Finding the best printer for students can be a difficult task, and depending on whether you're printing text in black-and-white, in color, printing photos, or need a printer that has scanning capabilities and more, there's lots of different options to suit your needs. And if you're a student, be sure to check out our best laptops for college.

Our favorite printer for most students is none other than the HP OfficeJet Pro 8135e, which hits a solid middle ground between price and fuctionality, featuring HP Thermal Inkjet printing technology, faxing capabilities, a touchscreen display, wireless printing, and two-sided printing, alongside copy and scanning. There's also a convenient HP app that allows you to print from your smartphone, making this a convenient and easy-to-use printer for students. However, it only comes with 3 months of free ink.

But if you just want something simple to take you through college, you can grab the Brother MFC-J1010DW for less than $100, featuring the ability to print, copy, scan, fax, with a paper tray of maximum capacity at 150 sheets. However, it only comes with starter ink cartridges, which Brother claims should last approximately 200 pages for each color.

Let us not waste anymore time and jump right into the best printers for students you can buy.

Quick list

How to choose the best student printers

Before you even begin shopping for a student printer, you need to figure out what exactly you need one for and whether or not it's a worthwhile investment for your workload. During my college days, I would frequently head over to the campus library in order to print papers I needed for class. If your campus features a similar convenient space, and you don't suspect you'll be printing that frequently, consider that as an alternative.

However, if you'd prefer to not have to do that, you'll then need to think about what type of printing you'll be doing. Are you an art student looking to print high quality color prints of your work, or other people's work? Or are you just in need of something quick and easy that can put ink on a page to hand-in your assignments to professors?

You'll also need to consider what type of connectivity suits your usage, whether that's wifi, USB, or ethernet, alongside the size of what you plan to print (each printer on this list can print in standard 8.5 x 11-inch letter size). Budget is another thing to think about, especially considering how often students don't have much money to spare. You'll especially need to be considerate of printer costs, which we cover in the FAQ section below.

If you're an artistic student in need of a professional grade printer for photos, your needs will also be different, as you'll likely be looking for something that can handle larger print sizes, has an 8-color ink system, and higher resolution prints.

FAQ

Can a printer scan documents

Not all printers can scan documents, but most do. Both the HP OfficeJet Pro 8135 and Brother MFC-J1010DW can scan, copy, and fax. You'll have no issue if that's what you need a printer for with these purchase, but always ensure what you're purchasing is explicitly labeled as a scanner, as some printers do not come with this functionality. For example, the Canon PIXMA PRO-200 cannot scan.

Purchasing ink for your printer

Each manufacturer utilizes its own ink cartridges for its printer products, and beyond just that, some use different types of ink. Even within a manufacturer's line of products, different printers will need different ink cartridges. You'll need to specifically check which type of ink your printer needs to run without issue.

The HP OfficeJet Pro 81235e has plenty of available ink cartridges for purchase, which are mostly limited to the HP 923, 924, and 925 products. You can find the full list of supported cartridges here, but if you simply want to buy the full cyan, magenta, yellow, and black four-pack, you can get the HP 923 CMYB.

For the Brother MFC-J1010DW, you'll need to purchase the LC4013PKS ink packs, which can be found on Brother's website. The cheapest version comes available in a 3-pack of color, which can print approximately 200 pages, but you can also get the high-yield version, which can handle 600 pages. And of course, you'll also want to purchase black ink.

For the Canon PIXMA PRO-200, you'll need to purchase the CLI-65 8-Color Ink Value Pack. Considering this is an 8-color printer (whereas the others on this list are 4-color), you'll need to use all eight. However, if only one of your colors have run out, or you just need to purchase black ink, you can still buy them separately.

Select top-rated HP printers are up to $170 off today in Best Buy's back-to-school sale. Whether you're starting a new semester soon or just in need of a home printer, it's an opportune time to save. 

One standout deal offers the excellent HP Envy Inspire 7955e for $149. Typically, it retails for $219, so that's $70 in savings. This is one of the lowest prices we've seen for this printer and one of the best deals from Best Buy this week. 

The HP Envy Inspire 7955e is one of the best printers around. In our HP Envy Inspire 7955e review, we loved the printer's crisp, vivid photos, and user-friendly 2.7-inch color touchscreen. We also like the dedicated HP Smart app for easy setup and wireless printing. These attributes along with HP's free ink replacement offer earned the Envy Inspire 7955e all-in-one printer a solid 4 out of 5-star rating and our Editor's Choice Award. 

This HP printer deal bundles 6 free months of HP Instant Ink via HP+. This optional HP printer ink delivery service is convenient and cost-effective. While most subscriptions deliver ink monthly, HP Instant Ink automatically replenishes your supply only when you run low.

If you're racking up on back-to-school essentials, a home printer is a must. Shop Best Buy's entire back-to-school sale and see our favorite HP printer deals below. 

HP printer deals

The consumer printer market has been shrinking for years to the point where it’s fashionable in some circles to claim printers are pointless! But don’t write off the printer just yet. Like email and wired internet connections, reports on the printer's death have been greatly exaggerated, to paraphrase Mark Twain. 

If you already have one or are wondering if it’s worth buying, consider these top 24 reasons — in ranked order — why you should still have a printer in 2024. 

24. Recipes (so your phone can stay safe while you’re cooking)

There’s no shortage of videos on social media of people accidentally dropping their phone into a pot of pasta water or a sizzling pan. If you don’t want to get stuck scraping your iPhone 15 out of your lasagna, printing recipes might be a good idea instead of looking at them on your phone while you’re cooking. No one will be upset if they splash a little sauce on a couple sheets of paper, but if it’s your shiny new Samsung, that’s a different story. 

23. Community event posters

I volunteer with a local nature conservancy that holds dozens of events every year. Printed posters are one of our top ways to advertise since we can leave them in coffee shops and small businesses around town and hand them out at earlier events. If you help with local community events, clubs, or organizations, having your own printer available to make posters and hand-outs can be handy. 

22. Coloring pages and crafts

Did you know coloring may be better for curing depression than conventional therapy? Research shows coloring can help relieve depression and support positive mood changes in adults. Of course, kids also love coloring. So, whether you live alone or in a full house, you can use a home printer to print out free coloring sheets any time, which might be useful the next time you have a rough day. 

Go deeper

1. Best all-in-one printers in 2024
2. Best laser printers in 2024
3. HP OfficeJet Pro 8135e review: A speedy, user-friendly all-in-one printer that’s perfect for the home office

21. DIY calendars and planners

Planners aren’t just for students. They’re handy for everything from keeping up with a workout routine to planning your projects at work. Why pay for a mass-produced calendar or planner when you can use a home printer to create and print your own? 

20. Stickers and mailing labels

What do water bottles, notebooks, and phone cases have in common? All of them are cooler with stickers. Most people think of basic paper documents when they think of a home printer, but you can also print things on sticker paper to make your own stickers, whether they’re fun touches for your phone case or a sheet of basic mailing labels. 

19. Sheet music and song lyrics

If you’re a musician, you’ve probably experienced the frustration of trying to play and use digital sheet music or lyrics simultaneously. Some apps, like Ultimate Guitar, have an auto-scroll feature, but it’s locked behind a paywall. If you have a printer around, you can just use all your chords, lyrics, and sheet music to skip the paywall and buggy auto-scroll. 

18. Last-minute cards for birthdays and holidays

We’ve all been there – you’re about to head over to a friend’s birthday cookout and realize you forgot to get them a card. If you’re in a pinch, you can print one at home. Loading some cardstock paper into your printer will be as nice as the average store-bought card. Even if it isn’t, it’s the thought that counts. 

17. Doctor’s notes and prescriptions

Most doctor’s offices offer virtual copies of appointment confirmations or doctor’s notes today, but you never know when you might need a paper copy. Some managers and schools may even prefer hard copies of doctor’s notes for easy filing. If you have a printer at home, you can quickly make a paper copy of that emailed doctor’s note before heading back to the office or your child’s school. 

16. Homemade posters

Have you ever finished decorating after moving to a new place only to find there’s still one blank wall you can’t ignore? Printing off a few homemade posters is a cheap and easy way to fill those little gaps and add a bit of extra style to your space. Plenty of artists sell printable PDFs of their work on sites like Etsy. A home printer makes it convenient to get your own copies of any posters you want, whether you make them or buy PDFs. Even wide-format home printers can fit larger paper sizes like 11 x 17. 

15. Creating collages

Along with posters, home printers are also great for making collages. I like making a new collage every year to cover my bulletin board or the wall beside my desk. With a printer in the house, I can quickly print off new photos to add to the collage or swap out old ones. It’s much more economical (and flexible) than paying someone on Etsy to do the same thing and ship the pictures to you. 

14. Pet documents for traveling and vet visits

Bringing pets on vacation is fun but can be complicated, especially if you’re flying. Airlines and security personnel often require a lot of paperwork before allowing you to bring a pet with you on a flight. 

For example, pets that are certified emotional support animals or service animals can ride under your seat on the plane. However, you would need to bring a certification letter proving their status as a service pet and some airlines may require additional forms pet owners need to fill out. Having everything printed makes the process far easier. 

13. Homework and school forms

Printers are crucial for students today, even if you mainly go to class online. I always used one in college when we switched to remote learning in 2020. A printer is handy for scanning your homework, printing homework your teacher shares virtually, or creating a physical copy of your essay at the last minute. For parents, printers also save the day for things like field trip permission slips or sick day notes. 

12. Scanning physical artwork to continue digitally

I’m not a professional artist, but I like to doodle occasionally on both paper and my iPad. When I want to finish a paper sketch on my iPad, scanning it with a printer gives me much cleaner results than taking a picture of it with my phone. This is why many professional artists keep a printer or scanner handy. Plus, when you finish your digital artwork, you can reverse the process and hang up a printed version of it. 

11. Character sheets for your favorite tabletop game

I’m a huge fan of tabletop roleplaying games and board games. Anyone who’s played one knows how helpful having a physical copy of your character sheet is. Sure, there are plenty of websites where you can make one and reference it digitally whenever you want. But there are also plenty of game masters who want a tech-free game. 

It can even be helpful to have a paper character sheet in online games so you don’t have to swap between your digital character sheet and your video call with your adventuring party.

The top 10 reasons that yes, a printer is a good idea in 2024

10. DIY custom t-shirt decals

Did you know you can make your own custom t-shirts with just an iron and a home printer? All you need is heat transfer paper. You can get a pack of it for less than $10 on Amazon, load it into your printer, and start making your own t-shirts. It’s perfect for last-minute custom shirts for events or groups (or making a funny meme t-shirt for your friends). 

9. Travel documents and itineraries 

Accessing your plane ticket from your phone while traveling makes sense, but printing out some documents can be a lifesaver. For instance, when you’re traveling to a different country, you often don’t have phone service at first. Even if you have international roaming on, you never know when service might get spotty. 

That’s why it’s a good idea to have physical copies of things like your hotel or Airbnb reservation, train and bus tickets, or anything else you might need on the road, especially for your trip's first day or two. After all, when you’re traveling, it’s always better to over-prepare so your trip doesn’t get derailed by something like a missing address or phone number. 

8. DIY business cards

Whether you’re a small business owner or just want to have a handful of contact cards to hand out at professional events, a home printer is great for making your own. Sure, you could pay for a company to make them for you, but it would probably be more expensive and less convenient than getting some cardstock paper and printing them yourself.

7. Lost pet flyers

Losing a pet is stressful enough without having to worry about rushing over to an office supply store (fun as they are to visit) to print out posters. Having a printer at home lets you print posters of your missing furry friend and post them around the neighborhood as quickly as possible, which could help you find your dog (or cat) sooner. 

6. Printing your resume to impress interviewers

Want to stand out at your next job interview? Print out a physical copy of your resume to give to the interviewer. They’ll be impressed you took the time to print it, and will stand out from all the digital resumes they’ll compare it to. This strategy works even better if you load your printer with thick, high-quality paper. 

5. Printing last-minute tax returns

You never think you need a printer until there’s an emergency. That’s exactly what happened to thousands of people using H&R Block’s digital tax services in 2023. The company’s servers crashed on tax day, leaving last-minute filers (myself included) with no way to file their tax returns. The alternative is to attempt to use the IRS’s FreeFile platform, or you can just print your tax return and mail it, saving you from hefty late fees. 

4. Scanning paper forms

Have you ever needed to get a medical form or a bill turned in at the last second? It might be too late to mail it back, but if you have a printer at home, you can scan it to your computer and email it. Even if you’re not in a hurry, having a scanner handy makes it much more convenient to return filled-out paper forms. 

3. Printing photos from your phone

What good is it to pay for a phone with a top-notch camera if your pictures stay stuck on your phone’s small screen? You can print out all those stunning photos from your phone using a home printer and some basic photo paper. It’s cheaper and easier than using a professional photo service. 

2. Digitizing old photos

Most of us have a family member with tomes full of old photos from vacations, countless holidays, and birthdays. Physical photos are great mementos, but they’re also vulnerable to damage that could ruin them if you don’t have a digital backup. An all-in-one printer with a scanner is perfect for creating digital versions of all those old photos to ensure you never lose them. 

1.  Return shipping labels

Nine times out of ten, when I wish I had a printer at home, it’s because I need to return something I ordered online. Nearly 15 percent of online purchases were returned in 2023, which means at least one in six products you order online will be returned. 

This one factor alone is common enough to justify having a printer in 2024. Your friends and family will thank you for it, too, when they can swing by and use your printer when they inevitably need to return something. 

The HP OfficeJet Pro 8135e is a fast, user-friendly home printer for work and school tasks. It offers high print speeds with high-quality results — at least for black-and-white documents. Color print quality could be better, but it still looks suitable for everyday prints. Plus, the OfficeJet Pro 8135e is highly user-friendly, especially with the help of the HP Smart app. 

Every home office needs a good printer, and the OfficeJet Pro 8135e is up to the task. It’s a great complement to one of the best laptops and is perfect for quickly churning out documents when you’re away from the office or school. The initial mid-range price and fair ink cartridge prices also make it affordable. 

Here’s a look at everything the HP OfficeJet Pro 8135e offers, including some benefits and drawbacks you should know before adding one to your home office.

HP OfficeJet Pro 8135e: Specs and price

The HP OfficeJet Pro 8135e is an all-in-one HP Thermal Inkjet printer that can print, copy, scan, and fax. HP prices it at $224.99, securely in the mid-range price bracket for a home printer. It can connect via wifi, Ethernet, USB, or phone lines for faxing. You can also use the HP Smart app to print wirelessly from your laptop, Mac, PC, Android, or iOS device. 

The OfficeJet Pro 8135e measures 18.12 x 13.29 x 9.17 and weighs 17.6 lbs. The paper tray supports the most popular sizes, including letter, legal, and executive, and special paper types like envelopes, cards, and photo paper.

HP OfficeJet Pro 8135e: Setup

The HP OfficeJet Pro 8135e setup process took about 10 minutes, from opening the box to printing a sample PDF. Thanks to the instructions on the printer’s display, it was pretty straightforward, but there is also a QR code in the manual you can scan to see more detailed step-by-step directions on your phone. 

I connected my PC wirelessly through the HP Smart app, which worked great. It added the printer to my wifi network without requiring me to type in my long password again, and it finished the setup process for me. The longest step was waiting for HP Smart to pick up the OfficeJet, but even that only took a minute. 

The only drawback I encountered during setup was ink cartridge installation. The cartridges use a fairly standard, basic installation system, but the plastic safety tabs were harder to remove than others I’ve used. It’s a minor inconvenience, but it did slow down the process and leave my fingers a little sore.

HP OfficeJet Pro 8135e: Design

The OfficeJet Pro 8135e has a straightforward design that will blend in at home or in the office. It features a black-and-white plastic chassis, which fits my minimalistic black-and-white desk setup well. 

All of the trays feel sturdy and slide easily. I never felt like I might accidentally break the support trays like on cheaper printers. The main input paper tray can hold up to 225 sheets, while the output tray can hold up to 60. So, if you forget to refill the printer paper, like I do, you won’t have to worry about restocking this one often. 

The 2.7-inch touch display's placement on the front next to the power button and Wi-Fi indicators was convenient during my tests. The screen is also responsive—I didn’t have to press down extra hard for taps to register, and scrolling through the menu was a breeze. 

The USB, Ethernet, and phone ports are on the back, above the power cable port. I prefer to print wirelessly, but if you prefer plugging in your laptop to print things you can also use the extra USB port on the left side of the printer, which is a bit more convenient than the rear ports. 

I appreciated one feature of the OfficeJet Pro 1835e’s design: It’s made of 45 percent post-consumer recycled plastic. It’s also Energy Star certified so you can expect a minimal impact on your energy bill. 

HP OfficeJet Pro 8135e: Print and copy speeds

The HP OfficeJet Pro 8135e can print up to 20 pages per minute in black and white or ten pages per minute in color. That’s a pretty high print speed, so I tested it to see if those rates are accurate. 

The OfficeJet Pro 8135e was spot on for the advertised print speed, but only under specific circumstances. During my tests, it averaged 20 pages per minute in black and white, but only for one-sided pages. The drying time to print double-sided slowed things down considerably, bringing the average print time to about ten pages per minute. 

Similarly, certain documents print faster than others, even if they are both in black and white. My test prints included several black-and-white Google Docs with only text (no images) and PDFs in black-and-white and full-color. The PDFs printed much slower than the Google Docs, even in black-and-white. 

Color prints were also slower than black and white, but that’s the norm. For a PDF with a full-page color graphic, the OfficeJet Pro 8135e averaged about five pages per minute. A Google Doc with text and color images averaged nine pages per minute, one page shy of the top color speed advertised. 

Scanning and copy speeds were also quick. However, I found it inconvenient that I needed to download a separate app, HP Universal Scan Software, to scan documents directly to my computer. At least, that’s what the OfficeJet Pro 8135e tells you when you first select the option to scan to your computer. When I used the “Scan” tool in the HP Smart app, I could scan from my computer and download the finished scan from the app. 

The scanning process can be confusing with the two separate HP apps. To simplify it, you can also send scans to the Cloud, email, or USB. 

HP OfficeJet Pro 8135e: Print quality

Everything I printed on the OfficeJet Pro 8135e came out clean and clear. The ink never smudged, either, even when highlighting. So, if you’re a student or often highlight documents you print out, you’ll be happy with the quick drying time the OfficeJet Pro 8135e offers. 

While black-and-white prints look great, full-color documents could be a lot better. I noticed that some of mine had thin lines in the ink in some places, mainly at the bottom of pages. They’re only visible if you’re looking closely, but they may be a concern if you want to print full-color posters or art. The vibrancy of color images could also be better. The full-color documents look nice, but the color quality was noticeably muted compared to the original images on my screen. 

Overall, the OfficeJet Pro 8135e prints well enough to easily handle everyday prints, but there may be better choices for high-quality full-color prints. However, they'll look great if you mainly print black-and-white text documents for school or work.

HP OfficeJet Pro 8135e: Ink costs

The OfficeJet Pro 8135e uses HP Standard 923 ink cartridges, which are relatively affordable but can get pricey. Black cartridges are $30.99 and print about 500 pages. Color cartridges (cyan, yellow, and magenta) are $15.99 and print about 400 pages. That works out to about $0.06 per page in black and white or $0.03 per page in color. 

However, those rates can vary drastically depending on what you’re printing. If you frequently print documents with many full-color images and graphics, each $15.99 color ink cartridge will add up quickly. Of course, it’s important to remember that affordability also includes the initial price of the printer. For example, the HP 923 cartridges for the HP OfficeJet Pro 8135e are less cost-efficient than those in the HP Smart Tank 7502, but that printer is twice as expensive.  

Bottom Line

The HP OfficeJet Pro 8135e is a fast, user-friendly printer for home offices, students, or light everyday prints. It’s ideal for black-and-white documents but struggles a bit with full-color prints. Text documents, spreadsheets, and PDFs look great, though, and print fast. 

While the quality of color prints could improve, the OfficeJet Pro 8135e is very user-friendly. Setup is quick and straightforward, and the HP Smart app makes printing, copying, scanning, and faxing a breeze. You can also download it on your phone or tablet for easy mobile printing. 

The HP OfficeJet Pro 8135e is an excellent mid-range home printer at a mid-range price. If you need a do-it-all printer for your home office that can quickly churn out documents and spreadsheets, the OfficeJet Pro 8135e won’t disappoint you. 

More from Laptop Mag

• Is your laptop boring? The solution is a mechanical keyboard
• 4 things you need to know before buying a docking station
• I added this monitor light bar to my home office setup and it’s a game changer

My time with the HRPT MT810 wireless printer has been fun. It’s a mighty mite of a printer for road warriors who need on-the-go printing. Although we’re using printers less than ever before, there remains a need to quickly print up a document, or in some cases, a receipt, and the $139 MT810 is a perfect solution for these scenarios.

I was pleasantly surprised by how much I could print and get done with this little battery-powered dynamo. The idea of having a wireless mobile printer in my backpack, along with my laptop, mouse, camera, and backup battery, allows for a fully mobile office experience. 

However, there are a few snags to consider. First, you can only print in black and white as the MT810 exclusively uses thermal paper. Speaking of thermal paper, it’s a special paper that can only be purchased in certain stores, which can be a hassle. But for mobile professionals looking for a print-on-the-go solution, the HPRT MT810 is a great choice.

HPRT MT810 portable printer pricing and availability

The HPRT MT810 isn’t available on Amazon yet. However, you can snag one early for $139 during its Indiegogo campaign and save some money. Once it hits Amazon, it will run you $199.

The MT810 prints in A4 size, which is the most common international paper standard, however, it uses thermal paper, so although you don’t have to worry about ink, you do have to purchase thermal paper rolls. Thermal paper rolls will run you $39.99 at Staples for a four-pack of rolls.

HPRT MT810 portable printer setup

Connecting the HPRT MT810 to your laptop or smartphone takes only a few minutes. To pair via laptop, go to HRPT’s website and download the driver for either Windows or macOS, install, and you’re good to go — or you can connect via Bluetooth. You also have the option of using the supplied USB-C cable to connect it directly to your laptop. 

If you’d prefer to use your smartphone, you can go to your respective App store (Google Play Store or Apple App Store) and download the free HiPrint App. From there, you can quickly connect via Bluetooth.

HPRT MT810 portable printer design and ease of use

The HPRT MT810 comes in a black matte plastic housing that looks and feels reasonably sturdy. I had it banging around in my backpack for a week with no visible damage, and it worked without a hitch. Measuring 11 x 3.74 x 1.97 inches and weighing only two pounds, it’s just itching to jump into your laptop bag and travel. And its rectangular profile and rounded corners look nice no matter where it ends up.

You will find a slightly recessed ovular power button on top near the right that offers a nice tactile feel. An LED inside the power button lights up when the printer is on and blinks when you’re printing. On the right is a small indicator light that illuminates when you’ve connected via Bluetooth. At the top right, we find an HRPT logo. Centered at the top of the unit is the wide slot where your completed documents come out. Lastly, on the left, we find the USB Type-C port that can be used to connect to a laptop and charge the MT810.

On each side of the printer, you’ll locate a set of small tabs. 

When you press down on the tabs, the top will pop open, giving you access to the roll of thermal paper within. The paper roll is full width and the size of standard letter-sized paper. The roll has 22.9 feet (7 meters) of paper to print on. Just place the roll in; it’s that simple. There are no adjusting sheets of paper to make sure everything’s aligned and no potential paper jams. You just drop it in and go.

Take a peek inside the bottom of the lid, and you’ll see a black roller that helps feed the paper during printing. The printing element appears to be located in the front of the printer's chassis and in front of the lid.

The HPRT MT810 is available in four colors: midnight black, starlight, misty rose, and pearl white.

HPRT MT810 portable printer app

Using the free HiPrint app, you can choose any paper length you wish to print. It’s kind of fun, and I printed out a couple of scrolls.

It also comes in handy if you need to print long graphs or paper-sized legal documents.

The app allows you to print documents and images directly from your phone's most popular document-producing applications. I wonder how many rolls it would take to print War and Peace?

HPRT MT810 portable printer print speeds

The MT810 prints super quickly. HRPT rates it at up to 1.81 inches per second, and during my testing, it printed text and photos quickly and accurately. 

The speed of printing is 30mm per second. It takes about 10 seconds to print an A4 paper-length paper.

In one minute, it can print about four to fiveA4 paper-length pages. There will be a pause between each page printing so speeds fell just shy of six pages per min during my testing.

HPRT MT810 portable printer print quality

The MT810 prints at a solid 203 DPI for a small mobile thermal printer, producing tight, crisp documents and solid images.  The demo prints I made looked good, with the text quality coming very close to my standard inkjet printer.

It only prints in black and white; that's the only rub I can think of. It’s a small trade-off as you’ll get great prints without the need for a bulky setup.

HPRT MT810 portable printer battery life

The MT810’s battery life is rated at nine hours on a single charge, which is more than enough for your standard work day. And since no one is printing for eight hours straight, I found that I got three to five days on a single charge. The built-in 2,500 mAH battery is meant to endure  200 plus print jobs

Bottom line

The HPRT MT810 is a promising product at an affordable price in the mobile printer market that produces quality prints. It offers a nice compact design that’s perfect for most backpacks. Also, the MT810 grants users great flexibility thanks to its Bluetooth connectivity, smartphone app, and easy-to-download laptop drivers. For under $200, the MT810 is a win for HRPT and mobile professionals.

Whether you’re a student, freelancer, or nine-to-fiver, a quality all-in-one printer is simply one of those essential pieces of tech every home office should have, no matter your hustle. All-in-one printers are getting smarter by the year, and they’ve become an excellent catch-all for everyday printing, copying, scanning, and faxing chores. In short, every workstation should have one. 

When it comes to printing speeds, color quality, and all those extra features that make your workday move quicker, the best all-in-one printers can do it all. Not sure which one to choose? Scroll down to see our top picks for the best all-in-one printers.

If you're still on the hunt for one of best printers, consider a cream-of-the-crop photo editing laptop to complement those color prints. Or maybe a standing desk to give your office space some extra techie flair -- and room to stretch.

Here are the best all-in-one printers:

At the top of our list you’ll find the HP OfficeJet Pro 9015e All-in-One Printer. It has a responsive (and useful) 2.7-inch touchscreen to help you navigate between printing, scanning, copying, and faxing chores. In our testing, we experienced good color accuracy and fairly speedy printing times, not to mention gorgeous color prints. 

The Epson EcoTank ET-2850 All-in-One Printer is also on our short list, thanks to excellent color printing capabilities and a diverse array of useful features. 

The HP Envy Inspire 7955e All-in-One Printer is another contender that the whole family will love; if you can dream it, this thing can print (or scan) it. 

The HP OfficeJet Pro 9015e all-in-one printer was designed as a one-stop productivity shop for any small business (or home office). HP aims to save you oodles of time with a combination of intuitive tech and integrated ink management. And thanks to a handful of other nifty features — automatic two-sided scanning, super-simple mobile printing, and best-in-class security — we’d say HP hit the mark.

If you find yourself executing different kinds of printing jobs on a regular basis, the HP Smart app is infinitely useful. In our testing, it was a cinch to scan and print documents directly from a Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra; the app is intuitive and very easy to navigate.

One of the big draws for the HP OfficeJet Pro 9015e, however, is the prospect of utilizing HP Instant Ink (included with HP+, once activated), a monthly service that ensures new ink or toner cartridges are delivered to your door — before you even have the chance to run out. You get six months of free ink or toner when you sign up for an HP+ Print Plan, which is based on how many pages you expect to print on a regular basis. For anyone with weekly admin chores and a short attention span, this service may well be worth the cost of entry.  

