7 Best Home Office Printers for 2018 in the UK

Picking the right printer for your personal needs might prove a daunting task. Besides considering the different prices of the wide range available in the market, you must consider factors like the printing speed, quality of printed photos and future regular costs of maintenance, and much more.

On top of all, you will have to verify each printer’s functions and abilities and make sure they do not exceed your actual needs, for in this case you will probably waste extra money for no reason.

Have no fear though.

We will help you come down to the right decision. Following a meticulous research, we present you the 7 best home printers for every budget!

1. HP DeskJet 3630 – Basic All-in-one Home Printer

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In A Few Words

HP DeskJet 3630 doesn’t offer you the best in terms of printing quality, but it gets you all the basic functions of an average all-in-one printer at a very low price. It has what it takes to break the famous rule “Cheap printers, expensive ink,” simply because it is an instant ink-eligible printer.

At A Glance

• All-in-One Printer
• Instant Ink Compatible

Details

As already mentioned, HP DeskJet 3630 is not designed to impress you with its built and design, neither with its specs and printing quality. Still, do not make the mistake of taking it for a lousy printer. Quite the contrary. Take a look at its specs and printing features:

• Maximum Print Speed: 20 pages/minute (Black)
• Maximum Print Speed: 6 pages/minute (Colour)
• Width: 44 cm
• Depth with open tray: 37 cm
• Height: 14 cm
• Weight: 5 kg
• Horizontal Resolution: 1,200 dpi
• Photocopying resolution: 600 x 300 dpi
• Scanning resolution: 1,200 dpi
• Warranty: Up to 12 months, depending on the seller.

Extra Features

• Quiet Mode
• HP ePrint
• Wi-Fi Direct
• Includes Ink for your first 100 pages

Now, let us see about the printing cost, which is always an issue in such a low budget printer. As mentioned above, HP DeskJet 3630 shutters to pieces the usual moto “Cheap price, Expensive printing,” and it was actually this feature that convinced us to include it in our 7 Best list.

Getting ink with a monthly subscription equates to cutting monthly ink costs significantly. To illustrate:

Cost of Monthly Instant Ink Subscription:

• £2/month for up to 50 pages or
• £4/month for up to 100 pages or
• £8/month for up to 300 pages

Cost of Individual HP Cartridge:

• £19 for up to 165 pages or
• £28 for up to 330 pages

Clearly, a monthly subscription is the best option IF you keep using the respectable pages per plan. In case you don’t print as much for a month, you can roll over up to 50 unused pages for the cheapest and 300 for the most expensive plan.

2. HP Envy 5540 – Budget Friendly Printer

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In a Few Words

The HP Envy 5540 has a very good printing quality of graphics and sharp text, especially upon considering the budget-friendly price.

At a Glance

• All-in-One Inkjet Printer
• Instant Ink Ready
• The Instant Postcard Photo Print Maker

Details

Let’s begin with the Specs and extra features you need to know before buying:

• Maximum Print Speed: 10 pages/minute (Black)
• Maximum Print Speed: 4 pages/minute (Colour)
• Width: 45 cm
• Depth with open tray: 41 cm
• Height: 16 cm
• Weight: 7 kg
• Maximum Print Resolution in Colour: 1,200 x 1,200 dpi
• Scanning resolution: 1,200 dpi
• A4 Paper Tray: 125 sheets max
• Postcard (10 x 15 cm) Paper Tray: 15 sheets
• Touch-sensitive screen
• Warranty: Up to 12 months, depending on the seller.

Extra Features

• USB 2.0 port
• Supports Apple’s AirPrint
• Wi-Fi Direct
• Automatic Double-Sided Printing

The two trays allow you to print both A4 sheets and postcard papers without removing and replacing the paper. The A4 tray can hold 125 sheets and the small tray can hold up to 15 postcard-sized paper.

The main body of the printer is made of plastic (not of the finest quality) and the design is on the bulky side. Nevertheless, the numerous features of the device compensate for this drawback.

As for running costs, the printer is compatible with both standard and XL size cartridges, whereas you have also the aforementioned Instant Ink Subscription option.

Cost of Monthly Instant Ink Subscription

• £2/month for up to 50 pages or
• £4/month for up to 100 pages or
• £8/month for up to 300 pages

Cost of Individual HP Cartridge

• £29 for up to 600 pages (black)
• £30 for up to 415 pages (colour)
• £10 for up to 200 pages (black)
• £15  for up to 165 pages (colour)

3. Ricoh SP 150SUw Mono Laser Printer – Sleek & Lightweight

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In a Few Words

Ricoh SP 150SUw is a small but very productive printer.

