
Not rated
Printer Input Capacity
170
Cost Per Page (Monochrome)
0.3 cents
Cost Per Page (Color)
0.9 cents
Scanner Type
Flatbed
Maximum Scan Area
Legal
Scanner Optical Resolution
4,800 by 1,200 pixels per inch
Standalone Copier and Fax
Copier, Fax
Learn More
Epson EcoTank Photo ET-8500 Wireless Color All-in-One Supertank Printer Review
Best Mono Laser All-in-One Printer (Small/Midsize Office)
Canon imageClass MF455dw
- Prints, scans, copies, and faxes
- Fast 40ppm rating for both printing and copying
- Single-pass duplexing ADF for scanning, copying, and faxing
- Top-tier print output quality
- Touch-screen control panel
- Easy Wi-Fi Direct setup
- With graphics, output quality falls just short of the best available
Canon’s imageClass MF455dw impressed us when we reviewed it as the no-compromise mono laser AIO for its category, at not much more money than its competition. It prints, scans, copies, and faxes; prints at very nearly its 40ppm rating for simplex printing; slows down by less than 1ppm for duplex (two-sided) printing; and delivers top-tier mono laser quality for text, graphics, and photos. Even better, its 50-sheet duplexing automatic document feeder (ADF) can keep up with the printer for equally fast copying, and the duplexing works for scanning and faxing, which isn’t true of all competitors.
Paper handling is typical for the category. For printing, the MF455dw offers a 250-sheet drawer and a 100-sheet multi-purpose tray standard, with a $199 optional 550-sheet drawer also available. For scanning, its ADF can handle up to legal size. As icing on an already attractive printcake, it offers conveniences like a 5-inch touch-screen control panel that, among other talents, can show a QR code for easy Wi-Fi Direct connection to a mobile device.
The MF455dw’s paper handling makes it appropriate for any small or midsize office or workgroup that churns though about 250 or 300 sheets of paper per week with the base unit, or about 1,000 sheets with the optional drawer added. But it can aim higher, too: The ability to duplex with little loss of speed, plus the duplexing scanner’s ability to keep up for copying, makes it a prime candidate for small and midsize offices that need heavy-duty printing, scanning, copying, and faxing. Where too many AIOs are primarily printers that add limited additional functions, the MF455dw does everything well.
Type
All-in-one
Color or Monochrome
Monochrome
Connection Type
USB, Ethernet, Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi Direct
Maximum Standard Paper Size
Legal
Number of Ink Colors
1
Number of Ink Cartridges/Tanks
1
Rated Speed at Default Settings (Color)
NA
Rated Speed at Default Settings (Mono)
40 ppm
Monthly Duty Cycle (Recommended)
750 to 4,000
Monthly Duty Cycle (Maximum)
Not rated
Printer Input Capacity
250+100 expandable to 900
Cost Per Page (Monochrome)
2.25 cents
Cost Per Page (Color)
NA
Scanner Type
Flatbed with Single-Pass Duplexing ADF
Maximum Scan Area
Legal
Scanner Optical Resolution
600 by 600 pixels per inch
Standalone Copier and Fax
Copier, Fax
Learn More
Canon imageClass MF455dw Review
Best Color Laser All-in-One Printer (Small/Midsize Office)
HP Color LaserJet Enterprise MFP M480f
- Robust mobile connectivity
- Excellent print quality
- Relatively small footprint
- Expandable
- Competitive running costs
- Somewhat high purchase price
The HP Color LaserJet Enterprise MFP M480f is a workhorse color laser AIO for any small to midsize office. It’s rated at 29ppm for both color and mono printing, and its 50-page ADF offers speedy single-pass duplex scanning, helping to reduce the time spent making copies. In addition, it faxes, delivers excellent print quality, and has ample paper capacity for up to medium-duty printing in a midsize office. Two trays divide its standard 300-sheet capacity into 250 sheets in one tray and 50 sheets in the other, while an optional ($199.99) 550-sheet tray is available for a total of 850 pages. Welcome conveniences include a 4.3-inch color touch screen for the control panel.