See our full HP OfficeJet Pro 9015e review. 

The Epson EcoTank ET-2850 All-in-One Printer is leading the charge for eco-friendly ink options in your family’s home office. Featuring an innovative cartridge-free ink system and impressive performance in a tidy, attractive package, the EcoTank ET-2850 promises to “exceed your vision” (according to the box, anyway) in terms of overall value and print quality. It’s an excellent all-in-one printer that’s accessible enough for the whole family, and way smarter than the inkjet printers of yesteryear. 

The Epson Smart Panel app is intuitive and easy to navigate; there’s a nifty carousel on the customizable interface to help you print photos, documents, ID cards, borderless copies, and a whole bunch more. (The app is compatible with iOS, too, so iPhone owners aren’t left in the dark.) In our testing, it was a cinch to scan and print documents directly from a Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra. 

Epson is known for its expertise in photography, and this is where the ET-2850 really shines; it has a maximum print resolution of 4800 x 1200. The ET-2850 produced accurate, well-saturated colors throughout our testing process.

See our full Epson ET-2850 All-in-One Printer review.

The HP Envy Inspire 7955e All-in-One Printer is an excellent option for any small business, home office, or makeshift dorm room. HP calls it the “printer that prints everything so you can create anything,” from high-res vacation photos to black-and-white office documents for your next group project. 

Today’s top-tier all-in-one printers are also adroit at scanning and copying, and the Envy Inspire 7955e has the whole family covered when it comes to duplicating homework assignment sheets; polishing up group projects; or creating colorful flyers to help find somebody’s lost dog. 

Overall, we were impressed with the HP Envy Inspire 7955e’s print quality in our testing, particularly when it came to finer details. Text was satisfactorily sharp and crisp in both color and black-and-white documents; no streaking was apparent. Glossy photos printed out with sharp, vivid hues, and color copies appeared true-to-life when scanning photographs. Tonal gradients came through just fine in our scans and copies, to a surprisingly accurate degree. 

See our full HP Envy Inspire 7955e All-in-One Printer review. 

We live in the future now, and so should your printer. From scanning and faxing to printing and mailing, the Canon Pixma TR8620 has all the main features you’d expect from an inkjet all-in-one printer, and then some. Add in smart home support (via Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant), and you’ve got yourself a digital taskmaster for the home office. There’s also a duplexer for double-sided printing; a 20-page automatic document feeder (ADF); and a slick 4.3-inch color touchscreen. 

The 5-cartridge ink system (as opposed to four, like many competitors) pumps out highly accurate colors, details, and image transitions. The ink costs are higher than other models in this category, but that shouldn’t be a deal-breaker for most. In short, there’s not much this printer can’t do for the average techie, and it’s one of the best printers you can buy today.

Looking to keep ink costs low and printing speeds zippy? Look up to the Brother INKvestment MFC-J995DW, an affordable laser printer that won’t let you down when push comes to shove. Thanks to the MFC-J995DW’s extra-large ink cartridges (plus an estimated year supply of ink that comes right in the box), you shouldn’t have to negate any up-front savings with extraneous ink costs in the long term. 

And not for nothing, this is one of the fastest inkjet printers you’ll find for two-sided printing. (That goes for scanning and copying, too; the 2.7-inch color touchscreen helps out big-time in that regard.) Plus, the printing quality is top-notch. Color scans are somewhat lackluster, according to some reviews, and you can’t make two-sided copies or scans via ADF. Nevertheless, unlike your other siblings, you won’t find much to complain about with the Brother INKvestment MFC-J995DW.

Targeting the small- to mid-sized biz sector, Xerox has something for everyone with the WorkCentre 6515 printer. The brand has traditionally been aimed at the business crowd, so you can expect top-quality text on every page, not to mention better-than-average graphics. The oversized, smartphone-esque touch screen makes every print function easy to access, even for those with poor eyesight. 

The ADF holds up to 50 sheets of paper, while the main paper tray below holds another 150. Another perk: you can scan both sides of a single document without having to turn it over. Photo quality is predictably subpar, but the WorkCentre 6515’s overall functionality far supersedes any shortcomings you may find.

The Canon Pixma G6020 MegaTank represents a great value, featuring oversized ink tanks that hold roughly 30 times the amount of ink in comparison to other brands. And while it doesn’t offer any faxing capabilities (or a snazzy touchscreen display), the Pixma G6020 was built to handle a high workload. Color prints shouldn’t be an issue either, with users reporting high image quality across the board.

Equipped with four refillable ink tanks, the Pixma G6020 uses a pigment black and three dye-based colors: cyan, magenta and yellow. This keeps printing costs extremely low, and your initial purchase comes with two extra bottles of black ink. (Estimated at 12,000 pages in total.) When combined with the relatively low cost of entry, it all adds up to a great value. 

If ink costs are a concern in your office, the Epson EcoTank ET-4760 combines an intimidating feature set with relatively low ink costs. The EcoTank ET-4760 was built like a tank, too, and it’s an absolute powerhouse when it comes to printing, copying, scanning, and faxing. 

The printer comes with the first set of high-capacity ink bottles, which should last for an estimated 7,500 pages (black) and 6,000 pages (color). The 2.4-inch color touch screen makes daily productivity chores a breeze, and you can even connect it to Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, or Microsoft Cortana for print-friendly voice control. 

At the end of the day, should your office need a rock-solid all-in-one printer, the Epson EcoTank ET-4760 may well be worth the investment. 

It usually takes two to tango, but in this case, it just takes the one. HP’s Tango X is about as slick as it gets when it comes to printer designs, but it comes at a price. In order to look this good, the Tango X is completely devoid of controls on the printer itself; all commands are done through your laptop or phone. You won’t find any USB or Ethernet ports on this one, folks. If you’ve already got half of your home hooked up to Alexa or Google Assistant, the Tango X will fit right in. 

While ink cartridge costs are on the higher end, printing quality is quite good, and the Tango X can churn them out in a hurry, too. (11 pages of plain black text per minute, and 8 ppm for color, according to HP.) When you’re done using it, the printer can be tucked away inside the included wrap-around cover — a nice touch for that extra panache your home office was missing.

As the name suggests, this all-in-one printer was designed for families and smaller home offices. It does a great job of printing color photos, and the auto-duplexing automatic document feeder (ADF) takes care of copying and scanning, too. 

The 23.5 x 17.2 x 8.1-inch footprint won’t take up too much desktop space, which means you can only hold 30 pages at a time, but that’s a worthwhile compromise for an increased workspace size at your fingertips. And the 4.3 touchscreen makes it easy to view, edit, and print photos directly from the SD card slot; you can also print photos and documents directly through your tablet or smartphone.

If you’ve got a creative family that loves arts and crafts, the Epson Expression Premium XP-7100 Small-in-One delivers plenty of value in a tidy package.

How to choose the best all-in-one printer for you

Choosing the right all-in-one printer is a subjective process; everyone has different printing needs, so the odds of finding a one-printer-fits-all situation might take some time. As you peruse the features list of any given all-in-one printer, here are some things to look for: 

Size — This is where you should start before making any home office accessories purchase. Some all-in-one printers were built for relative mobility, while others were designed to stay put on your desk. If space is tight, take some mindful measurements before pulling the trigger on a potentially cumbersome machine.  

Inkjet vs. laser — Inkjet printers have broader capabilities when it comes to producing accurate colors, which is best suited for graphics and photo printing. Laser printers are best for speedy text documents, and usually come with a lower cost per page. 

All-in-one vs. anything else — Not every printer is an all-in-one, but the ones that are do a whole lot more than just print. They can scan, copy, fax and email documents in a snap, and are capable of most home office admin chores.

Printing speed — This is measured by “page per minute,” and the PPM for most prints tends to fall between the 15 to 20 range for black-and-white, and 10 to 15 for color. Manufacturers tend to hype these numbers, so take them with a grain of salt until you’ve tested those speeds for yourself.

Print quality — For those who care more about quality over quantity, look for a higher “dots per inch” measurement in the printer specs. The higher the DPI, the better; most printers are capable of at least 300 dpi, but some photo printers are capable of 600 or even 1,200 dpi. 

Ink costs — Do some extra Googling before pulling the trigger on that awesome printer you just found on sale. The upfront costs might be tempting, but if you accidentally purchase a printer with uber-expensive ink cartridges, you might end up spending more in the long run after one too many flyer printouts for your annual karaoke tournament.  

• Check out the best photo editing software to give you a creative edge
• The best workstation laptops are packed with power

HP Instant Ink is a convenient, cost effective HP printer ink delivery service. While most subscriptions deliver ink monthly, HP Instant Ink replenishes your supply only when you run low. Depending on how often you use your printer, HP Instant Ink can cost just a few dollars to $10 dollars a month. 

Whether you're racking up on back to school supplies or preparing to go off to college, a printer is a must. Right now, you can get the HP Deskjet 4155e All-in-One printer for $99 at HP. Typically it retails for $124, so that's $25 off and its lowest price ever. Plus, it includes 6 months of HP Instant Ink via HP+. 

HP manufactures many of today's best all-in-one printers and the Deskjet 4155e is more affordable than ever. It features print, copy, scan in color, and wireless printing functions. There's also a 35-page auto feeder for completing fast, hands free tasks.

Although we didn't test this printer, it has an overall rating of 3.6 out of 5-stars at HP. Happy owners say it works well and is easy to set up with the dedicated app. Others point out that it's great for home use and small workspaces.

So if you need a printer for school, work or creative hobbies, the HP Deskjet 4155e is one to consider. And with 6 months of free HP Instant Ink, it's a great value for the price.

The HP Smart Tank 7602 All-In-One printer is deserving of many superlatives, starting with its potent productivity-enhancing feature set, easy setup, speediness, with beautiful text and image printing. It took me just a few moments to go from plugged into wireless printing from my cell phone and laptop. I love plug-and-play devices and I love devices that come up with clever solutions. The HP Smart Tank succeeds at being a clever problem-solver while also improving productivity, thanks to its user-friendly setup. 

The other great feature is cost-effectiveness, which small business owners and families on a budget will appreciate. The smart tank system is rated to produce 6,000 black text pages and 8,000 color pages which will save you money. I can’t tell you how much money I have spent in the past on ink, so this is game-changing. Oh, I forgot to mention it’s also quite attractive and its touch screen control bar works beautifully. I could go but it’s best to follow the HP Smart Tank 7602’s fine example and get to the work of sharing why in my humble opinion this is one of the best all-in-one printers available right now.

HP Smart Tank 7602 All-in-One Printer pricing and availability

The HP Smart Tank 7602 All-in-One Printer costs $524.99 and comes with a standard one-year warranty. You can upgrade to a two or three-year warranty ($104 or $126, respectively) when you purchase from HP’s site.

HP claims the included ink could last up to two years depending on your printing volume, which is a significant advantage over the sometimes meager starter ink cartridges included with printers.

HP Smart Tank 7602 All-in-One Printer setup

Setting up the HP Smart Tank 7602 was a breeze. Once plugged in, I followed the instructions given to me via the display bar and I was up and printing once I filled up the ink tanks and popped the printer head in. It took me less than ten minutes to complete the setup, but it only took that long because I also connected two laptops and cellphones via the HP Smart app.

Several people I know do not appreciate the Smart app setup and prefer to just plug it into their computer, and I respect that preference, but in my opinion, using the HP Smart app is fast, easy, and allows me to set up multiple devices far more quickly, especially in a home/office setting.

I immediately started testing the 7602’s printing, and scanning capabilities from my OnePlus 10 Pro, and there was no lag or issues to speak of. It printed beautiful text, and images scanned flawlessly via the HP Smart app.

HP Smart Tank 7602 All-in-One Printer design and ease of use 

The HP Smart Tank 7602 All-n-One has a very clean look and sanitized aesthetic that I appreciate. Its tri-tone white, blue, and gray coloring gives it some business casual curb appeal.

On the front of the Smart Tank, we find HP’s logo and the 3-inch touchscreen MGD (Mono Graphics Display) which reminds me of Apple’s unpopular TouchBar that haunted the MacBooks for a while. Although it didn’t work for a laptop I find it functions wonderfully on a printer. Its responsiveness is excellent when you touch or slide your fingers against it as you select and use different functions. Three ink tank windows on the right are clearly marked with their correlating color and give users a visual ink level readout. The 250-sheet paper tray is front-facing and has a pop-out paper catcher so you don’t have to worry about your printed pages flying all over the place.

On the left front of the printer, we find the black ink level window, power button, and a USB Type-A port. On the back is the ethernet port that allows you to connect the 7602 directly to your router for networking as well as the USB Type-B port for directly connecting your printer to your computer via the supplied USB Type-A to USB Type-B cable. Finally, you have a telephone jack for the fax and the DC-in power port. There are also access doors on the rear in case you have to deal with a paper jam. At the top, we find the 35-page paper feeder for when you are scanning or copying multiple pages. The output tray is rated to handle 100 sheets. 

You can control all of your printing, scanning, copying, and faxing easily via the 3-inch touch screen, smartphone application, or desktop software. The user-friendliness of the HP Smart Tank 7602 is what I find impressive. One of the neat features I like is that if you’re working from your office, but want to print a document at home, you can send the document to your 7602 at home, and it won’t print until you’re home, within direct view of the printer. This keeps your document private and for your eyes only.

HP Smart Tank 7602 All-in-One Printer print speeds

The HP Smart Tank 7602 comes with a 250 sheet tray which is sizeable for an inkjet printer and allows you to go a while between refilling the tray depending on what your average print needs. I printed out a five-page laptop brochure with text and images in black and white. I did so three times to see if my results were accurate. On average the 7602 printed black and white at a rate of 15.2 pages per min when you do the math. Which falls within the advertised 15 pages per min the unit is rated for. I then printed the same document in color three times and it averaged a spot on 9 pages per minute, which is what HP has it rated for.

It felt even faster than that, but most importantly, the blazing speed did not affect with quality of the print job one bit. I printed up a black and white headshot on regular copy paper and was impressed by the print quality. 

I then used the duplexer to create two-sided black-and-white prints, the HP Smart Tank 7602 managed 6.1 ppm printing the same document I used previously. I repeated the double-sided print job in color and got 5.7 ppm, with excellent quality. I do like that the unit will pause briefly before printing on the other side, to give the ink time to dry. While print speeds were very quick during each of these tasks, print quality was never affected.

HP Smart Tank 7602 All-in-One Printer copy and scan speed 

The copy and scan functions on the HP Smart Tank 7602 Al-in-One are quick and easy to use either via the display or application. The 35-sheet feeder worked flawlessly, as I scanned and copied documents and images. You can scan at a 1200 x 1200 dpi to BMP, JPEG, TIFF, PDF, and PNG formats. The flatbed size is 8.5 x 11.69 with the ability to scan documents up to 8.5 x 14 inches. You can also scan and make copies via the desktop and smartphone apps.

I used the HP Smart Tank to scan and print a multicolored text document at 3.5 ppm (8 ppm for black-and-white copies), which is far slower than the biz-centric OfficeJet Pro9015e (10 and 11.1 ppm, respectively). The Smart Tank scanned and printed out a colorful Time Magazine cover in 1 minute and 23 seconds; the OfficeJet did the same chore in 1 minute and 40 seconds.

Using the auto document feeder to make black and white copies the 7602 managed a speedy 13 ppm in my testing and 10.5 ppm to make double-sided black and white copies, which bested the slightly slower OfficeJet Pro 9015e’s 10.4 ppm.

HP Smart Tank 7602 All-in-One Printer print quality

I absolutely loved printing photos with the HP Smart Tank 7602 AIO as its ability to reproduce fine detail was stunning. I take a lot of photos and the 7602 rendered my images gorgeously whether I used photo paper or copy paper, in either black and white or color. Images were crisp, clean, and highly detailed, with no bleed. 

On the glossy photo paper, the colors were professional level and stunning.I was shocked by the clarity and I would use the images I printed in frames any day. I accidentally printed a black and white headshot taken of me by famed photographer Mark Mann on copy paper and it was fantastic, with even the individual hairs on my beard cleanly reproduced. The HP Smart Tank’s print quality is a major victory and if you’re someone who likes to print your own photos, you will not be disappointed. Also when printing documents the text was tight, sharp and had that nice crisp natural boldness you want against a white page so that your text stands out and is easily readable.

HP Smart Tank 7602 All-in-One Printer ink costs

HP offers both standard and high-yield ink cartridges for the HP Smart Tank 7602, ranging from $14.99 each for the standard and $16.89 for the high yield. You get 8,000 color prints out of the standard and 6,000 from the high yield black which means your cost per print is incredibly low starting at 1.8 cents per color print and 2.8 cents per print in black. Over the life of the printer, you will save a great deal of money.

Bottom line

The HP Smart Tank 7602 AIO is designed with productivity and budget in mind. The initial purchase cost ($529) may cause you to think twice but in the grand scheme of things, it's a good buy thanks to its smart tank design and the affordable ink costs. With the HP Smart Tank 7602, high-volume printing becomes far more economical and when you see the flawless quality of your prints, you will not be disappointed. 

The $500+ upfront cost may rule it out for some home users, but, for a small business, it is a perfect choice. With easy setup, excellent features, and free user-friendly apps for smartphones, tablets, and desktops readily available, the HP Smart Tank 7602 AIO with its long-lasting ink will end up saving money over time.

Having one of the best printers in your home office is downright essential, but there are more options than ever in this rapidly evolving market of mobile tech. Plus, like the rest of the peripherals we've been testing of late, the darn things keep getting smarter.

From function-forward touchscreen displays to extremely travel-friendly form factors, finding the right printer is, by no means, a one-size-fits-all process.

Looking to deck out your ultimate home office with even more mobile tech? The best printers go side-by-side with the best photo editing laptops, and there's plenty of room for both machines atop any of the best standing desks on our shortlist. There are plenty of options for you to dig into.

Whether you’re most concerned about print quality, printing speeds, or plain ol’ portability, we’ve got your tech covered. Read on for our top picks for the best printers.

Here are the best printers:

The HP Smart Tank 7602 all-in-one printer is our favorite office accessory of the hour, thanks to top-notch print quality, decent print speeds, and an intuitive ecosystem of easy-to-use apps. The cost of entry is higher than inkjet printers, but it's worth every penny.

For excellent print quality at a more affordable price, consider the Epson EcoTank ET-2850. This inkjet all-in-one pairs pure productivity with an eco-friendly ink replacement service that’s more pleasing to the planet. The printing speeds are nothing to write home about, but overall it's one of the best all-in-one printers on the web.

If you have a small business to run, your primary printer better be a reliable one. The best-in-class HP OfficeJet Pro 9015e is meant for the microbusiness crowd, but with all the dynamic features packed into the machine, you get an awful lot of bang for your buck.

The HP Smart Tank 7602 All-In-One printer is deserving of many superlatives, starting with its potent productivity-enhancing feature set, easy setup, speediness, with beautiful text and image printing. The smart tank system is also rated to produce 12,000 black text pages and 8,000 color pages, which will save you money in the long haul.

The HP Smart Tank’s print quality is a major victory here, and if you’re someone who likes to print your own photos, you will not be disappointed. In our testing, document text was tight, sharp and crisp, with a natural boldness that stands out and is easily readable.

The HP Smart Tank 7602 is discreetly designed with productivity and budget in mind. The high price tag may give you pause, but this is still one of the best printers thanks to its smart tank design and affordable ink costs. With the HP Smart Tank 7602, high-volume printing becomes far more economical. Plus, when you see the flawless quality of your prints, you will not be disappointed.

See our full HP Smart Tank 7602 All-in-One Printer review.

It’s on the pricier side for a midsized all–in-one printer, but the Epson EcoTank ET-2850 pairs pure productivity with a printing process that’s more pleasing to the planet.

Featuring an innovative cartridge-free ink system and impressive performance in a tidy, attractive package, the EcoTank ET-2850 promises to “exceed your vision” (according to the box, anyway) in terms of overall value and print quality. It’s an excellent all-in-one printer that’s accessible enough for the whole family, and way smarter than the inkjet printers of yesteryear.

The EcoTank ET-2850 is part of Epson’s new generation of cartridge-free printers, which feature refillable ink tanks to minimize waste. Depending on how much printing you and your family do on a regular basis, each of these new printers comes with up to two years' worth of ink right in the box — and with every replacement ink set.

See our full Epson EcoTank ET-2850 All-in-One Printer review.

The HP OfficeJet Pro 9015e all-in-one printer was designed as a one-stop productivity shop for any small business (or home office). Touting its freshly released OfficeJet Pro 9015e as “the productive smart printer that gets work done,” the company aims to save you oodles of time with a combination of intuitive tech and integrated ink management.

During setup, you’ll be given the option to sign up for HP+, which works in conjunction with the HP Smart printing app; you can try out the first six months of HP+ for free, which activates the Instant Ink service — automatically shipping you new ink cartridges when the old ones are getting low.

Thanks to speedy printing, scanning, and copying speeds; detailed color representation; and an intuitive app to tie everything together, the HP OfficeJet Pro 9015e is one of the best home office printers you can buy today, and it earned an Editor's Choice in our testing.

See our full HP OfficeJet Pro 9015e All-in-One Printer review.

We live in the future now, and so should your printer. From scanning and faxing to printing and mailing, the Canon Pixma TR8620 has all the main features you’d expect from an inkjet all-in-one printer, and then some. Add in smart home support (via Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant), and you’ve got yourself a digital taskmaster for the home office. There’s also a duplexer for double-sided printing; a 20-page automatic document feeder (ADF); and a slick 4.3-inch color touchscreen.

The 5-cartridge ink system (as opposed to four, like many competitors) pumps out highly accurate colors, details, and image transitions. The ink costs are higher than some competitors, but that shouldn’t be a deal-breaker for most. In short, there’s not much this printer can’t do for the average techie, and it’s one of the best printers you can buy today.

Looking to keep ink costs low and printing speeds zippy? Look up to the Brother INKvestment MFC-J995DW, an affordable laser printer that won’t let you down when push comes to shove. Thanks to the MFC-J995DW’s extra-large ink cartridges (plus an estimated year supply of ink that comes right in the box), you shouldn’t have to negate any up-front savings with extraneous ink costs in the long term.

And not for nothing, this is one of the fastest inkjet printers you’ll find for two-sided printing. (That goes for scanning and copying, too; the 2.7-inch color touchscreen helps out big-time in that regard.) Plus, the printing quality is top-notch. Color scans are somewhat lackluster, according to some reviews, and you can’t make two-sided copies or scans via ADF. Nevertheless, unlike your other siblings, you won’t find much to complain about with the Brother INKvestment MFC-J995DW.

One of the best parts of the Canon ImageClass MF743Cdw printer is practically right in the name: the beautiful, highly functional 5-inch color touchscreen is sure to catch your eye right off the bat. But that’s not all. You can expect top-quality performance for prints, copies and scans across the page. Speaking of which, the 4,000-page monthly page volume is perfect for any small business. But it might be a tad bulky for your home office. The 50-sheet automatic document feeder and 550-sheet paper cassette were built for efficiency, and it shows.

Just like most of the printers on this list, you’ll get faster printing, copying and scanning speeds than the average office printer, along with sharp text and crystal-clear graphics. There's no doubt about it: the Canon ImageClass MF743Cdw is best-in-class when it comes to the best laser printers, and your coworkers will thank you for the investment. (Perhaps with colorful, custom printed stationery.)

Finding an inkjet printer that can deliver fantastic photos — without breaking the bank — is a real challenge for any photographer on a budget. For less than $400, however, the Epson Expression Photo HD XP-15000 printer is a great choice for anyone dipping their toes into the world of photography. (Or even if your feet are already fully submerged.) You won’t get the same image quality as more expensive photo printers, of course, but for the price, you can’t go wrong with the XP-15000.

Capable of rendering prints up to 13 x 44 inches, the XP-15000 is impressive for its size; it’s also a fine choice for panoramic photos. Colors come out rich and vibrant, and Epson’s extra-broad ink palette (featuring six cartridges as opposed to a paltry four or five) is put to excellent use in every photograph, no matter the size. Black and white prints are also great, though some reviewers reported minor microbanding in grayscale. All in all, this printer is a solid value for multimedia mavens of all types.

Targeting the small- to mid-sized biz sector, Xerox has something for everyone with the WorkCentre 6515 printer. The brand has traditionally been aimed at the business crowd, so you can expect top-quality text on every page, not to mention better-than-average graphics. The oversized, smartphone-esque touchscreen makes every print function easy to access, even for those with poor eyesight.

The ADF holds up to 50 sheets of paper, while the main paper tray below holds another 150. Another perk: you can scan both sides of a single document without having to turn it over. Photo quality is predictably subpar, but the WorkCentre 6515’s overall functionality far supersedes any shortcomings you may find.

If your printing needs are more robust (read: professional and specific), the HP DesignJet T210 is worthy of your consideration. This is aimed at AEC, GIS and MCAD professionals who need their office tech to print out maps, technical drawings, posters and more without compromising on quality. This printer is more expensive than others on this list, but if you need it, you need it. Plus, HP touts their latest model as the world’s smallest wide format printer, which is no simple feat.

When it comes to printing sizes, the DesignJet T210 supports up to 24 x 74.7-inch print paper rolls, which are fed through the printer and snipped with an automatic horizontal cutter. Reviewers consistently report crisp, accurate colors, and surprisingly zippy printing speeds; it’s easy to set up, too, and the included software sweetens the deal.

If budget is your biggest concern, check out the HP OfficeJet Pro 8035. This affordable all-in-one printer is perfect for students and small business owners alike, depending on your stationery needs. The OfficeJet Pro has a 225-sheet input tray paired with a 60-sheet output tray, though only one input source means reconfiguring the paper drawer whenever you need to swap out regular paper for checks, envelopes or labels.

In addition to Wi-Fi connectivity, HP’s Smart App utility lets you manage all HP printers and scanners across any Windows, Mac, Android or iOS machine. According to recent reviews, the OfficeJet Pro 8035 can pump out quality prints in a hurry, which should be first and foremost on your hunt for the best printer.

It usually takes two to tango, but in this case, it just takes the one. HP’s Tango X is about as slick as it gets when it comes to printer designs, but it comes at a price. In order to look this good, the Tango X is completely devoid of controls on the printer itself; all commands are done through your laptop or phone. You won’t find any USB or Ethernet ports on this one, folks. If you’ve already got half of your home hooked up to Alexa or Google Assistant, the Tango X will fit right in.

While ink cartridge costs are on the higher end, printing quality is quite good, and the Tango X can churn them out in a hurry, too. (11 pages of plain black text per minute, and 8 ppm for color, according to HP.) When you’re done using it, the printer can be tucked away inside the included wrap-around cover — a nice touch for that extra panache your home office was missing.

If portability is top-of-mind when it comes to your printing needs, the Brother PocketJet 773 packs a surprising punch, considering its modest size (10 x 2.2 x 1.2 inches and just 1.3 pounds). This on-the-go printer is limited in what it can do — like printing black-and-white prints only — but the tradeoffs net you an incredibly compact printer that you can take just about anywhere. Also, it comes with both a power adapter and battery pack, which is minimalist enough to toss in a backpack.

This is the only printer on our list to feature inkless printing (which may have something to do with the higher price tag), and the technology relies on fewer moving parts. The thermal printing paper is more expensive, sure, but for pure portability in a premium printer, this little Brother is big enough to bully its older siblings.

