The Best 5 Photo Printers of 2024

Best Overall Photo Printer

Canon PIXMA Pro-200

Measured Print Time	66 seconds
Cost Per Print	$0.38
Max Photo Dimensions	13" x 39"
Print Resolution	4800 x 2400 dpi
Printing Technology	Inkjet (Theromal DOD)

The Canon PIXMA Pro-200 is a professional quality printer whose color prints are in a class of their own. In complement to the color output — and demonstrating its remarkable range — the PIXMA Pro's grayscale renderings are also superb. As one tester noted, “The accuracy in detail and saturation really make the images pop.” We also appreciated that the setup of this unit is relatively straightforward.

This printer also stands out for its ability to handle large images with equal clarity and precision. With the capability to print images up to 13" x 39", this printer is able to handle all of your photo creation demands. Finally, at just $0.38 per 4" x 6" color photo, this machine boasts a cost per print competitive with commercial printing labs. That's quite a selling point if you ask us.

Given all the praises we've showered this marvel of modern home printing with, you may be wondering, What's the catch? It's the cost. The Canon PIXMA Pro-200 is expensive. The unit is also physically large and will eat up a lot of desk or countertop space. Setup can also be a pain, but thankfully that's a pain you only have to endure once. If you're looking for a printer with a lower cost per print, another model in Canon's PIXMA line, the Canon PIXMA G620, is a step down in upfront cost and is more affordable in the long term.

Read more: Canon PIXMA Pro-200 review

Best Value for High Volume Printing

Canon PIXMA G620

Measured Print Time	157 seconds
Cost Per Print	$0.05
Max Photo Dimensions	8.5" x 47"
Print Resolution	4800 x 1200 dpi
Printing Technology	Inkjet

The Canon PIXMA G620 stood out for its low cost per print. While it's not the absolute cheapest unit to purchase up front, it can win in the long term if you print a lot of photos. We found it was relatively easy to use, and according to our testers, the photo quality had “good detail” to the naked eye. We also liked the tank design and found it very easy to refill.

Our testers also noted that this printer was easy enough to set up, especially considering its size and robust capabilities. It took 36 minutes from unboxing to printing the first image. It also has a scanner, which could be useful depending on your needs. Before setting up, you'll want to download the printing software, which is compatible with both Mac and Windows operating systems.

We did noticed that the Canon PIXMA G620 is a bit slow to print and though the quality of prints is very good, it's not the absolute best we found. It also has a max paper size of 8.5 inches wide, which may not be large enough for some uses. When we put images under our microscope, we noticed some oversaturation in colors, making the prints slightly imperfect. If you want the best print quality for just a bit more, the Canon PIXMA Pro-200 is a winner.

Read more: Canon PIXMA G620 review

Best Value for Wide Format Prints

Epson Expression Photo HD XP-15000

Measured Print Time	34 seconds
Cost Per Print	$0.45
Max Photo Dimensions	13" x 44"
Print Resolution	5760 x 1440 dpi
Printing Technology	Inkjet (Piezo DOD)

If you want a full-size printer but don't want a full-size dint in your wallet, the Epson Expression Photo HD XP-15000 is the machine to thread that needle. This relatively compact model punches well above its weight. With the aid of its expansive color palette, this printer produces vibrant colors that come out nicely across all print formats.

It also has the ability to print a wide variety of sizes. It can print up to 13 inches wide and 44 inches long, with the ability to set user-specific lengths in addition to the usual photo and paper sizes. Our test team also noted that this printer is not only capable of printing large sizes, but maintains quality throughout. Even with larger prints, it maintained a clear gradient, with testers noting it “…keeps a high resolution close to that of higher-end printers.”

Despite all the praise, the Epson Expression Photo HD XP-15000 has some flaws, mainly regarding the overall resolution and grayscale output, where dark tonal transitions can be hard to discern. The dark areas also showed some subtle but noticeable micro banding. And although the problem seemed to resolve itself over time, we had some issues with the printer staying connected. If you're looking for the unbeatable photo quality and don't mind spending more, the Canon PIXMA Pro-200 has an incredible performance rating.

Read more: Epson Expression Photo HD XP-15000 review

Best Mini Printer

Canon IVY 2 Mini

Measured Print Time	30 seconds
Cost Per Print	$0.50
Max Photo Dimensions	2" x 3"
Print Resolution	313 x 512 dpi
Printing Technology	ZINK™ (Zero Ink)

Rekindling the excitement of the analog era, the Canon IVY 2 makes on-the-fly photo printing fun and easy. It has a streamlined, compact shape and seamless Bluetooth interaction with your smartphone. The prints are of reasonable quality, albeit slightly low-ish resolution for the keen eye, yet still decent compared to other mini-printers. Additionally, The ZINK paper has an adhesive back that turns them into stickers, which is a fun perk.

