Choosing the Best All-in-One Printer for Your Home Office

An all-in-one printer can adeptly handle a whole range of needs, and be tucked away into the corner of even many of the smallest of spaces, performing an array of functions. Depending on the printer, these functions may include: printing, copying, scanning and faxing (you never know when you might need it!). In doing so, these printers can bring efficiency and convenience to your home and your work.

If you’re wondering whether an all-in-one printer is worth it, the answer depends on your own home office and personal needs. A wireless all-in-one printer could be just the ticket if you’re looking to produce and share a fair amount of high-quality documents without taking up massive amounts of space. Here are some of the top considerations when searching for the best at home printer for your needs.

All-in-one color printers are jacks-of-all-trades that can save you time, money and stress—not to mention endless trips to the print shop—by handling some of the most common home office demands quickly. Plus, because one device handles multiple functions, you don’t have to find real estate—and outlets—for various devices (i.e., a printer, a scanner, and a fax machine) to complete all the tasks that a single all-in-one printer can perform. That means less clutter, which can help create a professional-looking office in the backdrop of your video calls. Here’s more on the benefits of all-in-one printers for the home office.

Whether you have a massive home office all to yourself, or just a small corner of a room, space matters. Gone are the days when you needed to juggle a scanner alongside a printer, a copier and a fax machine—each complete with their own wires and cords. All-in-one printers solve that problem and can cover your printing, copying, scanning and faxing needs, taking up a small amount of real estate. And thanks to its sleek design, it’s a subtle addition to any room. You don’t even notice it until you need it. Bonus: It’s Chromebook OS-compatible¹.

All-in-one printers aren’t for everyone. For those who are only looking to occasionally print a document, you might find that an inkjet or laser single-function printer suffices. But if your work (and/or your hobbies) calls for you to regularly print things like reports, brochures, letters, labels and other materials, and/or photocopy documents, scan materials and fax communications, an all-in-one printer can make financial sense. As mentioned, an all-in-one printer eliminates the need to invest in separate dedicated devices to handle each of your tasks. An all-in-one printer could also save you money on an ongoing basis when you consider potential maintenance and repair costs for multiple machines.

Time is the most important thing we have, and efficiency matters. With an all-in-one printer, you don’t have to switch back and forth to accomplish different tasks. Rather, you’re working with a single centralized device that allows you to pivot quickly, streamline your workflow and can help increase productivity. Plus, the best all-in-one printers are speedy – for example, up to 11 pages per minute in black-and-white^[i] and 6 pages per minute in color² with all-in-one MegaTank printers like the Canon PIXMA G3270 printer and the Canon PIXMA G4270 printer, and up to 35 pages per minute³ with the Canon Color imageCLASS MF753Cdw laser all-in-one printer. Your projects will be done in a blink and you can move on to the next thing!

On any given day, we all wear multiple hats. In the morning, you might wear the parent hat as you print and sign school forms for the kids. Mid-day, it might be time to scan contracts to send off to vendors. Throughout the day, faxes may come in with orders for your small business. And after work, maybe you have time to throw yourself into the special personal project you’ve been working on—creating a family memoir you plan to give out during the holidays. That kind of versatility meets its match in an all-in-one printer, which can deliver on all of these diverse home office needs, without compromising on performance. Plus, Canon offers free online software for creating posters and poster art, called PosterArtist⁵. So you can put your graphic design skills to work in the comfort of your own home and home office!

Now that you know what an all-in-one-printer does, it’s time to move beyond the capabilities and on to some of the more nuanced topics. In your quest for the best at home printer for your home office and personal needs, it’s important to research different specifications for each printer you are considering, such as printing quality and speed, scanning and copying capabilities, security features and other aspects. Read on for details on those specifications and more.

Quality is important no matter what you’re printing. But some tasks call for different considerations than others. If you’re going to be printing mostly business documents and letters, your needs will be different than those of a professional photographer who is printing images for clients. For the most part, all-in-one color printers will print at a resolution of 600 or 1200 DPI (dots per inch), with 1200 generating higher quality photos and images. Speed, too, is another consideration. Will you be printing hundreds of pages a week, or even in a day? Then it might be helpful to you to opt for a printer. If you’ll be more of an occasional printer focusing on shorter projects, speed may be less important to you. Fortunately, there’s something for everyone; you just have to know what to look for.

When it comes to scanning an item to create a digital document, and/or making hundreds of copies of a physical document, not all all-in-one printers are created equally! Again, consider your own home office and personal needs in terms of scanning and copying. Will you want an all-in-one color laser printer that can scan and print on both sides of the paper automatically? Then you may wish to consider a printer with an auto duplex option, such as the Canon Color imageCLASS MF753Cdw printer, which offers auto two-sided printing and one-pass two-sided scanning. This printer also comes with a 50-sheet automatic document feeder, and there is an optional cassette (sold separately) that can expand the capacity to 850 sheets. On the other hand, if single-sided scanning and copying is sufficient, consider a Canon MegaTank printer, such as the Canon PIXMA G4270 printer, which comes with a 35-page document feeder, or the Canon PIXMA G3270 printer, which has a 100-page sheet rear tray, to help you keep things loaded and moving. Bonus: all three of these printers are Chromebook OS⁶ compatible.

