Best Home Office Printer by Cost per Page

The best home office printer for most desks is the Canon PIXMA TS6520, a 15.3 lb wireless all-in-one with duplex printing and a 3-year manufacturer warranty that lands at the entry price position in this set. If you scan more than you print, the HP OfficeJet Pro 8125 is the better buy: it adds a 225-sheet input tray, an automatic document feeder and a 2.7-inch touchscreen for the day-to-day.

Best home office printer at a glance

The obvious specification to compare is the top-line print speed. That is not what decides a home office printer, because a home office rarely runs long jobs. What decides it is running cost per page, and running cost is set by the engine: two-cartridge inkjet, refillable ink tank, or mono laser. Pick the engine first, then pick the body around it.

How I cut the shortlist to six

I went through the current Amazon inkjet, ink-tank and laser categories and screened for a home office fit. Three named reasons cut the rest.

• No duplex. A home office prints two-sided contracts, invoices and drafts. Every pick here supports auto 2-sided printing.
• No wireless. Ethernet-only or USB-only printers do not belong on a desk shared with a laptop, a phone and a tablet. Every pick supports dual-band Wi-Fi across 2.4GHz and 5GHz.
• Colour-only laser or single-function models. A home office needs scan and copy on the same box. Photo-only printers and print-only lasers were cut.

That left six machines across three engines: three cartridge inkjets, two refillable supertanks, and one monochrome laser. The Canon PIXMA TS6520 leads because it is the lightest cartridge model with the longest published warranty. The Brother DCP-L2640DW leads its engine on print speed at up to 36 ppm claimed. The Epson EcoTank ET-4800 leads its engine on connectivity, with fax and Ethernet, which no other pick offers.

1. Canon PIXMA TS6520 — Best overall

A 15.3 lb cartridge inkjet with duplex and a 3-year warranty at the lowest price position here.

Best for: a mixed home office printing documents and the odd photo Skip it if: you print more than a ream a month

Among the six, the TS6520 does the least wrong for the most desks. Its footprint is 6.7 x 14.8 x 14 in, which is the same depth as the Epson ET-4800 and shorter than every other pick in the set. Canon lists a 3-year manufacturer warranty on the model, the longest published in this comparison by two years. The other two cartridge inkjets and both supertanks list one year, and the Brother laser lists one year limited.

Canon says the 2-cartridge hybrid ink system is built for both documents and photos, and calls out dual-band Wi-Fi at 2.4GHz or 5GHz for stable printing across the house. The 2025 release date means the driver stack is current. What it trades away against the rest of this set is running cost: cartridge ink is more expensive per page than a refilled tank, so this pick loses the moment your monthly volume climbs. There is no automatic document feeder either, so multi-page scans are a one-sheet-at-a-time job on the flatbed.

Pros:

• Lightest cartridge inkjet in the set at 15.3 lb
• 3-year manufacturer warranty, the longest here
• Small 6.7-inch depth fits a shallow desk
• Dual-band Wi-Fi for whole-house printing
• Entry price position in this shortlist

Cons:

• No automatic document feeder for multi-page scans
• Two-cartridge system runs pricier per page than a tank
• No touchscreen navigation

2. HP OfficeJet Pro 8125 — Best upgrade

A 17.6 lb inkjet with an ADF, a 225-sheet input tray and a 2.7-inch touchscreen.

Best for: a home office that scans stacks of paper, not one page at a time Skip it if: desk depth under 14 inches is a hard limit

This is the pick you buy when the flatbed scan on every other cartridge inkjet feels like a chore. HP lists an automatic document feeder, a 225-sheet input tray and a 2.7-inch colour touchscreen with a phone-style interface. Nothing else in this shortlist packs all three. The 18.1-inch depth is the longest of the six, so it needs a proper desk shelf, not a laptop corner.

HP says the dual-band Wi-Fi detects and resolves its own connection issues, and includes a 3-month trial of the Instant Ink delivery service, after which a monthly fee applies unless the reader cancels. The scanner-first design is why it earns the upgrade slot: an ADF is the difference between scanning a 20-page contract in two minutes and in twenty. Against the rest of the set it trades desk space for capacity, and the one-year limited hardware warranty is shorter than the Canon TS6520's three years for a higher price position.

