Having a reliable printer at home is a must for students. Since it’s time to go back to school, it’s a good time to consider buying one. We suggest an inkjet printer. They use ink tanks instead of those ink cartridges, and many are all-in-one solutions that can handle a wide variety of tasks. Not only are these printers more cost-effective in the long run, but they’re also perfect for families with kids who seem to print out everything under the sun. Plus, you get professional-looking documents that’ll make your kids’ (or your own) school projects stand out.

We’ve curated our favorite inkjet printers that’ll help this school year go much more smoothly. No matter what you need to tackle this year, there’s a printer here that’ll meet all your needs. And you can use it for fun, too. No one will tell if you decide to print out video game walkthroughs instead of squinting at your phone. 

What is the best inkjet printer in 2024?

Best inkjet printer: Canon Maxify GX2020 wireless MegaTank inkjet printer

There’s plenty to love about this all-rounder, and it’s a great option for any needs you and the family may have for school and beyond. 

It uses high-capacity ink tanks, not traditional ink cartridges. When you start with four full tanks (for black, magenta, cyan and yellow), you’ll generate up 3,000 (black) or 3,000 (color) pages, so chances are, you won’t need to refill the tanks more than once every two years or so. 

In addition to being affordable to purchase and maintain, this printer offers a decent print speed — 15ppm (black) or 10ppm (color). You also get a 2.7-inch full-color touchscreen to control the printer, as well as wireless printing capabilities. There’s a built in, 35-sheet capacity auto document feeder and a 250-sheet capacity paper tray.

Whether you’re printing page after page of notes or you just want to save your favorite puppy pictures, this printer has your back. 

Best budget inkjet printer: Canon MegaTank G3270 wireless all-in-one inkjet printer

The Canon MegaTank G3270 is an all-in-one workhorse that can tackle your printing, copying and scanning tasks with ease. It’s super zippy, with a print speed of 11 pages per minute (ppm) for black and white documents and 6 ppm for color prints. It can connect wirelessly and even features a simple touchscreen, all for under $200. 

Its real attraction is its ink tanks, however. They can hold enough ink to churn out up to 6,000 black pages or 7,700 color pages. That means you won’t have to worry about shelling out for ink anytime soon. And when you do need to restock, you can get additional ink bottles for an affordable price. 

While the G3270 may not have all the bells and whistles you’ll get from more expensive printers, it still packs a punch for its price point. You’ll have to make do without an auto document feeder, full-color touchscreen, and automatic double-sided printing, but that’s a small price to pay for the savings. 

It’s everything a student could need for the new school year, and it can do whatever Mom and Dad need, too. 

Best premium inkjet printer: Brother Inkvestment MFC-J995DW

Looking for a premium printer that can do it all while saving you some serious cash on ink costs? The Brother Inkvestment MFC-J995DW is certainly an investment, but it’s worth it when considering its extra-large ink cartridges and a generous supply of ink right out of the box. In fact, the included ink should last most users around a year, which translates to some of the lowest per-page ink costs you’ll find across even our selection of favorite printers.

But affordable ink isn’t the only thing the Brother Inkvestment MFC-J995DW has going for it. This printer also delivers impressive performance across printing, scanning and copying. It boasts lightning fast print speeds, and its two-sided printing is extremely fast as well.

Despite its speedy output, the MFC-J995DW still manages to deliver high print quality. The same quick performance and above-average quality extend to its scanning and copying capabilities, so it’s a well-rounded premium printer that can handle anything you need. Just be prepared to pay more in initial costs. 

Best inkjet printer for students: Epson EcoTank ET4850 wireless all-in-one inkjet printer

The Epson EcoTank ET4850 is a perfect example of an affordable and versatile wireless printer that offers all-in-one functionality. That means printing, copying, scanning and faxing. It can truly do it all and then some. 

It’s also very fast, coming in at 15.5 pages per minute (ppm) for black and white and 8.5 ppm for color. More importantly, it comes with two years’ worth of ink, which means it’s got you covered for some time. In fact, you should get about 7,500 black pages or 6,000 color pages out of the ink it comes with initially. 

It has automatic two-sided printing support and a maximum print resolution of 4,800 x 1,200 pixels, so your photo prints will look great on photo paper. 

Most importantly when it comes to a family with students, its range of features make it a fantastic choice, even if it does cost a bit more for an initial investment. It ticks all the boxes when it comes to finding a well-rounded inkjet printer. 

Best inkjet printer for a home office: Epson Workforce Pro WF-3820 wireless inkjet all-in-one color printer

The Epson Workforce Pro WF-3820 is an all-in-one home printer designed for efficient, high-volume printing. That means it’s also perfect for your home office. It has a large capacity paper tray and a full-color, 2.7-inch touchscreen. It also boasts wireless printing so you can handle your business from anywhere.  

You also get a 35-sheet capacity auto document feeder and automatic two-sided printing capabilities. While the printer relies on costly ink cartridges (not ink tanks), it uses pigment inks that generate near laser quality output at up to 4,800 x 2,400 dpi. The printer can also be used as a photocopier, scanner and fax machine so you can do just about anything with it that you need for work. 

The two 250-sheet paper trays are convenient for a home office setting. Meanwhile, the ability to print up to 13 x 19 inch documents in black and white or full-color will serve a family well, especially when it comes to creating school projects. Whether you use your printer for your students’ needs or your own, it makes a good addition to your home office. 

Brittany Vincent

Brittany Vincent has been covering gaming, tech, and all things entertainment for 16 years for a variety of online and print publications. She’s been covering the commerce space for nearly a decade. Follow her on Twitter at @MolotovCupcake.