A reliable and economical printer is an essential tool for today’s students. Whether it’s for scanning research documents, copying coursework, or printing term papers, choosing the best printer is as important as selecting the best student laptop. As TechRadar Pro’s senior printer editor, I’ve tested over two hundred of the best home printers and best small business printers from various brands. I’m looking for affordable printers with running costs that won’t break a student budget and key features such as auto duplex and Wi-Fi with Airprint compatibility. Given the typically small size of student accommodation, compactness is another consideration.
This buying guide provides brief reviews of the top seven student printers, but you can also click through to the full reviews for more detail. For in-depth evaluations, I spend two days comparing everything from design and build to price and print quality before giving each product its overall rating. All these shortlisted units have their strengths, but my pick for the best printer for students overall is the Epson EcoTank ET-2850.
The Epson EcoTank ET-2850 is one of the brand’s more affordable supertank printers with extremely low running costs, making it appealing to cash-strapped students. It’s a pared back all-in-one device that won’t take up too much desk space, offering essential functionality like auto-duplex printing, high-res scanning, and Wi-Fi with AirPrint compatibility. While it lacks some premium features to keep the price competitive, it performs well in printing coursework and dissertations without incurring a large ink bill.
The HP Smart Tank 7001/7005 is a relatively affordable all-in-one tank printer that runs on cheap bottled ink. While it lacks certain features like a touchscreen or NFC, it can scan Letter-sized documents, auto-duplex, and has a decent 250-sheet paper input tray. It prints quickly and produces satisfactory results, making it a worthy choice for students on a budget.
The Canon PIXMA G3270/G3570 is a modest entry-level all-in-one printer in Canon’s refillable MegaTank lineup, offering cost-effective printing with good print quality. While it lacks certain features like auto-duplex, its efficient use of ink and broad paper compatibility make it a suitable choice for students who print a high volume of pages.
The Brother DCP-J1800DW is an inkjet printer with an inbuilt guillotine, allowing students to reduce the physical size of notes to save paper. While it lacks auto-duplex, its unique feature of cutting A4 to A5 makes it a practical choice for students who scan a lot of documents and need a compact design.
The Brother HL-L2865DW is a modest mono laser printer with rapid print rates and decent paper capacity, making it suitable for students who print a lot of black and white documents. With its high capacity for paper and toner, it can handle heavy workloads efficiently and is cost-effective in the long run.
The Canon PIXMA GM4050 is a mono MegaTank printer that offers low consumables cost and the option to print in color if needed. While it prints slowly, its low cost per page and generous ink supply make it a practical choice for students who predominantly print in black and white.
The HP LaserJet Pro M15w is a miniature mono laser printer ideal for student accommodation with limited space. Despite lacking duplex printing and a scanner, it is compact, fast, affordable, and easy to use, making it a convenient option for students who need a basic black and white printer.
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