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Best Photo Printer 2024: The highest rated printers for photos
In This Article
It’s all well and good having all of your photos on display on Instagram, but let’s be real, nothing beats a physical photo that you can show off to your friends and family.
However, settling for a sub-standard photo printer will not make the most out of the quality of your expensive camera or snapping skills. But finding the absolute best photo printer is easier said than done.
Fortunately for you, we’ve done the hard work, creating this Beat Photo Printer guide with a list of all of the highest scoring printers, in terms of photo quality, that we have fully tested in recent years.
Our experts make sure to test all of the most important criteria when reviewing a printer, including the photo print quality, ease of use, cost per page and additional features.
We’ve also made sure to include a variety of photo printers, from those geared towards professionals to smartphone snappers that want to bring social media snaps into life.
Scroll down to check out our list of the best photo printer options you can buy today. And if you’re looking for a more general-use printer for the home or office, you might want to check out our guide to thebest printers.
Best printers at a glance
How we test
Every printer we review goes through a series of uniform checks designed to gauge key things including print quality, speed and cost. These include first-time setup, changing respective cartridges, and measuring key things such as print speed and quality with a range of different paper types, including plain and photo.We’ll also compare the features with other printers at the same price point to see if you’re getting good value for your money. We’ve also calculated how much it would cost to replace the cartridge or refill the ink in order to see how much the printer will cost you in the long term.
Epson EcoTank ET-18100
Pros
Cons
TheEpson EcoTank ET-18100is the ultimate option for those looking for great photo prints, particularly those amateur photographers who want to print photos to their heart’s content.
With the EcoTank ET-18100, you’ll be getting an A3+ capable, six-ink photo printer that opens up the world of photo printing to you through low running costs and super convenient refillable tanks. It’s the big bottles the ink comes in and the refillable tanks that make this such an easy and cost-effective purchase. As such, you can make up for the slightly expensive starting price if you’re going to use this printer a ton.
The results speak for themselves too, producing top-notch photo print quality. Admittedly, the prints aren’t professional tier – look to our next recommendation for that – but for those after great home photo printing, it’s more than good enough. Overally, we found the printer quality to be delightful and it dishes out the prints in speedy fashion too. What’s more, despite its strong capabilities, it is still a surprisingly compact printer too.
Reviewer:Simon HandbyFull review:Epson EcoTank ET-18100 review
Canon PIXMA Pro-200
Pros
Cons
Are you looking for professional grade photo printing at home? TheCanon PIXMA Pro-200is the choice for you.
Very few printers live up to the quality on offer from the PIXMA Pro-200, the secret? The Canon PIXMA Pro-200 is powered by an eight-ink print engine rather than your more traditional four or six options. The results are stunning, banishing grain from your photo printers up to A3+. The grey ink options make for impressive black and white photo prints too, if monochrome is your vibe.
This photo printer is laser-focused on being for professionals, and that’s why professionals will love it. As such, you’ll need plenty of desk space but, nevertheless, it’s a subtle and straightforwardly designed printer. Printing can be quite expensive if you aren’t printing those larger A3 prints so, again, this is professionals who need its remarkable photo print quality. You’ll have no shame selling your best snaps when using Canon’s high quality photo paper and this printer together.
Again, it’s the quality that sings here, it’s better than what you’d get from your typical lab and it comes back to you in a far speedier manner too – allowing you to hone what you like from your own printer in an efficient way.
Reviewer:Simon HandbyFull review:Canon PIXMA Pro-200 review
Canon PIXMA G550
Pros
Cons
TheCanon PIXMA G550isn’t the best value photo printer available, but we decided to include it on this list since it still offers affordable long-term running costs if you plan on printing out photos on a frequent basis.
This model utilises refillable bottles as opposed to cartridges, which immediately makes refills more cost effective. To boot, the G550’s bottles will last for either 3700 black pages or 8000 colour pages. It’s capable of 3800 10x15cm colour photos, giving you a cost per page of just 1.7p, which is some of the lowest we’ve ever seen. This is especially thanks to replacement bottles costing just £11.
As well as offering great value for money, the G550 delivers great quality printouts. This printer offers a six-ink setup, with an extra red and grey ink option, which helped to provide smooth shade transition in coloured printouts, as well as a neutral and exceptionally detailed greyscale print. While some of our colour samples may not be up to standard against other six-inkers, there’s a noticeable difference compared to more standard four-ink printers. Admittedly, it may not be the fastest printer in the world, with a print time of nearly seven minutes to print a single borderless A4 photo, but at least the results are good.
