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How to pick
The only question that matters is whether you print photos. If you do not, get a black and white laser printer and never think about printers again. Ink jets dry out if you do not use them weekly, and the cartridges cost more than the printer. Laser toner sits in a drawer for years and still works. The second question is whether you need to scan. If you do, get the all in one version of the same printer.
What I recommend
The one decision that matters
The only question is whether you print photos. If you do not, get a black and white laser printer and never think about printers again. Ink jets dry out if you do not use them weekly, and the cartridges cost more than the printer.
Brother HL-L2400D laser printer
Same toner and reliability as the one below, but it plugs into the computer with a cable instead of joining your Wi-Fi. Fine if the printer sits next to the computer and only that computer prints.
- No ink to dry out, ever
- Toner lasts years, not months
- Cheap to buy and cheap to run
- USB only, no Wi-Fi, so no printing from a phone
- Black and white only
- No scanner
- Prints
- Black and white only
- Speed
- About 36 pages a minute
- Two sided
- Automatic
- Connection
- USB cable only, no Wi-Fi
Brother HL-L2460DW laser printer
This comes up more than anything else on the whole site. No ink to dry out, no subscription nagging you, and one toner cartridge lasts most households a couple of years. Prints from your phone. If you mostly print documents, buy this one.
- Toner lasts years and costs little per page
- No subscription, no nagging
- Prints from phones and tablets
- Extremely reliable, these last a decade
- Black and white only
- Cannot print photos properly
- Physically bigger and heavier than an ink jet
- No scanner
- Prints
- Black and white only
- Speed
- About 36 pages a minute
- Two sided
- Automatic
- Connection
- Wi-Fi and USB
Brother MFC-L2820DW all in one
Same reliable laser guts, with a scanner and copier on top and a feeder for stacks of paper. Get this if you deal with forms, tax paperwork, or anything you need to send back as a PDF.
- Scans, copies and faxes as well as prints
- Document feeder handles stacks
- Same low running cost as the printer above
- Larger, needs real desk or shelf space
- Still black and white printing only
- More to go wrong than a plain printer
- Scanner software is functional rather than pleasant
- Does
- Print, scan, copy, fax
- Speed
- About 36 pages a minute
- Feeder
- 50 sheet, automatic
- Connection
- Wi-Fi, USB, ethernet
Only if you genuinely print photos
The one case where an ink jet makes sense, with a real caveat.
Epson EcoTank photo printer
You refill it from bottles instead of buying cartridges, so the running cost is a fraction of a normal ink jet. Still needs to be used regularly or the heads clog, so skip it if it will sit for months.
- Running cost far lower than cartridge ink jets
- Genuinely good colour and photo output
- Bottles last a very long time
- Heads clog if it sits unused for weeks
- Higher purchase price than a cheap ink jet
- Slower than a laser for documents
- Unclogging wastes ink and sometimes fails
- Ink
- Refillable tanks, not cartridges
- Prints
- Color, including photos
- Connection
- Wi-Fi
- Check
- Whether you need the scanner version
Related reading
New printer arriving?
Getting it on the Wi-Fi and talking to every device in the house is the part people call me about. Happy to set it up.