Best Compact Inkjet Printers for Tight Desk Space

The best compact inkjet printer is the Canon PIXMA TR160, which stands 2.6 in tall and weighs 4.5 lb, making it the only pick here that genuinely disappears when you're not using it. If you need a scanner and a copier in the same box, the Canon PIXMA TS6520 is the better buy, though it weighs 15.3 lb. This category is not for everyone. If you print more than a few hundred pages a month, or you need heavy paper handling and a large tray, you want a laser or a full-size office machine instead. Compact means compromise, and here's exactly where the compromises land.

Best compact inkjet printer at a glance

Who should not buy a compact inkjet printer?

Plenty of people land on this page and shouldn't buy anything here. Be honest about your volume first.

A compact inkjet printer trades paper capacity for footprint. The largest tray in this set is the Brother MFCJ1360DW's 150-sheet tray, per Brother's listing. The HP DeskJet 2955 lists a 60-sheet input tray. That's less than a ream and a half at the top end, and barely a quarter-ream at the bottom.

Skip this category entirely if any of these describe you:

• You print several hundred pages a month and want the lowest cost per page. Look at a mono laser instead.
• You need legal-size paper, card stock or a second tray. Nothing here publishes support for that.
• You need a fax line or a large-capacity paper cassette for an office of five or more.
• You print rarely, once every couple of months. Inkjet nozzles dislike long idle gaps more than laser drums do.

What a compact inkjet printer does well is colour, small runs, and living somewhere a bigger machine can't. Homework, shipping labels, recipes, the occasional photo. If that's your load, you're in the right place.

How I screened these five, and what the criteria weighed

I set the criteria before I opened a single listing, then applied them in this order.

1. Footprint, weighted heaviest. Height and depth decide whether a printer fits a shelf, and depth is the figure people forget. This carried the most weight because it's the one thing you cannot fix later.
2. Weight, second. Anything over about 15 lb is a two-hand lift and effectively furniture. Anything under 8 lb moves.
3. Published all-in-one function. Scan and copy either appear in the listing or they don't. I did not assume.
4. Warranty length, as a tiebreaker. Four of five list one year. One lists three.
5. Age of the design. Every pick here lists a release year of 2025 or 2026, so nothing in this set is a shelf-warmer.

Why that order? Because footprint is the only criterion with a hard fail. A printer that doesn't fit is worth nothing to you, no matter what else it does. Everything below that line is a preference you can live with.

I compared the published specifications side by side, then cut anything without a stated height, depth and weight. That eliminated a surprising number of listings that call themselves compact without publishing the dimensions to prove it.

What does compact actually mean on a printer listing?

Most guides to the best compact inkjet printer compare weight. Weight is the wrong number to lead with. Depth is the one that decides whether the thing fits.

Here's why. A typical kitchen or office shelf runs about 12 in deep. A desk against a wall gives you maybe 16 in before the printer hangs over the edge. Now look at the depths in this set:

• Canon PIXMA TR160: 12.7 in
• HP DeskJet 2955: 12 in
• Canon PIXMA TS6520: 14 in
• Brother MFCJ1360DW: 13.5 in
• HP Envy 6155: 14.2 in

Only two clear the 12 in mark comfortably. And the published figure is the body alone. Rear paper feeds, output trays that fold out, and the cable at the back all add real inches nobody prints on the box.

The second thing "compact" hides is height versus volume. The TR160 is 2.6 in tall, which is under half the height of every other pick. The Envy 6155 is 5.35 in tall but 17.1 in wide, so it eats horizontal space instead. Same word, completely different shape of compromise.

Measure your actual space with a tape before you shop. Write down height, then depth, then width, in that order of importance.

1. Canon PIXMA TR160 Color Wireless Portable Printer — Best overall

The only pick here that fits in a bag, and the only one you can store standing on a bookshelf.

Best for: anyone printing on a shelf, a shared table or the road Skip it if: you need a scanner or an automatic document feeder

At 2.6 x 12.7 x 7.3 in and 4.5 lb, the TR160 is in a different size class from the rest of this set. The next-lightest pick, the HP DeskJet 2955, weighs 7.55 lb and stands more than twice as tall. Canon says it fits into a bag or backpack with room to spare, and the published dimensions back the shape of that claim.

