The Best Printers for Home Office Needs (2026): Brother, HP, and More

Before you start anything else, you need to decide between ink and laser. I’ll go into detail when it comes to each type, but the most important thing is the type of paper you print on regularly. Laser printers use heat for contact, which means that if you print on envelopes with a window or photo paper, you need to use an inkjet printer or switch to another thermally safe method, which can be cheaper if you print a lot.

Inkjets are the most popular of home printers, and they work by boiling the ink until it gets into tiny holes. Inkjet printers come with pre-filled cartridges or built-in tanks. The latter are becoming more popular because of the good prices, simplicity, and the low level of plastic waste. If you are buying a new printer in 2026 I recommend that you choose an ink tank (or a laser printer, depending on your needs). Ink tanks are more work to set up and maintain than using replacement cartridges, because you have to keep the tanks closed and they have to be in one place on the surface to prevent them from leaking. I can’t imagine many times when the printer just moves and tilts, but I still think about it.

Think inkjets are good? Laser printers work by blasting a tube full of dry plastic particles, then mixing them with paper and heat. They tend to spend money up front, but the cost per page is very low. While a $20 ink cartridge can print 200 pages, a $60 toner cartridge can print 2,000. Laser printers are faster and faster than inkjet printers. In addition, the pages come out of the printer nice and warm, and you can’t put a price on it.

There is also a heat press, which is mainly used for writing paper or stationery. Instead of filling the printer with ink and placing it on the surface, this uses a precise heat on special paper, which allows you to print text and images in a low-cost way, and often in one color. If you print mailing labels or simple stickers at home, this can save you a lot of time and ink costs, but beyond that use, it’s limited.

Finally, there are UV printers, which enable printing on different surfaces. However, it is very expensive, so if you don’t always expect to make mugs or coasters, you can choose another type of printing.

From my experience, most people will get the best value from an inkjet printer. Ink prices are usually much lower than cartridges, and without the limitations of a laser printer.