Don’t let the “Enterprise” in the name get in the way of considering this HP model for your non-enterprise office. Although packed with a wealth of security and network management features that many small and midsize offices won’t care about, there’s no reason you have to use them. At heart, the M480f is a solid workhorse for medium-duty mono and color printing, as well as scanning, copying, and faxing. And you might well appreciate some of its features that most printers leave out, including private printing, which lets you send a print job with sensitive information to the printer, and not print it until you enter a PIN at the front panel, instead of leaving it sitting in the output tray where anyone can see it.
Type
All-in-one
Color or Monochrome
Color
Connection Type
Ethernet, USB, Wireless, NFC
Maximum Standard Paper Size
Legal
Number of Ink Colors
4
Number of Ink Cartridges/Tanks
4
Rated Speed at Default Settings (Color)
29 ppm
Rated Speed at Default Settings (Mono)
29 ppm
Monthly Duty Cycle (Recommended)
4,800
Monthly Duty Cycle (Maximum)
55,000 pages per month
Printer Input Capacity
300 expandable to 850
Cost Per Page (Monochrome)
2.3 cents
Cost Per Page (Color)
14.1 cents
Scanner Type
Flatbed with ADF (Standard or Optional)
Maximum Scan Area
Legal
Scanner Optical Resolution
600 by 600 pixels per inch
Standalone Copier and Fax
Copier, Fax
Learn More
HP Color LaserJet Enterprise MFP M480f Review
Best Mono Laser All-In-One Printer (Large Office/Workgroup)
Brother MFC-L5915DW
- Lightning-fast 50ppm rating for both printing and copying
- High 1,200-by-1,200dpi maximum resolution
- Roomy legal-size flatbed
- Single-pass duplexing ADF
- 5-inch color touch screen control panel
- Toner cost is just 1.1 cents per page
- Slower two-sided printing speed
The Brother MFC-L5915DW is one of the more impressive mono laser printers in its class. It delivers fast laser printing and copying, a higher maximum paper capacity than most competition, and a low cost per page, making it an excellent choice for a large office or workgroup. In our tests, output quality was in the top tier for a mono laser. As for speed, the printer is undeniably quick overall, with stellar simplex speeds and only slightly less-impressive duplex ones. Another important feature for a printer that’s most likely to be shared in a large office or workgroup is secure printing, which can let you avoid the risk of someone seeing sensitive documents sitting in the output tray before you retrieve them.
For most medium or large offices and workgroups with heavy-duty monochrome print needs, the Brother printer offers a winning combination of low running cost and high capacity.
Type
All-in-one
Color or Monochrome
Monochrome
Connection Type
Ethernet, Wi-Fi, USB, Wi-Fi Direct
Maximum Standard Paper Size
Legal
Number of Ink Colors
1
Number of Ink Cartridges/Tanks
1
Rated Speed at Default Settings (Color)
N/A
Rated Speed at Default Settings (Mono)
50 ppm
Monthly Duty Cycle (Recommended)
8,000
Monthly Duty Cycle (Maximum)
125,000
Printer Input Capacity
250+100 expandable to 1390
Cost Per Page (Monochrome)
1.1 cents
Cost Per Page (Color)
N/A
Scanner Type
Legal size flatbed with DADF
Maximum Scan Area
Legal
Scanner Optical Resolution
1200×1200 pixels per inch
Standalone Copier and Fax
Copier, Fax
Learn More
Brother MFC-L5915DW Review
Best All-in-One Portable Printer
HP OfficeJet 250 Mobile All-in-One Printer
- Portable.
- Scans and copies.
- Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi Direct, and USB connectivity.
- Rechargeable battery.
- 50-sheet input tray.
- 10-sheet ADF.
- Output quality worthy of a desktop inkjet.
- High claimed page yields for print cartridges.
- Lighter than its predecessor.
- Fast photo printing.
- Lacks a USB cable.
- Heavier than most laptops.
The HP OfficeJet 250 All-in-One Printer impressed us enough as a portable printer to earn an Editors’ Choice award when we reviewed it, but its ability to scan and copy as well as print was only one reason why. Along with typical text quality for an inkjet, it delivers slightly above-par graphics and photos, and it also came in faster on our tests than most print-only portables. And while it lacks duplex (two-sided) printing (like all the single-function competition we’ve seen), it offers manual duplexing, which prints one side of a stack of pages, waits for you to flip the stack over and reinsert it in the 50-page ADF, and then prints the other side. The simplex (single-sided) scanner offers its own 10-sheet ADF for scanning and copying. Connection choices include USB, Wi-Fi, and Wi-Fi Direct, which lets you print from iOS and Android phones and tablets as well as PCs.
