What is the best all-in-one printer? While the office has moved towards a paperless operation, and most people seem to work from home, the printer is still an important part of office culture. And it isn't just a case of the odd black and white copy; when we are in the office and we need to print something, we want a multi-functional service.
Ironically, the mass shift to remote work saw printer sales explode over the last few years. People found they still needed that physical capability in their ever-digitised work lives. The printer is still in demand, regardless of where you work, it seems.
While we still very much use the all-in-one, there is quite a daunting array of options for businesses to buy. To help you decide we have curated the best all-in-one printers for 2023 – these are machines that are flexible enough to deal with various types of work, but also include some more budget options for small businesses.
What to look for in an all-in-one printer
When we talk about 'all-in-one' printers, we mean all-purpose machines; workhorses that can do a variety of roles. As such, there are a few considerations for you here.
Firstly, it makes sense to know what your printing needs are – how much printing will your business be doing on a daily basis? If it's just for the occasional form or report, then you don't really need to worry about the cost of consumables. However, heavy print use can quickly become expensive; printers that use refillable ink tanks can be a good choice for reducing costs over the long haul, but ink subscription services may be a better fit for the occasional printer.
You should also consider connectivity. USB ports should, in theory, be sufficient for a printer, though certain use cases may require something more specific. Office printers will most certainly need Wi-Fi capabilities, which should also include robust mobile and cloud printing support – you'll upset a lot of office bods if you get one without.
It’s also worth noting that strong performance for colour documents doesn’t necessarily equate to good results when dealing with photographs. If marketing materials or high-end graphics are on the agenda, exploring options that boast photo printing as a core competency could give you a lot more flexibility in terms of your print workloads.
Finally, while every printer on this list includes a scanner of some sort, not all of them include an automated document feeder (ADF). This allows multiple pages to be automatically processed as part of a single job, and can be invaluable for digitising lengthy reports or large archives. ADFs tend to be omitted from cheaper printers, but if you’re planning on doing more than the occasional scan, it may be worth splashing out.
FAQs
Should I buy an inkjet or laser all-in-one?
The inkjet versus laser debate isn’t as fiercely competitive as it used to be; both types of printer have gradually moved closer to the middle ground, with inkjets becoming faster and more precise, as lasers become cheaper and more well-rounded in terms of features.
There are still some points of differentiation, though. Inkjets are still usually more affordable than laser printers – especially at the bottom end – and it’s still comparatively rare to see entry-level laser printers that also include a scanner. Lasers, however, do tend to need their consumables replaced less frequently, and commonly tend to perform better for high-volume mono document tasks. Which one is right for you will therefore depend largely on what your priorities are.
Do I need an all-in-one printer with fax support?
The ability to send and receive faxes directly from a printer used to be a common and highly useful feature for business devices, but it has since declined in popularity alongside faxes themselves. While there are still some specific geographies and industries that regularly use fax systems, it’s vanishingly rare for most organisations to need them, and so fax support is rarely seen outside of high-end business MFPs.
If your business needs this capability, then you’ll likely already know about it. There are some smaller all-in-one printers which offer it, but for most organisations, this is a redundant feature that safely be left off your shopping list.
Is it worth buying a business-focused all-in-one printer?
Some printers are designed for home users, but others are built specifically to cater to business needs. However, consumer-focused printers shouldn’t be discounted for business purposes. They’re often cheaper than models aimed at a business audience, and they’re often nicer-looking too.
What business printers lack in visual appeal, they make up for in management options, security, and additional functionality, not to mention more comprehensive warranties for added peace of mind. If more than a handful of people are going to be using a printer on a regular basis, it’s probably worth opting for something a little more robust, but individual users can likely get by with something a bit more consumer-friendly.
The best all-in-one printers
Brother MFC-J1300DW All in Box
Best printer for instant value
While the MFC-J1300DW isn’t the cheapest printer upfront, it’s actually extremely good value, thanks to the generous quantities of ink that Brother has shipped it with. There's enough for 7,200 full-colour prints, which is around three years’ worth according to the company's estimates, meaning it comes out at an impressive 4p per page for colour sheets - and even less for mono documents. When that’s complete, the price of XL cartridges mean your costs could come down to as little as 2.3p per colour page.
But there’s more to the printer than just value: it’s easy to use, provides decent quality and is capable of delivering 12 pages of black text per minute. The only downside is its lack of duplex scanning, copying or faxing, but if that’s not a deal breaker for you, this is a superb all rounder that’s well worth the cost of entry.
|
Technology |
Piezo inkjet |
|
Maximum print resolution |
1,200 x 2,400dpi |
|
Maximum paper size |
A4 |
|
Input tray |
150-sheet input tray |
|
Speed |
12/5.2ppm (mono/colour) |
Price when reviewed: £241 exc. VAT
Read our full Brother MFC-J1300DW All in Box review for more information.
Canon Pixma TS8350
Best printer for all-round value
At just £100 excluding VAT, the Canon Pixma TS8350 offers an extraordinary amount of value in its unassuming frame. Sometimes, a low upfront price can disguise expensive ongoing running costs, but it’s not terrible here; replacement XXL cartridges offer around 3.4p per mono page and 6.2p per colour one.
In fact, some questions about flimsy build quality aside, it’s all good news. Despite the low cost of entry, this is as good as any other printer we’ve tested in terms of print quality, and it can output pages at an impressive 13 mono prints a minute, dropping to four if you want a colourful sheet. If you’re looking for a capable but inexpensive all-in-one printer, you simply can’t go wrong with the Canon Pixma TS8350.
|
Technology |
Inkjet |
|
Maximum print resolution |
4,800 x 1,200dpi |
|
Maximum paper size |
A4 |
|
Input tray |
100-page input tray, 100-page rear feed |
|
Speed |
13ppm mono/ 4ppm colour |
Price when reviewed: £100 exc. VAT
Read our full Canon Pixma TS8350 review for more information.