Pros:

• Automatic document feeder for stack scanning
• 225-sheet input tray, the largest confirmed here
• 2.7-inch colour touchscreen for on-device control
• Duplex printing and duplex-friendly ADF workflow
• Dual-band Wi-Fi with self-recovery claim

Cons:

• Heaviest inkjet in this shortlist at 17.6 lb
• 18.1-inch depth needs a full desk shelf
• One-year warranty against the Canon's three
• Instant Ink trial becomes a monthly charge after 3 months

3. Brother DCP-L2640DW — Best premium

A 25 lb monochrome laser rated for up to 36 ppm claim, built for text volume.

Best for: a document-first home office that never prints photos Skip it if: you need colour output for client-facing work

The DCP-L2640DW is the only laser in the shortlist and the only pick built around toner instead of ink. Brother says the print speed goes up to 36 ppm and the scan speed up to 23.6 images per minute in black, with 7.9 ipm claimed in colour on the scanner side even though the print engine is monochrome. Connectivity is broader than the inkjets: dual-band Wi-Fi across 2.4GHz and 5GHz plus wired Ethernet, which none of the cartridge inkjets in this shortlist offer.

The premium slot goes to this printer because a home office that prints text at any real volume will pay less per page in toner than in cartridge ink, and toner does not dry out between long gaps. The trade against the rest of the set is bulk and colour: 25 lb is 10 lb heavier than the TS6520, the 16.1-inch depth is longer than every inkjet except the HP OfficeJet, and there is no colour printing at all. Sign contracts and print invoices, not brochures.

Pros:

• Only laser engine in the shortlist
• Up to 36 ppm print speed claim
• Dual-band Wi-Fi plus Ethernet
• Toner survives long idle gaps
• Auto duplex printing on a document workhorse

Cons:

• No colour printing
• Heaviest pick at 25 lb
• Premium price position in this set
• 1-year limited warranty against the Canon's 3-year

4. Epson EcoTank ET-4800 — Best minimal setup

An 11 lb refillable supertank with fax, Ethernet, ADF and no cartridges to buy.

Best for: someone who hates buying cartridges and wants a fax and Ethernet port Skip it if: you only print a few pages a week

The ET-4800 is the lightest printer in the shortlist at 11 lb and shares the 6.7-inch depth of the Canon TS6520, so it slots into the same shallow desk gap. Epson says the EcoFit ink bottles fill the built-in tanks directly, cutting the cartridge cycle out of the running cost entirely. It is the only pick here with a fax and Ethernet on the same body, and the ADF and flatbed scanner sit on top for the usual scan-and-copy jobs.

Two things make this the minimal-setup pick. First, the tanks and the connectivity mean you can plug it in once, fill it, and forget it. Second, the Micro Piezo heat-free print head is a design Epson pitches as low-fuss on paper choice. Against the rest of the set, the ET-4800 trades a higher price position and a shorter one-year warranty for the lowest running cost per page in the shortlist. Buy it for volume, not for a page a week: supertanks reward use.

Pros:

• Lightest pick in the shortlist at 11 lb
• No cartridges to reorder
• Only pick with fax and Ethernet
• ADF plus flatbed scanner
• Same 6.7-inch depth as the winner

Cons:

• Premium price position for a home office
• 1-year limited warranty
• Ink tanks are wasted on very low volumes
• 2022 model is the oldest in the shortlist

5. HP Envy 6155 — Best for pros

An 11.2 lb slim inkjet, 5.35 in tall, that tucks under a shelf.

Best for: a slim desk where the printer has to tuck under a shelf Skip it if: you feed the scanner more than one sheet at a time

The Envy 6155 has the lowest profile in the shortlist at 5.35 inches tall, against 6.7 inches for the two Canons and Epson, 9.17 inches for the HP OfficeJet, and 12.5 inches for the Brother laser. That is the reason to buy it: on a desk with a monitor arm, a floating shelf or a low hutch, this is the only pick that clears the overhead. HP lists a 100-sheet input tray, a 2.4-inch touchscreen and dual-band Wi-Fi, plus the same 3-month Instant Ink trial as the OfficeJet.

HP calls out a "P3" colour technology that aims for on-screen match on prints, which is worth noting if you print reference art or mood boards. Where it loses ground against the rest of the set is the scanner: there is no automatic document feeder listed, so long scans go one sheet at a time on the flatbed. The warranty is one-year limited, and the 100-sheet tray is under half the OfficeJet's 225 sheets.