We also liked that the app was very easy to use and included some fun print options. You must use the app to print, but since it always worked easily for us, it's not an issue. Overall, we were impressed with the consistent performance and hassle-free output.

While the Canon IVY 2 makes printing as easy as pushing a button on your phone, its functionality is limited, and the cost per print is high. It can only print on one kind of paper and in one set of dimensions, and that can't possibly compete with a fully-fledged desktop printer. But then again, it's not supposed to. Even with these small downsides, it still manages to outperform its predecessor, the Canon IVY with a much faster charging time, slightly higher resolution prints, and enhanced photo customization within the easy-to-use app.

Read more: Canon IVY 2 review

Best for Easy 4" x 6" Prints

Canon Selphy CP1500

Measured Print Time	57 seconds
Cost Per Print	$0.43
Max Photo Dimensions	4" x 6"
Print Resolution	300 x 300 dpi
Printing Technology	4PASS Dye Sublimation Thermal Transfer

The Canon Selphy CP1500 is a significant step up in quality from the mini-printers, yet it maintains the same appeal. This printer is compact, transportable, and can even run off a battery (sold separately). We recommend this machine for anyone who wants to get all those great photos from their phone onto their friends' fridges or in little picture frames. The photo quality is better than the average retail photo lab, and the cost isn't much higher either.

It's also fun to watch the machine at work — seriously. The paper passes back and forth through the machine, layering on the different inks, allowing you to see the CMYK color model in action. Best of all, the quality is quite good and the printing speed is well in the acceptable range at 57 seconds per 4" x 6" print.

The only real disadvantage with the Canon Sephy is that the machine is limited to just a few print sizes and Canon's glossy proprietary paper. We were not surprised that a printer of this size had some issues with streaking and color fidelity, though they weren't too bad. Conversely, we were pleasantly surprised that the skin tones and transitions in grayscale were pretty much spot-on. If you're looking for an even smaller printer, the Canon Ivy 2 fits in the palm of your hand and creates fun mini prints for your scrapbook.

Read more: Canon Selphy CP1500 review

Compare Products

Compare select up to 5 products to compare

	Score	Product	Price
	86	Canon PIXMA Pro-200 Best Overall Photo Printer	$600
	77	Canon PIXMA G620 Best Value for High Volume Printing	$330
	67	Epson Expression Photo HD XP-15000 Best Value for Wide Format Prints	$400
	61	Canon Selphy CP1500 Best for Easy 4" x 6" Prints	$140
	60	Epson PictureMate PM-400	$270
	46	Kodak Dock Plus 4PASS	$178
	43	Canon IVY 2 Mini Best Mini Printer	$100
	42	Kodak Mini 3 Retro 4PASS	$150
	36	HP Sprocket	$80
	33	Fujifilm Instax Mini Link 2	$100
	29	Kodak Step Instant Mobile	$100

Why Trust GearLab

After extensive online research, our testing team settled on a thorough lineup of the best photo printers available on the market to test side-by-side. We set up a viewing room devoid of shadow and glare to analyze the printers' outputs comparatively. We selected a series of color and grayscale images to cover all aspects of rendering a high-quality photo and then printed them on various paper types in several different sizes. The office staff also printed photos from their own devices to test the ease of connecting to and operating the machines. Finally, each printer's features and specifications were collected, measured in-house (if possible), and organized for comparison.

The most important aspect of our testing focused on the Color Prints score since most people want to print photographs in color. This metric makes up 35% of the overall score and is comprised of specific tests focused on dynamic range, resolution, and overall impression. Each of these tests were repeated using 7 test images, which means that we subjected each photo printer to 21 specific tests for the Color Prints metric alone. Overall, each photo printer is subjected to more than 47 individual tests across the 5 scoring metrics. All-in-all, our expert team printed and analyzed more than 400 pictures for our in-depth analysis of photo printers.

Our photo printer testing is divided across five different metrics:

• Color Prints (35% of overall score rating)

• Black and White Prints (35% weighting)

• Print Capabilities (15% weighting)

• Operating Cost (10% weighting)

• Set-Up (5% weighting)

Our review team brings product-specific expertise to the testing and rating of photo printers. In-House Photographer Jason Peters was born with a sharp eye that he further honed at Brooks Institute of Photography. His education lead him to studio work in Los Angeles and eventually landed him here at the GearLab where he has tested hundreds of products, from sling camera bags to the best snow shovel. Our seasoned Review Analysts Genaveve Bradshaw and Lesley Robinson bring a detail-oriented and creative eye to this project and have collectively tested hundreds of tech products. Finally, Senior Review Editor Mallory Paige is a seasoned journalist whose original photography has been featured in national magazines.