In the interest of Ant Man-ing this article, let’s take it down a notch or two. At a miniscule 4.6 x 3.2 x 0.9 inches, the Kodak Smile Instant Printer is even smaller than the Brother PocketJet 773 above, although it’s conversely designed for printing 2 x 3-inch color photos at the drop of a hat (as opposed to just black-and-white prints). Since most of us are tethered to our smart-tech anyway, this is a great option for on-the-go mobile mavericks who still have the itch for physical media. There’s nothing wrong with going analog these days when you can, and the Kodak Smile’s pop-up design is straight-up neat-o.

Connecting directly to your phone via Bluetooth, the Kodak Smile’s proprietary app handles all the connectivity, allowing you to select, edit and print photos at will; you can print pics instantly from your phone’s camera, or tie them to your social media accounts. The Zink photo paper is more expensive than that used with traditional printers, but the whiz-bang nostalgia factor makes it a solid entry for casual artists, social media folks, and...well, anyone who owns a smartphone.

Making your way to the post office is never a fun chore, but with the iDPRT SP410 Thermal Label Printer, you can take care of all your printing labels right from the comfort of your home office (or couch). This super-small, super-quiet thermal printer is both Windows- and Mac-compatible, and the company says this printer will bang out at least 160,000 standard shipping labels before the SP410 starts to wear out. It's a bit expensive for the limited printing jobs it can do, but if you're constantly shipping things from home, why not take matters into your own hands?

How to choose the best printer for you

Choosing the right printer is a fairly subjective process; everyone has different printing needs, so the odds of finding a one-printer-fits-all situation are fairly low. For example, someone in the market for a pocket-friendly photo printer is probably going to have different expectations than someone on the lookout for a wide format printer. As you peruse the features list of any given printer, here are some things to look for:

Size — This is where you should start before making any home office accessories purchase. Some printers were built for extreme mobility, while others were designed for the exact opposite. If space is tight, take some mindful measurements before pulling the trigger on a potentially cumbersome machine.

Inkjet vs. laser — Inkjet printers have broader capabilities when it comes to producing accurate colors, which is best suited for graphics and photo printing. Laser printers are best for speedy text documents, and usually come with a lower cost per page. Thermal printers use a special paper to get the job done, instead of external ink/laser cartridges.

All-in-one vs. anything else — Not every printer is an all-in-one, but the ones that are do a whole lot more than just print. They can scan, copy, fax and email documents in a snap, and are capable of most home office admin chores.

Printing speed — This is measured by “page per minute,” and the PPM for most prints tends to fall between the 15 to 20 range for black-and-white, and 10 to 15 for color. Manufacturers tend to hype these numbers, so take them with a grain of salt until you’ve tested those speeds for yourself.

Print quality — For those who care more about quality over quantity, look for a higher “dots per inch” measurement in the printer specs. The higher the DPI, the better; most printers are capable of at least 300 dpi, but some photo printers are capable of 600 or even 1,200 dpi.

Ink costs — Do some extra Googling before pulling the trigger on that awesome printer you just found on sale. The upfront costs might be tempting, but if you accidentally purchase a printer with uber-expensive ink cartridges, you might end up spending more in the long run after one too many flyer printouts for your annual company BBQ.

The best laser printers on the market today haven’t changed a whole lot from their chunky ancestors of yesteryear in terms of their primary strengths: zippy print speeds, low ink costs, and clean lines that are resistant to smudging. Laser printers still tend to be more expensive than their inkjet counterparts, which are better at complex color gradients.

At the end of the (work)day, laser printers are best suited for those who print out large volumes of text on a regular basis, such as book pages, research papers, schoolwork assignments, and the like. This is why you can spot them at just about any library, hospital, or admin office. They're also great for anyone who prints in more sporadic intervals; unlike inkjet printers, laser printer cartridges won't dry out on you over time.

Whether you’re looking for a color-capable laser printer or one that only prints in black-and-white, we’ve got you covered in terms of print quality, printing speeds, operating costs, and more. Read on to uncover our top picks for the best laser printers to complement the laptops in your life.

Quick list

Best for small business

One of the best aspects of the Canon ImageClass MF743Cdw printer is practically right in the name: the beautiful, eye-catching highly functional 5-inch color touchscreen. But that’s not all. You can expect top-quality performance for both monochrome and color prints, and it's an all-in-one printer so it also copies and scans. Speaking of which, the 4,000-page monthly page volume is perfect for any business, though it might be a tad bulky for your home office. The 50-sheet automatic document feeder and 550-sheet paper cassette were built for efficiency, and it shows.

Just like most of the laser printers on this list, you’ll get faster printing, copying, and scanning speeds than the average office printer, along with sharp text and crystal-clear graphics. There's no doubt about it: the Canon ImageClass MF743Cdw is best-in-class when it comes to the best laser printers. Your coworkers will thank you for the investment. (Perhaps with colorful, custom printed stationery.)

Best all-in-one

Targeting the small- to mid-sized biz sector, Xerox has something for everyone with the WorkCentre 6515 printer. The brand has traditionally been aimed at the business crowd, so you can expect top-quality text on every page, not to mention better-than-average graphics. The oversized, smartphone-esque touchscreen makes every print function easy to access, even for those with poor eyesight.

The ADF holds up to 50 sheets of paper, while the main paper tray below holds another 250. (With an optional second tray, you can add another 550 sheets. Yowsers!) Another perk: you can scan both sides of a single document without having to turn it over. Photo quality is predictably subpar, but the WorkCentre 6515’s overall functionality far supersedes any shortcomings you may find.

Best black-and-white

The HP LaserJet MFP M234dwe laser printer might be the new Mighty Mouse of small business workflows, but this productivity powerhouse is more modest in stature than its capabilities would suggest. Whether you need it for no-nonsense scanning, copying, or printing, this uber-compact printer has a lot to offer under the hood. Plus, thanks to handy extras like smart-guided buttons, dual-sided printing and the extremely useful HP Smart app, the HP LaserJet MFP M234dwe is one of the best printers we’ve reviewed.

Using boiler-plate standard printing paper in its 150-sheet input tray, the HP LaserJet MFP M234dwe is well-equipped for everyday office duties. It printed out a 5-page black-and-white text document in a super-speedy 14.6 seconds, or 20.8 ppm. That is substantially faster than the OfficeJet Pro 9015e, which completed the same task in 22.4 seconds, or 13.4 ppm. Using the duplexer to create two-sided prints, the LaserJet MFP M234dwe managed 12 ppm, which is predictably faster than the OfficeJet Pro 9015e’s 10 ppm, though not by much.

See our full HP LaserJet MFP M234dwe printer review.

Best home office printer

Looking for a laser printer made for small businesses? The Brother Workhorse HL-L9310CDW is built like a tank, and it’s loaded with extra features for your office when it comes to security, productivity, and monthly ink costs. Right out of the box you get a set of high-yield cartridges estimated to pump out 6,500 pages each, which is nothing to sneeze at. (But if you do, wipe the thing down with a Clorox pad, for chrissakes.)

The HL-L9310CDW includes a 250-sheet capacity paper tray, which is adjustable to accommodate both standard legal-size paper and envelopes. (By purchasing optional trays, you can expand this capacity all the way up to 1,300 pages.) Your colleagues should appreciate the 2.7-inch color touchscreen, too, which makes direct printing from services like Dropbox, Google Drive and OneDrive a snap.

And when it comes to security, the HL-L9310CDW has everything on lockdown. For example, the Secure Function Lock can restrict specific print functions for up to 200 different users (such as color prints); Secure Print requires a PIN to access important documents.

Best value

If your printing needs are modest, good news: so is the Lexmark C3224dw Color Laser Printer, which was designed for smaller print volumes, making it great for any home office. Measuring just 16.2 x 15.5 x 9.6 inches, it’s also small enough to sit discreetly on your desktop without hogging all the space.

Connectivity options aren’t as dynamic as more expensive laser printers, but that’s to be expected at this price range. Nevertheless, Lexmark lets you control access to a variety of functions (such as limitations on who can print color copies in the office). The Confidential Print Setup feature lets you set up to 10 PINs to securely store documents directly on the C3224dw.

Printing speeds are nothing to write home about, and according to some reviews, ink costs are somewhat higher than average, but you’re sure to get your money’s worth by the end of the fiscal year.

Best mid-sized printer

If your small-ish office is in need of a value-priced laser printer, the HP Color LaserJet Pro M255dw is another popular option for small businesses, especially if you’re looking to stretch your dollars to the max. Plus, the intuitive 2.7-inch color touchscreen will shave some time off daily productivity chores.

Fast, high-quality prints are just the start of what this machine has to offer, along with a built-in duplexer, mobile printing options (via app or Wi-Fi) and USB 2.0 connectivity (which lets you print right from a USB drive). The HP Smart App is more comprehensive than you might expect, making it easy for you to scan documents on the fly and order more ink well before you run out.

The HP Color LaserJet Pro M255dw is a great option for light-duty tasks (the paper tray can hold up to 250 sheets), and you won’t be disappointed by the clean lines and vibrant colors this laser printer has to offer.

Best budget printer

When it comes to affordable laser printers that won’t break the bank, the HP Neverstop Laser 1001w (5HG80A) should definitely be on your shortlist. In contrast to it’s all-in-one big brother, the Neverstop Laser MFP 1202w, which has a more robust feature set, the 1001w is all about one thing, and one thing only: printing out black-and-white copies in a flash.

You get 5,000 pages worth of toner right out of the box, and HP’s reloadable toner system makes it easy to reup without making a mess. As usual, the HP Smart app is an excellent complement to this laser printer, which is why the sparse control panel (sans touchscreen) is mostly forgivable.

The paper capacity is only 150 sheets, but if you’re not printing out stuff too often, that’s more than enough to stay on top of all your admin work.

Got some extra wiggle room in your budget? Round out your home office accessories with our top picks for laptops, standing desks, workstation peripherals, and everything in between.

How to choose the best laser printer

Choosing the right laser printer is a fairly subjective process; everyone has different printing needs, so the odds of finding a one-printer-fits-all situation are fairly low. Still, the standard feature set for today's printers is becoming more robust than ever, which means you might not have to look too far. As you peruse the specs of any given printer, here are some things to look for:

Inkjet vs. laser — Inkjet printers have broader capabilities when it comes to producing accurate colors, which is best suited for graphics and photo printing. Laser printers are best for speedy text documents, smudge-free lines and lower cost-per-page rates.

All-in-one vs. anything else — Not every printer is an all-in-one, but the ones that are do a whole lot more than just print. They can scan, copy, fax and email documents in a snap, and are capable of most home office admin chores. There are plenty of laser printers (both monochrome and color) that cross over into the all-in-one category, but a “printer-only” model might be all you need.

Size — This is where you should start before making any home office accessories purchase. If space is tight, take some mindful measurements before pulling the trigger on a potentially cumbersome machine.

Printing speed — This is measured by “page per minute,” and the PPM for most prints often falls between the 15 to 20 range for black-and-white, and 10 to 15 for color. Manufacturers tend to exaggerate these numbers, so take them with a grain of salt until you’ve tested those speeds for yourself.

Print quality — For those who care more about quality over quantity, look for a higher “dots per inch” measurement in the printer specs. The higher the DPI, the better; most printers are capable of at least 300 dpi, but some photo printers are capable of 600 or even 1,200 dpi.

Ink costs — Do some extra Googling before pulling the trigger on that awesome printer you just found on sale. The upfront costs might be tempting, but if you accidentally purchase a printer with ultra-expensive toner cartridges, you might end up spending more in the long run after one too many flyer printouts for your annual pig roast.

Monochrome vs. color — Some laser printers only use black toner, while others use color; just make sure you pick the right one for your daily needs. (Note: color laser toner can get expensive.)

Special features — The best laser printers usually have some sort of touchscreen interface, password-protected printing, automatic duplexers, dual-sided printing, and automatic document feeders for scanning, faxing, or copying multi-page docs.

Why trust Laptop Mag

Laptop Mag reviews over one hundred different laptops every year, from paperweight ultralights to everyday workhorses to lumbering gaming notebooks that scorch the frame rates of even the hottest AAA games. We're not just experts in the laptop field, as we go one step further by meticulously testing smartphones, tablets, headphones, PC accessories, software, and even the latest in gaming.

We are 100% independent and have decades of experience to help you buy with confidence. In fact, Laptop Mag has been testing and reviewing products for three decades, and we continue to deliver trustworthy reviews you can rely on.

Our experienced team of writers and editors scour the available information about the laptop and put it through its paces to determine which is best for you. But before they start, the testing team subjects each system to a rigorous regimen of synthetic and real-world tests to see how a system handles the type of work and games you’re most likely to throw at it.

Our editorial trustworthiness is enforced by one of the world's largest technology publishers, Future Publishing. As a company, we have unrivaled experience across every tech sector — and we're the group's specialist for all things mobile tech.

From speeding up your laptop's boot time to customizing your action center, there are plenty of 10-minute tasks you can execute to improve the usability of your laptop. Installing a printer in Windows 10 is a painless task that gives you the ability to start printing immediately after a quick setup. Here's how to add a printer in Windows 10.

One way to connect a printer to your PC is by USB cable, which makes it a local printer. You can also install a wireless printer or add a printer connected to another laptop or PC on your network. We'll cover these scenarios below.

Add a local printer

1. Connect the printer to your computer using the USB cable and turn it on.

2. Open the Settings app from the Start menu.

3. Click Devices.

4. Click Add a printer or scanner.

5. If Windows detects your printer, click on the name of the printer and follow the on-screen instructions to finish the installation. And you're done.

If Windows doesn't find your connected printer, click on "The printer that I want isn't listed" link.

Then let the Windows troubleshooting guide help you find your printer. It will search for available printers and help you download the drivers for them.

If that doesn't work, head to your printer manufacturer's website and download the drivers and installation tools for your printer.

Add a wireless printer

The steps to install a wireless printer may vary by manufacturer. In general, however, modern printers today will detect your network and automate the installation.

1. Use the printer's LCD or touchscreen panel to enter the wireless setup. On my Epson printer this is under Setup > Wireless LAN Settings.

2. Select your Wi-Fi network. You'll need to know your home network's SSID, which you can find by hovering your mouse over the Wi-Fi icon in the taskbar.

3. Enter your network password.

In some cases, you might need to temporarily connect your printer to your computer via USB to install software. But otherwise, that's it. You should find your printer automatically added in the Printers & scanners section under Settings > Devices.

If you run into trouble, make sure your printer is relatively close to your computer and not too far from your wireless router. If your printer has an Ethernet jack, you could also connect it directly to your router and manage it with a browser interface.

Add a shared printer

Windows' home networking feature called HomeGroup automatically shares printers and certain files with other computers on your home network. Here we'll set up a HomeGroup, if you don't already have one set up, and connect to the shared printer.

Set up a HomeGroup

Skip this step if your home network already has a HomeGroup set up. If you're not sure, follow steps 1 and 2 below to check.

1. Right-click on the wireless icon in the taskbar and select "Open Network and Sharing Center".

2. Click "Ready to create" next to HomeGroup. If a Homegroup already exists on your network, it will say "Joined."

3. Click the Create a homegroup button.

4. Click Next.

5. Select what you want to be shared. (Printers & Devices are shared by default.)

6. Write down the HomeGroup password Windows creates for you. You'll need it for each computer you want to join the HomeGroup.

7. Click Finish.

Connect to a shared printer on the HomeGroup

Now head to the other computer(s) on your network to join the HomeGroup.

1. Click Homegroup and then the Join now button in Windows Explorer.

2. Click Next.

3. Verify what you want to share and click Next.

4. Enter the password and click Next.

5. Click Finish.

6. Click Network in Windows Explorer and you should see the shared printer installed.

Windows 10 basics

• Previous Tip
• Next Tip

• Seven settings to change right away
• Windows 10 keyboard shortcuts to save you clicks
• Five ways to take screenshots
• Change your password in Windows 10
• Uninstall programs in Windows 10
• Enable or disable tablet mode
• Add a user (child or adult)
• Change the screen resolution
• Sync your settings across devices
• Sync iPhone with Windows 10
• Control Windows 10 with your voice
• Upgrade to Windows 10 from Windows 7 or 8
• Eliminate blue light with night light
• Create a new folder
• Get to the desktop in Windows 10
• Add a printer
• All Windows 10 tips
• Set alarms

The HP Envy Inspire 7955e All-in-One Printer is an excellent option for any small business, home office, or makeshift dorm room. HP calls it the “printer that prints everything so you can create anything,” from high-res vacation photos to black-and-white office documents for your next group project. This comprehensive printing platform also adds integrated ink management and a variety of other nifty features — including six months of free ink when you sign up for HP+.

• Still shopping? Check out more of the best printers right here 
• The best all-in-one printers can plow through printing projects at a pretty peppy pace
• The best laser printers have zippier output times than their inkjet brethren

HP Envy Inspire 7955e All-in-One Printer pricing and availability

The HP Envy Inspire 7955e All-in-One Printer costs $250, and that comes with a standard one-year warranty; if you sign up for HP+ during the setup process, this protection gets extended to two years. You can upgrade to a three- or four-year warranty ($45 or $60, respectively) when you purchase from HP’s site.

The HP Envy Inspire 7955e was designed for both productivity and play, and there’s an awful lot to like about the new HP+ platform. (More on that later.)  

HP Envy Inspire 7955e All-in-One Printer setup

Getting started with the HP Envy Inspire 7955e was a snap; I simply plugged the printer in, and the touchscreen automatically guided me through the rest of the process. Once I installed the two ink cartridges and loaded up the paper tray, I was good to go. Note: you can navigate HP Smart via your desktop or the mobile app, but throughout my testing, I preferred the latter.

During setup, you can sign up for HP+, which works in conjunction with the HP Smart printing app. If you opt in, you'll have the opportunity to try HP Instant Ink (free for your first six months) — ensuring new ink or toner cartridges are delivered to your doorstep before you run out. Once the trial period for HP Instant Ink is over, these plans start at $0.99 per month (estimating ink usage of only 15 pages during that time) and go all the way up to $24.99 (700 pages per month); this recurring fee might be impractical for the average household, but it could be perfect for small businesses and college kids. Or both, if you got ‘em.

As mentioned above, springing for HP+ will extend the warranty by an extra year. HP Smart lets you view ink levels at a glance; scan documents on the go, and print out vivid color photos from just about anywhere. When HP+ is activated, this app becomes more robust (indicated by the white ribbon at the top of the screen turning orange), allowing you to print, scan, and fax right from your phone in a variety of creative ways.

As I put the HP Envy Inspire 7955e through its paces, scanning and printing documents directly from my Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra smartphone became highly intuitive, with minimal lag between app selections and initial printer activity. 

HP Envy Inspire 7955e All-in-One Printer design and ease of use

There’s no denying it: the HP Envy Inspire 7955e looks basically identical to the HP OfficeJet Pro 9015e. The 2.7-inch color touchscreen allows for easy menu selections, and it can be tilted to 45 degrees for better viewing; it was easy enough for my monkey-man hands to navigate, but choosing smaller icons took a somewhat delicate touch. 

On the backside of the printer you’ll find a power port and one host USB port, which is covered with a sticker. (You have to set the printer up via HP Smart, as opposed to a wired connection to your laptop.) Unfortunately, there’s no SD Card slot or USB memory port for printing/scanning from a thumb drive. Tsk, tsk.

Just like the OfficeJet Pro 9015e, the 35-sheet automatic document feeder (ADF) sits on top, and if you lift the lid, you’ll find the glass scanning area inside. There’s also a flip-down panel on the front of the printer for swapping out ink cartridges, and a 125-page input tray on the front, complete with a separate photo tray.

HP Envy Inspire 7955e All-in-One Printer print speeds

Using standard printing paper in its (smallish) 125-sheet input tray, the HP Envy Inspire 7955e holds its own with day-to-day home office chores. At default settings with the printer fully warmed up, it churned out my 5-page black-and-white text document in 27.8 seconds, or 10.9 ppm — a tad slower than the OfficeJet Pro 9015e (13.4 ppm as tested), which is designed for faster output. It printed out my 5-page mixed text and color graphics document in 46.7 seconds, or 6.4 ppm. 

Using the duplexer to create two-sided black-and-white prints, the HP Envy Inspire 7955e managed 5.8 ppm, nearly half the speed of the OfficeJet Pro 9015e’s 10 ppm for duplexing; in Enhanced Quiet Mode, it printed out that same test doc in 1 minute and 39.1 seconds, or 3.5 ppm. That’s markedly slower, to be sure, but I could absolutely notice the lowered decibel level as my document eked its way through, and the Envy Inspire 7955e’s chunky machinations didn’t sound nearly as harsh. That’ll impress your clients, no doubt (ie, the sleeping baby).  

Note: HP rates the HP Envy Inspire 7955e at up to 15 ppm for black-and-white documents, and up to 10 ppm for color copies.

HP Envy Inspire 7955e All-in-One Printer copy and scan speeds

Today’s top-tier all-in-one printers are also adroit at scanning and copying, and the Envy Inspire 7955e has the whole family covered when it comes to duplicating homework assignment sheets; polishing up group projects; or creating colorful flyers to help find somebody’s lost dog. It’s not as speedy as some of its competitors, though.  

The Envy Inspire 7955e scanned and printed a multicolored text doc at 2.9 ppm (5 ppm for black-and-white copies), which is far slower than the biz-centric OfficeJet Pro9015e (10 and 11.1 ppm, respectively). The former scanned and printed out a colorful Time Magazine cover in 1 minute and 23 seconds; the latter did the same chore in 1 minute and 40 seconds.  

Using the ADF to make single-sided copies of a black-and-white text document, the Envy Inspire 7955e managed 8.3 ppm, which is slightly slower than the OfficeJet Pro 9015e’s 10.4 ppm.

HP Envy Inspire 7955e All-in-One Printer print quality

Overall, I was fairly impressed with the HP Envy Inspire 7955e’s print quality, particularly when it came to finer details. Text was satisfactorily sharp and crisp in both color and black-and-white documents; no streaking was apparent. 

Glossy photos printed out with sharp, vivid hues, and color copies appeared true-to-life when scanning photographs. Tonal gradients came through just fine in my scans and copies, to a surprisingly accurate degree. In a direct comparison to prints produced by the similarly equipped OfficeJet Pro9015e, I have to give the HP Envy Inspire 7955e the edge.

HP Envy Inspire 7955e All-in-One Printer ink costs

HP offers both standard and high-yield ink cartridges for the HP Envy Inspire 7955e, ranging from $25 each for the former and up to $45 each for the latter. Standard color cartridges are rated for up to 700 pages, or 1,500 pages for the high-yield option; the $42 high-yield black ink cartridges are rated for up to 2,300 pages. That averages out to 3.5 cents per page for color cartridges — or 3 cents for high-yield — and 1.8 cents for high-yield black ink cartridges. 

One reason to consider the HP Envy Inspire 7955e All-in-One Printer, however, is HP Instant Ink (included with HP+ once activated), a monthly service that ensures new ink or toner cartridges are delivered to your door — before you even have the chance to run out. You get six months of free ink or toner when you sign up for an HP+ Print Plan, which is based on how many pages you expect to print on a regular basis. Plans range from $0.99 for just 15 pages per month to $24.99 for 700 pages; when your printer detects low ink levels, you can expect an ink delivery on the way, toot sweet. 

Verdict

The hybrid lifestyle is a family-wide scenario now, and bleeding-edge home office tools have become pivotal for our day-to-day productivity, to matter your profession (or creative passion). The HP Envy Inspire 7955e All-in-One Printer has something for everyone, and while it’s no speed demon in terms of printing speeds, it’s still a solid option for quality prints, copies, and scans. Once you factor in the handy HP Smart app, HP+ Instant Ink service, and a plethora of colorful extras, the HP Envy Inspire 7955e All-in-One Printer stands out as one of the best all-in-one printers you can buy today. 

• The HP OfficeJet 9015e All-in-One Printer offers quicker overall performance
• Check out more of the best home office accessories right here

The Epson EcoTank ET-2850 All-in-One Printer is leading the charge for eco-friendly ink options in your family’s home office. Featuring an innovative cartridge-free ink system and impressive performance in a tidy, attractive package, the EcoTank ET-2850 promises to “exceed your vision” (according to the box, anyway) in terms of overall value and print quality. It’s an excellent all-in-one printer that’s accessible enough for the whole family, and way smarter than the inkjet printers of yesteryear. It easily slots into our best printers page.

Epson EcoTank ET-2850 All-in-One Printer pricing and availability

Available in black or white, the Epson EcoTank ET-2850 costs $300, and that comes with a standard two-year limited warranty — though that second year requires you to register the printer with HP.  

As of this writing, the ET-2850 was sold out on Epson’s website (not a bad sign in terms of gauging pure popularity for this particular printer), but both Amazon and Office Depot still had plenty in stock. That may change, of course, as the next round of holiday deals begin their looming, Mariah Carey-tinted descent.  

The EcoTank ET-2850 is part of Epson’s new generation of cartridge-free printers, which feature refillable ink tanks to minimize waste. Depending on how much printing you and your family do on a regular basis, each of these new printers comes with up to two years worth of ink right in the box — and with every replacement ink set. There are six new EcoTank models to choose from, ranging from $250 to $500. The ET-4850 is nestled right in the middle, though it’s still a bit large to make a good stocking stuffer.

Epson EcoTank ET-2850 All-in-One Printer: setting up

Thanks to the wonders of mobile tech, the traditional tedium of setting up your printer is a non-issue. After unpacking the ET-2850, I just had to plug it in; download the Epson Smart Panel app; press the power button on the printer; and follow the instructions on my phone. (Epson also includes a Windows installation disk, if your machine happens to have a CD drive. In my testing, though, it’s just easier to use your smartphone if you can.)

This is where Epson’s new printer line stands out, since setting up involves manually filling those ink tanks yourself, like a bona fide techie. (Don’t worry, it’s easier than you think.) This process may take slightly longer than swapping out traditional ink cartridges, but the DIY nature of it all is surprisingly pleasing since you can literally watch the ink reservoirs fill up right before your eyes, one at a time. (Just make sure to put the right ink in the right reservoir!) Then it’s just a matter of connecting to WiFi, allowing “ink initialization” to finish — a ten-minute procedure — adjusting the printer head alignment; updating the firmware; and that’s about it. I had everything set up in less than 30 minutes. If you’re a Windows user like me, you’ll want to download everything for your desktop, too.

The reservoir for black ink is larger than the rest, which explains why replacement bottles cost $20 instead of $13. You can also pick up a three-pack of cyan, magenta, and yellow ink bottles from Epson’s website for $39. (More on ink costs later.)

The Epson Smart Panel app is intuitive and easy to navigate; there’s a nifty carousel on the customizable interface to help you print photos, documents, ID cards, borderless copies, and a whole bunch more. (The app is compatible with iOS, too, so iPhone owners aren’t left in the dark.) In my testing, it was a cinch to scan and print documents directly from my Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra as I organized press materials for upcoming projects. 

Noticeably absent, however, is a fax function, but that practice is becoming more archaic with every passing tax season.

Epson EcoTank ET-2850 All-in-One Printer design and ease of use

Similar to other newish all-in-one printers, the Epson EcoTank ET-2850 has a 1.4-inch LCD panel for menu navigation, which is handled by pressing the soft-touch buttons to the right of the screen. The $250 HP OfficeJet Pro 9015e has a much larger 2.7-inch color touchscreen that can be tilted at 45 degrees for better viewing. Granted, you can access most printer controls right from your phone or laptop, so you shouldn’t have to fiddle with Epson’s diminutive screen too often if you don’t feel like it.