Epson EcoTank ET-2710
Best printer for low running costs
While only the third cheapest printer in this list, the Epson EcoTank ET-2710 is probably the best value if you get through a lot of ink. That’s thanks to the EcoTank technology where you manually top up the cartridges from bottles. It’s easy to do, and brings the running costs down to less than 0.5p per colour page.
There are, however, drawbacks for offices where the printer is always in use. For one thing, the paper feed mechanism is extremely noisy, especially for faster jobs. The term “faster” is relative, too, as print speeds are nothing to write home about at 9.6ppm for mono sheets and 2.9ppm for colour graphics. There’s also no screen to advise you as to what it’s currently up to.
Despite that, the quality is good, and with print prices as low as these, you can forgive a few drawbacks, and its recommendation is thoroughly well-deserved.
|
Technology |
Inkjet |
|
Maximum print resolution |
5,760 x 1,440dpi |
|
Maximum paper size |
A4/legal |
|
Input tray |
100-sheet input tray |
|
Speed |
9.6ppm mono/ 2.9ppm colour |
Price when reviewed: £145 exc. VAT
Read our full Epson EcoTank ET-2710 review for more information.
Epson EcoTank ET-3850
Best printer for busy offices
The more recent Epson EcoTank-3850 may cost nearly twice as much as the EcoTank ET-2710, but it offers a lot more - including a colour screen for managing print jobs in person. It also lets you print double sided, includes a 30-sheet autofeeder and a built-in 250-sheet paper cassette, making it a more serious bit of kit for those whose print queues go on and on.
It’s also close to twice as fast, getting through 15.8 mono pages and 4.6 colour pages in a minute during our test, and quality is reasonable to boot. Crucially, it still relies on extremely cheap ink bottle refills, meaning you could be paying less than a penny per sheet once the generous bundled ink (enough for 14,000 mono and 5,200 colour pages) dries up.
|
Technology |
Inkjet |
|
Maximum print resolution |
4,800 x 1,200 dpi |
|
Maximum paper size |
A4 |
|
Input tray |
60-sheet rear tray |
|
Speed |
15.8ppm mono/ 4.6ppm colour |
Price when reviewed: £275 exc. VAT
Read our full Epson EcoTank ET-3850 review for more information.
Canon Pixma TS6250
Best printer for minimal outlay
The cheapest all-in-one printer on this list, the Canon Pixma TS6250 punches well above its weight, with superb print quality and decent speeds of 12.7ppm for mono prints and 3.9ppm for more complex colour graphics.
It uses five inks, with the usual cyan, magenta and yellow cartridges supplemented by two kinds of black ink — one for plain paper, and a dye-based one for photo prints. Despite this extra ink to worry about, using the XXL cartridges means that printing costs come down to as little as 2.8p per mono page, which isn’t bad at all.
There are drawbacks, of course: there’s no fax functionality, and it’s not the quietest with a mildly irritating wheezing noise, but most people will certainly be able to live with both considering the sheer affordability of the thing.
|
Technology |
Inkjet |
|
Maximum print resolution |
4,800 x 1,200dpi |
|
Maximum paper size |
A4 |
|
Input tray |
100-page input tray, 100-page rear feed (or 20 photo sheets) |
|
Speed |
12.7 mono/ 3.9ppm colour |
Price when reviewed: £67 exc. VAT
Read our full Canon Pixma TS6250 review for more information.
Xerox C235dw
Best printer for high print speeds
Provided there’s not a perpetual queue around your printer, the Xerox C235dw is extremely hard to fault. Featuring a 250-sheet cassette, a 50-sheet ADF and a large 7.1cm colour touchscreen for easy controls, Xerox’s MFP is extremely easy to get along with. It’s speedy, too, capable of outputting 22 mono pages a minute and an impressive 13.1 colour sheets.
There are drawbacks, though. There’s no fax functionality, for a start, and photocopies are a little dark at the default setting. The supplied ink is a bit stingy too, capable of printing just 500 pages, and high-capacity cartridges offer so-so running costs of 2.4p per black page or 9.4p per colour one. All the same, if you value speed and quality over quantity, then the Xerox C235dw is a solid all-round choice that won’t let you down.
|
Technology |
Inkjet |
|
Maximum print resolution |
600 x 600 dpi |
|
Maximum paper size |
A4 |
|
Input tray |
250-sheets + 1-sheet manual feed slot |
|
Speed |
22ppm |
Price when reviewed: £280 exc. VAT
Read our full Xerox C235dw review for more information.
How we test all-in-one printers
All our printer reviews include a series of tests to check various aspects of standard operations. The first set is designed to test overall print quality and identify any issues such as colour banding or fuzzy text output. This involves printing a number of mono documents, greyscale images, and colour pictures.
This is followed by speed tests for black and white text prints, timing how long a machine takes to produce a 25-page job, as well as how quickly the first sheet is delivered after hitting print. We also repeat this test at draft quality when testing inkjet printers. To measure colour print speeds, these tests are repeated with a 24-sheet batch of magazine pages, web pages and presentation slides. The first ten pages of this colour batch is also used to test duplex print speeds, measured in images per minute.
Scan functionality is a key component of all-in-one printers, and scan speeds are tested by timing how quickly it can produce a single photocopy, as well as a ten-page copy job for those models which also feature an ADF. We’ll run this test in both mono and colour where possible, and if both printer and ADF are duplex, then we’ll also time a ten-page double-sided batch.
To assess the image quality of scans, we’ll use a colour input target chart, an office document and a colour photo. Finally, we’ll look at how quickly the scanner produces results at various resolutions, as well as the speed with which it displays a preview image.
