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The best printers and scanners from our tests

Need to print or digitise some documents? These are the best multifunction printers for the job.

home printer scanner on teal background
Last updated: 19 September 2024
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While you can still find some scanners in stores, the market has largely swung towards multifunction printers (also known as MFPs). These have built-in scanning and copying capabilities to save you from buying multiple machines and taking up valuable desk space.

Multifunction printers were once quite expensive compared to standard printers, but these days there are plenty of affordable models with pretty decent inbuilt scanners.

We've gathered the top-performing MFPs in our test and also listed the best models if you're on a budget, and the best models for scanning documents, photos and more.

Do you need a scanner?

It may seem like antiquated technology, but there are still plenty of documents that can benefit from being digitised.

Photos are an obvious one, especially if you have albums from the days when film was the only format. Not only does this make them easier to share with friends and family, it also provides a point of backup if your shots are ever lost or damaged.

Receipts are also worth scanning and come in very handy if you need to make a warranty claim or provide proof for a tax deduction. Many of them fade over time, some end up in long-forgotten boxes that are impossible to find when you need them, and others get thrown out accidentally during a decluttering. Digitised receipts, meanwhile, are easier to store and locate.

Official or legal documents still tend to come by mail rather than email, and like receipts, keeping some scanned backups can save you many headaches down the line.

Why a scanner might be worth it

You may want to consider a dedicated scanner, rather than a multifunction printer, if:

  • you rarely (if ever) print documents but regularly scan or copy them (e.g. receipts)
  • you don't have the desk space for a large MFP but have the shelf space for a small printer and small scanner
  • you want high quality scans for photos, graphic novels or artwork.

Though there are good quality MFP scanners available, it's worth looking at a high-end photo scanner if you want top results.

The best multifunction printers

Most MFPs use inkjet technology for printing. Good quality inkjets produce sharp, vibrant, top-quality prints across a range of paper types, but ink costs can be higher compared to laser printers. Of the 30 printers we recommend, only two of those models are laser MFPs. 

As part of our product testing, we independently test and review new printers in specialised labs to find out which ones deliver the best printing performance and which ones will be cheapest to run. If you're not yet a member, join CHOICE to get instant access to all of our expert, independent product and service reviews. If you're already a member, log in to unlock this article and read about the best printers we've tested.

Printers with a CHOICE Expert Rating (our overall score) of 70% or more, and a print quality score of more than 70%, earn the 'CHOICE Recommended' seal of approval. 

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Canon imageCLASS MF756Cx. It shares equal first place with the Canon TR7860 Home Office and Epson EcoTank Photo ET-8500.

Canon imageCLASS MF756Cx

  • Cost: $999
  • Type: Colour laser printer
  • CHOICE Expert Rating: 78%
  • Printing quality score: 75%
  • Ease of use score: 76%
  • Scanning score: 78%
  • Copying score: 60%

Canon's MFP is a good all-rounder and even the copying score, while only OK, is comparable to most models in our test. It also earned a perfect score in the print speed test so you may want to consider this if you're regularly printing reams of documents. 

But that quality comes at a price - almost $1000 up front followed by $410 per year in toner costs. There is a slight offset to start, however, as the MF756Cx comes with enough ink to print up to 1200 mono or 1100 colour pages.

Read the full Canon imageCLASS MF756Cx review.

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Canon TR7860 Home Office

Canon TR7860 Home Office

  • Cost: $179
  • Type: Colour inkjet printer
  • CHOICE Expert Rating: 78%
  • Printing quality score: 80%
  • Ease of use score: 74%
  • Scanning score: 87%
  • Copying score: 76%

With very good print quality and one of the top results in our copying and scanning tests, the TR7860 is really worth considering based on performance alone. But the $179 price tag is the icing on the cake - provided you can afford the hefty annual ink expenses that run about $500.

Read the full Canon TR7860 Home Office review.

