Best printers to buy in 2013

It’s worth taking the time to seek out a high-quality printer – if you don’t, documents look washed-out, pictures lack sparkle, and you’ll get a migraine trying to operate an awkward, slow machine.

We’ve rounded the best printers to help you make the right decision: we’ve consumer inkjets that print stunning photographs, more serious printers designed for small businesses, and there’s even a printer that churns out pages at 60ppm. Make sure you’ve read these reviews before taking the plunge:

Epson Expression Premium XP-510

This Epson all-in-one matches up with our favourite Canon printers in terms of specifications. It has a five-ink print engine with separate ink tanks, so you can replace each as it runs out. It has wireless support for printing from mobile devices, and its print speed is decent, rated at around 9ppm for both mono and colour prints.

It copies quickly, and prints extremely good quality photos, which are nearly as good as those produced by the latest Canon Pixma MG6450, but it has a handful of flaws.

The control screen is small and fiddly, there are no memory card slots so you can’t print directly from your camera, and the cost of a colour A4 page is higher-than-average. Still, it’s worth considering if photo printing is a priority.

Read our full Epson Expression Premium XP-510 review

Canon Pixma MG6450

Canon has been fiddling with the naming scheme of its inkjet all-in-ones this year, so although the new 6450 looks like the replacement for the old Pixma MG6350, in fact it bears more similarities to the A-Listed Pixma MG5450 (see below).

Like that printer, the Pixma MG6450 has a five-colour print engine that prints at resolutions of up to 4,800 x 1,200dpi, and quality is superb. This latest version produces superbly detailed photo prints with a slightly more natural colour balance than the Pixma MG5450.

It’s also quick, prints text at almost laser-printer levels of crispness, print costs remain reasonable and there’s plenty of connectivity – from USB 2 to Wireless and a front-mounted memory card reader. In short, the Canon Pixma MG6450 is one of the best all-in-one printers on the market. However, it isn’t a huge improvement on the Pixma MG5450, which is still currently available, and a bit cheaper.

Read our full Canon Pixma MG6450 review

HP Deskjet 2540

HP’s budget all-in-one inkjet printer won’t win any awards for the ultimate in features, print quality or speed, but it’s only £45, and for that money, we reckon there won’t be many who come away disappointed.

It prints at a rate of 5.4ppm for mono documents and 5ppm for colour, and its photo output is perfectly acceptable. Prints are delivered with plenty of detail and natural colours; its colours can’t compete with the punch of those produced by the Canon MG6450 (see below), but the output still looks great.

Add a good range of wireless capabilities, including support for Wireless Direct, Apple Airprint and ability to print to the Deskjet 2540 over the internet, and running costs that won’t break the bank, and you have yourself a bit of a bargain.

Read our full HP Deskjet 2540 review

Samsung Xpress M2070W

Eventully, NFC connectivity will be standard on all wireless printers, but for now the Samsung Xpress M2070W laser all-in-one is the only one we’ve seen it on.

In tandem with Samsung’s Mobile print app, NFC makes connection with mobile devices such as tablets and smartphones a breeze – all you need to do to set up a connection is tap your device to the centre of the scanner lid.

The printer itself isn’t bad either. It prints at a rate of 20ppm in normal and draft modes, copies and scans are quick, and quality is excellent. Print costs are slightly higher than then norm, but they aren’t exorbitant. If you need a good value laser all-in-one, the Samsung Xpress M2070W is just the job, and great for anyone who needs to print from NFC-equipped mobile devices.

Read our full Samsung Xpress M2070W review

Canon Pixma MG5450

Canon printers are usually found near the top of the A-List, so it’s no surprise that the Pixma MG5450 is one of the year’s best devices. The Canon’s five-ink print engine churned out high-quality colour prints and text that’s as sharp as anything we’ve seen from a laser printer, and its speed was consistent no matter how demanding our printing.

Connectivity options include 802.11n Wi-Fi, a USB 2 port and a three-format card reader. Google Cloud Print and Apple AirPrint are supported, and Canon’s own apps allow printing directly from Android and iOS devices. The 7.5in colour display is easy to navigate. It’s fast, packed with features and delivers great quality – no wonder this won our last Labs test.

Click here to read our full review of the Canon Pixma MG5450

Dell B1160w

The Dell B1160w is a budget printer, but it still manages to include 802.11n Wi-Fi alongside its USB 2 port. We’re not used to seeing wireless networking on such a cheap machine, and the Dell’s print quality also defied our expectations. Text is virtually perfect, and quality in image and photo tests is better than almost anything else at this price.

Running costs are a little higher than we’d like, especially beyond 5,000 pages, and the Dell’s exterior is plain and plasticky. But, for this money, we can hardly complain – it’s a great deal if you’re buying on a budget.

Click here to read our full review of the Del B1160w

Lomond EvoJet Office

There haven’t been many big leaps in printer technology recently, but Lomond’s EvoJet Office breaks the mould: it swaps a traditional moving print head for a huge, static head with 70,000 nozzles, and can churn out mono pages at a remarkable 60ppm.

It’s just as fast when printing in colour, and quality is maintained despite the frenetic output. The price is high – £659 – but the combination of rip-snorting speed and respectable print quality is appealing for anyone printing in large volume.

Read our full Lomond EvoJet Office review

HP Photosmart 5510

The HP Photosmart 5510 proves all-in-one printers needn’t cost more than £100. The price has risen from £50 to £70 since our original review, but the Photosmart still balances good quality with low running costs.

There’s no duplex module, but otherwise this is a fully-featured business inkjet, with a touchscreen interface and a superb scanner.

Read our full HP Photosmart 5510 review

Canon Pixma MX895

Office printers usually don’t cope well with photos, but Canon has brought some of its consumer expertise to its range of office inkjets.

With different inks for documents and pictures, quality is excellent across the board, and it has a broad feature set: Ethernet, 802.11n Wi-Fi and duplexing are all on the table, there’s a 3in screen, and menus are easily navigable.

It isn’t quite as strong when it comes to scanning and copying, but it’s otherwise an excellent all-rounder for the home office or small business.

Read our full Canon Pixma MX895 review

HP OfficeJet Pro 8600 Plus

The matte grey finish and flowing design means the OfficeJet Pro 8600 Plus looks smarter than most printers, and this machine matches its good looks with consistent quality. The scanner is excellent, text and images well-defined, and it even produces good photo prints. It’s cheap to run and fast, too.

Read our full HP OfficeJet Pro 8600 Plus review