How to Choose the Best Photo Printer

If you're having trouble deciding on exactly what you need from your photo printer, here are some bullet-point metrics that we think you should be looking into.

Size and Print Types

Many printers are limited by size. For instance, some of the printers we've tested only print 2" x 3" photos, whereas others can print up to 13" x 44". If you're a photographer or creator with clients who want large photos for their living rooms, you'll want a printer that allows you to print larger dimensions and can use various types of paper. On the other hand, if you're just looking for a compact and affordable little device that can quickly churn out small photos for your scrapbook, a mini printer is all you need.

Print Volume

You'll want to consider just how many prints you'll be making and the cost of ink. Some printers can produce high volumes for as little as $0.05 per page, like the Canon PIXMA G620. If you're a creative who needs to make a lot of prints in a short timeframe, this is a wonderful option. But, if you're someone who occasionally wants to print high-quality photos, the Canon Pixma Pro-200 is a better option.

Fun vs. Frame Worthy

If you want excellent quality prints, you'll need to look at each printer's resolution. The higher the resolution, the more likely you'll have better quality photos and graphics. For high resolution photo printers, you'll also need to increase your budget, as most can cost upwards of $300. That said, if you're just looking to print stickers or photos with fun designs added to them, you won't need to spend an arm and a leg on a mini photo printer.

Analysis and Test Results

Our testing regimen includes a deep dive into the visual quality of the prints, the dimensions and mediums used, the machine's ease of use, and the cost of printing. Each testing metric is weighted to account for a percentage of the final 1 - 100 point score. Below is a detailed account of the tests that make up each metric and how they reveal the market's best machines. We hope that this comprehensive review will help you pick the best photo printer for your needs and budget.

What's the Best Value?

Our method for assessing value takes two different approaches to reach the same endpoint. We are looking for a product that either performs at a similar level to other products but costs less or a product that performs at a higher level than similarly priced competitors. The Epson XP-15000 is a full-sized photo printer priced significantly below the cost of other machines that render larger format prints. For photographers making high volumes of prints, we think the Canon PIXMA G620 is the best value with an incredibly low cost of $0.05 per 4" x 6" photo print.

Color Prints

Most people want to print in color. With that in mind, we weighted this metric to account for 35% of a printer's overall score. As the basis for our analysis of color prints, we purchased seven stock images that spanned subjects from portraits to landscapes and collectively covered a wide dynamic range. We printed in several dimensions from the mini printers' 2" x 3" up to 13" x 19" with the full-size models. We also tested various paper types when possible to see which rendered the best results.

Our assessment of the prints relied on the eyes of both professional photographers and laypeople. The assessment had two parts. First, we rated each print on the overall impression it gave the viewer. The focus was on clearly defined borders, smooth tonal transitions, and skin tone (for the images featuring people). The overall impression also focused on the print's fidelity as compared to the original image displayed on a high-resolution monitor. The second part of the color metric honed in on the print's resolution and sharpness.

The full-size printers excelled in this evaluation, with the Canon PIXMA Pro-200 performing exceptionally well. These printers' standards in image fidelity, resolution, and consistency across multiple paper dimensions left a big gap between them and the rest of the class. However, the more budget-friendly Canon PIXMA G620 performed surprisingly well and very nearly matched the quality of the PIXMA Pro-200.

The chief complaint with the Canon SELPHY was streaking. The Canon PIXMA G620 produced brightly pigmented photos, but they could lean into too much contrast and saturation. However, even with these issues, the quality is still substantially better than prints produced by many big chain photo labs.

Finally, when we compared the Canon IVY 2 to its mini printer peers, it provided the best color images of the lot, though they were far from what the best printers can produce. Some photos were even a little over-processed, which we didn't love. Also worth mentioning among the mini printers is the Kodak Mini 3 Retro 4PASS. It provided some vibrant prints with popping colors, but had the tendency to blow out the highlights. At the end of the day, mini printers can only offer a certain amount of resolution. Both of these minis would make great companions for printing memories you can actually touch instead of being relegated to your smartphone.

Black and White Prints

Black and white prints can reveal more about an image's boundary definition and tonal transitions than you may see in the busy brightness of a color print. Even though most users will be printing fewer of their photos in black and white, the heavy demands that this format places on a printer caused us to weigh this metric the same as the color at 35% of the total score.

The black and white evaluation protocols reflected those used for the color prints, the exception being that the images chosen for inspection are in grayscale. Again, the Canon PIXMA Pro-200 shot the moon in this evaluation. This printer has an advantage in this metric because it boasts multiple ink cartridges in shades of black and gray. The Canon PIXMA Pro-200 delivered high-quality results, but the prints showed some green tones, lending the printed images a warmer feel.