Turn the printer around, and you’ll find a host USB port, an AC adapter port…and that’s it. I appreciate the minimalism here, but a USB memory port or SD Card slot would be nice for speedy file transfers, especially since you can find such connectivity with cheaper printers like the OfficeJet Pro 9015e. The 100-sheet dual-sided document feeder is easy to miss, accessible via a hidden panel in the back. If you lift the main lid, you’ll find the glass scanning area underneath; there’s also an extendable output tray on the front. Overall, it’s a tidy, collapsible package that’s easy on the eyes and easy as hell to navigate.

While it’s hardly necessary, in my opinion, Epson does a nice job with aesthetics here. Heck, they just might have a future in the world of color photography or something. 

I used the Epson Smart Panel app on my phone to complete most of my testing, and it’s dead-simple to use; I appreciate the carousel-style menu for navigation.

Epson EcoTank ET-2850 All-in-One Printer print speeds 

Using standard printing paper in its (smallish) 100-sheet input tray, the Epson EcoTank ET-2850 holds its own when it comes to light productivity chores. It printed out my 5-page black-and-white text document in 43.6 seconds, or 6.8 ppm, which is roughly twice as long as the OfficeJet Pro 9015e (13.4 ppm), but as the latter’s name implies, that machine was literally built for office chores.

The Epson EcoTank ET-2850 was similarly laggy when it came to mixed text and color graphics. It printed out my 5-page test document in 1 minute 21 seconds, or 3.7 ppm. In duplexer mode (to create two-sided prints), it managed a measly 6.3 ppm in black and white, which is a far cry from the OfficeJet Pro 9015e’s 10 ppm.

Long story short: if zippy prints are a top priority for your day-to-day, look to laser printers instead.

Note: Epson rates the Epson EcoTank ET-2850 at up to 15.5 ISO ppm for black-and-white documents, and up to 8.5 ISO ppm for color, which amounts to the expected hyperbole when it comes to manufacturer testing. And not for nothing, but printing speeds are a somewhat subjective measurement, depending on how you test, what kind of paper you use, and what settings you tweak on the accompanying software. Plus, most printers achieve speedier outputs once they’re warmed up.

Epson EcoTank ET-2850 All-in-One Printer copy and scan speeds

A family-friendly all-in-one should make copies at a decent rate, and the EcoTank ET-2850 gets a passing grade in this department. It took 22.6 seconds to scan and print a singular multicolored text doc (11 seconds for black and white copies), which is fairly slow in comparison to the HP OfficeJet Pro 9015e (6 and 5.5 seconds, respectively).

Without customizing any settings, the EcoTank ET-2850 reproduced a Time magazine cover copy in 36 seconds; in High Quality mode (adjusted via the LCD screen), that print time skyrocketed to 2 minutes and 25 seconds. This is on par with the HP OfficeJet Pro 9015e, which copied the same magazine cover in 1 minute and 40 seconds when using Photo mode.

Epson EcoTank ET-2850 All-in-One Printer print quality

Overall, I was pleased as pie with the Epson EcoTank ET-2850’s print quality. Text was plenty sharp and crisp in both color and black-and-white documents; it was easy enough to make out all the finer details in my test printouts. Scanned images came out well, too, especially when using higher-quality photo paper. (Printing out colorful photos on standard office paper can result in streaking and/or fading.)

Epson is known for its expertise in photography, and this is where the ET-2850 really shines; it has a maximum print resolution of 4800 x 1200. To put the ET-2850 through its pixel-pushing paces, I bumped the quality settings up to “high” and printed out a variety of glossy photos, which included some outdoor shots (4000 x 3000), a portrait of my goofy mug (2736 x 2736), and a high-res wallpaper of some distant galaxy (5120 x 2880).

The ET-2850 produced accurate, well-saturated colors throughout; in the portrait shot (which took over five minutes to finish printing), I could easily make out the individual hairs in my scraggly beard, the TV’s reflection on the swimming goggles I’m wearing, and even the pores in my nose.

Epson EcoTank ET-2850 All-in-One Printer ink costs

Epson offers one 70 mL size for their color ink replacements, which cost $13 per bottle (cyan, magenta, yellow); you can buy a three-pack for $39. Black ink bottles are a little larger at 127 mL, and will run you $20 each.  

Color ink bottles are rated for up to 6,000 pages each, and Black ink cartridges are rated for up to 7,500 pages. That averages out to 0.2 cents per page for color cartridges and 0.3 cents for black ink cartridges. Assuming these estimates are somewhat accurate, you shouldn’t have to reup on ink very often.

Verdict

If you’re looking for an all-in-one printer that’s great for churning out color photos, most families will find something to like about the Epson EcoTank ET-2850 All-in-One Printer. It’s a lot of productivity in a fairly diminutive package, and the Epson Smart Panel app makes weekly office chores a snap. Slow printing, scanning, and copying speeds set the ET-2850 behind such competitors as the HP OfficeJet Pro 9015e, which is admittedly bigger and louder than the former, but if you’re never in a rush with your printing jobs, you should appreciate the overall quality Epson has to offer.

If you're reading this, chances are you're on the hunt for Cyber Monday printer deals. With the best Cyber Monday 2021 deals rolling out now, we're scouting the best discounts on printers. 

Cyber Monday deals on printers are slowly but surely popping up. If you're needing the best deal on printers we'll be tracking this season's best deals on all-in-one printers, photo printers, 3D printers and more. 

• Shop: Amazon's entire sale
• Cyber Monday deals 2021

If you're looking for an all-in-one printer that's environmentally friendly, look no further than the Epson EcoTank ET-2800.

Right now, Office Depot has the Epson EcoTank ET-2800 all-in-one Supertank color printer on sale for $199. Normally, it sells for $249, so that's a solid $50 off the original price!

The Epson EcoTank ET-2800 can print up to a 5760 x 1440 dpi resolution for incredibly crisp and detailed images or documents. It also has a 8.5 x 11.75-inch flatbed scanner with 24-bit depth and a resolution of 1200 x 2400 dpi. 

Plus, the cartridge-free design makes refilling ink stress-free. With each EcoFit ink bottle set equaling around 90 individual cartridges, you don't have to worry about tossing more plastic than necessary into landfills.

Among today's Cyber Monday printer deals, it's one of the best we've seen.

Cyber Monday delivers some of the best discounts on today's best mobile gadgets. In the meantime, check out our list of the best Cyber Monday deals happening now. 

Best Cyber Monday printer deals 2021

If you're reading this, chances are you're on the hunt for Black Friday printer deals. With early Black Friday 2021 deals now rolling out, we're scouting the best discounts on printers. 

Slowly but surely we're seeing Black Friday deals on printers pop up. If you're needing the best deal on printers we'll be tracking this season's best deals on all-in-one printers, photo printers, 3D printers and more. 

• Shop: Amazon's entire sale
• Black Friday deals 2021

If you're looking for an all-in-one printer that's environmentally friendly, look no further than the Epson EcoTank ET-2800.

Right now, Office Depot has the Epson EcoTank ET-2800 all-in-one Supertank color printer on sale for $199. Normally, it sells for $249, so that's a solid $50 off the original price!

The Epson EcoTank ET-2800 can print up to a 5760 x 1440 dpi resolution for incredibly crisp and detailed images or documents. It also has a 8.5 x 11.75-inch flatbed scanner with 24 bit depth and a resolution of 1200 x 2400 dpi. 

Plus, the cartridge-free design makes refilling ink stress-free. With each EcoFit ink bottle set equaling around 90 individual cartridges, you don't have to worry about tossing more plastic than necessary into landfills.

Among today's pre-Black Friday printer deals, it's one of the best we've seen.

Black Friday falls on November 26 and we expect to see tons of fantastic bargains on all things tech. Be sure to bookmark our Black Friday 2021 deals hub for the best holiday discounts.

If you can't afford to wait, here are the best pre-Black Friday printer deals you can get. 

Best Black Friday printer deals

The HP LaserJet MFP M234dwe laser printer might be the new Mighty Mouse of small business productivity, but this productivity powerhouse is more modest in stature than its capabilities would suggest. Whether you need it for no-nonsense scanning, copying, or printing, this uber-compact printer has a lot to offer under the hood. Plus, thanks to handy extras like smart-guided buttons, dual-sided printing, and the extremely useful HP Smart app, the HP LaserJet MFP M234dwe is one of the best printers we’ve looked at this year. Read on to see if it’s right for you. 

• Shopping around? Check out more of the best printers right here. 
• Looking for a best-in-class all-in-one? We just reviewed the HP OfficeJet Pro 9015e, too.

HP LaserJet MFP M234dwe pricing and availability

The HP LaserJet MFP M234dwe costs $179, and that comes with a standard two-year HP warranty; if you sign up for HP+ during the setup process (more on that later), you also get six free months of toner. 

Similar to the $229 HP OfficeJet Pro 9015e — an inkjet all-in-one that recently earned an Editor’s Choice award — the LaserJet MFP M234dwe is part of HP’s new lineup of printers, which includes 10 different models marketed toward families, small businesses, and home office use (ie, microbusinesses). Ranging from $69 to $229, there’s a lot to like about these newer models, and the LaserJet MFP M234dwe is markedly cheaper than other color-capable competitors in the world of home office tech.

HP LaserJet MFP M234dwe: setting up

If you’re old enough to know what a dot matrix printer is (hint: it’s not an Animaniacs/Matrix crossover), you’re probably familiar with how clunky and intuitive those machines were. Since we live in the future, the setup process for the LaserJet MFP M234dwe was a cinch. To get started, you simply plug the printer in, press the power button, and the HP Smart app does the rest; you can use either your phone or desktop for this step. Once the printer is connected to your Wi-Fi network, the app guides you through each step, complete with useful animations and graphics. (A toner cartridge also comes preinstalled, making for a more seamless process.)

As I set up the LaserJet MFP M234dwe for the first time via smartphone, the app had some updates to install before I could take control of the printer; interestingly, in order to move forward with setup, you have to agree to both connect your printer to the Internet, and to only use authentic HP toner replacements. HP is definitely trying to create an ecosystem here.

During setup, you’re given the option to sign up for HP+, which works in conjunction with the HP Smart printing app. You can opt in to the company's Instant Ink service (the first six months are free), which sends new ink/toner cartridges your way before the printer actually runs dry. After the free trial, Instant Ink plans start at $1.99 per month (estimating ink usage of only 50 pages during that time) and go all the way up to $25.99 (1,500 pages per month); this recurring fee might be impractical for the average family, but it could be perfect for a small business with ever-changing printing needs. Bonus: If you sign up for any plan, you’ll get six month’s worth of ink for free.

Signing up for HP+ unlocks a variety of other biz-friendly perks, such as Smart Security (to detect and prevent malware attacks); native in-OS printing from anywhere; and the Smart Dashboard, which helps manage all your printing needs in one convenient place. The HP Smart app also becomes more robust (the ribbon at the top turns from white to orange when HP+ is activated), allowing you to access advanced scanning features for the next two years; HP+ also tacks on an additional year for the warranty.

In my testing, it was easy as pie (charts) to scan and print documents directly from my Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra as I gathered all my paperwork for tax season; the app is intuitive and very easy to navigate. 

HP LaserJet MFP M234dwe design and ease of use 

Measuring just 14.5 x 11.8 x 9.5 inches and weighing 16.8 pounds, the LaserJet MFP M234dwe is easy to tuck into just about any office corner. The compact size is a huge plus if you plan on taking it out of the office sometimes.

While more expensive printers, such as the OfficeJet Pro 9015e, often come with colorful touchscreens for easy operation, the LaserJet MFP M234dwe keeps things simple with a diminutive 1.3-inch LCD screen, along with a singular row of buttons underneath for one-touch copying and other basic functions. It’s not exactly futuristic, but it gets the job done.

On the backside of the printer, you’ll find a Kensington lock slot — which is great for offsite security — along with connections for an Ethernet port and one host USB port, which is covered with a sticker. (Remember, you have to set this printer up via HP Smart, as opposed to a wired connection to your laptop.) Unfortunately, this printer is devoid of any memory card slots or USB ports for printing/scanning from a thumb drive. 

The sheet input tray sits in the front, and if you lift the printer’s lid, you’ll find a glass scanning bed inside. (You can access the toner cartridge by flipping this area up.) The only visual flair to speak of? A singular light in front, which glows various colors (purple, blue, green,amber) during operation to denote various printer activities.

HP LaserJet MFP M234dwe printing and copying speeds

Using boiler-plate standard printing paper in its 150-sheet input tray, the HP LaserJet MFP M234dwe is well-equipped for everyday office duties. It printed out my five-page black-and-white text document in a super-speedy 14.6 seconds, or 20.8 ppm — substantially faster than the OfficeJet Pro 9015e, which completed the same task in 22.4 seconds, or 13.4 ppm. Using the duplexer to create two-sided prints, the LaserJet MFP M234dwe managed 12 ppm, which is predictably faster than the OfficeJet Pro 9015e’s 10 ppm, though not by much. (Laser printers are generally known for producing quicker copies once they’re warmed up.) 

To give you an idea of how far HP has come with its printing tech, I fired up my old HP Envy 5660 printer, an ancient (ie, roughly five years old) all-in-one that’s practically a dinosaur by today’s office standards. It printed out that 5-page doc in an abysmal 4 minutes and 33.3 seconds, or just 1.1 ppm. I practically had time to toss in a load of laundry while I waited, or at least take a cat nap.       

When it comes to scanning, the LaserJet MFP M234dwe isn’t exactly at the head of the pack. It scanned and printed a simple text doc in 9.5 seconds; the OfficeJet Pro 9015e managed to scan and print the same document in just 5.5 seconds.  

HP LaserJet MFP M234dwe print quality

Overall, I have nothing to complain about when it comes to the HP LaserJet MFP M234dwe’s print quality. Text was sharp and crisp in all of the black-and-white documents I printed; there was no apparent fading or smudging whatsoever. When I scanned a few Time Magazine pages, the graphics came out nearly identical to the originals, albeit in black and white.

HP LaserJet MFP M234dwe ink costs

HP offers both standard and high-yield toner cartridges for the LaserJet MFP M234dwe; the company charges $48.99 for the former and $79.99 for the latter. Standard cartridges are rated for up to 1,100 pages each, or 2,400 pages for the high-yield option. That averages out to 4.5 cents per page for standard toner cartridges — or 3.3 cents with the high-capacity toner. 

As mentioned above, during setup you can sign up for HP Instant Ink (included with HP+), a monthly service that ensures new ink or toner cartridges are delivered to your door — automatically. You get six months of free toner when you sign up for an HP+ Print Plan, which is based on how many pages you expect to print on a regular basis.

Plans range from $1.99 for just 50 pages per month to $25.99 for 1,500 pages; when your printer detects low toner levels, you can expect a cartridge delivery without having to lift a finger. The service isn’t for everyone, but it sure makes running out of toner a non-issue.

Verdict

If color copies are rarely necessary for your small business, the HP LaserJet MFP M234dwe is an affordable (and portable) option that doesn’t take up too much space. The simplistic design doesn’t mean it can’t hang with the rest of your office tech, and the zippity printing speeds alone should boost your admin chores by a noticeable margin. Factor in that all-inclusive HP Smart app — not to mention a convenient HP Ink service — and you’ve got yourself a laser printer that’s always on call when you need it.

• The best home office accessories are already at your fingertips. 
• The best standing desks will add holistic health to your workday. 
• The best business laptops are seriously stacked.  

The HP OfficeJet Pro 9015e all-in-one printer was designed as a one-stop productivity shop for any small business (or home office). Touting its freshly released OfficeJet Pro 9015e as “the productive smart printer that gets work done,” the company aims to save you oodles of time with a combination of intuitive tech and integrated ink management. And thanks to a handful of other nifty features — automatic two-sided scanning, super-simple mobile printing, and best-in-class security — I’d say HP hit the mark.

• Check out more of the best printers right here, no matter your budget. 
• Looking for lasers? We just reviewed the HP LaserJet M234dwe, too.

HP OfficeJet Pro 9015e pricing and availability

The HP OfficeJet Pro 9015e costs $229, and that comes with a standard one-year HP warranty; if you sign up for HP+ during the setup process (more on that later), the warranty gets extended to two years. (For an extra $55, you can also spring for a three-year warranty when you purchase from HP’s site.)

The OfficeJet Pro 9015e is part of HP’s new springtime lineup of printers, which includes 10 different models marketed toward families, small businesses, and home office use (ie, microbusinesses). Ranging from $69 to $229, there’s a lot to like about these newer models, and the 9015e falls on the mid-to-high end of printers meant for the home office.  

HP OfficeJet Pro 9015e: setting up

If you’re over the age of 30 (or so), you remember what a tedious process setting up a new printer used to be. Thanks to the wonders of today’s technology, however, getting started with the OfficeJet Pro 9015 was quick and painless; you simply plug the printer in, and the touchscreen turns on automatically to guide you through the rest of the process, step by step. Once I installed the ink cartridges and loaded up the paper tray, I was good to go.

During setup, you’ll be given the option to sign up for HP+, which works in conjunction with the HP Smart printing app. When you sign up, you'll have the opportunity to try HP Instant Ink (free for your first six months) — ensuring new ink or toner cartridges are delivered to your door before you ever run out. Once the trial period for HP Instant Ink is over, these plans start at $0.99 per month (estimating ink usage of only 15 pages during that time) and go all the way up to $24.99 (700 pages per month); this recurring fee might be impractical for the average family, but it could be perfect for a small business with ever-changing printing needs. 

As mentioned above, springing for HP+ will extend the warranty by an extra year; you also get a variety of other biz-friendly perks, such as Smart Security (to detect and prevent malware attacks); native in-OS printing from anywhere; and the Smart Dashboard, which helps manage all your printing needs in one convenient place. The HP Smart app also becomes more robust (the ribbon at the top turns from white to orange when HP+ is activated), allowing you to print, scan, and fax photos and documents right from your phone in a variety of creative ways. 

If you find yourself executing different kinds of printing jobs on a regular basis, the HP Smart app is infinitely useful. In my testing, it was a cinch to scan and print documents directly from my Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra as I gathered all my 1099s for tax season; the app is intuitive and very easy to navigate. You don’t need a brand-new HP printer to use the HP Smart app, either, but in my testing, it worked seamlessly with the OfficeJet Pro 9015e. 

HP OfficeJet Pro 9015e design and ease of use 

Similar to other premium printers at this particular price point, the OfficeJet Pro 9015e has a 2.7-inch color touchscreen for easy operation, and the screen can be tilted at 45 degrees for better viewing. Menu selections were easy enough to navigate, but my clumsy man hands required some finesse when selecting smaller icons on screen. It's not a deal-breaker, by any means.

If you turn the printer around, you’ll find two RJ-11 modem ports, an Ethernet port, and one host USB port, which is covered with a sticker; you have to set this printer up via HP Smart, as opposed to a wired connection to your laptop. On the left-hand side of the OfficeJet Pro 9015e, you’ll find a USB memory port for printing/scanning from a thumb drive. (Sorry, no SD Card slot here.) It took approximately three seconds to recognize my thumb drive’s media, allowing me to print pictures directly from the drive or scan and save them under another format (PDF, JPEG, TIFF, or XPS). 

The dual-pass, two-sided document feeder sits on top, and if you lift the lid, you’ll find the glass scanning area inside. There’s also a flip-down panel on the front of the printer for swapping out ink cartridges. At the end of the day, everything is equally easy to view and access.

HP OfficeJet Pro 9015e print speeds

Using standard ol’ printing paper in its generous 250-sheet input tray, the HP OfficeJet Pro 9015e is ready to rock when it comes to office duties. It printed out my 5-page black-and-white text document in 22.4 seconds, or 13.4 ppm, which is on par with the Brother INKvestment MFC-J995DW (10.3 ppm as tested), another business-minded printer with an eye for saving on ink costs. Using the duplexer to create two-sided prints, the OfficeJet Pro 9015e managed 10 ppm, more than double the speed of Brother’s 4 ppm for duplexing. 

The OfficeJet Pro 9015e was predictably zippy when it came to mixed text and color graphics, too. It plowed through my 5-page test document in just 32.7 seconds, or 9.1 ppm. 

Note: HP rates the HP OfficeJet Pro 9015e at up to 22 ppm for black-and-white documents, and up to 18 ppm for color, which is expected when it comes to manufacturer hyperbole for these specs.

To give you an idea of how far HP has come with its printing tech, I fired up my old HP Envy 5660 printer, an ancient (ie, roughly five years old) all-in-one that’s practically a dinosaur by today’s office standards. It printed out that 5-page doc in an abysmal 4 minutes and 33.3 seconds, or just 1.1 ppm. Woof. If time is money, it sure pays to live in the future, eh?      

I wasn’t joking about the “ready to rock'' part, either. While printing, the OfficeJet Pro 9015e literally rocked my rickety end table back and forth as it went; make sure you’ve got this thing planted on a stable surface, folks. (To be fair, there is a Quiet mode to relegate this, but activating it slows down the printing process. Pick a poison.)

HP OfficeJet Pro 9015e copy and scan speeds

A quality all-in-one should be able to make quick copies, and the OfficeJet Pro 9015e has that covered, too. It scanned and printed a multicolored text doc in 6 seconds flat (5.5 seconds for black and white copies), which is pretty darn quick. It also reproduced a Time magazine cover copy in 1 minute and 40 seconds, but the Photo mode — which can capture up to 1,200 dpi — requires a bit more attention to detail during the scanning process. 

Using the ADF to make single-sided copies of a text document, the OfficeJet Pro 9015e managed 9.6 ppm; speeds dropped only slightly to 10.4 ppm when printing out the same document in black and white.

HP OfficeJet Pro 9015e print quality

I was extremely pleased with the HP OfficeJet Pro 9015e’s print quality across the boa — err, page. Text was satisfactorily sharp and crisp in both color and black-and-white documents, though duplex copies came out slightly lighter. It was easy to make out all the finer details in my test printouts.

Glossy photos printed out with mostly accurate, well-saturated colors, and copies appeared true-to-life when scanning photographs. When converted to black and white, the once-colorful charts on my test documents retained the finer details and tonal gradients. Magazine graphics came out nearly identical to the original pages, even when using non-glossy paper.

HP OfficeJet Pro 9015e ink costs

HP offers both standard and high-yield ink cartridges for the OfficeJet Pro 9015e, ranging from $22.99 each for the former and up to $34.99 for the latter. Standard color cartridges are rated for up to 700 pages each, or 1,600 pages for the high-yield option. (Black ink cartridges come in one size, and are rated for up to 1,000 pages.) That averages out to 3.2 cents per page for color cartridges — or 2.2 cents for high-yield — and 3.3 cents for black ink cartridges. 

One of the big draws for the HP OfficeJet Pro 9015e, however, is the prospect of utilizing HP Instant Ink (included with HP+, once activated), a monthly service that ensures new ink or toner cartridges are delivered to your door — before you even have the chance to run out. You get six months of free ink or toner when you sign up for an HP+ Print Plan, which is based on how many pages you expect to print on a regular basis. Plans range from $0.99 for just 15 pages per month to $24.99 for 700 pages; when your printer detects low ink levels, you can expect an ink delivery to be on the way, without you having to lift a finger. For anyone with weekly admin chores and a short attention span, this service may well be worth the cost of entry.

Verdict

If you have a small business to run, your primary printer better be a reliable one. The HP OfficeJet Pro 9015e is more expensive than other printers meant for the microbusiness crowd, but with all the dynamic features packed into the machine, you get an awful lot of bang for your buck. Thanks to speedy printing, scanning, and copying speeds; detailed color representation; and an intuitive app to tie everything together, the HP OfficeJet Pro 9015e is one of the best home office printers you can buy today. 

• Check out more of the best home office accessories right here. 
• The best standing desks are great for holding all your peripherals. 
• Take care of business with the best business laptops. 

Microsoft acted quickly to put out a fire this week by releasing an emergency security patch to stop a particularly nasty vulnerability known as PrintNightmare from exposing users to remote execution of malicious code. 

The emergency patch went all the way back to Windows 7, a version that has been out of support since January of last year. While the update eliminated the threat, it also introduced a new issue. Zebra printer brand confirmed to The Verge that the patch left many of its users unable to print (via Windows Central).

• Best printers in 2021
• Windows 11 guide: Release date, beta download, features and more
• The best laptop deals in July 2021

Zebra, the biggest brand impacted by the issue, is most known for its label printers, a fairly crucial piece of equipment for many users and businesses. There are others though with Zebra simply indicating that the problem is "affecting multiple brands of printers." While the security is certainly worth the tradeoff on a temporary basis, there are plenty for whom printing is still a critical function and they aren't going to be thrilled to find they can no longer print. 

Microsoft is working to address the new problem with yet another update "within the next 1-2 business days." In the meantime, Zebra recommends that users either uninstall the Windows update (this seems like a bad idea given the security implications) or uninstall the affected printer driver and then reinstall it as an Administrator. 

Microsoft made it clear that the current patch for the PrintNightmare vulnerability is a temporary solution. It will be fixing the flaw permanently in a future Windows update that we can safely assume will avoid this printer issue as well. 

If at first you don't succeed, try and try again. That's exactly what Microsoft did after releasing a fix, er, attempted fix for a printer bug that plagued a sizable portion of Windows 10 users. 

The initial patch, which we reported on last week, was pulled after users complained about various issues when attempting to print. Those errors include missing or solid color graphics, misalignment/formatting issues, or printing of blank pages and labels.

• Windows 10 guide: Tips on how to use the OS
• Best laptops in 2021
• Best cheap laptop deals in March

Those problems are admittedly not as severe as the original issue with the March 2021 cumulative update, which resulted in what is not-so-affectionally named the Blue Screen of Death, or when a system issue is so severe it causes a complete failure. 

Microsoft resolved those printer errors with a broken patch and is now fixing that attempted repair with another update. The latest out-of-band optional update is now available on the Microsoft Update Catalog and on Windows Update, though Microsoft only recommends installing it if you're facing some of the aforementioned issues. 

Install the Windows 10 printer error patch

If you've already downloaded the out-of-band KB5001567 update and continue to have problems when printing, then you'll need to install another out-of-band update (KB5001649). 

Below is a list of steps to take to get the latest patch and (hopefully) fix any recurring printer errors for good. 

• Type 'Windows Update Settings' in the main Windows 10 search bar.
• From this page, choose 'View Update History.' 
• If KB5001649 isn't installed, go back and choose 'Check for updates' (you may need to start your system if pending updates are in a queue). 
• Find KB5001649 under 'Optional quality update available' and choose 'Download and install.' 

PC users are experiencing serious problems while printing after downloading the most recent Windows 10 March 2021 cumulative update. Some have even been hit with the feared Blue Screen of Death, an error that requires a full system shutdown. 

Fortunately, Microsoft has heard the complaints and released a temporary workaround for the problem. Not every software bug in Windows 10, or any other OS, is swiftly addressed, however, Microsoft didn't waste any time after BleepingComputer reported these printer errors earlier this week.

• Best laptop deals in 2021
• Best college laptops in 2021

The software giant released a new support document describing the error in detail and providing a workaround for how to avoid the Blue Screen of Death. Microsoft marked the printer error as "resolved" so you shouldn't have any problems going forward. 

As for what was causing the problem, it seems to be an issue with Type 3 printer drivers and it impacts a wide range of Windows 10 versions, including 20H2, 2002, 1909, 1809, Enterprise LTSC 219 and 1803. 

“After installing KB5000802, you might receive an APC_INDEX_MISMATCH error with a blue screen when attempting to print to certain printers in some apps. This issue affects a subset of Type 3 printer drivers and does not affect printer drivers that are Type 4," Microsoft notes.  

