All-in-One Printers: Top Picks

This HP all-in-one printer has a lot to offer. The biggest plus is that networking is built into the printer, so there’s nothing else to buy. It prints fairly fast (up to 34 pages per minute in color, subject to how your printer preferences are set) and prints come out looking great—even color photos look excellent. HP’s inks are smudge-resistant, which helps documents and pictures look good. Photo buffs will appreciate that ability to print from all kinds of memory cards as well as PictBridge, while the office boss will like the built-in automatic document feeder and (optional) duplex printing. For some reason it doesn’t come with a USB cable to connect to a computer, so don’t forget to get one yourself.

Dell wisely understands that the people who purchase all-in-one printers (particularly small/home businesses) are likely to have networked computers, and thus wireless or Ethernet connectivity is a key requirement. This printer does a fine job with all the basics and the wireless and other networking features help boost it above the competition. It warms up fast, is easy to set up, and has an automatic document feeder. A duplexer would be nice--there's one available as an option--and the awkwardly placed paper-exit tray could be a bit tougher, but those are minor quibbles.

The Kodak all-in-one printer has one huge advantage over the rest of the MFP crowd: it uses one black and one color ink cartridge—the latter costs only $14.99, meaning that you won’t feel as though you’re buying a new printer on every third ink change. Even better is that prints look good as well. I also like that this all-in-one printer can print wirelessly via Bluetooth but wish that functionality was built in, not a $50 option. Like the other printers here, the Easyshare can fax or scan, duplex print, and has multiple paper trays as well as an automatic document feeder. Media ports are conveniently located on the front of the machine. And did I mention that this all-in-one only uses two ink cartridges?

The Pixma MP830 all-in-one printer has a lot going for it, but I’ll start with what it’s so conspicuously missing: a wireless adapter. It’s $60 more expensive than the MP530, so what do you get for the extra money? Well, an excellent printer, scanner, and fax machine, for one. And a built-in media-card reader that supports a wide range of media, from xD-Picture Cards to Memory Sticks. Like most other Pixma printers, it’s plenty fast, putting out as many as 30 pages a minute (monochrome text). It’s dependable, fashionable, and does everything you need it to do, so what else can you ask? Wireless networkability, that’s what. But the Pixma all-in-one printer is still a great deal.

If you’re willing to spend $300 on an all-in-one printer that won’t print color, then you might be ready for this HP LaserJet all-in-one. It uses a single toner cartridge that HP says should last for 2,000 copies and costs about $70 to replace, making the cost per page reasonable. With an optional JetDirect print server (about $150) you can copy, scan, fax, and print over your network (take that, Canon!). You won’t be able to print or copy in color (though you can scan in color), and since it’s built for business the machine is light on media-card slots; but if you don’t really need those options, you can spend a little more on this HP all-in-one printer and save yourself some money in the long run.

This excellent laser all-in-one from Brother can be networked via a wired or wireless (802.11 b/g) network. Setting that up was easier than I thought it would be, and the printer, scan, copy, and fax functions can all be accessed remotely. Sure, it's a monochrome printer; but if you have a networked home office and your printing needs tend to be Office documents (and, perhaps, you have a dedicated photo printer for your other print jobs), then this Brother all-in-one might be just what you're looking for. At about $300, it's priced the same as a top-of-the-line inkjet printer, but the crispness of the prints makes it superior to those machines.

The MX700’s 1.8 inch preview LCD screen is a big improvement over the MP530 (small, not well lit, and sometimes hard to read), and the ability to network the machine brings it squarely into the 21st century. With multiple memory cards slots and PictBridge, road warriors and photo buffs alike will find this Pixma all-in-one easy to use; those who want prints fast will be equally pleased. Even better, this all-in-one printer is on the cheap side as well. It doesn’t scan particularly fast, so it’s not ideal for digitizing photos, but it has decent photo-editing options (such as a handy face-brightener). The Canon all-in-one printer uses four ink tanks, which you’ll appreciate when they need to be replaced.