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Epson EcoTank Photo ET-8500

Epson EcoTank Photo ET-8500

  • Cost: $999
  • Type: Colour inkjet printer
  • CHOICE Expert Rating: 78%
  • Printing quality score: 83%
  • Ease of use score: 78%
  • Scanning score: 77%
  • Copying score: 54%

This printer may come with a substantial price tag, but its top-scoring results speak for themselves. It also comes with three years' worth of ink, with annual costs being $108 thereafter. The included ink covers up to 5500 mono or 4900 colour pages.

Read the full Epson EcoTank Photo ET-8500 review.

The best cheap multifunction printers

These are the top-performing multifunction printers we've tested that cost under $200.

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Canon TR7860 Home Office

Canon TR7860 Home Office

  • Cost: $179
  • Type: Colour inkjet printer
  • CHOICE Expert Rating: 78%
  • Printing quality score: 80%
  • Ease of use score: 74%
  • Scanning score: 87%
  • Copying score: 76%

Here it is again, because at $179, Canon's TR7860 is by far the cheapest MFP to top our test - sharing equal first place with two others that cost $999. Not only is the RRP a great deal it has the performance chops to match with good or very good results across the board. But it laps up $497 worth of ink every year so print sparingly if you're on a budget.

Read the full Canon TR7860 Home Office review.

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Canon Pixma TR7060a

Canon Pixma TR7060a

  • Cost: $139
  • Type: Colour inkjet printer
  • CHOICE Expert Rating: 73%
  • Printing quality score: 78%
  • Ease of use score: 73%
  • Scanning score: 76%
  • Copying score: 73%

Print quality, scanning, copying and ease of use are all firmly good, making this printer a solid performer for the price. Just use it sparingly as ink costs are high and it uses combined cartridges, which means you need to replace all colours if just one runs out.

Read the full Canon Pixma TR7060a review.

The best multifunction printer scanners

These are the top-performing scanners from our multifunction printers test (models listed according to scanning score). 

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Canon Pixma MegaTank G3670.

Canon Pixma MegaTank G3670

  • Cost: $379
  • Type: Colour inkjet printer
  • CHOICE Expert Rating: 73%
  • Printing quality score: 74%
  • Ease of use score: 70%
  • Scanning score: 93%
  • Copying score: 66%

The best scanner in our test by far with good print quality to boot. If you want to digitise all of your paper documents and maybe print a few things from time to time, the G3670 ticks all the boxes.

Read the full Canon Pixma MegaTank G3670 review.

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Canon TR7860 Home Office

Canon TR7860 Home Office

  • Cost: $179
  • Type: Colour inkjet printer
  • CHOICE Expert Rating: 78%
  • Printing quality score: 80%
  • Ease of use score: 74%
  • Scanning score: 87%
  • Copying score: 76%

We've commented on the expensive ink requirements of the TR7860 above, which can blow out ongoing costs over time. But scanning doesn't require ink so if you're mainly interested in making digital duplicates with just a little printing from time to time, give this model a go. It's the most affordable option for good quality scanning and copying in our test.

Read the full Canon TR7860 Home Office review.

Note: the following models also score 87% in our scanning test, but their Expert Ratings are lower which is why we profiled the TR7860.

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HP OfficeJet Pro 8020e

HP OfficeJet Pro 8020e

  • Cost: $229
  • Type: Colour inkjet printer
  • CHOICE Expert Rating: 72%
  • Printing quality score: 76%
  • Ease of use score: 63%
  • Scanning score: 85%
  • Copying score: 75%

With good copying results and very good scanning quality, the 8020e is a great performer across its many functions. Though ease of use is only OK, it's worth working through these hurdles for the price tag alone. Other MFPs deliver similar results, but they cost a lot more and you could probably nab this one for less than $200 during a sales period.

Read the full HP OfficeJet Pro 8020e review.

Stock images: Getty, unless otherwise stated.