If you aren't sure which driver your PC uses, press the Windows + r key to bring up the "Run a command" dialogue box. From here, type printmanagement.msc and press enter. If Print Management pops up, expand Print Servers and your computer's name, then select Printers. If it doesn't, and you get an error, select "Start" and type manage optional features. From there, choose "Add a feature" and type "print." Lastly, select the check box next to Print Management Console and install it, then rerun these steps. 

Windows 10 printer error fix

Microsoft detailed a workaround that evades the Blue Screen of Death error, however, a permanent solution was released in the out-of-band KB5001567 update. This is a cumulative update, so you don't need to install any previous updates beforehand. 

You do, however, need to manually update your system. We have instructions on how to update Windows 10. Doing so should fix any errors you're getting when attempting to print. 

If that isn't working, or you can't see the update for whatever reason, Microsoft also provided a workaround although it requires a bit of technical know-how. You can follow this video the company posted for 32-bit or 64-bit systems. It walks you through opening a command prompt and using rundll32 printui.dll,PrintUIEntry /Xg /n PRINTERNAME to see if Direct Printing is enabled. If not, you need to run another command rundll32 printui.dll,PrintUIEntry /Xs /n PRINTERNAME attributes +direct.

To print from 64-bit apps running a 64-bit version of Windows or using 32-bit apps on a 32-bit version of Windows, download and install the Application Compatibility Toolkit. 

The Best Walmart After Cyber Monday deals include far more than just laptops, you can find amazing discounts on Canon and HP all-in-one wireless printers. Walmart even dropped the price of its Flashforge 3D printer to just $295, over $250 off. This is a bumper crop of Cyber Monday printer deals with something for everyone.

Walmart has pretty much every price point and printer style covered. But in case you 're looking for even more savings, check out our Best After Cyber Monday Deals hub. 

Walmart After Cyber Monday printer deals

We’ll be keeping our eyes peeled for the latest printer deals as and when they appear, and to ensure you don’t miss out, be sure to bookmark our Cyber Monday 2020 deals hub for this year's best Cyber Monday discounts.

Fujitsu's ScanSnap has provided users with a bug fix schedule that will make its scanners compatible with macOS Sierra. The company warned users who own its scanners last month not to update their Macs due to problems between the operating system and its software. 

The first batch of updates will occur this month and resolve issues creating new PDF files. The second batch, with no time frame announced, will fix problems with existing PDF files.

MORE: MacOS Sierra: Full Review

Five models (the  iX500, iX100, SV600, S1300i and S1100i) got updates for ScanSnap Manager and CardMinder yesterday (Oct. 6) that should resolve the issue with new files. On Oct. 17, an online update should fix issues for owners of ScanSnap's  S1500, S1500M, S1300 and S1100 models. At the end of October, the Evernote Edition scanner's software will get a patch, but there is no confirmed date.

ScanSnap is warning users not to use ScanSnap Organizer, which has no fixes yet. Users of those scanners who haven't updated to macOS may want to hold off.

macOS High Sierra Tips

• Previous Tip
• Next Tip

• How to Download and Install macOS High Sierra
• How to Use Picture-in-Picture on a Mac
• How to Use Siri on Your Mac
• How to Use Optimized Storage in macOS Sierra
• How to Use Memories in the Photos App on Mac
• How to Use Messages in macOS Sierra
• How to Use Apple Pay in macOS Sierra
• How to Unlock a MacBook with Your Apple Watch

If you own and rely on Fujitsu's ScanSnap scanners, you should hold off on updating your MacBook to macOS Sierra. The company warns that the ScanSnap application isn't yet compatible with the new OS, and that current files created with the app could also be affected.

Update: ScanSnap has provided more specific information about which actions in macOS Sierra cause compatibility problems. You can find that list here. The company hopes to have a fix out in October.

Specifically, some pages in existing PDF files can turn into blank pages when Sierra makes them searchable, and and black and white pages grow in size because they're saved as if they're in color. The same problem can occur with new files produced by ScanSnap in tandem with Sierra.

MORE: Meet macOS Sierra: 8 Best Features

Additionally, pages can be deleted when using the Merge Pages feature, and  scanning can miss the back of business cards that are organized in Fujitsu's CardMinder.

These issues occur in every ScanSnap scanner, including the Evernote version. On a page on its website, Fujitsu wrote that it will provide a solution "as soon as available." 

It isn't unusual for existing applications to not be completely compatible with a new operating system. Whether you use a Fujitsu scanner or not, you're better off waiting a couple of days after any major operating system update to make sure that all of your most crucial software works. In this case, Fujitsu is simply warning users ahead of the curve.

macOS High Sierra Tips

• Previous Tip
• Next Tip

• How to Download and Install macOS High Sierra
• How to Use Picture-in-Picture on a Mac
• How to Use Siri on Your Mac
• How to Use Optimized Storage in macOS Sierra
• How to Use Memories in the Photos App on Mac
• How to Use Messages in macOS Sierra
• How to Use Apple Pay in macOS Sierra
• How to Unlock a MacBook with Your Apple Watch

If you can scan a magazine and print it on paper, why not do the same with objects? This week, SoftKinetic, the gesture and object recognition company that makes the groundbreaking Creative Lab Sensz 3D camera and the camera in the Meta Pro, announced a partnership with 3D printing leader Makerbot. Under the partnership, SoftKinetic will develop a 3D scanner that works with Makerbot's printers and software.

Visiting SoftKinetic's hotel suite at CES 2014, we had a chance to see 3D scanning in action when a company rep scanned our head and torso into a PC. Though the camera he used was one of their existing 3D webcams and the third-party scanning application is not the one Makerbot will be using, we saw what the technology is capable of. As we stood perfectly still, the rep moved the camera around our head and torso in much the same way a smartphone user would move a phone to take a panoramic image. We had to take off our glasses, because the camera, which was designed for gesture recognition, has difficulty capturing transparent surfaces such as lenses.

MORE: Meta Pro AR Goggles Kick Google's Glass

After a few seconds, the rep had completed gathering our image and the software rendered our image. As we watched the preview image on-screen changed from a colorless green preview to a full color, highly-accurate rendering of our head and upper torso. If we had wanted to and had time, we could have turned that image into a real-world model using a MakerBot Replicator. 

It's easy to envision a number of use cases for 3D scanning, from making a model of a person or animal to copying a small object like a screw or a figurine. As the price of 3D printers drops and the quality improves, it's only a matter of time before 3D scanning goes mainstream. SoftKinetics depth perception cameras and software could help make that happen.

• Best 3D Printers
• Google Glass: What Explorers Love and Hate
• CES 2014: Full Coverage

AUSTIN (Laptopmag.com) — MakerBot and Autodesk, two of the biggest names in 3D printing and drafting, have announced a partnership at SXSW 2013 that will enable both companies to jointly market 3D design software alongside 3D printing hardware. MakerBot Replicator 2 Desktop 3D Printers will now work seamlessly with the Audodesk 123D suite of applications, allowing engineers, artists and hobbyists an easy way to bring their creations to life.

The Autodesk 123D software suite includes 123D Catch, 123D Creature, 123D Design and 123D Sculpt, which allows users to capture and create 3D models and designs using both desktop and mobile applications. These apps can now print directly to MakerBot's Replicator 2 Desktop 3D printer, one of the most affordable consumer 3D printers currently on the market.

"Software is key in showcasing the capabilities of 3D printing . . . MakerBot prides itself on setting the standard in desktop 3D printing," said Bre Pettis, CEO of MakerBot. "Now in working with Autodesk, we are also together, setting the standard in providing the leading 3D design software that is optimized for printing on a MakerBot."

Samir Hanna, vice president of Autodesk, also has high expectations for the new partnership. "Our goal is to continue making 3D printing from our applications simpler and more straightforward," Hanna said. "Our collaboration [with MakerBot] will help accelerate the next industrial revolution.”

• 15 Technologies We'll Still Be Using in 2030
• MakerBot  Announces Prinable 3D Smartphone Covers
• Top 10 Tablets Now

Back when I was growing up in the 1970s, we fully expected that, by 2012, we’d all be driving flying cars to our condos on the moon where robotic butlers awaited, ready to bring us the cure for cancer from the bathroom first-aid kit. How’s all of that working out? Sure, we now have faster, smaller computers, smartphones that talk back to you, and smart TVs, but in so many areas of technology the pace of change is slower than Windows Vista booting off a floppy disk.

A few months ago, I wrote an article about 15 technologies that will be gone by the time my infant son is old enough to use them. However, barring a zombie apocalypse, there are plenty of mainstays that my son will still be using when he enters college in 2030.

Though voice recognition, handwriting recognition and gesture control will all become more accurate and popular in the next two decades, my son will be typing his term papers like his dad and grandfather did before him. Until mind-control text entry becomes ubiquitous, typing will remain the most accurate method for composing and editing text. We just don’t speak the same way that we write. Though physical keyboards are in danger of becoming extinct on phones and tablets, their virtual equivalents will live on. On larger form factors like notebooks, the feel of real plastic keys will not be surpassed. Whether virtual or real, the QWERTY layout, which first appeared in 1878, will continue to dominate. Read More: 5 Things to Look For in Your Next Notebook Keyboard

Some say we’re entering the post-PC era, but I couldn’t disagree more. Sure, people are spending more time on their smartphones and tablets than their traditional Windows or Mac OS-based desktops and notebooks. But when it’s time to do real work, particularly if that work involves multitasking, the PC is still king and always will be. By 2030, the size and shape of PCs may change. Some may even argue that, with their speedy quad and dual-core CPUs, phones and tablets are becoming PCs. But whatever the form factor, productivity-oriented users will need primary computers with plenty of dedicated processing power and a multitasking friendly OS. Read More: 8 Reasons the PC Still Matters

More than 15 years after it was first introduced, we can’t imagine life without USB, a nearly ubiquitous standard that allows you to transfer data and power to everything from your keyboard to your external hard drive and monitor. Some believe that competing standards like Intel’s high-speed Thunderbolt connection will win out, but they just don’t have the install-base to overcome USB, and history is against them. Over the past two decades, many have tried to put USB out of business, but the bargain bins at computer shows are filled with pretender adapters like FireWire 400 and eSATAp. With nearly every mobile device using USB as a charging standard and USB ports even being built into wall sockets, this standard is only going to grow in the years ahead. My son may be using USB 7 when he’s in college, but he’ll be using USB to charge his gadgets and connect peripherals. In fact, with advances in power over USB, he may even use a USB port to power his notebook and his big- screen monitor. Read More: USB 3.0 Storage Drives Compared

With cloud services becoming more prominent and broadband getting faster, many people believe that in the future, we’ll be keeping all of our files online. They’re wrong. In college, my son will be storing all his most important data, including his applications, on a local solid state drive (which will use something better than NAND flash). Even when most of us have 1000 Mbps broadband, local storage will always be faster and more secure than a remote drive on someone else’s network. If you want to run large programs like games or professional-grade video-editing apps, you’ll want them on your PC’s storage drive. Also, even in 2030, there will be plenty of places where Internet access will be unavailable or unreliable. Read More: What's the Best SSD? 5 Drives Tested

Even as bandwidth, processing power and storage capacity increase, we cling to a lot of the same file formats we used back in the early 1990s, because they’re standards. Though high-end DSLRs can generate uncompressed RAW images, most devices shoot photos in JPG format, simply because everything supports JPG, from grandpa’s old Netscape 3 browser that he refuses to update to mom’s brand- spanking-new digital picture frame. In 2030, my son will still be shooting photos in jpg format, viewing JPGs on websites in his browser and uploading JPG files to his social media accounts, which may or may not be the same services we use today. Read More: 4 Great Photography Apps for Tablets

In 2030, just as today, nearly all of my son’s gadgets from his smartphone to his laptop and his electric or hybrid car will be powered by lithium-ion batteries. Over the years, the energy density of the batteries will increase to fit more mAH into a smaller space and the cell life will improve to several thousand charge cycles. A number of promising new battery chemistries like lithium-air and nanowire are under development, but if these technologies pan out, they won’t hit the mass market for many years. After all, lithium-ion batteries didn’t go mainstream until the late 1990s, even though scientists began developing them in the 1970s. Read More: Battery Tips for Every OS

By the time my infant son enters his freshmen year of college, we will have long since stopped dividing websites up into “pages,” because dynamic content refreshes will have eliminated the need to load an entirely new URL for each screen of content you interact with online. However, HTML, which has been the lingua franca of the Web since 1991, will remain the format we use to build the online applications and publications of the future. My son will be coding his freshmen year programming project in HTML 8 and doing all his research on a World Wide Web programmed in some form of the language.

Read More: What is HTML 5?

There’s some debate about whether plastic credit and debit cards will be totally replaced by mobile payment systems in the next few years. However, there’s no doubt that, in 2030, my son will carry a wallet with cash in it, because we’ll still be using paper and metal money well into the future. In the information age, paying by cash is the best way to keep your purchases anonymous. Aside from simply preserving your privacy, paper money is a great shield against identity theft, because the payee doesn’t even get your name, let alone an account number. The government would probably love to end the use of cash, because it allows payees to keep illegal transactions off the books, but paper money is the only form of payment that doesn’t require a third party like a bank to get involved. Read More: Tech to Watch 2012: NFC Goes Beyond Digital Wallets

It’s unlikely that my infant son will have a desktop PC in his college dorm, but he will have a clamshell-shaped notebook. Even if most PCs eventually have screens that pop off to become tablets, or keyboards that attach as covers as on the Microsoft Surface, the utility of a design where the keyboard sits perpendicular to the display and then snaps closed will remain unmatched. In a recent article, Time’s Harry McCracken writes about the history of the clamshell form factor that originated with 1982’s Grid Compass 1101: "It’s hard to imagine any design rendering the clamshell utterly obsolete. No matter how astonishing computers are in 2082 and beyond, I’ll bet that some of them will have a screen, a keyboard and a hinge in the middle. Why would the world want to give up something so fundamentally useful?" Read More: Top 10 Notebooks Available Now

Since 1997, the 802.11 standard has dominated wireless connectivity. Every smartphone, tablet and notebook comes with an 802.11g or 802.11n compatible radio built-in, and every home and business has a router that supports both of those standards. Today, we use Wi-Fi to stream video from our notebooks/tablets/phones to our home theaters via DLNA, WiDi or even the upcoming Miracast standard. We even have Wi-Fi Direct now, which allows sharing files directly between devices, without the use of a router. There’s no doubt my son will have some form of 802.11-based Wi-Fi in his college campus, at home and in the dorm. Even as most users get their Internet via some form of cellular connection like LTE Super Advanced, there will be an increased need to share connections and local data via Wi-Fi. Read More: 7 Ways to Improve Your Wireless Router

With the popularity of Facebook, Skype, Google instant messenger and Twitter, some think that email is about to be replaced by other forms of messaging. However, when my son receives his college acceptance letters in the spring of 2030, he’ll be getting them via the same old email system we’ve used in more or less the same format since the 1970s. Whether it’s via POP, IMAP, Exchange or some other protocol, email is an open system where anyone can email anyone else, without having to sign up for an account with a particular company. Can you imagine a future where you have to sign up for Facebook to message one of your clients and Google to contact your congressman? Read More: Outlook.com Hands-on: Microsoft's Gmail and Clutter Killer

As I write this list, I’m grooving to my music playlist on a pair of headphones connected to my smartphone via a 3.5mm audio jack. My son may not listen to Barnes and Barnes’ “Fish Heads” in a loop for three hours like his dad, but he will still be using 3.5mm audio jacks when he’s in college. Despite the advent of wireless Bluetooth headphones and convenient USB headsets, almost every notebook, tablet, media player and phone has at least one 3.5mm jack. There’s just too much invested in backward compatibility with 3.5mm headphones for a big change to occur in the next two decades.

Read More: Hip-Hop Headphones Reviewed

Though printer technology changed rapidly over the first two decades of the PC era, we’ve now settled on two standards: ink jet and laser. Since color laser is clearly superior and is close to achieving price parity with ink jet, laser will be the way everyone prints in 2030. Of course, by the time my son is in college, a lot of people won’t even own printers because everything, from your showing the TSA your airline boarding pass to handing in your term paper, will happen digitally. However, for those that still need to output on paper, laser printers will be the standard.

Read More: Latest Printer Reviews

When my son enters college in 2030, fewer people will have cable and all viewing will occur on demand. However, the dedicated TV set will continue to function as the center of a shared viewing experience in the living room and other communal spaces. Functionally, there may be few differences between the smart TV of the future and a large external monitor, but users will still want a screen that’s specifically designed for the home theater. My son may not have a TV in his dorm room, because he’ll be able to watch whatever he wants on his mobile devices, but there will be a large TV in the common room where he and his classmates can watch the game together.

Read More: What is a Smart TV?

After a nuclear war, only two things will survive: cockroaches and Microsoft Office. Since it overtook competing products from Lotus and WordPerfect in the 1990s, Microsoft’s productivity suite has dominated the business and academic worlds. While you can use Office-compatible products like OpenOffice.org and Google Docs for free, the authentic Office remains the standard for IT departments, institutions and home users everywhere. My son may be using “Microsoft Tiles 8” as his OS in 2030, but he’ll still be typing up his papers in some version of Office, as will most of his fellow students, his teachers and the boss at his internship. Read More: Microsoft Office 2013 Preview: More Cloud, More Social, So-So Touch

• 15 Current Technologies My Newborn Son Won't Use
• 13 Tech Sounds  You Don't Hear Anymore
• 12 Outdated Songs Rewritten for Today's Tech

Fast, easy to set up and boasting a wide array of mobile printing options, the HP Photosmart 5520 ($109) has the makings of a great all-in-one printer. A built-in touch screen makes this device a cinch to use, and the 5520 supports Apple's AirPrint as well as a printing app for phones and tablets and the ability to print via email. Do you have to give anything up to get such a low price?

Design

Click to EnlargeThe 21.5 x 17.5 x 5.6-inch, 11.2-pound Photosmart 5520 isn't the most compact all-in-one printer we've seen (those honors go to the 16.5 x 12.4 x 7-inch, 11.5-pound Kodak ESP 3.2), but it's significantly lighter than both the Canon PIXMA MG6220 (18.5 x 14.5 x 6.9 inches, 20.1 pounds) and Epson WorkForce 845 (17.6 x 14.5 x 11.8 inches, 22 pounds). The sides and lid of the printer sport a matte black finish that nicely resists fingerprints, while glossy black plastic covers the front lip of printer.

The 5520's control panel rests just off-center on the front lip of the printer. The control panel features a 2.1 x 1.5-inch capacitive touch screen flanked by buttons for home, back, help, cancel, next and previous. On the right are buttons to enable or disable the printer's Wi-Fi connection, access ePrint settings, and turn the printer on and off.

A row of settings buttons runs along the top of the touch screen, which let you manage the 5520's Web Services settings (display the printer's email address, download product updates, enable/disable ePrint, or remove Web Services). You can also change the wireless settings, display the printer's estimated ink levels and tweak general settings (including language, screen brightness, sleep mode and enable/disable Wireless Direct).

The touch screen also houses buttons for Photo, which lets you print pictures directly from a memory card and reprint photos using the flatbed scanner). Pressing the Apps button presents Photosmart-specific apps designed to let you print Sudoku puzzles, daily news and other items without a PC. You'll also find Copy and Scan buttons, as well as Quick Forms, which lets you print pre-made calendars, checklists and notebook paper. The touch screen itself was very responsive.

Below the control panel are an 80-sheet input tray and a 15-sheet output tray. The input tray also supports up to 40 4 x 6 cards, five No. 10 envelopes or 30 sheets of photo paper, while the output tray can hold up to five envelopes or 10 sheets of photo paper. As one would expect with an all-in-one, the scanner sits above the control panel, beneath the printer's plastic lid.

To the left of the tray, a small hatch opens up to reveal ports for a memory stick duo or an SD card (64MB max size). AC and Ethernet ports are found on the back of the printer.

Setup

Setting up the Photosmart 5520 was incredibly simple. We just plugged in the printer, selected the language on the touch-screen control panel and followed the on-screen instructions (helpfully demonstrated using pictures, making it easy to comprehend in any language).

Installing the necessary software on our PC was also a cinch. After placing the installation disk in our notebook's optical drive, the software asked us if we preferred to set up the printer wirelessly or using a USB cable (we chose the wireless option). The setup then proceeded to automatically install the necessary drivers on our notebook and sync up with the printer. In all, it took less than 10 minutes to get the 5520 up and running, with a minimal amount of human input.

ePrint

Like the Photosmart eStation C510, the 5520 features HP's ePrint technology, which allows users to send documents, photos and PDFs to their printer's email address (created online when the 5520 is first activated), without needing to use a PC as an intermediary. Although HP recommends that documents be sent from a PC to preserve formatting, the 5520 can print files from any Internet-connected device, including smartphones and tablets.

Using ePrint, the 5520 took 38 seconds to print a 2-page black-and-white Word document that we mailed using Gmail and 48 seconds to print a 2-page color PDF. A 4 x 6 color photo took 2 minutes and 16 seconds. By comparison, the Epson WorkForce 845 and Kodak ESP 3.2, which also offer print-by-email capabilities, printed the same files more slowly - 0:58, 2:15 and 2:40 for the Epson, and 1:01, 1:02 and 1:26 for the Kodak.

HP ePrint Home & Biz

HP also offers an app called ePrint Home & Biz that lets you print straight from your Android or iOS device. Becaue the app automatically detects compatible HP printers, it proved easy to use with our Toshiba Excite 10 LE - we just tapped on the document we wanted to print, selected ePrint Home & Biz from the "Complete action using" list, and then "Print." An options menu lets you change the printer, paper size, print quality, color mode, number of copies and paper source, as well as enable or disable two-sided printing.

EPrint Home & Biz proved faster than competing apps as well. We printed a 2-page black-and-white Word document in just 32 seconds, compared with 56 seconds using Kodak's Document Print App, and 2 minutes and 40 seconds using Epson's iPrint app; a 2-page color PDF printed in 43 seconds (0:54 using Document Print App, 0:58 using iPrint); and a 4 x 6 color photograph printed in 54 seconds (0:54 using Document Print App, 1:04 using iPrint).

Wireless Direct

HP also equipped the Photosmart 5520 with Wireless Direct, which allows Wi-Fi devices such as laptops and smartphones to send files directly to the printer without using a wireless router. Enabling Wireless Direct on the 5520 is as easy as tapping a few buttons on the control panel. Users can also see what their 5520's wireless name and password are by tapping "Display Password" or "Display Name" (these can be changed through the embedded Web server).

When we used our Droid X to print the same 2-page color PDF using Wireless Direct, the 5520 received the file and printed it out in 44 seconds. A 4 x 6 color photo took slightly longer, at 57 seconds, although this was a major improvement over the time it took to print the photo using ePrint. Unfortunately, we weren't able to get our phone to recognize the wireless connection when we tried to print the 2-page Word document.

AirPrint

AirPrint for iOS devices works almost as quickly as Wireless Direct, and was generally faster on the HP 5520 than on other AirPrint-enabled printers. A 2-page black-and-white Word document, for instance, took just 27 seconds (0:57 for the Canon PIXMA MG6220, 1:15 for the Epson WorkForce 845), while a 2-page color PDF printed in 52 seconds (1:02 for the Canon, 1:18 for the Epson). A 4 x 6 color photo printed in 1 minute and 30 seconds (1:26 for the Canon, 1:41 for the Epson).

Google Cloud Print

HP doesn't leave Google out of the picture, either. The Photosmart 5520 is Google Cloud Print-enabled, which means users can print files wirelessly from most Google products and services. Sending documents and photos to the Photosmart 5520 using Google Cloud Print isn't as simple as using AirPrint - each Google service uses a slightly different method to print - but it's a handy feature nonetheless. Thankfully, we encountered far fewer issues when setting up the service with the Photosmart 5520 than we did with the Canon PIXMA MG6220.

Unfortunately, printing files using Google Cloud Print proved much slower than using the other wireless print options. A 2-page black-and-white Word document printed in 1:05, a 2-page color PDF in 0:55, and a 4 x 6 color photo in a whopping 2:30. Google Cloud Print proved equally slow on other brands.

Printer Performance and Photo Quality

The Photosmart 5520 doesn't lack for speed. When printing wirelessly, the printer spat out a 2-page black-and-white Word document in 22 seconds, a 2-page color PDF in 35 seconds, and a 4 x 6 color photo in a lightning-fast 49 seconds. The Canon PIXMA MG6220, by comparison, took 27, 45 and 57 seconds to print the same files. The Epson WorkForce 845 and Kodak ESP 3.2 offered slightly faster performance, printing the same files in 18 seconds, 34 seconds and 1:20 (on the Epson), and 22 seconds, 47 seconds and 1:17 (on the Kodak).

The printer also features automatic two-sided printing and copying - a feature found on both the Canon PIXMA MG6220 and Epson WorkForce 845, but missing on the comparatively priced Kodak ESP 3.2.

Sadly, the quality of printed documents doesn't quite match the 5520's fast performance. When we printed the black-and-white Word document, we noticed a subtle graininess to the text. This graininess became much more pronounced when looking at the color PDF: The circular blue HP logo in the upper right corner of a document suffered from blotchiness around the edges, and pictures throughout the document appeared faintly blurry.

While the 4 x 6 photo appeared much more vibrant and crisp than the PDF and Word document, the color reproduction was not as accurate as on other printers. Compared to prints made by the Canon PIXMA MG6220, for instance, the blue sky in a photo of a vineyard did not appear as deep in color, greens had a more yellowish hue, and mountains in the background were hazier.

The Photosmart 5520 was also extremely loud, particularly when loading paper. If you're looking to buy a printer for a quiet work environment, the 5520 may not be the most suitable option.

Ink Cartridges

The Photosmart 5520 uses only four ink cartridges - black, cyan, magenta and yellow. Regular replacement cartridges (which last about 300 pages) for cyan, magenta and yellow cost $9.99 each, while high-capacity replacement cartridges (which last about 750 pages) cost $17.99 each. Regular and high-capacity black ink cartridges cost $11.99 and $22.99, respectively. Compared to ink cartridges from other brands, replacement cartridges from HP are relatively inexpensive - replacements for the Canon PIXMA MG6220, for example, cost $13.99 each.

Other Features

In addition to wireless and USB printing, the Photosmart 5520 allows users to print directly from a Memory Stick Duo or SD card.

The Photosmart 5520 also features a flatbed scanner, which can capture images (8.5 x 11-inch maximum size) at up to 1200 x 2400 dpi. The scanner supports JPEG, TIFF, PDF, BMP and PNG file types. The print tray also functions as a copier, with a maximum copy resolution of 600 dpi for both black and color text and graphics.

Verdict

Although the HP Photosmart 5520 is less expensive than either the Canon PIXMA MG6220 or the Epson WorkForce 845 and has a bevy of options -- such as printing calendars on the fly -- its lower-quality prints and noisiness prevent it from taking its place as the best value for an all-in-one, smartphone-compatible printer. If you're looking for high-quality prints for the lowest price, we suggest the Kodak ESP 3.2. That being said, the Photosmart 5520 has a lot to recommend, including a huge array of printing options, fast speeds and inexpensive replacement cartridges.

Upgrading to Windows 10? Here's how to add a printer in Windows 10.

Aimed at home offices, the $139 Epson WorkForce 845 takes advantage of its extra-large size to bring you paper capacity more than three times as large as competing all-in-one printers. This all-in-one also features quick wireless printing speeds, a bevy of mobile printing options and an intuitive setup process. Plus, the WorkForce 845 offers two-sided printing to save you time, in addition to copying, scanning and faxing capability. You won't find a more versatile all-in-one for the price.

