The best all-in-one printers combine print, scan, copy, and even fax into one do-it-all box. As a space saver, multi-tasker, and all-around office workhorse, they're a perfect fit for any business that needs to stay on top of its paperwork. An office multifunction peripheral (MFP) can do everything from staying in touch with customers, producing professional reports, and cutting your paper use – in this feature we've rounded up six of the best office all-in-ones.
An MFP isn't just a great way to save space. By combining several functions, they make it easier to get things done. This group can tackle any office job with aplomb, offering a combination of speed, flexibility, and decent running costs. We've put every device through our usual range of tests which, for an MFP, can cover a daunting range of features. We've done the legwork to find out how fast they go, how well they perform, and what they'll cost you to run. If you want the best business all-in-one, you'll find it here.
How to look for the best all-in-one printers
All-in-one printers combine lots of features, but not necessarily the same ones. Home-focused devices tend to favor good photo prints over office-friendly paper handling, and they usually aren't built to take the same punishing workloads. That said, if you just want something cheap and compact for a micro office, a good home MFP can fit the bill.
If you're running a busy office, or you just want to be covered for everything, there's no substitute for an office-focused MFP. Look first for an automatic document feeder (ADF), which usually also means you'll get a fax modem. Even if you never need to send a fax, the ADF will help you any time you have a stack of papers to be scanned or copied – a big time-saver. If you'll use this a lot, consider a duplex (double-sided) ADF, which can capture both sides of each page without your help.
We generally recommend that the printer should also be duplex. Paired with a duplex ADF, this lets you make double-sided prints, scans, faxes, or copies – perfect for professional results, and a great way to save paper. Talking of which, all-in-ones with more than one paper tray let you keep a stock of plain and headed paper, which helps save you from lots of manual shuffling of pages.
Most office MFPs will be shared between several people, so buy one that supports Wi-Fi or – if you don't have a great signal – a wired Ethernet connection. Networked models with color touchscreens tend to support more advanced features, such as scanning to or printing directly from SharePoint or other cloud-based storage.
When it comes to deciding between inkjet and laser, the choice may not be as straightforward as you think. Office inkjets have always been a bit quicker to wake up and start printing than a laser, which helps if you tend to send multiple short jobs, rather than one or two long ones. In recent years, inkjet devices have become more robust and cheaper to run, making them much more suited to business use than they were. They use less electricity than a laser equivalent, too.
That said, few inkjets can rival a laser printer when it comes to outright pages per minute, while laser-sharp text prints are hard to beat. As a general rule, laser MFPs may be best if you'll print a lot, and you favor speed and text quality over cost. If your priority is low running costs, an inkjet may be better – particularly if it has refillable ink tanks.
On that note, expect to pay around 8-12p per full color page if you buy an affordable inkjet or laser MFP. That's fine for occasional prints, but aim for a lower cost per page if you expect to print in higher volumes. And if you're buying an MFP for a busy office, aim to spend a little more up front in return for lower ongoing costs – you'll make savings overall.
The best all-in-one printers
Brother MFC-J1300DW All in Box
Best printer for instant value
While the MFC-J1300DW isn’t the cheapest printer upfront, it’s actually extremely good value, thanks to the generous quantities of ink that Brother has shipped it with. There's enough for 7,200 full-colour prints, which is around three years’ worth according to the company's estimates, meaning it comes out at an impressive 4p per page for colour sheets - and even less for mono documents. When that’s complete, the price of XL cartridges mean your costs could come down to as little as 2.3p per colour page.
But there’s more to the printer than just value: it’s easy to use, provides decent quality and is capable of delivering 12 pages of black text per minute. The only downside is its lack of duplex scanning, copying or faxing, but if that’s not a deal breaker for you, this is a superb all rounder that’s well worth the cost of entry.
