Picking a home printer scanner usually means juggling how much ink costs, how loud it gets, and whether it scans cleanly without frustrating you. Some homes print school reports and tax forms; others churn out color photos all weekend. The picks below cover both extremes, from a tiny dedicated photo printer to a cartridge-free workhorse for the home office crowd.
The Picks In Brief
Canon SELPHY CP1300 Wireless Photo Printer
Epson EcoTank ET-2720 All-in-One (White)
Epson WorkForce 30 Color Inkjet Printer
Epson EcoTank ET-2720 All-in-One (Black)
Epson EcoTank ET-2760 Supertank All-in-One
Canon Pixma TS6320 All-in-One (Black)
HP Envy Photo 7855 All-in-One (K7R96A)
Taking A Closer Look At The Options
The SELPHY CP1300 lives in its own lane: a small, dye-sublimation photo printer (a process that uses heat to transfer dye onto paper in smooth, layered passes) rather than a general home printer scanner. You won’t be running tax returns through it, but for scrapbookers, party hosts, and parents printing stickers for the fridge, it earns its place on the counter. The unit is light enough to carry to a kitchen table for a birthday party project, and it tucks into a drawer when the day’s creative work wraps up.
Wireless connectivity cuts the cable clutter, which is helpful in a small apartment where a laptop doubles as the home office. Unlike the EcoTank ET-2720 further down this list, the SELPHY is built for output variety rather than high volume. You’ll get true borderless prints, and the built-in editing tools cover portrait optimization, red eye correction, and skin smoothing without leaving the printer.
Strengths Worth Knowing
- Prints in multiple formats: 2.1 x 2.1″ labels, 2.1 x 3.4″ card size, 3.5 x 4.7″ L prints, and standard 4 x 6″ postcards.
- Built-in editing tools refine portraits before printing, useful for family photos where red eye or uneven tones would otherwise send you back to a laptop.
- Wireless connectivity removes the cable mess on a craft table, and the compact body slides into a closet between projects.
- Dye-sublimation output produces smooth, continuous-tone prints rather than visible dot patterns.
Things To Consider
- This is a photo-only device, so you’ll still need a separate scanner for documents.
- Ink and paper come as paired cartridges, and owners commonly report the cost-per-print running higher than a cartridge-free EcoTank for everyday photo output.
Key Specs
Who It Suits Best
Scrapbookers, party planners, and parents printing keepsake photos rather than tax forms.
Where Another Pick Suits Better
The HP Envy Photo 7855 is the better fit when you also need full document printing and scanning in the same machine.
The EcoTank ET-2720 in white slots neatly into a hybrid work-from-home routine. The refillable ink tanks replace traditional cartridges, so the daily grind of school permission slips, email printouts, and quarterly receipts costs far less per page. The all-in-one chassis prints, scans, and copies without crowding the desk.
Unlike the SELPHY above, this is a true generalist, and it leans toward output volume. The wireless setup is straightforward enough that you can move it from the guest room to the kitchen counter when needed. In our view, this is the cartridge-free value leader if your household prints a few hundred pages a month without diving into heavy photo work.
Why It Works Well
- Cartridge-free supertank design cuts ink replacement trips, since you refill bottles into built-in reservoirs rather than swapping small cartridges.
- Wireless all-in-one saves desk space by combining print, scan, and copy duties in one chassis.
- Low-cost replacement ink keeps recurring expenses in check for steady household printing loads.
- White finish blends into light-colored home office setups.
Worth Noting
- Print speeds are modest compared to dedicated document printers like the WorkForce 30.
- Photo quality is fine for homework and casual prints but won’t match a dedicated five-ink photo unit.
Quick Facts
Made For
Hybrid workers and parents balancing school paperwork with the occasional scanning task.
Consider Something Else When
The Canon Pixma TS6320 fits better when photo output matters as much as document volume.
The WorkForce 30 is the outlier on this list, a print-only color inkjet without a scanner or copier. That’s a deliberate trade: it focuses entirely on fast, sharp document output for the home office where scanning happens through a phone app anyway. If your scan workload is light, this lean design keeps the footprint small and the per-page cost predictable.