Design

Click to EnlargeLike the HP Photosmart 5520 and Canon PIXMA MG6220, the Epson WorkForce sports an all-black aesthetic. The sides of the lid and the LCD panel feature a glossy finish, while the top of the lid and the sides of the printer itself look slightly duller in matte black. Rounded corners and a gently sloping lid add an air of sleekness - although not enough that you'll fail to notice the size of the system.

The Epson WorkForce 845 is a beast of a printer. Although the 17.6 x 14.5 x 11.8-inch, 22-pound Epson has a smaller footprint than the HP Photosmart 5520 (21.5 x 17.5 x 5.6 inches) and the Canon PIXMA MG6220 (18.5 x 14.5 x 6.9 inches), its nearly foot-tall height makes the printer appear enormous and adds significantly to its weight. Although the surprisingly heavy PIXMA MG6220 weighs just a bit less (20.1 pounds), the 11.2-pound Photosmart 5520 and 11.5-pound Kodak ESP 3.2 are positively featherweight by comparison.

Click to EnlargeA 7.5 x 2.5-inch control panel, with a 2.75 x 2-inch capacitive touch screen in the center, dominates the face of the WorkForce 845. The control panel features buttons for home, back and Auto Answer, as well as left and right scroll buttons on either side of the touch screen. The power button is just to the left of the control panel.

Below the control panel are two trays, each of which can hold 250 sheets (Epson boasts that the WorkForce 845 can print up to 1,000 pages double-sided), ideal for offices with high printing needs. By comparison, the more consumer-focused Canon PIXMA MG6220 holds 150 pages, the Kodak ESP 3.2 100 pages and the HP Photosmart 5520 just 80 pages. The dual trays make up nearly half of the WorkForce 845's 11.8-inch height, but if you'd rather have more room for paper than less, the extra inches will be a bonus rather than an annoyance.

Pretty much every card format is supported by the Workforce 845: SD, xD, CF and Memory Stick Pro card readers sit the left of the cassette trays, while ports for wired LAN and Standard-B USB are on the left side of the printer. Ethernet, AC and phone jacks are on the back.

Setup

Setting up the Epson WorkForce 845 proved easy. We installed the ink cartridges, waited 5 minutes for the printer to calibrate and connected to the wireless network using the touch screen. All that remained was to install the drivers on our PC and automatically download any updates. In all, it took us less than 15 minutes to set up the printer.

Email Print

Like the HP Photosmart 5520 and Kodak ESP 3.2, the WorkForce 845 allows users to send files directly to the printer's unique email address (created when the printer is first activated) from any Internet-connected device. An advantage of this system is that it allows you to print documents even when you're not in wireless range of your printer, but you sacrifice speed for convenience. A 2-page black-and-white Word document printed in 58 seconds, a 2-page color PDF in 2:15 and a 4 x 6 color photograph in 2:40. HP's ePrint printed the same files much more quickly - 38 seconds, 48 seconds and 2:16, respectively. Kodak's Email Print printed a Word document in 61 seconds, a PDF in 62 seconds and a 4 x 6 photo in 1 minute and 26 seconds.

Epson iPrint

Epson offers a free app for iOS and Android devices called iPrint, which behaves very similarly to Apple's own AirPrint software. When opening a file or selecting an option to print, users are given a choice to open the file in iPrint. Tapping the wheel icon in the upper right corner allows users to choose from a number of options including paper size, layout and number of copies. The app supports photos, Web pages and Word, Excel, PowerPoint and PDF documents. Documents saved in online storage services such as Dropbox, Google Docs and Evernote can also be printed through iPrint.

For the most part, iPrint works more quickly than Email Print, but it still performs much more slowly than printing from a PC over a Wi-Fi network. A Word document, PDF and 4 x 6 photo printed in 2:40, 0:58 and 1:04 using iPrint, compared with just 0:18, 0:34 and 1:20 over Wi-Fi. Nevertheless, iPrint proved much more convenient than Canon's PIXMA Cloud Print app, which only allows you to print photos. Only Kodak offers a similarly robust - and faster - application: Kodak Document Print App printed a Word document in 56 seconds, and a PDF and photo in 54.

Google Cloud Print

Like most other connected printers today, the Epson WorkForce 845 allows users to print via Google Cloud Print. Setting up the service on the WorkForce 845 proved much simpler than on printers such as the Canon PIXMA MG6220. Using the Epson download tool, we downloaded the latest firmware and then registered the printer as a Google Cloud Print-enabled device to complete the setup process. Although - unlike AirPrint - Google Cloud Print requires a third-party app to use (we downloaded an app called Cloud Print), we enjoyed the convenience of printing directly from our Android device.

Google Cloud Print printed documents at about the same speed as other printers. A Word document printed in 1 minute and 51 seconds (compared with 1:05 on the HP Photosmart 5520, and 1:10 on the Canon PIXMA MG6220), a PDF in 1 minute and 20 seconds (0:55 on the 5520, 1:13 on the MG6220) and a 4 x 6 photo in 1 minute and 23 seconds (2:30 on the 5520 and 1:23 on the MG6220).

AirPrint

Without a doubt, Apple's AirPrint is the most convenient way to print documents from a mobile device using the Epson WorkForce 845. iOS users can print documents and files directly from their iPad, iPhone (3GS or later) or iPod Touch (3rd generation or later). Printing documents using AirPrint proved to be much simpler than Google Cloud Print - just tap the Open icon in the upper left corner of apps such as Mail or Safari, tap Print, select your printer and tap Print again.

Documents sent to the WorkForce 845 via AirPrint printed moderately faster than those transmitted using Google Cloud Print, but much more slowly than competing brands. The WorkForce 845 printed a Word document, PDF and photo in 1:15, 1:18 and 1:41, respectively, whereas the HP Photosmart 5520 printed the same files in 0:27, 0:52 and 1:30 and the Canon PIXMA MG6220 in 0:57, 1:02 and 1:26.

Printer Performance and Photo Quality

When printing via a Wi-Fi connection, the Epson WorkForce 845 delivered some of the fastest speeds we've seen. A 2-page black-and-white Word document, 2-page color PDF and 4 x 6 photo printed in just 18 seconds, 34 seconds and 1:20, respectively. The HP Photosmart 5520, by comparison, took 22, 35 and 49 seconds to print the same files; the Canon PIXMA MG6220 27, 45 and 57 seconds; and the Kodak ESP 3.2 took 22 seconds, 47 seconds and 1:17.

Quality also proved excellent. While text printed on plain paper appeared very subtly grainy (as it did on the HP Photosmart 5520 and Canon PIXMA MG6220), images on a color PDF looked clean and crisp when compared against the Photosmart 5520. Still, the Canon PIXMA MG6220 and Kodak ESP 3.2 delivered better clarity and vibrancy.

Similarly, in terms of photo quality, colors in a 4 x 6 photo of a Sonoma vineyard appeared much less artificially bright using the WorkForce 845 when compared with the Photosmart 5520. However, colors in the same picture printed by the Canon PIXMA MG6220 and Kodak ESP 3.2 enjoyed much smoother gradients and richer hues.

Ink Cartridges

Epson offers high-capacity replacement cartridges for cyan, magenta and yellow (about 470 pages per color) for $17.08 and for black (about 385 pages) for $18.99. These prices are on a par with other manufacturers, such as HP, who offer high-capacity cartridges for about $17 each. Epson also offers extra-high-capacity packs for colors (about 755 pages) for $20.39 each and black (about 945 pages) for $29.99.

Other Features

A flatbed scanner rests below the lid of the WorkForce 845, just above the touch screen. The scanner boasts an optical resolution of 2,400 dpi and a maximum resolution of 9,600 x 9,600 dpi, and allows users to scan documents to their email, a PDF, a memory card or their PC's hard drive.

The scanner can also be used as a copier (with an ISO copy speed of 13 pages per minute in black and white and 7 pages per minute in color), as well as a fax machine (fax speed of 33.6 Kbps).

Verdict

While it's on the large side, the Epson WorkForce 845 is easy to set up, offers a huge array of printing options (both wired and wireless) and delivers some of the fastest wireless printing speeds we've seen from an all-in-one printer. For individual consumers, we recommend the Kodak ESP 3.2, which offers comparable quality and speed for $40 less. But those looking for business-friendly features such as a massive paper capacity and a fax machine will find the $139 WorkForce 845 an excellent choice.

With a glossy black finish, sleek curves and a wide variety of mobile printing options, the Canon PIXMA MG6220 looks like a good choice for anyone looking to buy a serious all-in-one printer for their home or small business. Still, compared with competing all-in-one printers from HP and Kodak, the $199 Canon PIXMA MG6220 features a price tag as hefty as its weight. Is the PIXMA MG6220 worth the money?

Design

Click to EnlargeThe 18.5 x 14.5 x 6.9-inch Canon PIXMA MG6220 isn't as wide or long as the HP Photosmart 5520 (21.5 x 17.5 x 5.6 inches), but the extra inch of height makes the MG6220 appear much larger than it actually measures. At 20.1 pounds, the printer also weighs significantly more than either the Photosmart 5520 (11.2 pounds) or the Kodak ESP 3.2 (16.5 x 12.4 x 7 inches, 11.5 pounds). Only the business-focused Epson WorkForce 845 (17.6 x 14.5 x 11.8 inches, 22 pounds) matches the PIXMA MG6220 pound-for-pound.

Like the Photosmart 5520 and WorkForce 845, the PIXMA MG6220 sports an all-black look. The glossy finish, which covers every inch of the MG6220's surface, looks sexy but picks up fingerprints and smudges easily. The lid gently slopes upward, giving the printer a nice, sleek look. A height-adjustable 3.9 x 2.75-inch color LCD sits in the center of the lid, above a scroll wheel (used for navigating the menu) and three selection buttons. A soft blue LED, found on right-front slope of the lid, lets the user know if the Wi-Fi is enabled.

The collapsible output tray can be found on the front of the printer beneath the lid. A 150-sheet input cassette rests just below the output tray, while a 150-sheet auto sheet feeder is on the back. The printer can handle paper of size 4 x 6, 5 x 7, 8 x 10, letter, legal and No. 10 envelopes.

Just to the right of the output tray are a USB Port, Memory Stick Duo reader, SD card reader and CompactFlash card reader. The AC and Ethernet ports are on the back of the printer.

Setup

Setting up the PIXMA MG6220 was simple but time-consuming. After we installed the ink cartridges, the PIXMA spent about 4 minutes clearing the print head. After that, alignment took requires another 5 minutes of waiting while the printer went through its automated motions. Ultimately, it took more than 15 minutes to set up the MG6220, compared with the less than 10 minutes for the HP Photosmart 5520 and Kodak ESP 3.2.

PIXMA Cloud Print

In addition to standard wireless printing, the PIXMA MG6220 allows users to print pictures directly from online photo albums such as CANON iMAGE GATEWAY and Picasa, without having to use a computer. Accessing photos first requires connecting to the online gallery via the MG6220's control panel. Inputting the username and password can be a pain, as you must select each character separately using the scroll wheel, but once the printer is connected to an album, it can access photos at any time (provided it has a connection to the Internet).

PIXMA Cloud Print works fairly quickly - after connecting to our Picasa account, we printed a 4 x 6 photograph in 1 minute and 6 seconds, a little less than 10 seconds longer than it took to print the same picture over a standard wireless connection. We only wish we could send photos directly to the printer while browsing our gallery in Picasa, not just the other way around.

Google Cloud Print

Like the HP Photosmart 5520, Epson WorkForce 845 and Kodak ESP 3.2, the PIXMA MG6220 sports Google Cloud Print connectivity, which lets users send files directly to the printer using a variety of Google products, including Chrome, Chrome OS, Gmail for mobile and Google Docs for mobile.

While it sounds great in theory, getting Google Cloud Print to work on the MG6220 proved to be a pain. Our printer didn't ship with the latest firmware installed. More annoyingly, installing the firmware requires a Standard-B USB cable, which doesn't ship with the PIXMA MG6220. The fact that you have to download a third-party app to use Google Cloud Print from an Android device - we used Cloud Print - only added to our frustration.

Unfortunately, Google Cloud Print works just as slowly as its setup process. When printing a two-page black and white Word document, a two-page color PDF and a 4 x 6 color photo, the PIXMA MG6220 took 1:10, 1:13 and 1:23, respectively - about the same as the HP Photosmart 5520 (1:05, 0:55 and 2:30) and Epson WorkForce 845 (0:58, 2:15 and 2:40). The Kodak ESP 3.2 printed the documents more quickly, turning in times of 0:53, 0:53 and 1:12, respectively.

AirPrint

The PIXMA MG6220 also gives users the option of printing from their iPad, iPhone (3GS or later) or iPod Touch (3rd generation or later) using Apple's print-over-wireless software, AirPrint. As usual for Apple products, AirPrint is incredibly elegant and intuitive, allowing you to send documents and photos to your printer with just a few taps. Setting up AirPrint proved much easier than using Google Cloud Print - Apple's software automatically detects any AirPrint-enabled printers on the same wireless network as your iOS device, so all you have to do is tap print, select the printer and tap print again.

A two-page black-and-white Word document printed in 57 seconds, a two-page color PDF in 62 seconds, and a 4 x 6 color photograph in 1:26, compared with a faster 27 seconds, 52 seconds and (slightly slower) 1:30 on the Photosmart 5520. Still, this device printed the documents more quickly than the Epson WorkForce 845, which completed the jobs in 1:15, 1:18 and 1:41, respectively.

Printer Performance and Photo Quality

The Canon PIXMA MG6220 offers comparable, although slightly slower, wireless printing speeds than the HP Photosmart 5520, Kodak ESP 3.2 and Epson WorkForce 845. When printing a two-page black and white Word document, a two-page color PDF and 4 x 6 color photo over the wireless network, the PIXMA MG6220 printed a Word document in 27 seconds (0:22 on the HP, 0:22 on the Kodak and 0:18 on the Epson), a PDF in 45 seconds (0:35 on the HP, 0:47 on the Kodak and 0:34 on the Epson) and a 4 x 6 photo in 57 seconds (0:49 on the HP, 1:17 on the Kodak and 1:20 on the Epson).

Thankfully, what the PIXMA MG6220 lacks in performance it makes up for in quality. Although the MG6220 suffers from subtle graininess on the text of printed black-and-white Word documents, the images on our color PDF appeared much more crisp and vibrant when printed on the PIXMA MG6220 than on the Photosmart 5520.

When printing photos, the PIXMA MG6220 exhibited more accurate color reproduction than the Photosmart 5520. When comparing a 4 x 6 photo of a Sonoma Valley vineyard, the blue sky, green leaves and red shingles of a barn roof appear deeper in hue, more closely matching the picture on our computer than the overly bright colors produced by the Photosmart 5520.

Ink Cartridges

The Canon PIXMA MG6220 comes with six ink cartridges: cyan, magenta, yellow, gray and two black ink cartridges. Replacement cartridges cost $13.99 each, except for the larger of the two black ink cartridges, which costs $15.99. Canon also sells a four-color pack (black, cyan, magenta and yellow) for $55.99, a three-color pack (cyan, magenta and yellow) for $39.99, and a black ink twin pack for $29.99. By comparison, replacement cartridges for the HP Photosmart 5520 (which yield roughly the same number of pages) cost just $9.99 each for colored ink and $11.99 for black ink.

Other Features

Besides wireless and USB, the PIXMA MG6220 also gives users the option of printing via Memory Stick Duo, SD Card or CompactFlash card.

Beneath the lid, the MG6220 sports a flatbed scanner that can capture images (8.5 x 11.7-inch maximum document size) at a maximum optical resolution of 4,800 x 4,800 or interpolated resolution of 19,200 x 19,200 dpi. The scanner supports JPEG, TIFF and PDF file types.

The scanner doubles as a copier as well, with features including 4-in-1 and 2-in-1 copying, auto duplex, face brightening and fading correction, and fit-to-page.

Verdict

Click to EnlargeThe $199 Canon PIXMA MG6220 delivers high-quality prints and a bevy of helpful features, including AirPrint and the ability to print photos from your Picasa account without touching your PC. However, this device's slow setup process, below-average printing speeds and relatively expensive ink cartridges prevent it from joining the ranks of the best all-in-one printers.

Using Windows 10? Check out our guide to how to add a printer in Windows 10.

Small and unassuming, the $99 Kodak ESP 3.2 sports many of the same features as competing all-in-one printers from Canon, HP and Epson for half the price. That includes an integrated flatbed scanner and copier, and a plethora of mobile printing options, from Google Cloud Print to print-by-email. Is this deal too good to be true?

Design

Click to EnlargeIn a world of nothing-but-black printers, the Kodak ESP 3.2 certainly stands out from the crowd. While it has a glossy black finish on the lid and a matte black finish around the sides, a bright yellow accent line runs around the front lip of the lid in homage to Kodak's traditional colors. Unfortunately, in our opinion, the yellow accent line gives the ESP 3.2 a slightly retro look that clashes with its otherwise modern aesthetic.

At just 16.5 x 12.4 x 7 inches and 11.5 pounds, the ESP 3.2 is lighter than the Canon PIXMA MG6220 (18.5 x 14.5 x 6.9 inches, 20.1 pounds) and Epson WorkForce 845 (17.6 x 14.5 x 11.8 inches, 22 pounds), and takes up much less space on the desk. Only the HP Photosmart 5520 matches the ESP 3.2 for size and weight, coming in at 21.5 x 17.5 x 5.6 inches and 11.2 pounds.

Click to EnlargeA small 1.9 x 1.4-inch capacitive LCD touch screen sits just to the left of the lid, flanked by buttons for Home, Back and Help on the left, and Cancel and Go on the right. Although small compared with other printers, the touch screen was easy to read and proved responsive to our taps. Just below the display are the power button, an LED indicating if the Wi-Fi is on or off, and a card reader. Supported formats include SD, SD High Capacity, MMC, Memory Stick and Memory Stick Pro, with further support for Memory Stick Duo, miniSD and microSD enabled via an adapter.

A 100-sheet rear-feed paper tray sits on the back of the printer, with a collapsible output tray just below the lid. Printed pages can be as large as 8.5 x 11 inches for borderless photos and 8.5 x 14 inches for documents.

Setup

Setting up the Kodak ESP 3.2 was a simple process. In less than 10 minutes, we installed the ink cartridges, installed the bundled software on our notebook, and connected our printer to the wireless network. The printer didn't require any calibration or download and installation of updates, unlike the Canon PIXMA MG6220 and Epson WorkForce 845.

Kodak Email Print Service

Like Epson and HP, Kodak allows ESP 3.2 owners to send documents directly to their printer via email (thus bypassing the need to be connected to your printer over the network). Setting up Email Print was fairly simple. When we set up the ESP 3.2, we had used the disc that comes with printer to install Kodak AiO Home Center on our notebook (you can download this software from Kodak's website, as well). From there, we clicked on Cloud Print Setup and followed the on-screen instructions. Within five minutes, our ESP 3.2 had its own unique email address and Email Print was up and running.

To print documents and photos, we simply emailed the files to the printer's unique email address as attachments. In terms of speed, Kodak Email Print proved to be middle-of-the-road: A 2-page black and white Word document printed in 61 seconds, a 2-page color PDF in 62 seconds, and a 4 x 6 color photo in 1 minute and 26 seconds. HP's ePrint service printed the same files in 0:38, 0:48 and 2:16, while Epson's Email Print took 0:58, 2:15 and 2:40, respectively.

Google Cloud Print

Unlike Canon, Kodak makes it easy to get Google's print-over-the-air service up and running. In fact, setting up Email Print installs Google Cloud Print at the same time. Of course, Google Cloud Print still suffers from the same limitations on the ESP 3.2 as on other printers: You have to download a third-party app to your Android device (we installed an application called Cloud Print) to use the service. However, we can't fault Kodak for Google's failings.

Thankfully, Google Cloud Print works quickly on the ESP 3.2. A 2-page black-and-white Word document and 2-page color PDF printed in 53 seconds, and a 4 x 6 photo in 1 minute and 12 seconds. By comparison, the same documents printed using Google Cloud Print completed in 1:05, 0:55 and 2:30 on the HP Photosmart 5520; 1:10, 1:13 and 1:23 on the Canon PIXMA MG6220; and 1:51, 1:20 and 1:23 on the Epson WorkForce 845.

Kodak Pic Flick App

In addition to Email Print and Google Cloud Print, Kodak offers a few mobile printing apps of its own. The Pic Flick App, available on iOS, BlackBerry and Android devices, allows you to send photos directly from your phone or tablet to a Cloud Ready printer such as the ESP 3.2. Setting up the app on our Toshiba Excite 10 proved exceedingly simple - we just downloaded the Pic Flick app from the Play Store, and it automatically recognized our ESP 3.2.

Using both the Excite 10 and iPhone 4S, the app printed a 4 x 6 photo in a mere 32 seconds. iPad owners can also use Kodak's Pic Flick HD app to create prints, frames and cards. Printing a 4 x 6 photo via the Pic Flick HD app took a mere 21 seconds. Canon offers a similar application called PIXMA Cloud Print, but it allows users to only print photos from Picasa or the CANON iMAGE GATEWAY and performs twice as slowly as Kodak's app.

Kodak Document Print App

Despite its heritage as a manufacturer of photographic equipment, Kodak doesn't restrict itself to just photos. Android users (sorry, no iOS support here) can also download the Document Printer app, a robust application that lets users print documents (and photos, despite its name) from local storage, a Web page, Google Docs, Dropbox or Evernote. Printing a 2-page black-and-white Word document from Google Docs took 56 seconds, a 2-page color PDF in 54 seconds, and a 4 x 6 color photo in 54 seconds, nearly on a par with printing speeds over the wireless network.

Apple AirPrint

Unfortunately, the Kodak ESP 3.2 doesn't support Apple's over-the-air printing app. Considering how much simpler we found it to print documents on the HP, Canon and Epson using AirPrint, this lack of support is a drawback.

Printer Performance and Photo Quality

The ESP 3.2 offers wireless printing speeds that were in the same ballpark as the HP Photosmart 5520 and Canon PIXMA MG6220, but at times it was slightly slower. The ESP 3.2 printed a 2-page Word document in 22 seconds (0:22 on the HP, 0:27 on the Canon), a 2-page PDF in 47 seconds (0:35 on the HP, 0:45 on the Canon), and a 4 x 6 photo in 1 minute and 17 seconds (0:49 on the HP, 0:57 on the Canon). The Epson WorkForce 845 delivered the fastest printing speeds of all the printers we tested, printing the same files in 18 seconds, 34 seconds and 1 minute and 20 seconds, respectively.

Although it may not be the fastest printer on the block, the ESP 3.2 offered nearly the best overall quality. Text printed on plain paper looked sharp and suffered from less of the subtle graininess that we found when printing text on the HP, Canon and Epson. Images on the color PDF looked similarly sharp; only the Canon produced similarly clean results.

The Kodak ESP 3.2 also takes the cake in terms of photo quality. Not only were its colors much more vibrant, but details in a 4 x 6 photo of a Sonoma Valley vineyard, such as leaves on grapevines, cracks in a barn roof and distant hills, exhibited much greater fidelity.

Ink Cartridges

Kodak offers replacement color cartridges for $19.99 ($35.98 for high-capacity cartridges), black cartridges for $12.99 ($19.99 for high-capacity), and a combo pack for $32.98. This isn't much more expensive than other manufacturers, who offer replacement cartridges at $18 to $19 each.

Other Features

Besides wireless and mobile printing, users can print documents directly from memory cards on the ESP 3.2.

Like every other all-in-one, the Kodak ESP 3.2 doubles as a scanner and copier. The scanner, found just below the lid, sports an optical resolution of 1,200 dpi. Among its special features, users can scan multiple photos simultaneously and have them separated automatically, and scan and edit documents using optical character recognition. Users can scan documents to their PC, email, Google Docs or a memory card.

The scanner can also be used as a copier, which supports documents up to 8.5 x 11 inches in size.

Verdict

Click to EnlargeInexpensive, easy to set up and boasting excellent print quality, the $99.99 Kodak ESP 3.2 provides exceptional value. Those looking for a more business-centric printer might prefer the Epson WorkForce 845, which has such features as a 500-sheet feeder, duplex printing and faxing. However, home users will find the ESP 3.2 meets or bests more expensive competitors when it comes to quality and speed. While we wish the ESP 3.2 supported AirPrint, given its excellent overall performance and affordable price tag, we're willing to look past this deficiency.

We’ve all been there: After staying up all night to work on a report or term paper, you discover that you're out of ink. No!

How to do it:

• Remove the cartridges and run the warm dryer on the spot where the ink comes out for 2 to 3 minutes.
• Try printing again while the cartridge is still warm. The hair dryer heats the ink and helps it flow through the cartridge’s tiny nozzles.

What Happened:

We checked the ink levels of our printer before we applied this method. The black ink had run completely dry, while the colored ink was already printing in streaks when we attempted to produce a hard copy of Laptopmag's homepage. We ran the hair dryer on the almost-dry ink cartridges, and tried to print again. The black cartridge wouldn’t budge, but the colored ink printed with better (darker) quality.

• DIY Solutions for Your Tech Troubles
  
• Fix a Skipping Disk with Vodka
• Extend Your Wifi Signal for Less than 5 Dollars

The paperless office has yet to become a reality, so for road warriors who need to send electronic documents or receipts back to the home office, a portable scanner can be as important as their laptop. But a good scanner needs to do a few things well: It has to be small yet sturdy, be ready to go in a flash, and, of course, scan documents quickly and accurately. A bonus is software that can organize the documents and pull out important information. We put five of the latest portable scanners—most of which cost less than $200--to the test by timing how long it took to scan a business card, a black-and-white letter, and an 8.5 x 11-inch color photo. Which model deserves that precious space in your travel bag?

The WorkForce DS-30 marks the Epson's first foray into the still portable scanner market. As the new kid on the block, Epson has to tangle with some already established names, specifically Neat Receipts, Plustek and Xerox. So does the DS-30 have what it takes to shake up the portable scanner market?

Read Our Epson WorkForce DS-30 Review

The smallest scanner the company has ever made, Fujitsu's $199 ScanSnap S1100, fits perfectly into tight spaces and has a unique paper output tray that guides documents over the top of the scanner back to the user. And with some of the fastest scanning speeds in our roundup, the ScanSnap S1100 has everything a road warrior needs.

Read Our Fujitsu ScanSnap S1100 Review

Neat's super portable NeatReceipts NM-1000 scanner is designed for mobile workers looking to cut down on stacks of paper. The device is small enough to fit into most laptop bags, and features Neat's unique Neat 5 software package that helps make organizing documents quick and painless. But is the $179 NeatReceipts NM-1000 the best in its class?

Read Our NeatReceipts NM-1000 Review

Plustek's MobileOffice S410 seeks to provide customers with everything they could possibly need from a mobile scanner. The unit comes with a host of software options ranging from basic scanning to full-on file management programs. And with a price of $160, the S410 undercuts many of its competitors, too. But is the S410 the right scanner for your needs?

Read Our Plustek MobileOffice S410 Review

Is a mobile scanner still mobile if it needs to be attached to your notebook to work? Xerox doesn't think so. Equipped with an Eye-Fi wireless scanner card, the Xerox Mobile Scanner lets users scan documents to the cloud or their notebook wirelessly. Better still, you can also scan directly to a USB storage device or SD card. But the Xerox has some drawbacks, including a relatively high $249 price. Our full review will reveal just how much convenience you're getting for the money.

Read Our Xerox Mobile Scaner Review

See how each of these scanners fared when scanning a black and white document, a business card and an 8.5 x 11-inch color photo.