When it comes to connectivity for all-in-one printers, you can opt for a wireless or wired connection. Most printers allow for wireless connectivity, which means that the user can print directly from their desktop or laptop computer, mobile phone or tablet via their home’s Wi-Fi® network or by using a Bluetooth connection. Wireless printing offers more flexibility because the printer can be located anywhere where it can be plugged into a power outlet. Any device connected to the same Wi-Fi network (or within Bluetooth range) can print without needing a cord or cable connected to the printer.

Some printers, such as the Canon Color imageCLASS MF753Cdw printer, offer wireless⁷ connectivity plus the additional benefit of a wired connection via an ethernet cable which, depending on your network speeds, can provide a slightly faster and more stable connection. With the printer connected to the network via an ethernet cable that runs from the printer to an ethernet port on the wall, users can print wirelessly from their device as long as they are connected to the local area network or Wi-Fi.

Another wired option is to connect your device, such as a laptop computer, directly to the printer using a USB cord (a USB cord may need to be purchased separately).

Thanks to innovations in printing technology, you don’t have to rely on your desktop or laptop computer to always connect to your printer for your printing needs. You can also print from your mobile devices, including your phone or tablet. To confirm whether a printer is capable of mobile printing, read the fine print. When going through the specs, look for words like “Mobile Device Printing.” It’s a feature you’ll find on the Canon PIXMA G4270 and Canon PIXMA G3270 MegaTank printers, and also the Canon Color imageCLASS MF753Cdw laser printer.

Printing is sometimes a necessity, and it can feel good to consolidate pages when you can. As mentioned earlier, the name for two-sided printing is duplex printing, and it’s a great way to save paper and may also help reduce your environmental impact. If you want a printer that will allow you to print on both sides of the page, look for “duplex printing” when reading the specs. The all-in-one Canon imageCLASS MF753Cdw color laser printer includes this capability—and can still print 35 pages per minute⁸.

Ink or toner efficiency is an important consideration when choosing a printer. If you’ve ever purchased a super cheap inkjet printer, then you already know that in some cases, replacement ink can cost more than the printer itself, and it can run out surprisingly quickly, depending on your usage. That’s why you’ll want to be thoughtful. You can learn how much bang for your buck you’ll get by reading the specs of each printer.

The Canon PIXMA G3270 printer and the Canon PIXMA G4270 printer are wireless⁹, All-In-One MegaTank Inkjet Printers that can print up to 6,000 black-and-white pages and 7,700 color pages from one ink bottle set¹⁰. A color laser printer, such as the Color imageCLASS MF753Cdw, can print up to 2,100 black-and-white pages and 1,900 color pages with a standard toner cartridge. This printer also offers a high-capacity toner cartridge option that will print up to 7,600 black-and-white pages and 5,500 color pages.

Do a little math to figure out how long the ink or toner will last you, what the cost breakdown is, and determine the value to your business.

While form and function are important for your new color all-in-one printer, so is usability. With these types of printers, there’s a lot of variability in the way that user interfaces are designed. You’ll want to choose a printer that makes sense to you so that operating it feels effortless. Look for characteristics such as an intuitive control panel and easy-to-navigate menus. A top Canon pick for its user-friendly interface is the Color imageCLASS MF753Cdw laser printer, which has a 5-inch intuitive color touchscreen LCD. The Canon PIXMA G3270 printer and the Canon PIXMA G4270 printer are both wireless, all-in-one MegaTank printers with a 1.35-inch square LCD screen.

You shouldn’t have to be a technology expert to operate your all-in-one printer, but you should know how to reach one when you need help. That’s why purchasing technology from brands known for their reliability and strong customer support, like Canon, is important. Also, be sure to seek out an all-in-one printer with a good warranty, to help with your peace of mind. Both the Canon MegaTank PIXMA G3270 printer and the Canon MegaTank PIXMA G4270 printer have a one-year limited warranty¹¹, while the Color imageCLASS MF753Cdw printer comes with an impressive three-year limited warranty¹². This is your business, after all, and the show must go on, even when technology rebels.

Not everyone realizes how important security features can be when selecting a new printer. That’s because hackers can use your wireless all-in-one printer as a point of entry to access your network. And if they’re able to access your network, they may be able to get their hands on sensitive information. To try to help protect yourself, your colleagues and your workplace, you may choose to seek out a printer that offers data encryption and printing options with security features.

In today’s market, versatility and flexibility are virtues, and technology that helps you better serve customers and clients is as good as gold. The best all-in-one printer for your home office doesn’t just deliver on your digital, print and communication needs. It can also save you and your business money, time and space, and allow you to focus on what matters most in your day-to-day work.