If you need to scan documents (including for copying) as well as print them while on the go, the OfficeJet 250 is obviously of interest. Even within those requirements, however, it’s not for everyone. Keep in mind that if you only occasionally need to print and scan on the same trip, you could be better off with a separate printer and scanner, which would let you carry just the one you need at any given time. But if you usually need both scanning and printing, or can’t predict which one you’ll need when, the OfficeJet 250 will be less cumbersome to set up. Plus, it might be lighter than the combined weight of two separate devices.
Type
All-in-one
Color or Monochrome
1-pass color
Connection Type
USB, Wireless
Maximum Standard Paper Size
Legal
Number of Ink Colors
4
Number of Ink Cartridges/Tanks
2
Rated Speed at Default Settings (Color)
7 ppm
Rated Speed at Default Settings (Mono)
10 ppm
Monthly Duty Cycle (Recommended)
300 pages per month
Monthly Duty Cycle (Maximum)
500 pages per month
Printer Input Capacity
50
Cost Per Page (Monochrome)
NA
Cost Per Page (Color)
15.6 cents
Scanner Type
Sheetfed
Maximum Scan Area
8.5″ x 14″
Scanner Optical Resolution
600 pixels per inch
Standalone Copier and Fax
N/A
Learn More
HP OfficeJet 250 Mobile All-in-One Printer Review
Buying Guide: The Best All-in-One Printers for 2025
Printer manufacturers offer a huge variety of MFPs, both inkjet-based and laser-based. Given the mix of print technologies and brands, as well as the vast number of potential combinations of features and functions, finding a model with the right set of features—or at least, the best set for you needs—is a task you need to take on step by step. Here are the key things to consider when shopping for an AIO printer.
What’s the Difference Between Home and Office All-in-One Printers?
One useful way to categorize MFPs is by intended use: (1) for home, including printing photos in particular; (2) for an office, focusing on text and graphics, or (3) for both. If you’re looking to print photos at least at the level of quality you can get from your local pharmacy—whether the printer’s for home use only, or intended for home and home-office—you want an inkjet AIO. Even most models that are aimed at office use offer good enough photo quality to clear that bar. That includes some aimed for business use that manufacturers have tried to discourage us from running through our photo tests, on the grounds that they weren’t designed to handle photos well.
(Credit: Canon)
If you’re looking for an AIO strictly for an office, you probably care more about text and graphics than photos, and you also likely need higher paper capacities than most inkjets that focus on photo quality tend to offer. The choices, in that case, include both inkjets and lasers. (The latter category also includes LED printers, which differ only in the light source they use.)
Between inkjets and lasers, each has different advantages. Inkjets can churn out text that’s almost as high quality as lasers can manage, but laser-printed text has the advantage of not smudging if it gets wet. For graphics, most color (but not mono) lasers can deliver higher-quality color graphics on plain paper than most inkjets can. If, however, you take advantage of inkjet heavyweight (and more expensive) matte and photo papers, most inkjets can deliver higher-quality graphics than laser printers. (Read more about the inkjet versus laser question.)
For office use, if scanning, copying, or faxing multipage documents is on the agenda, you’ll want an AIO that includes an automatic document feeder (ADF). And if the documents are printed on both sides of the page, you’ll want an ADF that can handle duplex scanning, as well.
(Credit: Lexmark)
Faxing is usually considered an office function, but it can be even more valuable for home use. Medical offices typically require faxing rather than email because of HIPAA regulations, so it can be a welcome convenience to have an AIO at home that can also fax. So consider including standalone faxing in your AIO, though there is much to be said for using an online fax service instead, whether for home or office.
Also consider how often you print, and how long you might leave your AIO sitting unused. Although inkjets are generally considered the default choice for home use even if you’re not interested in printing photos, a laser AIO can be a better choice if you don’t print frequently. Inkjets tend to get clogged nozzles if left sitting unused, and nozzle-cleaning routines can waste a lot of ink when you need to print again. Lasers can sit unused for months, then work without problems when you fire them up again. Avoiding the cost of that wasted ink could actually save you more money than the extra cash you might pay for a fitting laser model.