Technology | Piezo inkjet |
Maximum print resolution | 1,200 x 2,400dpi |
Maximum paper size | A4 |
Input tray | 150-sheet input tray |
Speed | 12/5.2ppm (mono/colour) |
Read our full Brother MFC-J1300DW All in Box review for more information.
HP OfficeJet Pro 9135e
Best all-in-one printer
The perfect small office inkjet multifunction would look a lot like HP's OfficeJet Pro 9135e. This four-in-one covers all the major office requirements, adding useful business features like two generous paper trays and full duplex operation. Need to make a double-sided copy of a double-sided original? The 9135e can handle it while you put the kettle on. It has support for wired and wireless networking, plus a big color touchscreen too.
All this would be for nothing if the OfficeJet Pro 9135e couldn't perform, but it's a very solid all-rounder. It's very fast for a relatively affordable inkjet, delivering 22.1 pages per minute (ppm) of text, and color graphics at a brilliant 8ppm. Copies and scans were quick, too. Happily, this MFP's quality is mostly a match for its speed – only its high-resolution photo scans were disappointing, and that's not usually an issue for the office.
This MFP would benefit from lower running costs. We also found its installation process a bit annoying. Other than that, it's almost impossible to fault – a superb small office all-rounder.
Technology | Inkjet |
Maximum print resolution | 1,200 x 4,800dpi |
Cost per page | 2p/6p mono/color |
IPaper handling | Two 250-sheet cassettes, 35-page ADF |
Speed | 25/20ppm mono/color |
Read our full HP OfficeJet Pro 9135e review for more information.
HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP 3302fdw
Best color all-in-one printer for busier small offices
HP's Color LaserJet Pro MFP 3302fdw is a color laser all-in-one offering prints, scans, copies, and faxing. While it has only a single 250-sheet paper input tray, it's otherwise quite well-specified, supporting wired and wireless networks, and offering control via a large color touchscreen. On top there's a 50-sheet ADF which, like the printer itself, supports duplexing – it delivered a 10 page, 20-side duplex color copy in little over a minute and a half.
This isn't the fastest laser printer, hitting 18.5ppm on black text, and only 13.1ppm on our more challenging color graphics test. It was more competitive when scanning and copying, though. We've no quibbles about the results: this MFP is an excellent text and graphics printer, and produced near-perfect mono copies. Only a slight blue bias detracted from its photo prints, while photo scans looked a little pixellated. Black printing costs are a little high at 2p per page, but if you won't print high volumes, this is a very competent office MFP.
Technology | Color laser |
Maximum print resolution | 600 x 600dpi |
Cost per page | 2p/9p mono/color |
Paper handling | 250-sheet cassette, single-sheet multipurpose tray, 50-sheet ADF |
Speed | 25ppm mono/color |
Canon Pixma TS6250
Best printer for minimal outlay
The cheapest all-in-one printer on this list, the Canon Pixma TS6250 punches well above its weight, with superb print quality and decent speeds of 12.7ppm for mono prints and 3.9ppm for more complex colour graphics.
It uses five inks, with the usual cyan, magenta and yellow cartridges supplemented by two kinds of black ink — one for plain paper, and a dye-based one for photo prints. Despite this extra ink to worry about, using the XXL cartridges means that printing costs come down to as little as 2.8p per mono page, which isn’t bad at all.
There are drawbacks, of course: there’s no fax functionality, and it’s not the quietest with a mildly irritating wheezing noise, but most people will certainly be able to live with both considering the sheer affordability of the thing.
Technology | Inkjet |
Maximum print resolution | 4,800 x 1,200dpi |
Maximum paper size | A4 |
Input tray | 100-page input tray, 100-page rear feed (or 20 photo sheets) |
Speed | 12.7 mono/ 3.9ppm colour |
Price when reviewed: £67 exc. VAT
Read our full Canon Pixma TS6250 review for more information.