The smallest scanner the company has ever made, Fujitsu's $199 ScanSnap S1100, fits perfectly into tight spaces and has a unique paper output tray that guides documents over the top of the scanner back to the user. And with some of the fastest scanning speeds in our roundup, the ScanSnap S1100 has everything a road warrior needs.

Design

At 12.2 ounces and measuring 10.7 x 1.9 x 1.3 inches, Fujitsu's ScanSnap S1100 is slightly heavier than the 11.6-ounce NeatReceipts NM-1000, but slightly smaller than Plustek's MobileOffice S410 (10.8 x 1.9 x 1.3 inches). We were easily able to pack the S1100 into a messenger bag with plenty of room to fit our notebook.

Coated in a matte black finish, the ScanSnap S1100 has a unique wedge shape up front and a rounded backside that makes room for the scanner's paper output. On the right is a large blue combination Scan/Stop button and indicator light.

Pull down the S1100's faceplate to reveal the scanner's document feeder. Pull back on the lid to open the scanner's vertical output tray. With the output open, paper fed into the scanner is automatically pushed up above the S1100 and back to you, allowing for easier scanning in tight spaces.

Opening the document feeder tray and output tray reveals the ScanSnap's silver-coated shelf. Lift this to clear out any paper jams. For thicker sheets of paper or business cards, you can close the vertical output tray and simply pass the document through the S1100 as you would with any other scanner.

While we liked the ScanSnap S1100's design, the document feeder tray and the output tray didn't feel as sturdy as we would like.

Setup and Ease of Use

To set up the ScanSnap we first had to install the appropriate drivers and software from the included install disk to our Lenovo IdeaPad V470 notebook (the S1100 works with Macs, too). Once the software was installed, we then connected the S1100 to our notebook and we were ready to go.

To turn on the scanner, you just open the feeder tray. The scanner's blue indicator light will glow whenever the tray is open, letting you know the scanner is ready. Close the tray and the scanner goes into a sleep mode.

The ScanSnap S1100 comes with three main pieces of software, including ScanSnap Manager, ScanSnap Organizer and CardMinder, in addition to Evernote for Windows, Scan to SharePoint and ABBYY FineReader. ScanSnap Manager, as its name suggests, allows you to manage how the S1100 scans certain documents. You can select the application you would like the S1100 to scan documents to, the scan quality and how the scanned files are saved, as well as other options. ScanSnap Manager also allows you to set profiles for each application used for scanning documents including CardMinder, ABBYY and Evernote, as well as a standard profile, among others.

ScanSnap Organizer serves as a place for you to organize your scanned files and convert PDF files into searchable documents. You can also send previously scanned files to different applications (such as Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint) where you can edit them. Overall the software was easy to navigate thanks to its Microsoft Office-style layout.

CardMinder, Fujitsu's equivalent to BizCard, also performed well, although it was unable to extract text from business cards with predominantly black backgrounds. Like the other portable scanners in our roundup, we were also able to use the S1100 to scan documents to the cloud including to our Evernote accounts and Google Docs.

Performance

We were able to scan a single-sided black and white document using the ScanSnap S1100 in 9.4 seconds, That's quicker than the NeatReceipts 24.4 seconds, as well as the Plustek MobileOffice S410's 12.8 seconds. Business cards took just 3.5 seconds, miles ahead of the Epson WorkForce DS-30's 9.3 seconds, but slower than the MobileOffice S410's 2.9 seconds.

Scanning an 8.5 x 11-inch color photo took an average of 28.9 seconds. That's second to only the Xerox Mobile Scanner's 13.5-second scan time.

When scanning a black-and-white document, the ScanSnap performed very well, displaying clear text although the ink had a slightly hazy look to it. Color scans, however, looked excellent. An 8.5 x 11-inch color photo of a vineyard was the most accurate of any scanner in our roundup. Blues were bright and crisp, while the rows of green grapevines were looked rich and colorful. That said, Canon's larger imageFormula P-215 Scan-tini offered scans with significantly richer colors.

Like most portable scanners, the ScanSnap S1100 doesn't come equipped with a duplexer. To get around this, the S1100 includes a continuous scanning feature, which lets you scan one side of a document at a time and save them as one file.

We were, however, disappointed to see that the ScanSnapp S1100 did not work with the standard TWAIN imaging driver, which limits the number of third-party programs that can work with the scanner.

Warranty

The ScanSnap S1100 comes with a one-year limited warranty through Fujitsu's Depot service program, which includes parts, labor, and one-way shipping back to the user. So if your scanner breaks down, you'll have to pay half of the round-trip shipping to get it fixed. You can also sign up for Fujitsu's extended care programs.

Verdict

Fujitu's $199 ScanSnap S1100 is great for mobile professionals with limited space in need of a fast, but high-quality scanner. Colors were accurate and bright, while black-and-white documents were clear. And although we were disappointed with the lack of TWAIN driver support, the S1100 more than redeems itself with its stellar performance.

The WorkForce DS-30 marks the Epson's first foray into the still portable scanner market. As the new kid on the block, Epson has to tangle with some already established names, specifically Neat Receipts, Plustek and Xerox. So does the DS-30 have what it takes to shake up the portable scanner market? Read on to find out.

Design

Epson's $179 WorkForce DS-30 is the most attractive mobile scanner we've reviewed. The top of the scanner has a glossy black textured coating that gives the unit some character in a sea of look-alikes. At top center is a white stenciled Epson logo, and to the right of that is a black rubberized scan button paired with a thin green indicator light. From the document feeder down, the scanner loses its textured finish and instead takes on a matte black coating. The far right side of the DS-30 is where you'll find its USB 2.0 port.

With a footprint of 10.9 x 2.0 x 1.5 inches, the Epson WorkForce DS-30 is a hair larger than both Neat's NeatReceipts scanner (10.8 x 1.6 x 1.3 inches) and Plustek's MobileOffice S410 (10.8 x 1.9 x 1.3 inches). Despite that, the 11.8-ounce Epson weighs less than the 13.9-ounce Plustek MobileOffice S410 and just 0.2 ounces more than Neat's NeatReceipts NM-1000 scanner. We were easily able to slide the Epson into our messenger bag with a 14-inch notebook and had room to spare.

Setup and ease of use

Installing the DS-30 took about 10 minutes, owing to its large software suite. Pop in the installation disc and the install wizard will guide you through the setup process. The menus were clean and easy to read, but we were bothered by the fact that the software didn't prompt us to connect the scanner when the installation was complete. It's a small complaint, but something that the average business user may find confusing.

In addition to the basic Epson Scan scanner software, the WorkForce DS-30 comes with Document Capture Pro, Abbyy's FineReader and NewSoft's Presto! BizCard 5. Mac users also get access to NewSoft's PageManager software.

Users will likely spend most of their time with Document Capture Pro, which allows you to organize scanned documents into various folders, or send them to different programs. For instance, we were able to scan a document and send it directly to our Google Docs account. Users can also send scanned documents to Evernote, an FTP site, a Web folder or a Microsoft SharePoint Server.

That said, Document Capture Pro can't compare to NeatReceipt's Neat5, which not only allows you to save scanned documents locally and in the cloud, but can also extract and input information from scanned documents (such as receipts) into a spreadsheet or other document template for later use.

NewSoft's Presto! BizCard 5 also proved useful. The software pulls contact information from your scanned business cards and saves it in a contacts database. But for the scanner to accurately capture the information from your cards, you'll have set the DS-30 to scan at 200 dpi. Anything less and text may be too blurry for the software to accurately read.

Performance

The WorkForce DS-30 has a maximum scan area of 8.5 x 14 inches and a maximum scanning resolution of 600 dpi. In our testing, the DS-30 scanned an 8.5 x 11-inch document in an average 19.5 seconds. That's faster than Neat's NeatReceipts NM-1000's 24.4-second average, but slower than the Fujitsu ScanSnap S1100's speedy 9.4 seconds.

The DS-30 was the second slowest in our roundup to scan a black-and-white business card, taking an average of 9.3 seconds. The NeatReceipts NM-1000 finished the same scan in 6.9 seconds, while the MobileOffice S410 did it in just 2.9 seconds.

The DS-30 was also slow to scan a 8.5 x 11-inch color photo at 600 dpi, taking 44.9 seconds. The NeatReceipts NM-1000 was just a bit faster, taking 35.9 seconds to scan the photo. It took the ScanSnap S1100 just 28.9 seconds to scan the same photo.

Although it was the slowest scanner in our roundup, the DS-30 more than made up for it with its image quality. Text in documents scanned at 300 dpi was sharp and easy to read. Bump the dpi down to 150, however, and the text became blurry. Color scans were equally crisp and bright, although colors did tend to wash out slightly. Rows of dark green grapevines seemed to take on a brownish hue, while the subtle grays and browns of an aged barn appeared whiter than the source material. That said, the Epson was second to only the Fujitsu ScanSnap S1100 in terms of quality.

Like the MobileOffice S410 and the NeatReceipts NM-1000, the Epson WorkForce DS-30 can only scan one side of a document at a time. But again, like the others, the DS-30's software lets users save several scanned documents as a single file. Unlike the S410, we didn't notice any problems with documents becoming misaligned during scanning.

Warranty

The WorkForce DS-30 comes with a one-year limited warranty in the U.S. and Canada.

Verdict

Epson's WorkForce DS-30 is a stylish and capable portable scanner. We were especially impressed with the sharing capabilities enabled by the robust software suite. And at $179, the DS-30 is $20 cheaper than Fujitsu's ScanSnap S1100. While the Epson's scan quality and speed can't quite match the S1100, the DS-30 is a solid performer that won't disappoint mobile workers.

Canon has been making scanners for years, so the company certainly knows its way around the category. But the portable scanner market is highly competitive, with everyone from Xerox and Brother to Fujitsu and Neat Receipts looking for a piece of the action. The Canon imageFormula P-215 Scan-tini ($315) emphasizes quality and versatility over portability, featuring a duplex scanner, dedicated card scanner, and document feeder tray capable of holding up to 20 sheets. In a market dominated by models priced under $200, is the Scan-tini worth the splurge?

Design

The heavyweight prizefighter of portable scanners, the Canon imageFormula P-215 weighs in at 2.15 pounds and measures 11.2 x 3.7 x 1.6 inches with its document feeder tray closed. By contrast, the Fujitsu ScanSnap S1100 weighs 12.2 ounces and measures 10.7 x 1.9 x 1.3 inches, while the Epson WorkForce DS-30 weighs just 11.8 ounces and measures 10.9 x 2 x 1.5 inches.

The P-215's lid and base are coated in a matte black paint that helps keep fingerprint smudges at bay. Wrapped around the scanner's midsection is a coating of flat silver paint that gives the P-215 a bit of attitude. Around back are the P-215's power and USB ports, as well as a Kensington lock slot and the unit's Auto Start switch.

Unfold the P-215's lid and you get a document feeder tray large enough to accommodate letter-size documents. You lift the tray's adjustable wing-shaped flaps to form a paper guide capable of holding up to 20 sheets of paper. The P-215's deck, like the scanner‘s cover, is painted a matte black with the Canon logo prominently in its center. To the right of the logo is a large silver and blue scan button.

On the bottom right of the deck's face is the P-215's dedicated card scanner. Get a card jammed while scanning it - as will happen on occasion - and you can unfold the deck to free it.

Setup and Ease of Use

Users can connect the Canon to a notebook in one of four ways: using one USB 2.0 port, two USB 2.0 ports, a USB 3.0 port, or a USB 2.0 port and a power adapter. Connecting the P-215 to one USB 2.0 port won't cost you any functionality, but use the provided USB 2.0 power cable and your speed scan times should drop. Using a USB 3.0 port will also lower scan speeds , as will connecting via a USB 2.0 port and a power adapter (sold separately).

Canon offers two options for setting up the P-215. The first, and easiest, is to use the system's CaptureOnTouch Lite plug-and-scan feature. Built into the scanner, CaptureOnTouch lets you start scanning and saving documents to your computer without installing any software. But as convenient as CaptureOnTouch Lite is, it lacks the functionality a full install offers. For instance, you don't get access to NewSoft's Presto! BizCard 6 business card reader or ScanSoft's PaperPort 11 and PageViewer software, each of which can prove quite useful to business users.

As we expected, CaptureOnTouch Lite was the easiest scanning program to use out of Canon's offerings. We simply had to press the scan button on the P-215's deck and the device would immediately begin scanning our documents. Once scanned, the software let us choose if we wanted to send the file to a specific application such as Evernote, save it in a particular folder and choose the file format we wanted to use.

If you're looking for more functionality, though, we suggest using PaperPort 11. From here, we were able to adjust settings such as resolution and orientation, and edit them all in one program. PaperPort also lets you organize your scanned documents, as well as export them to other applications or the Web.

Performance

The imageFormula P-215 can scan documents ranging in size from 2 x 2.8 inches to 8.4 x 14 inches, and can scan up to 15 pages per minute. And thanks to its document feeder tray, you can scan up to 20 sheets in one shot. We tested the P-215's scan speeds with the scanner connected to two USB 2.0 ports and found it to be just about even with other more portable scanners. It took the P-215 approximately 6.8 seconds to scan and process a one-sided black and white document. That's faster than Fujitsu ScanSnap S1100, which took 9.4 seconds. But the Fujitsu bested the Canon when it came to scanning a business card, cutting the Canon's 7.6-second time in half (3.5 seconds).

Scanning a 8.5 x 11-inch photo of a vineyard at 600 dpi took 1 minute and 12 seconds with both USB 2.0 cables plugged in. We then ran the same test with just one USB 2.0 cable connected which, surprisingly, took the same amount of time. Regardless, the Fujitsu scanned the same photo in just 28.9 seconds.

Despite taking its sweet time, the image quality the P-215 produced was second to none. Text looked sharp, while color photos were rich and lacked any hint of distortion or stray artifacts. The same image scanned with the Fujitsu looked brighter, but as a result, also lost some of the color of the original photo.

Unlike other portable scanners, the imageFormula P-215 supports duplex scanning, which means you'll be able to scan double-sided documents in one scan. That may not seem like a big deal at first, but when you're scanning a large amount of documents, a duplexer can be a lifesaver. The P-215's full-auto feature, which lets you scan multiple documents one after the other, also came in handy.

Support and Warranty

The imageFormula P-215 ships with a standard one-year limited parts and labor warranty. You can also purchase Canon's CarePAK Extended Service Plan for extra protection. The plan gives you up to three years of services from the date of your purchase, as well as toll-free access to Canon's technical support. CarePAK also gives you access to Canon's InstantExchange replacement program.

Verdict

Canon's $315 imageFormula P-215 Scan-tini is somewhat large for a portable scanner. Models like Fujitsu's $199 ScanSnap S1100 slips more easily into a laptop bag. However, the P-215 compensates for its heft with sheer versatility, from its duplexer to the added convenience of its document feeder tray and dedicated card scanner. Add in top-notch scan quality and the P-215 is a device that deserves your consideration.

LAS VEGAS -- Working from the road can be tough, as we're finding during CES 2012. You're in a strange hotel room, away from your family, and worst of all, you don't have access to all of your office equipment. Luckily, Xerox is trying to making life a little easier. The company's new battery-powered Xerox Mobile Scanner, announced at CES 2012, lets users scan color images and documents and wirelessly send then as JPG images and multipage PDF files to computers, mobile phones, tablets or cloud services.

Priced at $249.99, the 2 x 2.75 x 11.5-inch Mobile Scanner communicates with a PC, Mac, Android, iPhone, iPod or iPad, using Xerox's free mobile app via Wi-Fi. The color scanner comes with a 4GB Eye-Fi SD card to automatically send photos to the web. Also included in the package are a carrying case, rechargeable battery and charger.

To send a file, users have to just turn the scanner on, choose either a PDF or JPG file format, and scan the document. Like other scanners in this class, it can read letter-sized paper, envelopes, receipts, business cards, photographs and transfer those files into readable docs on your laptop.

• Top 10 Notebooks Now
• Top 10 Smartphones
• Top 10 Tablets Available Right Now

Perhaps the most-anticipated product from Polaroid's Grey Label partnership with Lady Gaga, the GL10 Instant Mobile Printer lets you print 4 x 3 photos directly from your smartphone via Bluetooth. While it's portable and plenty of fun, the printer costs $169 and doesn't include iPhone support. So is this Gaga gadget a one-hit wonder?

Design

As far as design is concerned, the GL10 is more understated than you might expect of a Lady Gaga-branded product. Rather than going all-out glitzy, Polaroid opted for a simple black-and-silver palette. The black surfaces have a rubberized finish, making it easier to hold. Overall, we think it's tasteful, and it will certainly make the printer appeal to more than just the most die-hard Gaga fans.

The 15-ounce printer certainly won't weigh down your purse or backpack, though we would hardly call its blocky dimensions (5.8 x 4.5 x 1 inches) pocket-friendly.

Setup and Ease of Use

To start printing photos with the GL10, you'll need to install a pack of ZINK paper. (Refill packs of 30 sheets cost $19.99.) This requires opening a lid on the top of the printer and sliding in the ZINK sheets, making sure the blue Smart Sheet is placed with its barcode facing down. (The Smart Sheet ejects after the printer lid is closed and lets you know that the photo paper has been correctly loaded.)

Bad news for iPhone users: The GL10 doesn't offer wireless printing with iOS handsets. Provided you have an Android, Blackberry, or Windows Phone device, though, you can print via Bluetooth. Once you've installed the photo paper, you simply need to pick an image and select "Send via Bluetooth" in the Options menu. You'll be prompted to search for Bluetooth-enabled devices, and once you select the Polaroid printer and enter the Bluetooth PIN number (6000), your selected photo will begin printing.

Aside from printing from your smartphone, the GL10 lets you print from your Mac or PC via USB. Before you can print from your computer, you'll need to download the GL10 app from Polaroid.com. Once the app is installed, you can upload a photo to print.

Performance

We tested the Polaroid GL10 with the Android-powered HTC Thunderbolt. Using the free GL10 Android app, we were quickly able to select our desired photo and connect our smartphone with the printer. The resulting 4 x 3 photo printed in less than a minute, and displayed fairly accurate colors. However, the ZINK paper--which uses different-colored dye crystals that activate with heat--tended to wash out detail. For example, when we printed a Hipstamatic shot of our friend at a bowling alley, we could hardly make out the wooden planks in the lanes.

Users can also print from their digital camera via USB. We connected our Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3 via USB and select the PictBridge option on our Lumix's display. Then we just had to select a photo; the resulting print arrived less than a minute later, and we were rather impressed with the detail in a shot of sunflowers. We also connected a Canon EOS Rebel T2i, and were able to print a 4752 x 3168-pixel photo just as easily, though it was a bit washed out: We could barely see the grain in a wood table and the mesh in the backrest of a chair.

We liked the border choices offered by the GL10--including the Classic Polaroid Border logo and a gritty black-and-white frame. There are also a few cute, Gaga-appropriate themes, including different-colored hearts and some birthday options.

Click to enlarge

Overall, we preferred printing via a PC because it allowed us the greatest customization options, such as the ability to move and resize an image before printing. With the Android app, cropping and resizing an image isn't very intuitive; you have to press the Android Menu button, which then takes you to the phone's Gallery and puts the selected photo into crop mode. Once we figured this out, it worked, but altering our image was much easier on the computer.

Click to enlarge

Polarioid says that the GL10's rechargeable Lithium-Ion battery should last up to 35 prints; that's pretty decent if you're looking to capture the highlights of a big party.

Verdict

Offering the ability to print Gaga-fied images from your smartphone, printer, and digital camera, the Polaroid GL10 Instant Mobile Printer ($169) makes a great party gadget. The fun borders and effects options will provide you with some cute snapshots, and the GL10's portability and ease of use means the printer can go anywhere with you. Still, the pricey ZINK paper didn't deliver the most accurate colors, and you don't get iOS support. The bottom line is that we had a blast making 3 x 4 prints with the GL10--and we're pretty sure that was Polaroid and Lady Gaga's goal with this mobile photo printer.

Not many printers can deliver price, quality, and a great design for just $159, but the Canon MG6120 makes it look easy. This printer/scanner/copier offers a duplexer for double-sided printing, kicks out sharp and colorful photos, and includes an application that can print any size image from your Android or iOS device. But how does this all-in-one printer stack up against the competition?

Design

The MG6120 is a beauty of a printer. The top lid is made of a black glassy plastic that extends to the sides and the front of the unit's 18.5 x 14.5 x 6.9-inch frame. In the center of the lid, a tilting 3-inch display sits flush with the surface and can be angled up to 85 degrees. The display is not touch-sensitive, but the buttons that appear illuminated in blue on the printer's lid are. Aside from a five-point navigation and selection button, the touch buttons are contextual, so they change based on the printer mode.

The MG6120's lid rises to reveal a flatbed scanner for making copies and scanning pictures or documents. Below that, there's a fold-down printer tray, and farther down sits a 150-sheet cassette paper tray. Just to the right are slots for SD, Memory Stick, and Multimedia cards. Around back is a manual paper tray for photo and legal paper and envelopes, a USB port, a power plug, and an Ethernet port for attaching the MG6120 to a network.

Setup

Getting the MG6120 connected to our wireless network was a cinch. Navigating using the 3-inch LCD display and the touch buttons was fairly intuitive, so finding the Wireless LAN Setup under the "Set Up" menu was a no-brainer. Once Canon's drivers were installed on our notebook, we were able to start producing documents and photos in no time.

Canon also offers a Bluetooth adapter (sold separately for $49.99).

Canon Easy-PhotoPrint App

The Canon Easy-PhotoPrint app works with Android 1.6 or higher and iOS version 4.0, but it can only be used to print pictures, not documents, presentations, web pages, or anything else (unlike Epson's PrintJinni app). It can also only print to printers on the same Wi-Fi network as the device. On the other hand, there are a host of print options, such as paper size (8.5 x 11, 4 x 6, 5 x 7, 8 x 10 inches, and more), paper type (glossy, matte, regular, and semi-glossy), and border settings.

Our iPod touch connected to the MG6120 in just 4 seconds and printed a 4 x 6-inch photo via the Easy-PhotoPrint app in 35 seconds. That time is much faster than the HP Photosmart C510a (1:39) and slightly better than the Kodak ESP C310 (39 seconds) but not as speedy as the Epson Artisan 835 (27 seconds).

Click to enlarge

Print Performance and Photo Quality

To test the MG6120, we printed one three-page Word document, one three-page color PDF, and a high-quality 8.5 x 11-inch photo over Wi-Fi, via USB, and via the Easy-PhotoPrint print app. Wi-Fi times were 44 seconds for the Word document, 1:12 for the PDF, and 4:34 for the high-quality 8.5 x 11 photo. Those times were longer than the Wi-Fi speeds of all the other printers we tested for this roundup. Comparatively, the $179 Epson Artisan 835 completed the same tasks in 35 seconds, 46 seconds, and 03:15, and the $299 HP PhotoSmart eStation C510a completed the same jobs in 24 seconds, 48 seconds, and 2:49.

Print times dropped significantly when we used the USB connection ($3.95; shop.usa.canon.com ). The Word document completed in just 21 seconds, the PDF took 50 seconds, and the photo printed in a comparatively brief 1:30. Those times are fast, but the Epson Artisan 835 printed the PDF and the 8.5 x 11 color photo much faster (35 seconds and 1:11). Potential Canon MG6120 buyers might want to purchase the USB cord (sold separately) and keep their notebook close to the printer.

The MG6120 prints color pages with a resolution up to 9600 x 2400 dpi and text pages up to 600 x 600 dpi. Our prints mostly matched the saturation and lighting of the original photo stored on our iPod touch. Though parts of the photo were a little dark, the HP PhotoSmart eStation C510a produced even darker photos. The focus of our subject stood out crisply from the background but lacked some of the detail of the original image. We liked the Epson Artisan 835 more thanks to the automatic adjustments it made to color quality and details, but the MG6120 still delivers quality photos.

The serif fonts in our Word document looked clean and sharp, but we noticed some very faint spotting in solid colors on the PDFs. A solid green header looked hazy due to tiny, dot-sized patches of white.

Ink Cartridge Cost

The MG6120 uses six ink cartridges. In addition to cyan, magenta, and yellow, the printer also uses a dedicated gray cartridge, a pigment black for printing documents, and a dye-based black for photos. Each cartridge costs $13.99, except the larger pigment black, which costs $15.99. Those prices fall in the middle of the other printers' ink cartridge costs. The HP Photosmart C510a's standard cartridges are a cheaper $9.99, but the ink for the Epson Artisan 835 costs $17.09 for black and $10.44 apiece for five color cartridges.

Canon's bundled cartridge prices aren't bad. Canon groups cyan, magenta, yellow, and dye-based black cartridges for $55.99, and a similar package that includes the pigment-based black instead costs $51.99. Gray is not bundled. Epson charges $52.99 for a multi-pack that includes five color cartridges, but it does not include a black cartridge. However, HP sells a three-color ink cartridge bundle for $22.99.

Software

Canon includes Easy PhotoPrint EX, which lets users edit photos on a notebook and makes it easy to create a calender, photo album, or a set of stickers from photos. Easy PhotoPrint Pro is a professional plug-in for Photoshop users, and Easy-WebPrint EX installs a Internet Explorer toolbar for printing clips of web pages.

The Canon MG6120 also includes printer-based software to help tweak photos stored on a memory card. Vivid Photo reintroduces color detail that gets lost in digital pictures, and Noise Reduction takes care of any pixel fuzziness in compressed photos. Other tools include Brightness, Color Balance, Contrast, Effects, Face Brightener, Image Optimizer, and Photo Optimizer Pro.

MyPrinter diagnoses printer problems and adjusts settings such as paper source and size, and Canon MP Navigator EX lets you use the MG6120's scanner wirelessly and import pictures and files from media cards stored in the printer's card reader.

Other Features

The MG6120 is capable of 4800 x 4800 dpi scans and can accommodate documents up to 8.5 x 11.7 inches. The copy machine includes a duplexer for two-sided copies, auto-exposure adjustment, and a range of 25 to 400-percent reduction or enhancement.

Verdict

It wasn't the printer with the fastest speed or best print quality, but the $159 Canon Pixma MG6120 provides plenty of features--including the ability to print from your Android or iOS device--for a good price. It can handle documents with ease, and casual photographers will enjoy the photo quality this all-in-one delivers. If you have a little more to spend, the $179 Epson Artisan 835 is our top choice. It offers better speed and even better-looking photos than the Canon, along with handy photo correction software. Still, those who are looking for an affordable and attractive photo printer can't go wrong with the MG6120.

The Epson Artisan 835 All-in-One is a gorgeous printer/copier/scanner that combines a huge 7.8-inch color display with fast and high-quality printing. This $175 device also lets you print labels directly on CDs and DVDs and is compatible with two versatile iOS apps that allow printing over Wi-Fi. Add to that compatibility with all kinds of memory cards, and you have a superior all-in-one.

Design

The 25.8 x 18.3 x 7.8-inch Epson Artisan 835 is one sharp-looking printer. The 24.9-pound machine is decked out in an office-appropriate mix of glossy and matte black surfaces accented with silver trim. The front face has a 7.8-inch touch display that tilts 45 degrees upward to face the user, along with a series of hardware buttons such as an unlock key to lower the display, an on/off button, and an eject button for the CD tray (hidden inside the printbed). You'll also find several memory card slots and a 30-sheet printbed.

At the very bottom of the Artisan 835 is a matte black plastic tab that can be pulled to reveal the 120-sheet cassette tray for regular paper and a 20-sheet tray for special photo paper or envelopes.

Last but not least, the top of the Artisan 835 slopes gracefully from the left side to the right, which flips open to reveal a 30-sheet auto document feeder tray for scans and faxes. A detachable duplexer is on the backside of the printer. Also on the back is Ethernet, a USB port, two phone line jacks, and a power plug.