What Are the Key Features to Get in an AIO Printer?
Getting beyond generalities about home and office MFPs, it’s useful to make a list of the functions and features you actually need. Printing and copying are a given, and scanning is almost always included as well, but even these basics aren’t as straightforward as you might expect.
In addition to printing from and scanning to a computer, many AIOs today can print from and scan to cloud services, which can be useful for printing files already stored online, or for storing scans where you can download the files to any device that can connect to the service. If there’s a particular online service you want to use, check that it’s on the list that the AIO supports.
(Credit: HP)
Most AIO manufacturers also offer free apps that let you print from and scan to mobile devices, either by connecting your phone or tablet to the AIO directly using Wi-Fi Direct (sometimes hiding under a different name) or by connecting through Wi-Fi to the same network the AIO is on. You’ll want to make sure the mobile printing and scanning works with the connection you plan to use. Similarly, if you plan to connect over a network, make sure the scanning works on a network. A few MFPs are limited to scanning over a USB connection only.
Copying and Faxing Features: Some Nuances
Some AIOs rely on a computer for copying. If you want to copy with the computer off, be sure to pick one that works as a standalone copier, operated from its control panel.
Much the same comment applies to faxing, but in reverse. Fax features almost always include standalone faxing, controlled through a front-panel keypad or touch screen. But they don’t necessarily include a PC-controlled faxing function, which would let you fax documents directly from your PC without having to print them out first. PC faxing can be in the form of a fax utility, a fax driver that you use like a print driver, or both.
Faxing by AIO used to require a connection to a phone line, and in some cases it still does, but many AIOs now offer faxing through the cloud. The cloud service connects to the telephone network to send and receive faxes, and provides you a phone number for receiving them. The cost for the service can be lower than the cost of maintaining a separate fax phone line.
Email features also come in two forms. A direct-email function (mostly useful in business environs) lets you scan a document and send it as an email attachment directly. The more common choice for low-end AIOs is to open an email message on a PC and add the scanned document as an attachment. Any given AIO can offer either or both kinds of email.
Scanning Features: More Nuances
Almost all AIO printers include flatbeds suitable for scanning photos or single-sheet documents. An automatic document feeder (ADF) will let you easily scan (plus copy, fax, and email) multipage documents. For models that have letter-size flatbed platens, an ADF will often let you scan legal-size pages as well. But not all do, so check first.
(Credit: HP)
Some ADFs can also perform duplex scans (that is, they can scan both sides of a page). The duplexing can be fully automatic, or it can be done through firmware or a computer app that will let you scan one side of a stack of pages, turn the stack over to scan the second side, then automatically interfile the pages in the right order. If you have to deal with multi-page, two-sided documents, some variation of this feature is all but essential.
The fastest, most convenient, and most expensive choice for scanning two-sided pages is an ADF with one-pass scanning—meaning it can scan both sides of each page at once. Second best, and the approach offered by most duplexing ADFs, is to scan one side of each sheet, turn it over automatically, and then scan the other side before feeding the next. The semi-automatic option, with you having to re-feed the stack, being careful to feed it in the right orientation, is the solid third-place choice. However, many ADFs don’t offer even that feature, and if you deal with duplex multi-page documents at all, it’s a lot better than having to feed and refeed every page individually.
One other important item to check is whether the ADF’s duplexing feature works with all functions that use the scanner: scanning, copying, and faxing. (Some don’t.)
Note that for AIO printers that offer some variation of duplex scanning along with duplex printing, you can usually copy both single- and double-sided originals to your choice of single- or double-sided copies. For those that offer print duplexing only, some will still give you the choice of copying single-sided originals to either single- or double-sided copies.
Should I Get Color Printing in an All-in-One Printer?
If you never print in color, there’s no reason to spend money on this feature. Keep in mind, however, that many color laser MFPs can print at high enough quality to let you print your own marketing materials. This could be less expensive than printing small quantities at your local print shop, which may be enough reason to choose a color laser even if you don’t need its color output for anything else.
