This type of equipment is a good option for anyone who doesn’t have the space or budget for a dedicated printer, scanner, and/or fax machine. The Brother MFC-J1170DW and the Brother MFC-J5855DW offered relatively poor print and scan quality. Most people epson photo printer don’t really need an all-in-one printer—a good scanning app and a cheap, print-only laser machine can handle occasional jobs. But if you have a school-age kid or do work that requires a lot of copying and scanning, an all-in-one might make sense.
The PictureMate and SureColor sub-brands are at the two extremes of the Epson printing spectrum. PictureMate offers what Epson calls a “personal photo lab” and is limited at this writing to a single model, the PictureMate PM-400, which has been on the market for a long time now. It’s meant primarily to print small-format photos, up to 5 by 7 inches, and can print from a variety of sources, including memory cards.
With the free ink and excellent print quality, this is a favorite printer to date. Ben Keough is the supervising editor for Wirecutter’s working from home, powering, cameras, and hobbies and games coverage. He previously spent more than a decade writing about cameras, printers, and other office equipment for Wirecutter, Reviewed, USA Today, and Digital Camera HQ. After four years testing printers, he definitively confirmed that they all suck, but some suck less than others. A good-quality all-in-one printer will print decent-looking photos, and each of our picks can print great-looking photos for sticking to a fridge, though the colors won’t be totally accurate.
We’ve picked the best Epson printers in multiple use cases, based on our tests and overall evaluations. Although Epson printers are popular, they tend to get overshadowed by other brands, as their performance tends to be more middle-of-the-pack. Like other epson photo printer manufacturers, they have a diverse lineup, but Epson is the only one that doesn’t produce any laser printers. Since inkjet printers generally have slow printing speeds, they’re less desirable for businesses that perform high-volume printing regularly.
Laser printers waste only a bit of toner, while inkjets can squander a lot of ink depending on how many cleaning cycles they have to run. Thus, the advertised cost is the maximum you’re likely to pay with a laser printer, while the stated cost per page for an inkjet is the bare minimum you have to pay. It’s more secure than other printers we’ve tested, inkjet and laser alike.