Top Picks for Home Office Printers
When it comes to shopping for the best printers for your home office or even for the whole family to use, it’s essential to search for & choose one that is versatile enough to satisfy everyone’s individuals, whether it’s for printing invoices or family documents. However, a mid-range scanner with good features can be productive and help you improve your workflow, and of course, a low-cost-per-printer is a must so that you can stay within budget.
Laser vs. Inkjet: Which Printer Technology Is Better?
Still, the question is, what is the difference between laser and inkjet printer types? The inkjet printer uses ink to print documents, while a laser types use a laser to print documents. Most laser printers print higher-quality text than most inkjets, and almost every inkjet prints higher-quality photos than most lasers. But, both of them have developed considerably in the past several years. Also, the cost of buying and replacing cartridges is an important factor.
Typically, toner replacements are more expensive. Although ink cartridges are usually less expensive, you need to replace them more frequently. This could increase your costs in the long term. Laser types are faster in printing versus the inkjet printer. Inkjet printers may require refilling the paper, slowing down your printing process further. Furthermore, when it comes to the quality factor, the laser printer and toner cartridge in combination will give you a higher quality.
In fact, business models are using laser technology and are geared toward graphics & texts. In contrast, home printers (inkjet types) favor photos. Notably, most inkjet types are general-purpose models meant for printing photos, graphics, and texts. Searching on the market with various office devices, especially printers, could be challenging and maybe annoying. For your ease, a laser printer is often recommended. Not only do laser models print sharp text and crisp graphics, but also they could run more reliably than inkjets and will not clog if they sit unused for weeks between jobs.
Do you need a simple printer, or do you want it to have scanning and copying features, as well? Considering your budget, how much do you want to pay for this equipment? How do you choose between inkjet and laser technology? What’s the difference between a $300 model and an $800 model? How do you intend to use your printer? For dual-use in a home and home office? What do you intend to print with them? Photos, graphics, text, or labels? Do you want an all-in-one black-and-white laser or inkjet printer? Flidbe takes the long view to 3 printers & weighing factors to help you find out your answers and choose the best ones. If you don’t like to spend your time searching for the best printers, check out our list halfway down this page.
Canon Pixma MG2522
Canon Pixma MG2522 is a color all-in-one inkjet printer that comes in a compact design with all the necessary features and copies and scan functions. It has no networking (USB only), and it works with Windows and macOS. This machine uses a multi-color ink cartridge which should be replaced whenever a single color runs out. It prints your documents and supports XL ink cartridges which minimize the number of times you have to replace them. This could be an option to simplify your works and often welcoming you to economical home printing.
This printer has good print speed (black, 8.0 Ipm2, color, 4.0 Ipm2) and scans documents at 600 x 1200 DPI. Also, it lacks network capability, only supporting a direct USB connection. It is compact not to take up much of your space, requiring a space that measures 9.3 inches high, 16.7 inches in width, and 22.6 inches deep when set up. We could write about 60 sheets paper capacity, double-sided printing, and hybrid ink system with 4-color cartridge to mention its other features. In the software & update section, Canon Pixma MG2522 comes with a software collection, including printer application and drivers, faxing, scanning, and OCR apps, which you install on your personal computer.
Epson ET-2720
Epson ET-2720 is an EcoTank color inkjet printer that prints over Wi-Fi and supports mobile connectivity. It measures 179 x 375 x 347mm and weighing 4.5kg. This printer has a panel (on the front sits) that features a 1.44-inch non-touch display. Arrow keys, Ok, cancel, back, and home buttons let you navigate through all the settings. The ET-2720 comes with one 100-sheet paper tray that pulls up and out from the rear of the machine. Its duty cycle is 3,000 prints, which is high for a printer this small.
This machine features outstanding 4-Color MicroPiezo Technology for print quality and offers a maximum print density of 5760 x 1440 optimized DPI. Epson ET-2720 is configured in size, features, and price. It has a compact, space-saving design with an EcoFit bottle which its replacement ink bottle set includes enough ink capacity to print up to 4,500 pages black/7,500 color. Don’t forget that once converted to a dye-sublimation printer, you can purchase bulk sublimation ink to reduce your waste.
Epson WF-3720
The Epson WorkForce Pro WF-3720 is a reasonably versatile multipurpose inkjet printer. An excellent all-in-one for home office duties that has lots of different connectivity options to choose from. Besides, it has a flatbed scanner for photos and ID cards, as well as a sheetfed scanner with an ADF (Automatic Document Feeder) to help you scan multiple pages. This printer provides excellent touchscreen controls with outstanding printing, scanning, and copying quality.
This multifunction printer is powered by revolutionary PrecisionCore technology, which delivers fast black and color print speeds (20 ISO ppm (black) and 10 ISO ppm). This model includes a 35-page Auto Document Feeder, 2.7″ color touchscreen LCD to manage print jobs easily “and auto 2-sided printing. Also, You would have 4,800×2,400dpi print resolution & 1,200×2,400dpi (24-bit) at maximum optical scan resolution. The disappointing point is that it doesn’t support duplex scanning.