Choosing the Best HP Printer for Your Home Office

Despite everything functioning in a digital world, there’s still something to be said for having hard, printed copies of important documents. Especially in the workplace, sometimes a printed form, document, photograph, letter, invoice, and so on is just what you need. And, with the workplace now shifting to home for many of us, having a printer at home is one of those necessities for making your at-home work space that much more of an efficient and productive place for real work. HP, one of B&H's most prolific printer producers, offers the perfect place to look when deciding on a printer for your home office, with a vast range that includes laser and inkjet options.

Before delving into specific options, it’s important to decide the type of printer you want first: laser or inkjet? Without going into the specifics too much, there are a few key points to remember to help make a decision: How much/how often do you expect to print? Will you be printing mainly documents and forms or photos and graphics? Typically, inkjet printers are smaller and more affordable from the get-go, but ink cartridges tend to offer fewer total prints than comparable toner cartridges used in laser printers; if you’re going to be an irregular printer, go with inkjet. If you’ll be doing more substantial and regular high-volume print jobs, then laser is your best bet. However, if you’re looking to print some photos and graphics along with your documents, then inkjet is undeniably the way to go for image quality. You’ll also want to consider color versus monochrome (black) printers; speed, where laser printers tend to be the faster option; and the type of options you want, ranging from all-in-one designs to auto duplexing and so on.

Laser Printers

Looking at laser printers first, there’s quite a range to sift through before you find the perfect one for your needs. To help distill things a bit, here are some questions to help guide you to the perfect printer for your home office.

• Color or Monochrome?
• Printing only or do you want a multifunction model with scanning and fax capabilities?
• How large do you need to print? Is 8.5 x 14" (legal) large enough? Or do you need larger capacity to handle up to 11 x 17" (tabloid), or even larger?
• What are some of the other features you might need? Automatic duplexing for easier two-sided printing? Wi-Fi connectivity? An automatic document feeder (ADF) for easy batch scanning and copying?

With these questions in mind, we’ll highlight a handful of choices that are perfect for the home office. These printers are typically on the smaller end, so as to fit nicely in a domestic environment, and might emphasize convenience features over the robustness requirements of a bustling office space.

• The Color LaserJet Pro M255dw is a go-to option if you’re looking for a simple printer capable of outputting letter-size color prints with the option to do automatic two-sided printing to help save on paper or make booklets. It has an intuitive 2.7" color touchscreen, holds up to 250 sheets in its input tray, and boasts a Recommended Monthly Page Volume (RMPV) of 150 to 2500 prints.
• Along similar lines is the Color LaserJet Pro M479fdw, which adds multifunction capabilities to the color laser printing. Copying, scanning, and faxing are all possible, and a useful ADF makes it easier for handling up to 50-sheet scan or copy jobs with a single command.
• If you want to dial it back for the simplest applications, the LaserJet Pro M203dw is a straightforward monochrome printer offering up to 30 ppm (pages per minute) print speeds along with automatic duplexing for larger print jobs. This is a great option if the majority of your printing needs will just be forms and text documents.

• For those who only need monochrome printing but still desire multifunction capabilities, the Neverstop Laser MFP 1202nw is a versatile choice characterized by its 5,000-page-rated high-capacity toner tank that cuts down on the need to replace toner cartridges frequently. Also benefitting the frequent user is 21 ppm print speed, a 150-sheet input tray, and an 8.5 x 11.7" scanning and copying surface.
• Gain a bit more connectivity with the LaserJet Pro M428fdw, which is a monochrome multifunction printer touting dual-band Wi-Fi that supports wireless printing from your computer as well as your mobile device. It also has a 50-sheet ADF, auto duplexing, and an impressive 80,000 sheet monthly duty cycle.
• Finally, if your spatial requirements go beyond the letter or legal sheet, then check out the Color LaserJet Pro CP5225dn, which accommodates paper sizes up to 12.6 x 18". This larger size is great for printing spreadsheets, charts, and plans, as well as photo paper, film, transparencies, glossy paper, card stock, labels, recycled paper, and envelopes. A monthly duty cycle of 75,000 pages should keep things running smoothly in any home office and 100- and 250-sheet trays are featured to reduce the need to change paper.