(Credit: HP)
The vast majority of inkjet AIOs are color printers, and they should be avoided if you don’t specifically need color output. Even if you never print a single color image, an inkjet AIO will use up some of its color ink for cleaning nozzles and similar housekeeping tasks. And when those colors run out, many models will refuse to print at all, forcing you to buy more color ink just to print monochrome pages. Note that a few mono-only inkjet AIOs do exist on the market; they are designed to compete with mono lasers in offices. The least expensive of these are roughly $300.
Recommended by Our Editors
Consumables: Should I Choose Cartridge or Tank Ink?
One of the most common complaints about printers is the running cost, primarily in the form of ink or toner cartridges. Printer manufacturers have responded by offering tank printers, which offer a much lower cost per page than printers with the traditional cartridge-based design, and which let you buy the ink or toner in bulk. With tank-style inkjets, for example, the ink typically comes in bottles, and you pour it into large reservoirs in the printer. Brother is an exception, providing the bulk ink in cartridges, but the same logic applies, with inexpensive ink sold in large quantity. Regardless of the details and actual delivery method, these printers are collectively known as tank printers, for their large ink tanks. (Read more about how to weigh the cost of tank versus cartridge ink.)
The catch is that tank printers cost more to buy initially than cartridge-based printers that share similar capabilities and performance. Whether the lower ink cost will save you money in the long run depends on how much you print. When choosing between tank and cartridge printers, it’s worth the effort to compare the total cost of ownership in both cases, to see which will be the less expensive choice. And as another option for lowering running cost, you should factor in the available ink subscription programs, if any, for the printers you’re considering. (Check out our feature How to Save the Most Money on Printer Ink for more on bulk ink and ink subscription plans, as well our breakdown of HP’s many ink programs.)
Printer Size and Connectivity: Do I Have the Space for an All-in-One Printer?
AIO printers tend to be bigger than single-function printers, and even some home-oriented models can be tall enough to tower over you if you put them on your desk. Check out the MFP’s size and weight, though chances are you won’t be moving it very often.
Then there’s the connectivity, which might tie in to where you place your printer. In addition to a USB port, some MFPs include an Ethernet jack, and almost all support Wi-Fi for easy printer sharing across multiple computers. (See advice on diagnosing printer Wi-Fi issues.) When choosing between Ethernet and Wi-Fi for connecting the printer to your network, keep in mind that if your router offers Wi-Fi, you can print wirelessly to any MFP on that network, whether the MFP is connected by Wi-Fi or not.
Some MFPs now include support for Wi-Fi Direct (sometimes called something different by the printer maker). If available, it lets the printer effectively become its own access point, so you can connect a phone, a tablet, or a computer to it directly, instead of connecting through a wider network. A few offer support for Near-Field Communication (NFC), which lets you initiate the wireless connection to a compatible mobile device simply by tapping the printer with the phone or tablet.
How Do I Judge an All-in-One’s Scan and Print Quality (and Quantity)?
In addition to checking out the printer’s output quality, you may need to check the scan quality, although this is rarely an issue. For offices, virtually any scanner can scan documents at sufficiently high quality for copying or optical character recognition (OCR). And for home use scanning photos, virtually any scanner can provide suitable resolution and color quality for photographic prints. Resolutions higher than 300dpi are generally unnecessary unless you’re scanning transparencies, and even monochrome laser AIOs offer color scanning.
(Credit: Canon)
In past years, some home AIOs designed specifically with photos in mind included the ability to scan transparencies, most often limited to 35mm slides and negatives. At this writing, none of those models is still in production, but if you find one for sale, be sure to check out the photo-scanning capability for both color quality and high resolution.
When you’re calculating the duty cycle and paper input capacity you’ll need for an MFP, remember to factor in copies and incoming faxes to the total number of pages you’ll print. Choose a paper capacity based largely on how frequently it will force you to add paper. A good rule of thumb is that you probably don’t want to add paper more than once a week, on average.
Ready to Buy the Best All-in-One Printer for You?
Whether you’re looking for a home or office all-in-one, a good place to start your search is with our highest-rated AIO printers outlined above and in our detailed spec table. Looking beyond strictly AIO models, if you are interested in more printer options to open up the scope of your search, check out our top printer picks overall, as well as our favorite inkjet and laser models.