Pros:

• Lowest 5.35-inch profile in the shortlist
• Second-lightest at 11.2 lb
• 2.4-inch colour touchscreen
• Dual-band Wi-Fi
• 2026 model, freshest driver stack alongside the OfficeJet

Cons:

• No automatic document feeder
• 100-sheet input tray
• 1-year limited warranty
• Instant Ink trial becomes a monthly charge after 3 months

6. Canon MegaTank G3270 — Runner-up

A 13.2 lb supertank with Canon's claim of up to 2 years of ink included.

Best for: a colour-heavy home office that prefers refilling tanks to changing cartridges Skip it if: your desk cannot spare a 21.9-inch wide footprint

The G3270 is the other supertank in the shortlist and the widest printer of the six at 21.9 inches across. Canon claims up to 2 years of ink is included in the box and up to 6,000 black-and-white or 7,700 colour pages from a single set of inks. If those figures hold for your workload, this is the pick that changes the running-cost math against every cartridge inkjet here. The 1.35-inch square LCD is small, and there is no touchscreen or ADF, so this is a print-first machine with scan and copy along for the ride.

Against the Epson ET-4800, the G3270 is 2.2 lb heavier, wider by a large margin, and drops the fax and the Ethernet port. It sits at the mid price position rather than premium, which is why it earns the runner-up slot rather than the minimal-setup award: cheaper upfront for the same engine, at the cost of connectivity and a smaller control display.

Pros:

• Refillable ink tanks
• Canon claims up to 2 years of ink in the box
• Mid price position for a supertank
• Auto duplex on a colour engine

Cons:

• 21.9-inch width, widest in the shortlist
• Small 1.35-inch LCD, no touchscreen
• No ADF
• No fax or Ethernet against the Epson tank

Inkjet, supertank or laser: which engine fits a home office?

The engine sets the running cost, the desk footprint and the maintenance rhythm. Three engines are on the table.

• Cartridge inkjet. The Canon PIXMA TS6520, HP OfficeJet Pro 8125 and HP Envy 6155. Lowest entry price positions, colour output, small bodies. You keep buying cartridges, and the ink can dry out between long gaps.
• Supertank inkjet. The Epson EcoTank ET-4800 and Canon MegaTank G3270. Higher upfront price positions, refillable bottles, big claimed page yields. Canon says up to 6,000 mono and 7,700 colour pages per set of inks on the G3270. Best when you print regularly and in colour.
• Monochrome laser. The Brother DCP-L2640DW. Text-only, up to 36 ppm claim, toner instead of ink, tolerant of long idle gaps. No photos, no colour brochures.

The rule of thumb is volume plus colour. Below a ream a month and you need colour, go cartridge inkjet. Above a ream a month and you need colour, go supertank. Any volume, no colour, go laser. The other specifications matter less than the engine choice.

What actually decides the running cost?

Running cost per page is set by three things, in order.

1. Ink or toner delivery. A refillable tank beats a cartridge on cost per page every time the tanks are actually filled. Toner beats both on text volume.
2. Duplex printing. Every pick here supports it. Auto two-sided printing cuts paper cost in half on any job long enough to matter.
3. Idle waste. Cartridge inkjets clean their heads and lose ink to that cycle, so a printer that sits idle for two weeks between jobs wastes ink on the next power-on. Laser toner does not evaporate. Tanks lose less than cartridges.

The specifications that look like they decide the cost, and do not, are page-per-minute speed and input tray size. A home office rarely runs jobs long enough for either to change the outcome.

How much desk does each pick eat?

Depth is what usually kills the fit. A standard 24-inch desk with a monitor arm leaves 14 to 16 inches of clear depth after the monitor stand, and every pick in this shortlist wants some of it.

• Canon PIXMA TS6520: 6.7 x 14.8 x 14 in
• HP OfficeJet Pro 8125: 9.17 x 13.3 x 18.1 in
• Brother DCP-L2640DW: 12.5 x 15.7 x 16.1 in
• Epson EcoTank ET-4800: 6.7 x 11.8 x 14.8 in
• HP Envy 6155: 14.2 x 17.1 x 5.35 in
• Canon MegaTank G3270: 10.6 x 21.9 x 16.4 in

The HP Envy 6155 is the only pick in the shortlist that fits under a low shelf, at 5.35 inches tall. The Epson ET-4800 has the smallest volume overall. The Canon MegaTank G3270 is the widest by a clear margin. The Brother laser is the heaviest, so once you place it, plan to leave it there.

Which specs matter and which do not?

