The 10 Best Inkjet Printers

For most homes that print a few pages a week, the Epson EcoTank ET-2803 is a cheap way out of buying cartridges. You pour ink from bottles into its tanks, and the ink in the box lasts about two years of light use. A page of text costs well under a penny. It prints, copies and scans, but slowly, with no sheet feeder and no automatic two-sided printing. Left idle for weeks, it can clog.

If you want a tank model that flips the page for you, the Canon Pixma G3290 prints both sides on its own and has a color touchscreen. Canon says one set of bottles covers about 6,000 black pages, and the box holds up to two years of ink. Text comes out crisp, and photos look fine on the fridge, though not in a frame. Getting it on Wi-Fi can be a slog, and there is no sheet feeder.

The HP Smart Tank 5003 is a plain, low-priced tank printer with a long runway: HP packs up to three years of ink in the box, which it rates at about 6,000 pages. The bottles plug into the tanks and drain on their own, so refills stay tidy. It prints, copies and scans over Wi-Fi. Two-sided printing means turning the stack by hand, and glossy photos come out flat and dull.

Built for a home office, the Canon Maxify GX2020 pairs refillable tanks with a sheet feeder, fax and automatic two-sided printing. Its pigment inks lay down crisp black text that resists smudging, and Canon backs it for three years. A full set of bottles lasts about 3,000 pages, so you refill more often than on many home tank models. It scans one side of a sheet at a time, and photos can lean pink.

On a tight budget, the Brother MFC-J1360DW, sold as the Work Smart 1360, still brings a sheet feeder, fax and automatic two-sided printing. RTINGS found its text and color prints sharp for the money. It takes four cartridges, so each page costs several times what a tank model charges, though high-yield cartridges narrow that gap. It suits a few pages a week, not a busy home office.

Paperwork-heavy homes get a lot from the Epson EcoTank ET-4800: a sheet feeder for scanning stacks, a fax line and a wired network jack beside Wi-Fi, all running on refillable tanks. A set of bottles prints about 4,500 black pages. It does not print both sides on its own, so double-sided jobs mean flipping the paper by hand, and its small screen makes menus a chore.

The Brother MFC-T580DW stands out for its cover: Brother gives it a three-year limited warranty, and the box holds up to three years of ink. It prints both sides on its own, and its keyed bottles only fit the matching tank, so refills can't go into the wrong slot. A one-sheet slot takes envelopes or card stock. The one-line display is bare, so most setup runs through a phone app.

Snapshots are the point of the HP Envy Photo 7975, which keeps a separate tray loaded with photo paper, so you can switch from letters to borderless prints without swapping stacks. It also has a sheet feeder and prints both sides on its own. It runs on cartridges, and HP's firmware can reject cheaper third-party ones. Its ink subscription is optional, but subscription cartridges stop working if you cancel.

Aimed at home offices, the HP OfficeJet Pro 8139 brings a touchscreen, fax, a sheet feeder and automatic two-sided printing, and its main tray holds 225 sheets. Its pigment black ink keeps text sharp on plain paper. A year of HP's ink subscription comes in the box. After that you either pay monthly or buy cartridges, and HP's firmware can turn away third-party ones.

Still sold years after launch, the Canon Pixma G6020 remains a sturdy tank printer with a front cassette for plain paper and a rear slot for photo stock or envelopes. It prints both sides by itself, connects by cable or Wi-Fi, and Canon rates a set of bottles at about 6,000 black pages. The small text-only display makes menus slow, and the design shows its age.