MicroPiezo technology is Epson’s name for its drop-on-demand inkjet system, where tiny electrical pulses push precise ink droplets onto the page. That translates to clean text on resumes and reports. Compared with the EcoTank ET-2720 above, you give up the refillable tank convenience in exchange for a more focused, document-tuned workflow.
Useful Strengths
- Document-tuned design with sharp text output suitable for reports and schoolwork.
- Compact footprint suits small desks where a full all-in-one would crowd the workspace.
- Pure print-only focus simplifies the device for households that don’t need a scanner.
Trade Offs
- No built-in scanner or copier, so document capture depends on a phone app.
- Older design without modern wireless conveniences found on the EcoTank line.
- Cartridge-based ink means higher ongoing costs for frequent printing.
Right Fit For
Light home offices that mainly print documents and rely on their phone for the occasional scan.
Skip It When
The Epson EcoTank ET-2760 is the better choice if you want refillable tanks plus a scanner in one machine.
The black version of the EcoTank ET-2720 shares every functional detail with its white sibling above, including the refillable supertank system, wireless connectivity, and print/scan/copy combo. The only real choice is whether your home office leans toward a darker, more discreet finish that hides dust and fingerprints better in high-traffic areas.
This is the practical answer for households printing school packets, recipes, and tax forms every week without worrying about cartridge replacements. The black chassis tends to blend into a corner bookshelf rather than calling attention to itself.
What Works In Its Favor
- Same cartridge-free ink tanks as the white model, keeping long-term costs low.
- All-in-one design handles print, scan, and copy for everyday mixed tasks.
- Black finish hides smudges and fingerprints in a high-traffic household corner.
Points To Keep In Mind
- Print speed is moderate, so large bulk jobs take patience.
- Photo output is acceptable but won’t satisfy dedicated photo hobbyists.
Feature Snapshot
Best Suited To
Busy households printing most days of the week and wanting a discreet black finish.
A Better Fit Elsewhere
The HP Envy Photo 7855 makes more sense if photo output is a regular priority.
The ET-2760 steps up from the ET-2720 line with a faster pace and a few productivity touches aimed at growing home offices. The supertank refill system still anchors the design, so ink remains the cheapest recurring cost on this list. If your household has graduated past occasional printing and now scans contracts or copies IDs regularly, the extra throughput helps.
Where the ET-2720 above fits casual weekly printing, this one handles heavier daily loads without breaking a sweat. It also adds features that streamline two-sided work, which matters when you’re scanning a stack of receipts rather than a single page.
The Helpful Details
- Faster output than the ET-2720 line, useful for larger daily page counts.
- Cartridge-free supertank keeps replacement ink bottles affordable for steady use.
- Auto document feeder on the scanner handles multi-page scans without babysitting.
- Wireless connectivity plus mobile printing support for mixed-device households.
Honest Caveats
- Costs more upfront than the entry-level ET-2720, so the savings show up over time.
- Photo output still trails a dedicated photo unit like the SELPHY CP1300.
At A Glance
Perfect Match For
Growing home offices that have outgrown casual printing and need faster throughput.
Not Your Match When
The Canon SELPHY CP1300 fits better if your household prints mostly small photos and stickers.
The Pixma TS6320 leans into the hybrid household that prints vacation photos one day and tax forms the next. Five individual ink tanks separate the colors, so when one shade runs dry you replace only that single cartridge instead of tossing a partially full multi-color unit. For mixed-use homes, that distinction matters over a year’s worth of printing.
The 1.44-inch OLED screen (a small, high-contrast display that stays readable in dim lighting) and LED status bar add a small but welcome quality-of-life touch. You can see at a glance whether paper is loaded or ink is low, even from across the room. It’s also more compact than the EcoTank ET-2760 above, which helps in tighter shelving.
Where It Excels
- Five-ink system delivers stronger photo color than three- or four-ink all-in-ones.
- Individual ink tanks cut waste when one color runs out before the others.
- OLED display and LED status bar offer clear feedback from across the room.
- Wireless and mobile printing support covers phones, tablets, and laptops.
Less-Strong Areas
- Traditional cartridge ink costs more per page than the EcoTank refillable system.
- Print speed is moderate compared to a document-focused WorkForce 30.
Feature Rundown
Who Should Grab It
Hybrid households that print both color photos and paperwork and care about individual ink replacement.
Look Elsewhere When
The Epson EcoTank ET-2760 suits you better if you print hundreds of pages a month and want lower ink costs.
