The best photo printers make it easy to create prints of your favorite photos, no matter if they're simple snapshots or professional-grade photos.
I know the printer experts on our team go hands-on to use and test every printer we review, which means printing out hundreds of test sheets. And based on all that testing, I generally recommend the Canon Pixma TR8620 as the best photo printer for most folks because it prints photos quickly at high quality, without costing a boatload either up front or down the line in ink costs.
But if you need something a little more portable for your next trip, consider the Canon Pixma TR150. It's not as versatile or as capable as the TR8620 but its an awful lot easier to fit in your backpack, and it prints out high-quality photos with ease.
Read on for more details about why these are the best photo printers we recommend right now, including links to our reviews and testing so you can pick the printer that's perfect for you.
The quick list
In a hurry? Here's a quick list of the best photo printers we recommend right now.
The Canon Pixma TR8620 is a great printer for the home that we recommend as the best photo printer for most because prints high-quality images fast, without costing an arm and a leg.
We recommend the Canon Pixma TR150 if you want a great portable photo printer 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 photo printers you can buy today
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Best overall
The Canon Pixma TR8620 is great for printing photos because it delivers high print quality at high speed, according to our testing.
Plus it offers a bounty of useful features that are nice to have in a home printer, from scanning and faxing functionality to a 20-page automatic document feeder (ADF), a duplexer for two-sided printing, and two paper trays for keeping two types of paper at the ready. A big 4.3-inch color touchscreen makes it easy to control, and the printer supports smart home integration with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant.
Really, our only big complaint with this Canon printer is how much the ink costs, but that's admittedly due partially to the expense of using two different black inks in its 5-ink cartridge system.
Read our full Canon Pixma TR8620 review and check our Canon promo codes before you buy!
Best portable photo printer
If you want to print photos on the go, I think the Canon Pixma TR150 is the best we've reviewed because its small enough to toss in a backpack, yet 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.
Admittedly it lacks some key printer features like copying and scanning, but what you sacrifice in versatility you get back in portability. This is a capable, sturdy 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 find the best photo printer for you
Choosing the right photo printer is largely a question of desired picture size and whether or not you want portability. Photo printing covers several subcategories of printer, ranging from portable photo printers for smartphones to multifunction all-in-one printers. Those offer photo printing alongside document printing, scanning and copying.
Snapshots or larger? Inkjet printers that offer photo printing will usually do so at sizes up to a full-page, while dedicated photo printers may be limited to 4 x 6 prints or smaller. If larger prints are what you want, then no portable printer will do – you need a desktop inkjet printer like the Canon Pixma TR8620.
Portability is the other big concern. Many people find that the best time to print off those vacation photos is during the vacation, getting hard copies of that day at the beach or that memorable museum tour printed right in your hotel room, and for those people the best photo printer is probably the Pixma TR150 on account of how easy it is to carry with you;
Price: Set a budget for what you can afford to spend, then calibrate your photo printer expectations accordingly. Photo-capable all-in-one printers can be had for as little as $60 for inkjet models, but more-professional printing options can scale up to hundreds of dollars. Smaller portable photo printers feature battery power and smartphone connectivity and generally sell for around $100 or more.
How we test photo printers
From large inkjets to pocket-sized mobile printers, every photo printer we review goes through rigorous testing and evaluation as part of our review process. For photo printing, that involves printing a handful of photos, timing how long each print takes, and then examining the quality of each picture.
Print speed measures the time it takes to print, from the moment we hit "print" until the final photo is ejected from the printer. We do this for single photos and batches of several prints to get a good feel for how long printing takes in a variety of circumstances.
Photo quality is determined by examining the printed images, noting how well the printer has handled transitions between shades, the sharpness of fine details and how well flesh-tones are reproduced.
Cost of printing is notoriously difficult to estimate for photos, which will use widely varying amounts of ink and color depending upon the image being printed, but we do our best to provide realistic estimates. By dividing the manufacturer's estimated yield of each cartridge or refill, we can determine the average cost for each individual page or photo print. Where high-capacity ink cartridges and value-priced packages are available, we make sure to include those in our calculations.
Check out all of our printer coverage:
Best printers | Best all-in-one printers | Best portable printers | Best laser printers