HP Smart Tank 7005
The cheapest all-in-one printer to own
If you want an all-in-one printer with low running costs, there's no better choice than a refillable inkjet. HP's Smart Tank 7005 is a strong example, arriving with enough ink to cover around 12,000 black, or 8,000 color pages. That's incredible value, equating to around 2.3p per page with a free printer thrown in. Once you finish the supplied ink, you'll pay around 0.4p per full-color page, which is almost unbeatable.
It's a good thing, then, that this MFP is competent elsewhere. At 13 pages per minute it's a fast enough text printer for most micro businesses. That's pretty much the story for its color printing, scans, and copies, which are all fast enough for light office use among a few people.
Print and copy quality are generally good, but this MFP's weaknesses in our tests were underwhelming photo prints, and blocky document scans. Still, if you're after a smart MFP with ultra-low running costs, and you'll only scan occasionally, the Smart Tank 7005 remains a good choice for micro offices.
Technology | Inkjet MFP |
Maximum print resolution | 4,800 x 1,200dpi |
Cost per page | 0.1p/0.3p mono/color |
Paper handling | 250-sheet tray |
Speed | 15/9ppm mono/color |
Read our full HP Smart Tank 7005 review for more information.
FAQs
Should I buy an inkjet or laser all-in-one?
The inkjet versus laser debate isn’t as fiercely competitive as it used to be; both types of printer have gradually moved closer to the middle ground, with inkjets becoming faster and more precise, as lasers become cheaper and more well-rounded in terms of features.
There are still some points of differentiation, though. Inkjets are still usually more affordable than laser printers – especially at the bottom end – and it’s still comparatively rare to see entry-level laser printers that also include a scanner. Lasers, however, do tend to need their consumables replaced less frequently, and commonly tend to perform better for high-volume mono document tasks. Which one is right for you will therefore depend largely on what your priorities are.
Do I need an all-in-one printer with fax support?
The ability to send and receive faxes directly from a printer used to be a common and highly useful feature for business devices, but it has since declined in popularity alongside faxes themselves. While there are still some specific geographies and industries that regularly use fax systems, it’s vanishingly rare for most organisations to need them, and so fax support is rarely seen outside of high-end business MFPs.
If your business needs this capability, then you’ll likely already know about it. There are some smaller all-in-one printers which offer it, but for most organisations, this is a redundant feature that safely be left off your shopping list.
Is it worth buying a business-focused all-in-one printer?
Some printers are designed for home users, but others are built specifically to cater to business needs. However, consumer-focused printers shouldn’t be discounted for business purposes. They’re often cheaper than models aimed at a business audience, and they’re often nicer-looking too.
What business printers lack in visual appeal, they make up for in management options, security, and additional functionality, not to mention more comprehensive warranties for added peace of mind. If more than a handful of people are going to be using a printer on a regular basis, it’s probably worth opting for something a little more robust, but individual users can likely get by with something a bit more consumer-friendly.
How we test all-in-one printers
All our printer reviews include a series of tests to check various aspects of standard operations. The first set is designed to test overall print quality and identify any issues such as colour banding or fuzzy text output. This involves printing a number of mono documents, greyscale images, and colour pictures.
This is followed by speed tests for black and white text prints, timing how long a machine takes to produce a 25-page job, as well as how quickly the first sheet is delivered after hitting print. We also repeat this test at draft quality when testing inkjet printers. To measure colour print speeds, these tests are repeated with a 24-sheet batch of magazine pages, web pages and presentation slides. The first ten pages of this colour batch is also used to test duplex print speeds, measured in images per minute.
Scan functionality is a key component of all-in-one printers, and scan speeds are tested by timing how quickly it can produce a single photocopy, as well as a ten-page copy job for those models which also feature an ADF. We’ll run this test in both mono and colour where possible, and if both printer and ADF are duplex, then we’ll also time a ten-page double-sided batch.
To assess the image quality of scans, we’ll use a colour input target chart, an office document and a colour photo. Finally, we’ll look at how quickly the scanner produces results at various resolutions, as well as the speed with which it displays a preview image.