The Envy Photo 7855 is built for the family command center where someone always needs a permission slip, a boarding pass, or a school portrait reprinted. It pairs photo-quality output with a dedicated photo tray plus borderless printing, so you don’t have to swap paper stacks every time the job changes. The supported paper sizes span 3 x 5″ snapshots through Letter, Legal, and envelopes.
Wireless connectivity and mobile printing support keep it friendly with phones and tablets, which is where most family photos actually live. Compared with the Pixma TS6320 above, the Envy leans toward broader household workflows rather than dedicated photo color depth.
A Strong Showing
- Dedicated photo tray simplifies switching between document and photo paper.
- Borderless photo printing for snapshots without white edges.
- Wide paper support from 3 x 5″ through Letter, Legal, and envelopes.
- Wireless printing from phones and tablets for mixed-device households.
Points To Note
- Ink cost depends on a subscription model that suits steady printers more than occasional ones.
- Photo color depth doesn’t quite match a five-ink unit like the Pixma TS6320.
Who Will Love This
Busy families printing permission slips, vacation photos, and the occasional boarding pass from a single hub.
Another Choice May Suit
The Canon Pixma TS6320 fits better if photo color depth matters more than a dedicated photo tray.
Matching The Right Features To Your Home Setup
Ink cost is the long game that decides which home printer scanner actually pays off. Cartridge models feel cheap upfront, but refillable supertank designs like the Epson EcoTank line drop ink costs dramatically over a year of regular printing. For households printing a few hundred pages a month, the math usually favors a supertank.
Print resolution and color depth matter most when photos are a regular output, not an afterthought. Five-ink systems like the Canon Pixma TS6320 add a dedicated photo black or gray ink that lifts color accuracy, while dedicated photo printers like the SELPHY CP1300 use dye-sublimation for smoother tones. Document-heavy households can usually skip that extra cost.
Scanner resolution and feeder capacity decide how painless multi-page scans feel. A flatbed scanner handles books and passports, while an auto document feeder speeds up stacks of receipts or contracts. Wireless connectivity and mobile printing support keep the device useful when everyone in the household prints from a different phone or laptop.
Paper handling deserves a second look. A dedicated photo tray, like the one on the HP Envy Photo 7855, removes the daily paper swap. Supported sizes should cover Letter, Legal, envelopes, and 4 x 6″ photo paper at minimum so you’re not hunting for specialty stock.
Key Considerations Across These Picks
Where Shoppers Go Wrong
Many shoppers grab the cheapest cartridge model and forget to factor in ink replacement. A supertank like the EcoTank line costs more upfront but saves real money over a year. Others buy a photo-first printer expecting it to handle school reports well, only to learn that dedicated photo units like the SELPHY CP1300 skip document duties entirely.
When Paying More Pays Off
Higher-tier picks like the EcoTank ET-2760 add faster throughput and auto document feeders that save time on multi-page scans. The Pixma TS6320’s five-ink system delivers stronger photo color for households that print pictures often. The honest read is that the upgrade earns its place when the extra capability matches a real weekly habit, not a hypothetical one.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between an inkjet and a supertank printer? An inkjet uses small replaceable cartridges, while a supertank uses refillable ink reservoirs that you top off from bottles, lowering long-term ink costs.
Do I need a separate photo printer if I already have an all-in-one? You only need a separate photo printer like the SELPHY CP1300 if you print lots of small keepsake photos and want better color depth than a general all-in-one offers.
How often will I need to refill ink in a supertank printer? Households printing a few hundred pages a month often go months between refills, since each bottle set covers a large page count compared to traditional cartridges.
Can home printer scanners handle wireless printing from phones? Most modern all-in-ones support wireless printing from phones and tablets through mobile apps, though setup steps vary by brand.
Is a flatbed scanner enough for most home scanning needs? A flatbed handles books, passports, and single documents well, but an auto document feeder speeds things up when scanning multi-page stacks regularly.
The Takeaway
The best home printer scanner for you depends on whether ink cost, photo quality, or scanning speed rules your weekly routine. EcoTank models win for steady document printers, the Pixma TS6320 wins for photo depth, and the SELPHY CP1300 wins for keepsake prints. Match the machine to the actual habit, and the rest takes care of itself.