Setup

Setting up the Epson Artisan 835 was simple. We plugged in the printer, browsed to the setup menu, and selected "Set Up Wizard" under Wireless LAN setup. After entering our office network's wireless password, we installed the software on our notebook and answered a few questions regarding a Ethernet, USB, or Wi-Fi printer connection (since no USB cord is included, we opted for the Wi-Fi option). We were up and running in less than five minutes.

PrintJinni and Epson iPrint

The Artisan 835 All-in-One works with two free iOS Epson apps: Epson iPrint and PrintJinni. (Sorry, no Android support for now.) iPrint works over Wi-Fi to print photos stored in an iPad or iPhone's gallery, and PrintJinni prints Word docs, PDFs, spreadsheets, and other files attached to e-mail messages. While they offer more functionality than other printers' iOS apps, most of which only let you print photos, we wish Epson would combine these apps into one.

PrintJinni searches for e-mail attachments that were sent between the present and a specified past date. Finding the right file can be tough; an end date can't be specified, so it takes a long time to look for attachments. Searching three months of messages uncovered a list of 3,071 pictures and documents, and it took PrintJinni 22 minutes to complete the search. However, once files are downloaded, they are conveniently stored within the app under Downloaded Files . PrintJinni can also print web pages, but the URL must be copied and pasted from the browser. Since there's no way to print a panel or a clip of the web page, the entire length of the site is printed as a long PDF, which isn't very pleasant to look at once printed.

Click to enlarge

However, PrintJinni offers a variety of print options, something many printer apps lack. Up to nine copies of a document or photo can be printed in Letter, A4 or A5 paper sizes. Photo orientation can't be changed within the application, but photos can be printed in the A4 paper size or in 3.5 x 5, 4 x 6, 5 x 7, or 8.5 x 11-inch sizes.

iPrint is much more limited than PrintJinni. It only prints pictures stored in the iOS gallery, and the print options are restricted to a bordered or borderless 4 x 6, 5 x 7, letter, or A4 paper size, which you can choose in the app.

Click to enlarge

Printer Performance

To test the Artisan 835, we printed one three-page Word document, one three-page color PDF, and a 926 x 612-pixel photo (on glossy 8.5x11-inch paper) from a notebook over Wi-Fi, via USB, and with the PrintJinni app. Compared to other printers, the Artisan was average in speed but exceptional in quality. Over Wi-Fi, the above files printed in 35 seconds, 46 seconds, and 3 minutes and 15 seconds, respectively. The HP Photosmart C510a printed Word documents in a faster 24 seconds, but the Kodak ESP C310 printed a photo the fastest, taking just 2:03; however, it can only print at a max resolution of 600 x 600 dpi.

Print speeds over USB were faster with the exception of the Word document, which finished in a slower 38 seconds. The PDF was finished in 35, and the high-quality photo in a quick 1:11, the fastest photo speed of any printer over any connection.

Using the PrintJinni app on our iPod touch, the Epson finished a 4 x 6 print in 27 seconds, faster than the Kodak ESP C310 (39 seconds) and the Canon Pixma MG6120 (35 seconds) and far better than the HP Photosmart (1:05 using AirPrint). The Epson Artisan 835 finished printing a Word document via PrintJinni in 36 seconds and a PDF in 43 seconds. Epson's iPrint app was equally fast, printing a 4 x 6 photo in 27 seconds.

Photo and Document Quality

Built into the Artisan 835 is photo correction software that evaluates color and lighting details and corrects the images automatically. Thanks to that feature, this printer offered the best photo quality among the all-in-ones we've recently tested. Our photo looked just as bright as our source image, with great foreground detail, natural skin tones, and excellent saturation and color.

Unfortunately, our PDF didn't look stellar. Pictures of a line of notebooks and computer monitors in our PDF looked noisy and digital; lettering wasn't sharp, either. Text appeared more gray than black and had a somewhat hazy quality. The same went for Word documents; fonts appeared fuzzy upon close inspection.

Inkjet Cartridges

The Artisan 835 requires six ink cartridges: Black, Cyan, Light Cyan, Light Magenta, Magenta, and Yellow. With the exception of the black cartridge, each comes in regular ($10.44) and high-capacity ($15.99) packages. There's only one black cartridge and it costs $17.09, which is expensive compared to the competition. The Artisan 835 includes an ink cartridge starter pack with each color. Of the machines in our roundup, only the HP PhotoSmart eStation C510a offered cheaper color ink prices: $9.99. Epson's prices for high-capacity ink was the lowest among the printers we've recently reviewed.

Software and Other Features

The Artisan 835 has a flatbed scanner capable of 9600 x 9600 dpi resolution; a color copier capable of 99 copies at a time and 25-400 percent reduction and enlargement; and a phone-based, color fax machine with memory up to 180 pages and a maximum of 60 speed dials. In addition, this Epson can print on CDs and includes a duplexer for dual-side printing.

The Epson Artisan 835 offers two neat print features that are accessible through the device only and not bundled software. It can print coloring book pages by creating outlines of scanned photos or pictures, and it can also print thin, wide, or graph-ruled lines on letter or A4 paper.

Only fax control software and a program for designing CD prints are bundled on the Epson's installation software.

Verdict

The Epson Artisan 835 All-in-One is our new Editors' Choice printer. It offers great photo print quality, fast photo printing times, useful mobile apps, and a simple interface on its large LCD. Add in smart auto-correct software, and this connected all-in-one is well worth the investment.

There are plenty of all-in-one printers, but how many boast their own 7-inch Android tablet? In addition to high-quality prints, compatibility with Apple's AirPrint, and the ability to e-mail documents to the printer itself, the HP PhotoSmart eStation C510 has a tablet that lets you print photos from Facebook and Flickr. Then again, $299 is far from cheap for a printer. Is the included tablet worth the splurge?

Design

At 17.7 x 18 x 9.7 inches and 17.4 pounds, the eStation C510 is large but stylish, thanks to a mixture of sleek black surfaces and smooth, matte finishes. However, the glossy lid picked up fingerprints easily.

The Zeen, the C510's 7-inch tablet, sits in a chrome-accented docking station. To the right of the tablet dock are three LED lights: an ePrint indicator, another for Wi-Fi, and the last for power. This is where you'll also find the on/off button. Below is a recess for finished prints or copied pages (it can hold 50 sheets), and at the base sits a two-tiered paper tray with a 20-sheet well for photo paper (3.5 x 5, 4 x 6, and 5 x 7 inches) and another hidden 125-sheet tray for other paper types or envelopes.

Removing the tablet reveals several touch buttons: There's a cancel button, two buttons for black-and-white or color copies, and two LED lights for paper feed issues and other errors. The back of the eStation C510a houses a duplexer for two-sided printing, a USB port, and a power plug.

Zeen Tablet

The Zeen is a glossy 7-inch, 800 x 480-pixel tablet surrounded by a reflective 0.5 inch-thick black bezel. Along the top right are three standard Android touch buttons: Back, Home, and Menu. The back of the Zeen is terraced and includes volume controls, an SD card slot, a headphone jack, power button, a miniUSB port, an AC adapter port, and a proprietary port for the docking station. The Zeen weighs in at 1.1 pounds and feels much heftier than the 7-inch Samsung Galaxy Tab, which weighs 13.5 ounces.

The Zeen runs Android 2.2 using a 800-MHz processor with 4GB of storage and 512MB of RAM. Other than that, the Zeen's specs aren't too far removed from many Android tablets, yet it fails to match those tablets' abilities. Namely, the Zeen does not include the Android Market, or any third-party market, so what you see on the device is pretty much what you get. There are two options for e-mail, one which supports Exchange, and the standard Android e-mail app. (The Gmail app is not on board, but you can import those settings and easily set up Yahoo accounts.)

The Zeen comes pre-installed with a number of photo and print apps: Facebook, Picasa, and Snapfish applications access those sites' cloud-based photo albums. There are also Books, Magazines, and Newspapers applications, each of which pull digital content from Barnes & Noble's cloud store. QuickOffice can read and print Excel, PDF, PowerPoint, and Word documents.

Other apps on the Zeen include Print Apps, web-enabled applications that can be used with the eStation C510. For instance, the Crayola and PBS Kids apps allow children to print blank coloring-book pages, and the MSNBC and USAToday apps print out letter paper-sized news articles. There's even an app that prints out Sudoku puzzles.

The tablet's print-based apps are cool, but the performance isn't great. The Facebook app took more than 90 seconds to load our friends' 80-picture photo album, and the touchscreen didn't respond consistently to drag gestures, scrolling swipes, and button presses. The notification tray wouldn't always respond when we wanted to drag it open or close it.

While the Zeen helps connect the printer to a Wi-Fi network or check on the status of a print job, it's not used to control print settings such as paper size or print quality, and checking ink levels required us to dig into the Settings menu. However, controls for the C510's copier, scanner, and fax functions are located in an app called Printer. The scanner interface made it easy to switch between color or black prints, enable two-sided copies, and select Low, Medium, or High image quality. We just wish more printer controls were easily accessible.

Set Up

Setting up the C510 was straightforward: After installing the included software, we were prompted to choose Wi-Fi or USB as our preferred connectivity method. The eStation C510 does not include a USB cord, so most users will opt for Wi-Fi. Like many Android devices, we found the separate wireless controls for both the printer and the Zeen tablet under Settings in the tablet's app menu.

ePrint

The C510 comes with ePrint, an HP service that allows users to print documents and photos by e-mailing the files as an attachment directly to the printer. A special e-mail address must be activated online at the HP ePrint online portal and requires an activation code that can be printed from the C510. ePrint accounts can be set to print from a list of specified e-mails or from anyone.

When we mailed a PDF from our laptop using Gmail, the C510 printed it out in 1:39; a Word doc took just 39 seconds, and a 4 x 6 photo took 1:30. However, photos can only be printed on 4 x 6-inch sheets of paper via this service. Color options (black or color) and paper sizes (8.5 x 11, 8.5 x 14, and A4) for documents, spreadsheets, presentations, and PDFs can be pre-set in the ePrint portal.

Click to enlarge

iPrint Photo

Another print solution for the C510 is the free HP iPrint Photo app for iOS and Android devices. Unlike Canon and Kodak's apps, the iOS version of this app can also print Word and PDF documents, although the Android version cannot. While sending a photo file from an iPod Touch to the C510 was instantaneous, it took 1 minute and 10 seconds to print a 4 x 6-inch photo, which was much slower than all the other printers we tested. By comparison, the Epson Artisan 835 took just 27 seconds, and the Canon Pixma MG6120 took 35 seconds. However, we liked that we could change the paper size and type in the Android app. The iOS version allowed us to change paper, image, and border size as well as paper type and source. Other perks for iOS users include support software for scanners and the ability to print saved documents and PDFs.

Click to enlarge

AirPrint

The C510 is one of 17 HP printers (full list here) that works with AirPrint, Apple's print-over-Wi-Fi software for iOS 4.2 and 4.3 devices. AirPrint adds a print option in Safari, the photo gallery, e-mail, and document viewer apps, and can print photos, e-mails, web pages, PDFs, and Word documents. Like ePrint, AirPrint does not output photo sizes other than 4 x 6 inches, but it will support up to 99 copies at once as well as double-side printing and page range control for PDFs and documents. During our tests, AirPrint activated the C510 in no more than 3 seconds and printed out a 4 x 6-inch photo in 1:05, which was faster than the iPrint app, but still slower than all the other printers. Though AirPrint is not as speedy, it was easier to use, and more versatile than other printers' options.

Click to enlarge

Printer Performance and Photo Quality

To test the C510, we printed one three-page Word document, one three-page, color PDF, and a 926 x 612-pixel photo (on glossy 8.5 x 11-inch paper) over Wi-Fi, via USB, and with ePrint. Over Wi-Fi, the C510 printed the photo in 2 minutes and 49 seconds, which beat out both the Epson 835 (3:15) and the Canon MG6120 (4:24). The Kodak C310 took just 2:03, but it has a much lower supported resolution of 600 x 600 dpi.

In terms of quality, text in Word documents looked smooth and bold, but the 9-point fine print on our test PDF document was fuzzy and a little hard to read. The good news is that the PDF rendered images with rich colors: The black-to-gray gradient added excellent detail to an image of a computer monitor.

Our photo tests proved slightly less vibrant. Though our sample image burst with color, it was much darker than its source file. An outdoor photo that was taken with ample natural lighting (and lots of nearby artificial lighting too) looked as though it was shot without so much as a street light nearby. The Epson Artisan 835 produced photos that were brighter and more detailed.

Home office workers take note: The HP Photosmart eStation C510 was the noisiest printer we tested. It spooled up loudly and got louder as it printed.

Inkjet Cartridges

The C510 uses five cartridges: Regular black (for documents) costs $11.99, and photo black, cyan, magenta, and yellow each cost $9.99. High-capacity, non-photo black ink costs $22.99, and high-capacity color cartridges cost $17.99. There is no high-capacity option for photo black. HP bundles cyan, magenta, and yellow into one package for $26.99. Compared to ink cartridge prices for other machines, HP delivers affordable supplies. Though color ink for the Epson Artisan 835 is priced similarly at $10.44, black ink for that printer costs $17.09. HP also offers a cheaper color multi-pack; cyan, magenta, and yellow cost just $22.99 in that package.

Other Features

The C510 also has a flatbed scanner that can capture images at 1200 x 2400 dots per inch, a copier capable of 99 copies at a time, and a digital fax machine. The system also includes a duplexer for two-sided copies but there is no autofeeder, so the source files must be scanned manually to get front-and-back documents. For faxes, HP uses third-party service eFax, which works over the Internet, not a phone line, and supplies 20 incoming and outgoing messages per month for free. Beyond that, eFax requires a membership (starting at $16.95 per month).

Verdict

Even though $299 for a printer is on the pricey side, HP bundles an 7-inch Android tablet with its PhotoSmart eStation C510 for about $120 more than other all-in-ones. You also get HP's convenient ePrint service, Apple AirPrint support, and a iPrint app that works well with both iOS and Android devices. However, the Zeen tablet has limited functionality, and the C510 itself offers sluggish Wi-Fi printing speeds and produces somewhat dark photos. As versatile as the C510 is, we prefer the $179 Epson Artisan 835 All-in-One. It doesn't have an Android tablet, but the 835's excellent print quality and superior speed make it the better choice.

You don't have to spend a lot to get a printer that's connected and smart phone-friendly. For $99, the Kodak ESP C310 lets you print wirelessly from your PC or iOS device and helps you keep saving money with low-cost ink cartridges. While this all-in-one doesn't offer the bells and whistles and sky-high resolution of higher-end machines, the C310 gets the job done.

Design

At 18.3 x 7.8 x 13.8 inches and 18 pounds, the Kodak ESP C310 is the smallest, lightest, and least expensive all-in-one printer we've recently tested. Its sturdy, all-matte surfaces, single-tray form factor, and miniature 1.5-inch full-color LCD screen make it a good choice for high school or college students. The top edge doubles as a lid for the scanner, and behind it sits a fold-up paper tray that accommodates 100 sheets of regular paper and 20 sheets of photo paper.

A 1.5-inch display sits at a 45-degree angle. Because the display is not touch sensitive, the C310 has several hardware buttons, including Back, Cancel, Home, and Power. Beneath those is a five-way direction pad with a selection key in its center, as well as a large Start button.

On the front face of the ESP C310 is a Wi-Fi logo with a bright blue LED (letting you know when you're connected) and a card reader for SD, SDHC, MultiMedia, and Memory Stick cards. The print bed folds down from a closed position, turning into an output tray. There are only two ports around back, one for power and a USB 2.0 port. (You'll need to provide your own USB cable.)

Setup

We plugged in the Kodak ESP C310, navigated to the "Network Set-up" menu, and selected "Wireless Network Wizard." After entering our office network's wireless password, we installed Kodak's print and scanner utility, which took 14 minutes--by far the longest install process of all the printers we tested. Afterwards, we simply navigated to Devices and Printers on our Windows 7 notebook, selected the C310 from a list of other Wi-Fi-connected printers, and opted for a Wi-Fi rather than a USB connection.

Kodak Pic Flick

Like the Epson and HP iPrint apps, Kodak's Pic Flick prints pictures over Wi-Fi from an iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch's Photos app. Like Canon's iOS app, Pic Flick can only print pictures, not documents or web pages; however, Kodak's app doesn't let you adjust the photo size or print multiple copies. Those controls must be adjusted on the ESP C310 itself, before hitting "Send" in Pic Flick. The ESP C310 took 39 seconds to print a 4 x 6-inch photo from an iPod touch. That was five seconds longer than the $159 Canon Pixma MG6120 when paired with Canon's Easy Photo-Print iOS app, and 12 seconds longer than it took the Epson Artisan 835.

Click to enlarge

Print Performance and Quality

For a $99 all-in-one, the Kodak ESP C310 offered competitive photo quality, but it didn't offer as much detail as the Epson Artisan 835 and the Canon MG6120. Those printers showed faint lines of facial hair in a printed image, but we couldn't see that with the Kodak ESP C310. Also, early 4 x 6-inch prints from the C310 showed signs of printhead banding, but after a few more test prints, images came out with accurate saturation and shadows.

When it came to printing via W-Fi from our laptop, the ESP C310 wasn't exactly a speed demon. Over Wi-Fi, the Kodak printed out a Word document in 41 seconds; that's faster than the Canon (44 seconds) but slower than the Epson (35 seconds) and the HP Photosmart C510a (24 seconds). The ESP C310 was zippier than the rest of the field when printing our 8.5 x 11 photo wirelessly (2:03), but you're also getting lower-quality images.

Inkjet Cartridge Price

The Kodak C310 All-in-One uses one black cartridge and a single color cartridge that bundles cyan, magenta, and yellow inks. Black ink cartridges come in a standard size with a 335-page yield that costs $9.99 and a 30XL high-volume size that yields 670 pages and costs $19.98. Standard-size color cartridges yield 275 pages and cost $17.99, while high-volume cartridges yield 550 pages and cost $33.98. Other machines don't include several inks in one cartridge, which raises the price of using those machines. However, Kodak's print quality may suffer as a result.

Other Features

The Kodak ESP C310 is capable of scanning pictures or documents at 1200 x 1200 dots per inch, a slightly low resolution. The color copier is capable of 20 to 500-percent scale adjustments and can print up to 99 copies at once. Those are standard specs for an all-in-one.

Software

The ESP C310 All-in-One is light on bundled software. After the software installation, we found a simple scanner utility and printer setup wizard, but nothing else. The scanner software allowed us to control which program stored scanned images (Paint, Photoshop, or any photo editor), picture quality of scans (High, Maximum, or Normal), resolution (75-600 dpi), and whether scans were in color or black and white. All print and copy controls--page size, quality, image size--are available on the C310 itself.

Verdict

The $99 Kodak ESP C310 is a good choice as a starter printer/copier/scanner for students or other shoppers on a budget. The Pic Flick app makes it easy to print photos from your iOS device, and the all-in-one itself has an easy-to-use interface. While the photo quality isn't stellar, the C310 is a solid value when you add in Kodak's economical cartridge pricing.

Move over Harry Potter, VuPoint Solution's Magic Wand is ready for battle, er, scanning. With the clever and lightweight (7.5 oz) Magic Wand, you can scan documents, receipts, and photos from anywhere.

The process is simple: press the power button to begin the scanning process, then run the wand over an image or sheet of paper to capture its contents. One LED indicator tells you when it's scanning, another alerts you if you've made an error or it's time to juice up. The Wand stores the images on a microSD card, which you can also transfer to your laptop via USB. The screen next to the power button shows how many documents you've scanned into the device's memory.

Oddly, the Wand uses AA batteries for power, instead of USB, which would have made the device lighter and more portable. At least the batteries were included.

Waving the wand over black text at a smooth pace went well, but but varying the tempo too much caused things to go haywire--certain lines were stretched vertically. We tested the scanner on average black and white documents, receipts and images, and found the JPEGs it produced to be accurate (when we got the tempo right).

The bundled software was our least favorite part of the package. Included in the box is the Abbyy Screenshot Reader for converting images of text to editable text via OCR. There was no way to export to, say, PDF or make business cards into csv files. But you can export text to the clipboard, Microsoft Word, Excel, or e-mail. However, once copied, errors in the translation from image to text became apparent, often transferring the majority of the copy  into gibberish.

VuPoint's offering is a decent scanner, and we like that you can throw in your bag and hit the road easily. However, as the OCR isn't the best, users may find that the JPEG is more useful than the resulting plain text, which isn't useful at all. For $99 the Magic Wand isn't very expensive, though you'll end up paying more for good OCR software to make it useful. If you already have some and just need to upgrade your scanner, this is a decent choice.

At first glance, Visioneer's Strobe 500 portable scanner ($349) seems rough around the edges. Its design is a bit bland, and its software is complicated. But beneath those imperfections is a compelling product: a portable device that can scan both sides of a page or business card. It also comes with a optional detachable docking station that allows you to feed it lots of pages at once. The Strobe 500 is a handy accessory that doesn't take up a lot of space.

Design

The Strobe 500 has a convenient convertible design that offers more functionality as you make it less mobile. The scanner itself measures 11.7 x 2.8 x 3.3 inches and weighs 2.2 pounds, which is on a par with the Plustek MobileOffice D428 (but not the pen-shaped PlanOn DocuPen X05). For an extra $50, it also comes with an optional docking station, which adds 1.7 pounds to the weight but also turns it into a desktop-class product, offering a vertical paper feed not unlike an all-in-one printer. Like the Plustek D428, the Strobe 500 needs a wall outlet for power when used in conjunction with the docking station.

The overall design of the Strobe 500 is somewhat dull. It's mostly black with the exception of the front facade, which is an off-white color. The device has two buttons: Simplex and Duplex, so you can scan one or both sides of a document, a very handy--and unique--feature for a product in this class. There's also a dial with a power symbol, as well as the numbers one through six. It's not obvious by looking at them, but these numbers represent six different programmable settings. For instance, one number might include the settings for business cards scanned in color and at the resolution of your choice. Another setting might send your document directly to e-mail as an attachment.

Setup and Ease of Use

We set up the Strobe 500 without a hitch. Just install the drivers, plug the scanner into the AC adapter and your USB port, and you're good to go; no restarts necessary. You will need to register online, though, as this is necessary for receiving technical support and free driver updates. It's easy to get started scanning, too. Flip open the lid on the top, insert a document using the labeled markers as guides (for example, you're instructed where to place a business card), and the scanner will automatically recognize it. Then, press Simplex or Duplex and--voila!--you'll see the image on your laptop's screen in seconds (more on speed later).

A little bit on the numbered dial on the front. Using Visioneer OneTouch, a bundled program, users can easily configure the settings for each number on the dial when they scan with it for the first time. Using Visioneer OneTouch Scan Settings, you can decide the default file format (BMP, JPG, PDF, sPDF, or TIFF), the destination (say, Windows Mail), and the size of the document.

While the hardware is simple to use, the corresponding Nuance PaperPort software can be a bit intimidating. The top toolbar is strewn with icons (you can see labels when you move the cursor over them), and there's a series of settings file folders running down the left side. Most of the screen is taken up by a library of scanned images. Fortunately, you can easily use the scanner without having to poke around much in the software.

Although Nuance PaperPort is PC-only, the Strobe 500 comes with software for Macs, too (the competing PlusTek Mobile Office D428 lacks this capability). ExactScan Capture Application and NewSoft Presto! Page Manager allow users to edit, organize, send, and view scanned documents. However, only the PC software allows users to search content in PDFs.

Performance

The Strobe 500 scans in black-and-white and color at a resolution of up to 600 dpi. The scanner itself can only cradle one piece of paper at a time, making it difficult to process multiple pages as one document. However, the auto document feeder, which is part of the docking station, can hold up to 20 pages.

In scanning business cards, letter-sized paper, and receipts, the Strobe 500 was quick to recognize documents, and never jammed. It also had no problem scanning business cards with colorful backgrounds, or fine-colored lettering. However, we noticed that the scanner rarely pulled documents in straight. We often found ourselves tugging pieces of paper to re-insert them at a straighter angle.

The Strobe 500 was just as fast--and sometimes faster than--the Plustek D428. Both took 6.0 seconds to scan a single business card. And while the D428 took 34.8 seconds to scan a three-page black-and-white document, the Strobe 500 took 20.2. However, the Strobe 500 took 14.1 seconds to scan and process a receipt, whereas the D428 scanned the same receipt in just 4.3 seconds. As a duplexer, the Strobe 500 is still fast: it scanned both sides of a business card in 8.0 seconds. Anecdotally, we noticed that the scanner often took the most time to begin scanning than it did running a document through the scanner and processing it.

Warranty and Configurations

The Strobe 500 comes with a one-year warranty, including phone and Web support. Unfortunately, the phone support is not toll-free, and is available only Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. (EST).

The Strobe 500 costs $349 by itself, but $399 if you purchase it with the docking station. On its own, the docking station costs $99.99.

Verdict

Although its 2.2-pound weight (3.9 pounds with the docking station) might turn off frequent fliers, we recommend the $349 Visioneer Strobe 500 as a portable scanner that's fast and functional. It can scan multiple sides of a document or business card, feed multiple pages at once, and, thanks to the included software, search inside PDFs. Its software could be more intuitive to use, but we like that this scanner is compatible with both Macs and PCs. Overall, the Strobe 500 is a winner.

As compact and sleek as some printers are, they can still take up a good chunk of your work area. That's a problem when your desk space is cluttered, or just limited. One way to clean up and maximize your workspace is to make your printer wireless, so that you can place it wherever there's room in your home or office.

Don't own a wireless printer? No problem. Here are three ways to turn any printer into a wireless one.

1. Plug into a wireless print server.

If your printer has a USB port, you can plug in a wireless print server, a small box into which you can connect your printer. The advantage of investing in a print server is that you don't have to connect the printer to a PC, which means you can use your laptop and print anywhere in your home.

We found plenty of print servers in the $50 range onNewegg.com, although many of the models cost closer to $75 or $100). Before you buy, make sure the print server is compatible with your printer (the printer's written materials are less likely to specify compatibility with print servers).

During the setup, you will have to plug the printer into the printer server, and connect that to the router using an Ethernet cable. Meanwhile, you'll have to install software on your computer and configure the connection, as you would when setting up a router.

2. Share your printer with other PCs in your home or office

If you have several computers sharing a printer (say, in a small office or your family's home) a cost-effective way to make the printer wireless is by connecting it to a host computer, going into the Control Panel in Windows, and enabling the printer to be shared on the network. Although this solution is free, the downside is that if the host computer is powered down, other computers on the network can't use the printer.

3. Buy a Bluetooth adapter

Almost every manufacturer sells an optional Bluetooth adapter, although they won't necessarily work with the model you're using. These units, which include a dongle for your notebook and a piece that attaches to the printer itself, usually cost about $40.

The benefit of connecting via Bluetooth is that if you have a simpler phone without Wi-Fi, you can still send files and pictures to the printer via Bluetooth (most laptops nowadays have Bluetooth as well). The trade-off is that older Bluetooth products, that use Version 1.1 or 1.2, have a rated range of 10 meters (about 33 feet), which is shorter than your router or Wi-Fi-enabled notebook's range. (Bluetooth 2.0 and 2.1, however, have a rated range of 100 meters.) The longer the range, of course, the more options you have when it comes time to find homes for your printer and laptop.

• 10 Biggest Gadget Design Fails
• 5 Ways to Free Up Storage on Your iPhone
• 12 Dumbest PC Default Settings (and How to Change Them)