The large format, 13" x 19" prints produced by the Epson XP-15000 were nearly on par with the full-sized machines. Interestingly, the quality decreased as the print dimensions decreased, with banding and streaking becoming more apparent.

While many photos may look similar to the naked eye, there is a huge difference when put under a microscope. The differences between the high quality prints of the Epson and Canon compared to the low resolution on the mini Kodak are significant.

Mini printers had a harder time with black and white images. The Canon Selphy scored in the top of the mini pack, but we did notice a green tinge to a lot of the images. The Canon Ivy 2 Mini struggled with greyscale images, but overall was better than the Kodak Mini 3, which had a lot of striping under close inspection.

Print Capabilities

In our print capabilities tests, we cataloged the printers' number of ink cartridges, the range of print dimensions they can accommodate, and the applicable print substrates. These are materials like matte and glossy paper and less common mediums like artboard and canvas. We also tested the print speed and paper tray capacity. This metric accounts for just 15% of a printer's overall score.

The Epson Expression XP-15000 and the Canon PIXMA Pro-200 did well in these tests. The prior covers all the standard print sizes from 2" x 6" up to 13" x 44", the latter up to 13" x 39". Although these machines don't include the more exotic print mediums, they are compatible with many photo papers and have seven individual color cartridges. The Canon Selphy is very limited in this metric, with only the ability to create 4" x 6" images and similarly sized sticky labels.

Finally, we clocked the time it takes each machine to produce a 4" x 6" color print (or, in the case of the mini printers, a mini print). While it might not seem that important if you are printing lots of photos (or very large ones), the risk of something going wrong may make your presence at the machine mandatory. For example, the Kodak KODAK Mini 3 Retro 4PASS occasionally experiences cartridge jams.

Thus, all other aspects of the print being equal, faster is better. The average for this exercise was around one minute.

On the extremely long end was the Canon PIXMA G620 with a print time of 157 seconds for a single 4" x 6" print. That said, the G620 can use over 10 different print types, from Matte to Glossy. It also has a standard capacity of 20 sheets.

Operating Cost

Operating cost measures the long-term expense of the machines we tested, and we weighted it with 10% of a printer's overall score. Here we address how much it costs to produce a single 4" x 6" print. We used the industry's conservative estimate of ink consumption per square inch of color printing and multiplied that by 24 (square inches) to get this figure. The product of this equation was then added to the cost of a 4" x 6" sheet of moderate-quality glossy photo paper. Although the higher-end printers produce much less expensive prints, the upfront cost of the printer is significant. The opposite is true of lower-end printers.

The Canon PIXMA G620 is in a league of its own here, producing 4" x 6" prints for just $0.05. This is an incredibly low cost per print, especially considering the high quality.

The Canon PIXMA Pro-200 is in the $0.38 to $0.43 range. However, the quality produced by these printers is much better than the store-bought prints. Epson's Expression XP-15000 and the Canon SELPHY fall into the $0.40 - $0.45 range. The mini printers are arguably the most expensive because one needs to print two mini prints to get an equivalent size image that the rest of the machines are rendering. Expect to pay $0.50 to $0.75 per print with the novelty mini printers.

Set-Up

Though set-up is generally only done once, it can be frustrating if the process is overly complicated. Given the duration of this task, we weighted this metric to account for just 5% of a printer's overall score. Our evaluation went as follows: read the set-up instructions carefully, follow them exactly, and see if we can print from our phone or laptop. If the process goes off without a hitch, the printer scores high. If we have to do some troubleshooting, the score goes down. Additionally, our staff members who were not directly involved with this review go through the same process and voice their complaints.

By far the easiest printers to get up and running were the mini printers. For these machines, you simply download an app on your phone and give the app permission to access your photos and camera. If you know how to download an app, take a picture, edit and share it, you shouldn't have any problems with these machines. On the opposite end of the spectrum are printers like the Canon PIXMA Pro-200, which require you to download a driver onto your computer and make a WiFi connection. Other annoying aspects of set-up are machines that get locked into a particular computer at the exclusion of others. For example, if you want to print from a co-worker's computer, you will have to plug it in directly to the printer with a USB — details we discovered through trial and error.

Conclusion

Our photo printer review is a deep dive into all the features and specifications that make for quality prints and an enjoyable experience. We analyzed color and grayscale rendering and the technical demands of each format. We assessed the different printing substrates and dimensions that the machines could accommodate and the rendering time required. When considering the price per print, we calculated the long-term operating expenses of each machine. Finally, we made a thorough assessment of each printer's set-up. Given the information provided, we hope we have helped you find the best printer.