Canon lists a 5-colour hybrid ink system and output up to 8.5 x 11 in, including borderless prints. There's a 1.44 in monochrome OLED for ink levels and status, plus a wireless direct mode that Canon says connects your device without a router. That last detail matters more than it sounds: a printer you take to a rental, a client site or a dorm room can't rely on your home network.

The trade-off is blunt. This is a print-only machine. Every other pick in this set publishes scan and copy. Canon lists it as the most expensive pick here apart from one, and it's the slowest seller of the five, which tells you buyers mostly want an all-in-one. If you don't, you get the smallest footprint in the category.

Pros:

• Only 2.6 in tall, less than half of any other pick
• Lightest here at 4.5 lb
• Router-free wireless direct mode per Canon
• 5-colour hybrid ink and borderless prints claimed
• 1.44 in OLED for ink levels and status

Cons:

• No scanner or copier at all
• Only two sellers list it
• Premium price position with fewer functions than cheaper picks
• One-year warranty against the three-year Canon offers elsewhere in this set

2. Canon PIXMA TS6520 Wireless Color Inkjet Printer Duplex — Best budget pick

The cheapest pick here also carries the longest warranty in the set, at three years.

Best for: a home desk with real depth and a long-term buyer Skip it if: your shelf is under 14 in deep

The TS6520 is the cheapest of the five and the one buyers choose most often here, by a wide margin. It's also the only pick with a 3-year manufacturer warranty. The other four list one year. On a machine with moving parts and a print head, that gap is worth more than most spec-sheet differences.

Canon lists print, scan, copy and automatic duplex printing, driven by a 2-cartridge hybrid ink system that Canon says delivers sharp text and vivid colour. Dual-band Wi-Fi at 2.4GHz or 5GHz is claimed, which helps in an apartment where the 2.4GHz band is crowded.

The compromise is size. At 6.7 x 14.8 x 14 in and 15.3 lb, it's the second-heaviest pick and the tallest but one. It's 14 in deep, so it will overhang a standard 12 in shelf. And unlike the Brother, it doesn't list an automatic document feeder, so multi-page scanning means lifting the lid for every sheet. Treat it as a stationary desk printer that you set down once.

Pros:

• Longest warranty in this set at 3 years
• Cheapest of the five picks
• Print, scan, copy and automatic duplex all listed
• Dual-band Wi-Fi at 2.4GHz or 5GHz claimed

Cons:

• 15.3 lb and 6.7 in tall, so not shelf-friendly
• 14 in deep will overhang a standard shelf
• No automatic document feeder listed
• Only one seller lists it

3. HP DeskJet 2955 Wireless All-in-One Color Inkjet Printer — Best for pros

Second-lightest here at 7.55 lb, with the shallowest body in the set at 12 in deep.

Best for: a low-volume desk that still needs scan and copy Skip it if: you print double-sided regularly

If the TR160's lack of a scanner rules it out, this is the next-smallest way to get one. The DeskJet 2955 measures 6.06 x 12 x 16.7 in and weighs 7.55 lb. That 12 in depth is the shallowest here, so it's the only all-in-one in this set that sits fully on a standard shelf.

HP lists print, copy and scan with a 60-sheet input tray and quotes print speeds up to 7.5 ppm black and 5.5 ppm colour. There's an icon LCD rather than a touchscreen, and HP claims an AI formatting feature that strips unwanted content from web pages and emails before printing. Useful if you print a lot of recipes and articles. HP also includes a three-month trial of its Instant Ink delivery service.

Two things hold it back. The 60-sheet tray is the smallest published capacity in this set, less than half the Brother's 150 sheets, so you'll be refilling often. And nothing in the listing mentions automatic duplex printing, which both Canon all-in-ones and the Brother do list. For a low-volume desk that's fine. For a household printing school reports two-sided, it's a daily annoyance.

Pros:

• Shallowest body here at 12 in deep
• Second-lightest pick at 7.55 lb
• Print, copy and scan in a small frame
• Published speeds of 7.5 ppm black, 5.5 ppm colour
• Three-month Instant Ink trial included

Cons:

• 60-sheet tray is the smallest published capacity here
• No automatic duplex printing listed
• Icon LCD only, no touchscreen
• Premium price position despite basic feature set

4. HP Envy 6155 Wireless All-in-One Color Inkjet Printer — Best upgrade

The only pick with a colour touchscreen, and the lowest-profile all-in-one here at 5.35 in tall.

