The 5 best Home and SOHO printers to buy now

The 5 best Home and SOHO printers to buy now

Note: This article was first published on 9th Feb 2023 and the offers are still relevant.

The best Home and SOHO printers to buy now

The pandemic saw us working from home and setting up a home office, and in some cases, SOHO spaces. And these needed all the accoutrements of an office including a printer. Despite all the talk of paperless offices, printers and printing are just something we’ve never been able to shake. After all, they are the last-minute saviours for many, but we tend to forget to give credit to these machines we love to 'abuse'.

The top five printers rounded up for recommendation here will fit into any home, home office, or SOHO setup easily.Best of all, we've tested them (or their similar models), so you can be sure of buying one (or more) of them that best fits your needs.

The "SOHO option": Brother MFC-J4540DW

We liked the Brother MFC-J4540DW so much that we awarded it the Best SOHO printer in our Tech Awards 2022.

First off, it has it where it counts for an AIO. It has an ADF, large LCD for easy status checks and control, two paper cassette trays to hold lots of paper, and a host of connectivity options.

Second, it’s no slacker when it comes to results. While it prints fast, it also prints well with the AIO also proving no slouch when scanning thanks to the ADF.

The MFC-J4540DW uses ink cartridges rather than individual ink tanks. According to Brother’s website, replacement high-yield ink cartridges cost S$99 for both black and each individual colour cartridge with Brother saying that they can print 6,000 pages in black and 5,000 pages in colour. The default ink cartridges that ship with the printers can print 3,000 pages in black and 1,500 pages in colour. Despite the higher-than-expected ink replacement costs, the low base cost, good featuresand high-quality output over other contenders in the sub-S$500 range won us over.

The Brother MFC-J4540DW is available on Brother’s official Lazada store for S$421.90 or slightly less at AmazonSG.

The "great for SMBs": Canon Maxify GX7070

This four-colour Canon Maxify GX7070 ink tank printer can be thought of as the big brother business edition of the Canon Pixma G7070 Ink Tank printer that was our Best Printer of 2020.

For SMBs or SOHO users looking for low printing costs, it comes with high-volume ink bottles to significantly reduce ink costs for both monochrome and colour printing. Using the Economy mode setting pushes output to 9,000 and 21,000 pages of grayscale and colour respectively. It comes with a 50-sheet automatic document feeder, a maximum paper loading capacity of 600 sheets, and a print speed of up to 24.0 ipm(images per minute) in black and 15.5 ipm in colour (in economy mode).

Based on my testing of the Canon Pixma G7070, which is also an ink tank based printer, this is ideal for anyone with a high monthly print volume. While it is pricier than the others here, it has the highest print capacity for its ink tanks(in economy mode) and a very fast print speed. In fact, I've usually found Canon printers to be one of the fastest in printing. I also like how the touchscreen LCD can be tilted up for a better viewing angle. As a printer, Canon often delivers text that is sharp and clear. A fast printer with a good output per ink tank and paper capacitymean this would easilysit in an SMBoffice.

It is available on Canon’s online store priced at S$889or slightly less at AmazonSG.

The "see you at home": HP Smart Tank 720

The ink-tank-based HP Smart Tank 720 was the Best Home Printer winner in our Tech Awards 2022. While I can gripe about the small display it has, that is really its only fault. It prints fast and prints well, with text deep and clear and images crisp with no oversaturationof colours. Despite the limited display, setting up the printer was easy using the app and the supplied QR code that only required a simple scan to be up and running.

The ink bottles included with the printer can print 8,000 pages in black and 6,000 pages in colour. Replacement ink bottles cost S$14.80 for the high-yield black and each colour replacement. The high-yield black can print up to 6,000 pages, and the colour replacements can print 8,000 pages each.

You can buy this now for S$349 from HP’s website.

The "poster boy": Epson EcoTank L14150

The Epson EcoTank L14150 is the only wide-format printer on this list. What it means is that it can print up to A3+ so posters and banners aren’t an issue, and the form factor of the L14150 is far lighter (and compact) than other A3 printers, with the competition coming in at twice the weight.

With a 35-sheet automatic document feeder, a 250 A4 sheet paper capacity, and a rear paper slot for 30 sheets of A3+ paper, it also has a print speed of up to 17 ipm in black and 9 ipm in colour. The ink tanks yield 7,500 pages for the black cartridge and 6,000 pages for the colour cartridges. It also has a fast print speed.

The only complaint would be about the touchscreen LCD. While I appreciate the inclusion, having to navigate commands and options via arrows at the top and bottom of pages is confusing. Why I just can't choose my finger to swipe up and down? Fortunately, using the printing app is more intuitive and represents amore convenient option for remote print runs and mobile-based printing.I like the A3 printing capability which could be essential for some businesses.

Find out even more about this 'poster boy' in our full review.

The Epson EcoTank L14150 is available for S$829 on Epson’s official stores on Lazada, Shopee, and at retail partner Challenger. But if you want to save more, Amazon SG has it listed for just under S$800.

The "great value recommendation": HP Smart Tank 615

The winner of the Best Home Printer in 2021, the HP Smart Tank 615 may be a bit long in the tooth, but it isstill a good performer with anicehost of features.

Coming with four ink tanks, the Black has a print yield of 6,000 pages while the coloured bottles of Cyan, Magenta, and Yellow can print up to 8,000 pages. It also comes with an automatic document feederthat can hold up to 35 pages, a 100-sheet paper tray, and a 2.2-inch touchscreen display. HP claims a print speed of up to 20 pages in black and less than 10 in colour.

A fast printer that can handle the workload, the results it delivers are crisp and clear. Images had little over-saturation and were colour accurate. It also has a good host of app printing options. My only complaint is the lack of any other way to enter menu commands apart from the LCD.My old favourite, theHP Smart Tank 615 still delivers on all other fronts.

The HP Smart Tank 615 is available now on HP’s website. While it usually retails for S$419, it is currently available for S$369. If you love to shop on Amazon SG, you can get it for as low as S$329.

The "not a printer option": HP Instant Ink

This last option isn’t really a printer. It’s a service. Not for a printer, but for your ink. It’s included here because it can be beneficial for some readers.

HP’s Instant Ink is an ink subscription service to give you peace of mind that you’ll never be unable to print as replacement ink cartridges will automatically be sent to you when your supplies are running low. As long as you have an eligible HP printer, and subscribe via the HP print app, you can choose the level of support you need and have it sent to your door monthly.

While it can be handy not having to worry about your ink running out, I feel that it is only half of the equation.I think that adding paper to the programme as well would round it out.

Subscription pricing and volume of ink used are based on the number of pages printed a month. Users choose the amount they feel they will print and can carry unused unprinted pages over to the next month.

HP Instant Ink subscription plans

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