At a Glance

• The Budget-Friendly Laser Printer

Details

The truly remarkable feature of this model is its size. It is smaller not only than the bulkier laser printers but also the majority of the inkjets. The design is pretty sleek, too.

Another great feature is the laser typing speed you get at such a low price. This little dynamite produces 22 pages/minute! Yet, the bad news is the running costs – aka the pricey toner cartridges.

Cost of Compatible Toner Cartridges

• Standard Size: £65 (prints around 700 pages)/ about £35 found on offer
• High-Yield: £91 (prints around 1500 pages)/ about £50 found on offer

Specs you Need to Know Before Buying

• Maximum Print Speed: 22 pages/minute
• Width: 35 cm
• Depth: 28 cm
• Height: 13 cm
• Weight: 6.5 kg
• Maximum Print Resolution: 600 dpi
• Scanning resolution: 1,200 dpi (can also scan in colour)
• Input Paper Tray: 50 sheets max
• 1 USB 2.0 port
• Warranty: 2 years

4. Epson WorkForce Pro WF-7710DWF A3 Wi-Fi Printer, Scan and Copy with Fax

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In a Few Words

Epson WorkForce Pro WF-7710DWF is a real workhorse, offering decent typing speed in both colour and black n white settings.

At a Glance

• The Affordable A3 Printer

Details

Its mastery is in printing A3 sheets, and, as a matter of fact, can print automatically 35 A3 sheets in a row, double-sided! In detail:

Specs you Need to Know Before Buying

• Maximum Print Speed: 18 pages/minute (black)
• Maximum Print Speed: 15 pages/minute (colour)
• Width: 57 cm
• Depth: 45 cm
• Height: 34 cm
• Weight: 19 kg
• Maximum Printing Resolution: 4800 x2400 dpi
• Scanning resolution: 1,200 x 2,400 dpi
• Input Paper Tray: 250 sheets max
• Output Paper Tray: 125 sheets max
• 1 USB 2.0 port
• Warranty: 1 year, depending on the seller

Not bad, wouldn’t you say?

The appearance, though, is a bit of a disappointment. In essence, it is a black boxy printer, which is also quite heavy.

Another disadvantage is the lack of a second tray, so you need to switch the A3 with A4 papers every time you need to print in a different size.

However, these are not deal-breakers for people who need to print on regular basis A3 papers for their home-based business. What is more, the compatible ink cartridges are really affordable when purchased in packs, in comparison with the other inkjets of the same level.

To be more specific:

Epson High Capacity 27XXL/27XL pack

• 4 ink cartridges: black, magenta, yellow and cyan
• Black lasts for 2,000 pages while each of the colours for 1,100 pages
• Costs £29 or £0.5 per page
• 1-year guarantee and free returns

Epson Regular pack

• 4 ink cartridges: black, magenta, yellow and cyan
• Black lasts for 350 pages while each of the colours for 300 pages
• Costs £12 or £1 per page
• 1-year guarantee and free returns

Is Epson WorkForce Pro WF-7710DWF your perfect match?

5. Samsung Xpress M2835DW – Plain Laser Printer

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In a Few Words

Don’t expect a ton of features with this machine. Samsung Xpress M2835D is just a plain black laser printer. Yet, the lack of all the other extra operations lets the printer focus on the printing process, and it surely excels in terms of quality, speed and energy efficiency.

At a Glance

• The Energy Efficient Laser Printer

Details

Let us start with the essential specifications:

Specs you Need to Know Before Buying

• Maximum Print Speed: 22 pages/minute
• Width: 37 cm
• Depth: 34 cm
• Height: 20 cm
• Weight: 7.4 kg
• Printing Resolution: 4800 x600 dpi
• Input Paper Tray: 250 sheets max
• 1 USB 2.0 port
• Warranty: 1 year, depending on the seller
• Supports Google Cloud
• Multipurpose tray, suitable for labels, cards, OHP transparencies and envelopes

The design is simple and minimal, and Samsung tried to soften the bulkiness of the usual laser printer appearance by rounding the edges.

There is no screen, and the buttons next to the power button control the WPS setup and the Eco Mode. The latter is a unique system that allows you to calculate the long-term costs of your printing habits and suggests minor adjustments to make practical savings and protect the environment. In other words, you kill two birds with one stone.