Inkjet Printers

On the other side of the coin are inkjet printers. The fundamental differences between laser and inkjet matter if image quality and cost are big factors in the printing you’ll be doing, with inkjet being the preferred medium for photo printing. Inkjet printers are also easier to keep for less frequent printing needs and usually require a bit less physical space than a laser printer. Like laser printers, there’s a wide selection of inkjet printers, and you should begin your search by answering a few questions.

• Single-function, for just printing, or multi-function for scanning, copying, and faxing, too?
• How large do you need to print? Up to A4/letter? Or larger, up to 12 x 18"?
• Do you want automatic duplexing? Wi-Fi connectivity? Bluetooth?
• And, also, what will be the primary intended use for the printer? Mainly photos and images? General home use, like occasional print jobs? Or more business-minded use with larger and more frequent print jobs?

Thinking about these questions, you can begin to navigate HP’s range of inkjet printers, and piece together the features that mean the most for the work you need to do. Here are a few choice models to keep in mind during your search.

• The OfficeJet Pro 9025 is a multifunction printer packing print, scan, copy, and fax capabilities into a relatively sleek format. This all-in-one printer sports two separate 250-sheet trays, can handle print sizes up to 8.5 x 14", and utilizes HP’s Thermal Inkjet technology, which is a four-color set of pigment-based inks. For other functions, a 35-sheet ADF helps expedite tasks, and there’s a 2.65" color touchscreen for menu navigation.
• For lighter workloads and more general tasks, check out the ENVY Photo 7855, which is also an all-in-one option comprising print, scan, copy, and fax functions. It uses a two-cartridge design to cut down on clutter and supports borderless printing at sizes up to 8.5 x 11.7". Automatic duplexing is possible, too, and there’s a separate 15-sheet photo paper tray to help segregate your media types.

• Sleeker still is the OfficeJet 250 Mobile All-in-One, which is suitable for home use, as well as on-the-road use, too. Capable of being powered by a battery or AC power, and equipped with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, it’s a flexible printer for instances when you need to work in locations outside of the traditional office. It supports media up to legal size, borderless printing up to 5 x 7" is possible, and it even supports scanning and copying capabilities via the front-loading ADF.
• For a more robust workflow, something like the OfficeJet Pro 8035 is an ideal choice due to its capability and quality, as well as its svelte exterior available in a choice of colors to match your décor. Printing-wise, it uses four separate ink cartridges for quality photo and document printing with a maximum resolution of 4800 x 1200, and also has speedy output up to 25 ppm in color or 29 ppm with black ink only in draft mode, with actual speeds of up to 20 ppm for black and color. Also, its 225-sheet paper tray is perfect for larger jobs, and a 35-sheet ADF is great for handling moderate-size scan and copy jobs.
• And for even larger job requirements still, there is something like the PageWide Pro 577dw, which offers a notable increase in speed and efficiency: up to 70 ppm in General Office mode, 50 ppm in Professional mode, and there is a 500-sheet input tray. This printer also uses HP’s PageWide Technology, which promotes ink savings and lower print costs, especially considering the high volumes for which this printer is intended. Also, a 50-sheet ADF helps scanning and copying needs and offers an impressive scanning speed of 26 ipm for quickness all around.

Additional Printing-at-Home Tips

Whether you go the laser or inkjet route, there are some additional points to keep in mind to keep your printing workflow smooth.

• Stock up on toner cartridges if you’re using a laser printer or ink cartridges if you’re using an inkjet printer. Don’t wait until you run out of ink to search for the replacement cartridge you need; it’s better to have spares on hand so you can immediately switch to a fresh one and keep your print jobs moving.
• Same with printing paper—it doesn’t hurt to have a healthy supply of the paper you use most on hand, just in case you need to print a large job or copies for multiple people quickly. Especially with photo, brochure, and other specialized papers that are trickier to find in a pinch, make sure you have the media you need to finish your job.
• Be aware of the accessories and parts available for your specific printer. Depending on the printer you have, some may accept larger paper trays for greater efficiency, and some may require intermittent maintenance and changing of collection units and maintenance tanks to keep things running smoothly.

Let us know if you have any additional or specific questions about finding the perfect printer for your home office setup, in the Comments section, below.