Home office buyers overpay for print speed and underpay for connectivity. The specs to weigh:

• Wireless standard. Dual-band Wi-Fi across 2.4GHz and 5GHz is standard on every pick here and is worth insisting on. A 2.4GHz-only printer drops connections in a crowded flat.
• Automatic document feeder. Only the HP OfficeJet Pro 8125 and Epson EcoTank ET-4800 list one. If you scan contracts or receipts in batches, an ADF is worth more than any speed rating.
• Input tray capacity. 225 sheets on the HP OfficeJet, 100 on the HP Envy. Everyone else does not publish a figure in the data given, so treat it as a shopping check on the listing.
• Warranty length. The Canon PIXMA TS6520 lists 3 years. Every other pick lists 1 year. That is the widest specification gap in the shortlist.

The specs to ignore: the marketing top-line print speed, the brand's own colour-quality name, and any "AI-capable" tag. None of them changes what you get out of the tray.

The verdict

The best home office printer for most desks is the Canon PIXMA TS6520. It is the lightest cartridge inkjet in the shortlist at 15.3 lb, it takes the shallowest 6.7-inch depth, it publishes a 3-year manufacturer warranty against everyone else's one, and it sits at the entry price position. The two-cartridge hybrid ink handles both documents and the odd photo, and dual-band Wi-Fi covers a house without a wired drop.

Two conditions flip the pick. If you scan stacks of paper, buy the HP OfficeJet Pro 8125 for the automatic document feeder, the 225-sheet input tray and the 2.7-inch touchscreen. If you print heavy volumes of text and never need colour, buy the Brother DCP-L2640DW for the toner engine and the up-to-36-ppm claim, and accept the 25 lb bulk and the missing colour. The Epson EcoTank ET-4800 is the pick if you want to stop buying cartridges entirely and you print enough to keep the tanks moving. The HP Envy 6155 is the answer when the desk shelf sits 6 inches above the surface. The Canon MegaTank G3270 is the runner-up when width is not the constraint and colour is.

FAQ

Is a home office printer worth it over a coffee-shop print run?

A home office printer is worth it the moment you print or scan more than a few pages a week, or need to sign and return a contract without leaving the desk. Every pick here handles print, scan, copy and duplex on one body. The entry positions in this shortlist pay for themselves against a busy month of coffee-shop trips and shared printer queues.

Which is the best home office printer for scanning multi-page contracts?

The best home office printer for scanning multi-page contracts is the HP OfficeJet Pro 8125. It is one of only two picks here with an automatic document feeder listed, and it pairs the ADF with a 225-sheet input tray and a 2.7-inch touchscreen. The Epson EcoTank ET-4800 also lists an ADF, and adds fax and Ethernet if your work involves either.

Should I choose an inkjet or a laser for a home office?

Choose an inkjet or a laser based on colour and volume. Inkjets, including all five colour picks here, print photos and colour graphics on any paper. The Brother DCP-L2640DW laser prints monochrome text at up to a claimed 36 ppm and tolerates long idle gaps without drying out. A home office that prints contracts and invoices wants the laser; one that prints anything colour wants an inkjet.

How does the Canon PIXMA TS6520 compare to the HP OfficeJet Pro 8125?

The Canon PIXMA TS6520 compares to the HP OfficeJet Pro 8125 on three axes. The Canon is lighter at 15.3 lb against 17.6 lb, shallower at 14 in against 18.1 in, and sits at the entry price position against the OfficeJet's mid. The HP adds the automatic document feeder, the 225-sheet tray and the 2.7-inch touchscreen. Pick the Canon for footprint and warranty, the HP for scan volume.

What is the biggest mistake buying a home office printer?

The biggest mistake buying a home office printer is choosing on print speed instead of engine and footprint. A home office rarely runs a job long enough for a 5 ppm difference to matter. Depth and running cost decide the experience. A 6.7-inch printer that fits under a shelf and takes a refillable tank will feel better every week than a fast printer that blocks the monitor arm.

The fastest path forward is to measure the clear depth on your desk, decide whether you print any colour at all, and then match those two answers to the engine table above. Most home offices land on a cartridge inkjet because the volume does not justify a tank, and the Canon PIXMA TS6520 covers that case with the smallest footprint and the longest warranty in the shortlist. If your work is scanning-heavy, an ADF changes the day. If you print a ream a month, a supertank pays back the higher entry price fast. Pick the engine first, and the body will pick itself.

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

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