Much of the world has left physical documents behind, but not academia. Most kids need a printer for schoolwork, and the best printers for students deliver great print quality for not a lot of money.
I know because my team reviews many of the top printers every year, and we test them in areas like print speed and cost per page to find the best of the best. That's why I generally recommend the Brother INKvestment MFC-J995DW for most students: it's a capable multifunction inkjet that comes with enough ink for roughly a year's worth of printing, and the user-refillable ink tanks can help a student save some money on refills.
But if you want something a little less expensive, the Brother HL-L2390DW is the printer I recommend most to students on a tight budget. This monochrome laser all-in-one can't print color, but its cheap price tag and low print costs will ensure you save some green.
Finally, students who want something small enough to chuck in a backpack should check out the Canon Pixma TR150. It's a small portable printer that can't copy or scan, but it delivers way better photo and print quality than you'd expect at this size.
So skip the trip to Kinko's or the pay-per-page printer at the campus library and get yourself a good printer, using this tightly curated list of the best of the best. We base this list on our own hands-on testing and reviews, which you can read about below!
The quick list
In a hurry? Here's a quick list of the best printers we recommend.
If you want one of the best home printers with the most affordable ink, we recommend the Brother INKvestment MFC-J995DW. The all-in-one inkjet printer features extra-large ink cartridges, and offers solid printing, scanning and copying performance as well as a year's supply of ink included.
For students on a tight budget we recommend the Brother HL-L2390DW, a monochrome all-in-one laser printer that's cheap to buy and offers good print quality at speed with low ink costs.
The Canon Pixma TR150 is the portable photo printer we recommend to students on the go because it cranks out everything from 4x6 photos to page-sized prints, yet fits in a backpack and uses low-cost ink. The only drawback is you can't copy or scan.
Alex Wawro is a lifelong journalist who's spent over a decade covering tech, games and entertainment. He oversees the computing department at Tom's Guide, which includes managing printer coverage.
The best student printers you can buy now
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The best printer overall
The best printer for students overall is the Brother INKvestment MFC-J995DW, which does more than just offer solid printing, scanning and copying capabilities. It also delivers the best balance of purchase price and operating costs, coming with enough ink in the box for an estimated year's worth of printing, and extra large user-refillable ink tanks that drop printing costs to the lowest cost-per-page we've seen.
The all-in-one inkjet is impressive on other fronts, too. Printing is quick and better than average compared to other inkjets. It also has built-in scanning, copying and fax capability, with an extra specialty media tray for handling photo paper and other unique paper types. All told, it's a great printer even without the extra savings on ink. Between the excellent printing and speedy copying, it's a great printer for any student, whether it's a highschooler at home or an older student living in the dorms.
Read our full Brother INKvestment MFC-J995DW review.
The best printer for students on a budget
The best bang for your buck in terms of printers is the HL-L2390DW, a monochrome all-in-one that offers one thing rarely seen in a laser printer: a low price of entry.
That's enough to appeal to a starving student in need of a printer, but its performance and feature set are nothing to scoff at either. Our testing reveals prints are sharp and faster than average; this printer handles scans and copies quickly, as well. And while the monochrome printer is limited to black-and-white printing, the full-color scanner delivers true-to-life color capture and fast scanning.
But it's not just affordable at purchase; operating costs are low, too, with a cost per page of 3.7 cents using standard-capacity toner cartridges and just 2.7 cents with high-capacity toner. If you want the benefits of a laser printer without the usual expense, the Brother HL-L2390DW is our best pick for students.
Read our full Brother HL-L2390DW review.
The best portable printer
For students on the go we recommend the Canon Pixma TR150, a portable inkjet printer that's small enough to carry in a backpack, but big enough to print everything from 4x6 photos to 8.5 x 11 documents. With a two-cartridge system, its ink is affordable and lends itself well to a variety of printing uses. But where the Canon really stands out is photo printing.
The Pixma TR150 made high-quality photos faster than other competing portable printers, and delivered excellent color and detail. It can also handle larger photo prints, but unlike some of our photo printing favorites, there is no copy or scan capability. You do get a solidly built portable printer with optional battery and even support for Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant voice controls, but we love it for the great photos and low ink costs it offers.
Read our full Canon Pixma TR150 review.
How to choose the best student printer for you
How to choose the best student printer
If you're buying a printer for a student there are some specific things you want to know before you buy. Whether you have a preteen student, or you're In the classroom yourself, there are several things to consider when buying a new printer.
Price: The biggest factor for most back to school shoppers will be fitting it into the budget. Whether you're a student buying a printer for yourself or a parent helping get your kid outfitted for the school year, you want something that performs, but won't be too expensive.
The cheapest inkjet printers can come in at tantalizingly low prices – our best printer deals page includes several models for under $100 – but we've found the sweet spot for affordability to sit between $200 and $300. Anything less, and you risk getting shoddy print quality, or you'll likely lose the savings through expensive ink refills the first time you have to buy cartridges. And laser printers tend to be more expensive to buy, starting at around $250 for the cheapest models.
Laser vs. Inkjet: As a rule, inkjet printers are cheaper to buy than laser printer models, even among the best all-in-one printers, but laser printers offer a lower cost-per-page for printing. Laser printers also deliver higher quality text printing, with sharper letterforms and virtually no print errors. If you anticipate printing at a high volume or wanting a cleaner look for your printed work, one of the best laser printers may be worth the investment. On the other hand, inkjet printers are far better at printing in color, offering better printing for graphics and photos. (Learn more about print technologies in our article Inkjet vs. Laser: Which printer is right for you?)
Dimensions: Size is a big issue, especially for college students who may be adapting to dorm life, or who might be moving with each semester change. Printers can be large or small, but laser printers tend to be significantly larger than inkjet printers, even those with built-in scanning and copying functions. If you really want something small, you can select one of the best portable printers, which include several tiny inkjet models, but you'll be giving up functions and print quality to get that smaller size.
Cost per page: The cost of a printer starts with the initial purchase price, but it doesn't end there. Using a printer entails buying paper, ink or toner, and refilling both as you go. As a result, some printers will cost more to print a single page than others. Generally speaking, laser printers offer the cheapest cost per page (often for just pennies per page), but newer tank-based inkjet printers frequently drop printing costs down to a fraction of a cent.
Use case: Finally, look at your own specific use case, and find a printer that fits your needs. If your course load requires lots of printed reports and essays, then a laser printer might be the best option, offering fast printing for a low cost per page. If you are studying art or photography, then you should consider one of the best photo printers, which support more advanced printing options, such as a wider selection of inks, broader symbol support for different types of paper, and high quality image printing.
How we tested these printers
How we test the best printers
Every printer we review is extensively tested to give us a clear idea of how well it performs, both in print capability, but also general ease of use and expense over time. Our testing procedures include timed print tests to determine print speeds, with a set of standardized documents that have a mix of text and graphics and color photos.
Every print is examined and compared, with errors and print problems noted in the review and overall quality measured against the other printers on the market.
We also test the scanning and copying functions (when they are offered), timing how quickly it captures a page and comparing the results to the original images to determine how well it captures color and detail.
To measure the cost of owning and operating a printer, we look at the current street price of ink refills and the estimated number of pages that each cartridge can produce, and calculate the cost for printing a single page.
These specific tests are adapted as needed to handle all sorts of printers, from monochrome laser printers and portable snapshot printers to full-featured all-in-one inkjets. Wherever possible, we make sure that the tests are done in such a way that they can not only be compared within a specific category, but also across all printer types generally.
Check out the rest of our printer coverage:
Best printers | Best all-in-one printers | Best photo printers | Best portable printers | Best laser printers