This is a remarkably simple printer, especially given it’s a single function device so you can’t copy or scan images. That being said, it does have a display alongside offering convenient control over key features with some actual buttons. The fact it’s a six-ink printer is also handy given the extra oomph it gives to photos, as well as the fact the ink is refillable, saving waste and also saving you money with much lower printing costs than more standard cartridge-based inkjets.
Reviewer:Simon HandbyFull review:Canon PIXMA G550 review
Canon PIXMA TS8750
Pros
Cons
As you can see in this list, the best photo printer options aren’t exactly cheap. If your budget can’t stretch that far, then it’s worth considering theCanon PIXMA TS8750instead.
Available for as little as £150, this cartridge-based, multi-function printer really impressed us when it came to the quality of its photo prints. This is largely thanks to the six-ink setup, which ensures accurate and bold colours, as well as realistic skin tones. Its use of both black and grey ink also allows this printer to excel with dark imagery, adding plenty of detail to the deepest of shadows.
What’s more the Canon PIXMA TS8750 features an SD card slot which allows you to print your photos directly rather than using a PC as a go-between. You can even use the printer’s screen to display thumbnails, making it easier to locate the photos you want to print.
There is a big caveat with the cheap upfront cost of this printer though, as its running costs are expensive due to its use of cartridges instead of ink bottles. If you plan on printing a lot of photos, it may end up being a costly printer over its lifespan, but the Canon PIXMA TS8750 remains a great option for those who want a low upfront cost and don’t plan on printing photos too often.
Reviewer:Simon HandbyFull review:Canon PIXMA TS8750 review
Instax Square Link
Pros
Cons
If you’re looking for a portable option that’ll give you results more akin to an instant camera, theInstax Square Linkfrom Fujifilm is a great option.
The Square Link works differently from a traditional instant camera. Instead of snapping photos on the device and watching them print immediately, the instant printer allows you to take photos on your phone (or camera) and print them whenever you want using an app.
It’s also different to the other photo printers on this list as its pocket-sized and portable, making it ideal for slipping into your bag to take photos at events or during days out.
The printer produces square 6.2 x 6.2cm images using Instax Square film, with the process designed to take about 15 seconds to print and 90 seconds to develop, though we found it to be a little longer.
The instant photo style gives images an instant retro feel while the printer still benefits from the convenience of Bluetooth and other modern features. You can edit your images in the app before printing and even add AR elements that can be viewed by scanning a QR code on the print.
The image quality is about what you’d expect from a good instant camera. The results are bright and detailed, though skin tones can appear a bit washed out. We found that a quick solution to this was to increase the saturation in the app, and there are also filters if you prefer a different look altogether.
Finally, the Square Link charges via USB-C and is the best printer if you like the Instax Square size and format.
Reviewer:Hannah DaviesFull review:Instax Square Link review
We also considered…
This basic, but very affordable multifunction is surprisingly capable
A simple, cheap-to-run printer
We’ve reviewed
1,038
Printer
FAQs
For our money, the Canon Pixma G650 is the best overall photo printer you can buy, with high quality printouts, especially on glossy paper, as well as a convenient featureset and low running costs.
For what it’s worth, we’d say yes, especially given we’ve listed an Epson EcoTank (the ET-2750) above as a potential option for those wanting a versatile photo printer. Although it really does depend on the specific model.
Inkjet printers are arguably better for printing photos, given that laser printers are traditionally more associated with large-scale text work, and for commercial image printing operations such as brochures and flyers.
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Trusted Reviews test data
Comparison specs
Hannah joined Trusted Reviews as a staff writer in 2019 after graduating with a degree in English from Royal Holloway, University of London. She’s also worked and studied in the US, holding positions …
Founded in 2003, Trusted Reviews exists to give our readers thorough, unbiased and independent advice on what to buy.
Today, we have millions of users a month from around the world, and assess more than 1,000 products a year.
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
Why trust our journalism?
Founded in 2003, Trusted Reviews exists to give our readers thorough, unbiased and independent advice on what to buy.
Today, we have millions of users a month from around the world, and assess more than 1,000 products a year.
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