Best for: a desk with width to spare and photo printing on the list Skip it if: your available depth is the constraint, not your height

The Envy 6155 is where you go for the nicest experience rather than the smallest box. HP lists a 2.4 in colour touchscreen, the only touch panel among these five, against the Brother's 1.8 in colour display and the TR160's 1.44 in OLED. HP calls it their most intuitive colour touchscreen, which is marketing, but the size figure is real and touch beats button-mashing.

Functionally it's the most complete mid-priced option: colour print, copy and scan, automatic 2-sided printing and a 100-sheet input tray, all per HP's listing. HP also claims its P3 technology makes photos print closer to what you see on screen, and includes a three-month Instant Ink trial.

Now the geometry. At 14.2 x 17.1 x 5.35 in it's the lowest all-in-one here, only 5.35 in tall, but it's also the widest at 17.1 in and the second-deepest at 14.2 in. It sprawls. At 11.2 lb it sits between the light and heavy halves of this set. This is the pick for a desk with a wide clear stretch and a low overhead cabinet, and the wrong pick for a narrow shelf.

Pros:

• Only 5.35 in tall, lowest all-in-one here
• 2.4 in colour touchscreen, the largest display in this set
• 100-sheet tray and automatic 2-sided printing listed
• P3 photo technology claimed for screen-accurate colour

Cons:

• Widest pick here at 17.1 in
• Second-deepest at 14.2 in, so it overhangs a 12 in shelf
• One-year limited hardware warranty
• No automatic document feeder listed

5. Brother MFCJ1360DW Work Smart 1360 Wireless Color Inkjet — Best minimal setup

The only pick with an automatic document feeder, which changes what scanning feels like.

Best for: someone feeding stacks of paper through a scanner Skip it if: you have to lift or move the printer often

Brother lists a 20-sheet single-sided automatic document feeder and a 150-sheet paper tray, and neither figure appears on any other pick here. If your actual job is digitising paperwork, receipts or a stack of forms, an ADF is the difference between a five-minute task and a twenty-minute one. Nothing else in this set offers it.

The 150-sheet tray is also the largest published capacity here, two and a half times the DeskJet 2955's 60 sheets. Brother lists automatic duplex printing, a 1.8 in colour display, and cloud printing and scanning to Google Drive, Dropbox, Box and OneDrive. USB and wireless are both listed, which helps if your network is unreliable.

The cost of all that is bulk. At 7.2 x 13.5 x 15.4 in and 16.8 lb, this is the tallest and heaviest pick in the set. It's nearly four times the TR160's weight. Brother's own copy calls it a compact design, and next to a full office multifunction it is, but within this group it's the furthest thing from portable. Set it down where it will stay.

Pros:

• Only pick with an automatic document feeder, 20 sheets
• Largest published tray here at 150 sheets
• Automatic duplex printing listed
• Cloud scan and print to Drive, Dropbox, Box, OneDrive
• Both wireless and USB connection listed

Cons:

• Heaviest pick here at 16.8 lb
• Tallest body in this set at 7.2 in
• 1-year limited warranty only
• 13.5 in deep, so it overhangs a standard shelf

Does a compact inkjet printer still scan and copy?

Four of these five do. One doesn't, and that's the winner, which is worth explaining.

Scanning hardware needs a flatbed roughly the size of a sheet of paper, plus a lid and a hinge. That's why every all-in-one here is at least 5.35 in tall, and why the TR160 can be 2.6 in tall. There's no physical way around it. Scanning costs you roughly 3 in of height, minimum.

So the decision runs like this:

• If you scan or copy weekly, buy an all-in-one and accept the desk space. The Canon PIXMA TS6520 or the HP DeskJet 2955 are the sensible picks.
• If you scan multi-page documents, only the Brother MFCJ1360DW has the feeder to do it without babysitting.
• If you scan a handful of times a year, your phone camera plus a scanning app handles it, and you should buy the smallest printer instead.

That last option is the one most people overlook. Phone scanning is genuinely fine for a receipt or a signed form. It's poor for twenty pages of a contract. Know which one you actually do.

What the printer listings do not tell you

I compared these five listings closely, and several things a buyer needs are simply absent from all of them.