As for the running costs, you can find easily high capacity toners at a very affordable price. As of now, the prices are:

Genuine Samsung High Capacity 116L Toner

• Designed to reduce spillage
• Lasts for 3,000 pages
• Costs £50 or £1.6 per page
• 1-year guarantee and free returns

Compatible High Capacity 116L Toner

• Lasts for 3,000 pages
• Costs around £22 or £0.7 per page
• 1-year guarantee and free returns
• Recycled Toner

6. Canon PIXMA TS8050 All-In-One Inkjet Printer

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In a Few Words

Canon PIXMA TS8050 is a compact “all-in-one” home printer that focuses on high-quality photo printing. The machine boasts a six ink mechanism; in other words, grey ink has been added, helping colour transition to get more natural in photographs, as well as a heavy pigmented black ink made especially for printing text.

At a Glance

• The Professional Photo Printer – Home Edition

Details

Ok, as usual, specifications should be your first factors to consider:

Specs you Need to Know Before Buying

• Maximum Print Speed: 12 pages/minute (black)
• Maximum Print Speed: 7 pages/minute (colour)
• Width: 37 cm
• Depth: 32 cm
• Height: 14 cm
• Weight: 6.5 kg
• Printing Resolution: 9600 x 2400 dpi
• Scanning & Copying Resolution: 2400 x 4800 dpi
• Paper Tray 1: 100 A4 sheets max
• Paper Tray 2: 20 sheets glossy photo paper
• 1 USB 2.0 port
• Warranty: 1 year, depending on the seller
• Supports Apple’s AirPrint and Google Cloud
• 6 ink system

The complex system of the six inks automatically means a small loss in terms of speed. Namely, you can have 12 pages per minute for plain text printing, 7 pages per minute for graphics and you have a postcard printed in about 30 seconds.

Granted, this performance is not bad but is not the best either. Still, the stellar printing quality compensates for that loss in speed. Both the vivid and subtle tones are depicted well, so Canon wins the bet and brings professional photography at home.

The printing resolution is 9600 x 2400 dpi and the scanning and copying resolution 2400 x 4800 dpi.

Now, having a six-ink system would normally mean excessive running costs, but this is not exactly the case here. The cartridge inks are expensive but not as much as we were expecting them to be.

What is more, the addition of the extra black ink for text means you will need to replace it less than in other printers. This is what we found with a quick search:

Genuine High Capacity Canon 6 Colour Pack

• Includes 2 black, 1 cyan, 1 magenta, 1 yellow and 1 grey cartridge
• The 2 blacks last for 895 photos and 500 pages respectively, the cyan for 680, the magenta and yellow for 650 each and the grey for 289 pages.
• Costs £67 or £1.8 per page
• 1-year guarantee and free returns

Compatible High Capacity 6 Colour Pack

• Includes 2 black, 1 cyan, 1 magenta, 1 yellow and 1 grey cartridge
• The 2 blacks last for 895 photos and 500 pages respectively, the cyan for 680, the magenta and yellow for 650 each and the grey for 289 pages.
• Costs around £25 or £0.7 per page
• 1-year guarantee and free returns

7. HP OfficeJet 250 – The On-the-go Printer

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In a Few Words

HP OfficeJet 250 is a truly innovative device because it enables you to print outdoors! Furthermore, it is lightweight, with a slim n sleek design, literally made to make an impression!

At a Glance

• The On-the-Go Printer

Details

Check the specs:

Specs you Need to Know Before Buying

• Maximum Print Speed: 18 pages/minute (black)//10 pages on battery power
• Maximum Print Speed: 10 pages/minute (colour)//4 pages on battery power
• Width: 38 cm
• Depth: 20 cm
• Height: 9 cm
• Weight: 3 kg
• Printing Resolution: 4800 x1200 dpi
• Scanning Resolution: 600 x 600 dpi
• Input Paper Tray: 50 sheets max
• 1 USB 2.0 port
• Warranty: 1 year
• Supports Google Cloud & Apple’s AirPrint

Let’s see the details now.

The lithium battery gives you a full ten hours of usage while it recharges within 90 minutes if the printer is off.

The touchscreen colour display and the wireless connectivity options make handling this device a piece of cake. The printing speed and the quality are average to good, but still, this performance is quite impressive for a portable device that weighs only 3 kg!

On the other hand, running costs are relatively high, but -to be honest-we saw that coming. The printer is innovative, compact and not very popular yet, so the ink cartridges’ prices should reflect that situation. And they do.

Genuine High Capacity HP 3 Pack

• Includes 2 black, 1 tri-Colour HP 62XL Ink
• The 2 blacks last for 600 pages each, and the multicolor for 415 pages.
• Costs £69 or £4.2 per page
• 1-year guarantee and free returns

Compatible High Capacity 3 Colour Pack

• Includes 2 black, 1 tri-Colour HP 62XL Ink
• The 2 blacks last for 600 pages each, and the multicolour for  415 pages.
• Costs around £42 or £2.7 per page
• 1-year guarantee and free returns

Hope you find all this helpful!