We considered only those printers that are capable of duplex printing without human intervention, meaning models that can print on one side, suck the paper back in, and print on the other side.

Automatic two-sided printing: Two-sided (duplex) printing not only reduces paper waste but also saves you money.

Color pages are always more expensive, but we tried to keep the cost under 15¢ per color page. We looked for printers capable of cranking out a black-and-white page for 3¢ or less, using the most cost-effective toner.

Low cost of operation: Although a low up-front price is attractive, it’s a low per-print price that’ll make the difference over the long haul.

We researched more expensive models, but ultimately all such printers we tested for this guide fell under that price.

Reasonable up-front cost: In general, we think people shouldn’t pay more than $300 for a color, print-only machine for use in the home.

Ease of setup and use: First and foremost, a printer has to be reasonably easy to get up and running, and it shouldn’t drive you crazy when you actually need to print.

If you need prints that can get wet without becoming unreadable, you need a laser printer.

Toner doesn’t smear and run when it gets wet.

Laser printers don’t waste toner in the same way, and because they don’t gunk up like inkjets, they may last longer before needing to be replaced. That waste isn’t reflected in the estimates manufacturers provide for how many pages you can get out of a tank. Some inkjets have a lower cost per page than home laser printers, but they also waste more ink on cleaning.

They may be more economical to run in the long term.

The best inkjets do a good job, but even a mediocre laser printer will do a better job delivering crisp results, especially when it comes to fine lines and small font sizes. Our laser picks can pump out as many as 27 pages per minute the fastest inkjets we’ve tested maxed out at 13 pages per minute.

If you have a home office or run a home business, you may be more conscious of printer speed than those who don’t. Laser toner cartridges don’t have to be replaced as often as ink tanks, and they won’t clog-as inkjet print heads sometimes do-if you go weeks or months between print jobs. Laser printers are less frustrating to maintain.

Black test print