Ink cost is invisible. Canon lists a 5-colour system on the TR160 and a 2-cartridge system on the TS6520. Neither listing publishes page yields. HP bundles a three-month Instant Ink trial on both its picks, which is a subscription you should read the terms of before you accept it, because after the trial the printer is tied to a service. None of that appears as a number you can compare.

Print speed is quoted once. Only the HP DeskJet 2955 publishes a figure, up to 7.5 ppm black and 5.5 ppm colour. The other four say nothing. You cannot rank speed across this set, so don't let anyone tell you which is faster.

Noise is never stated. Not one listing gives a decibel figure. If the printer shares a room with a sleeping baby or a video call, that's a real unknown.

Paper handling limits are partial. The Brother lists 150 sheets and the HP Envy 6155 lists 100, and the DeskJet 2955 lists 60. The two Canon picks don't publish a tray capacity at all.

Buy on the figures you can see. Footprint, weight and warranty are published for all five. Everything else you're taking on trust.

The verdict

The Canon PIXMA TR160 wins because it solves the actual problem in this category. At 2.6 in tall and 4.5 lb, it's the only pick that goes in a drawer, in a bag, or on a shelf next to books. Every other machine here is furniture. Canon's 5-colour hybrid ink and borderless printing mean you're not paying for the small size with terrible output either.

Two conditions flip that recommendation, and both are common.

First, if you need a scanner, the TR160 is disqualified outright. It has none. The Canon PIXMA TS6520 is the answer: cheapest of the five, with print, scan, copy and duplex, plus the only 3-year warranty in this set. The cost is 15.3 lb and a 14 in depth that will overhang a standard shelf.

Second, if you scan multi-page documents, only the Brother MFCJ1360DW has a 20-sheet automatic document feeder and a 150-sheet tray. It's the heaviest pick at 16.8 lb, and it earns that weight.

The TS6520's exact advantage over the winner is not print quality or connectivity. It's that three-year warranty against Canon's one year on the TR160, plus the scanner. If your printer never leaves one spot, that's the smarter buy.

FAQ

Is a compact inkjet printer worth it over a full-size model?

A compact inkjet printer is worth it when your space is fixed and your volume is low. You give up tray capacity, with the largest here at 150 sheets, and often duplex or a feeder. What you get back is a machine that fits a 12 in shelf. If you print under a hundred pages a month, that's a good trade.

Which compact inkjet printer offers the best value?

The best value among these compact inkjet printer picks is the Canon PIXMA TS6520. It's the cheapest of the five and the only one with a 3-year manufacturer warranty, while still listing print, scan, copy and automatic duplex printing. Three years of coverage on an inkjet print head is unusual, and it's the one figure in this set that clearly outperforms the rest.

How deep does my shelf need to be for a compact printer?

Your shelf needs to be deeper than the published figure, always. The HP DeskJet 2955 is 12 in deep and the Canon TR160 is 12.7 in. The Canon TS6520 is 14 in and the HP Envy 6155 is 14.2 in. Add two or three inches for rear feeds, output trays and the power cable, then measure before you buy.

Canon PIXMA TR160 or HP DeskJet 2955: which should I choose?

Choose the Canon PIXMA TR160 if size is the whole point. It's 2.6 in tall and 4.5 lb, against 6.06 in and 7.55 lb for the HP DeskJet 2955. Choose the DeskJet 2955 if you need scanning and copying, which the TR160 doesn't offer at all. The HP is also the shallowest all-in-one here at 12 in.

What mistake do compact printer buyers make most often?

The mistake compact printer buyers make most often is shopping on weight instead of depth. A 7.55 lb printer that's 12 in deep fits a standard shelf. An 11.2 lb printer that's 17.1 in wide does not fit a narrow one. Weight tells you whether you can lift it. Depth and width tell you whether it lives there.

Measure your space first, in this order: height, then depth, then width. Then decide whether you truly scan often enough to pay for a flatbed in height and weight. If the answer is no, the Canon PIXMA TR160 is the right default, because it's the only pick in this group that stops being a piece of desk equipment and becomes something you can put away. That's a different kind of value from a spec sheet, and it's the one you notice every single day the printer isn't in your way.

Last updated: September 29, 2026. Product availability re-checked.

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