No matter which printer you choose, keep in mind that manufacturers often cut down on size by shrinking the capacity of the feed trays. To make sure the model you buy is no different from the one we test, we purchase every product that enters our labs from a retailer, just like you would. All the options have been scored by our testers on almost 250 data points.
We’ve picked out five of the best small printers in our ratings, including the only portable model we currently recommend and two laser printer models-notable because it’s less easy to pare that tech down. “Unless someone really needs the printer to be portable or needs to stow it away in a very small space, such as a mobile home, I would consider one of the smaller conventional all-in-one models, such as the Canon Pixma MG3620,” Sulin says. The cartridges tend to be smaller, too, so they hold less ink, which means more trips to the store. Most portable printers are also expensive to buy and operate, with per-page ink and maintenance costs sometimes running two to three times higher than those of other inkjets, according to Rich Sulin, who leads CR’s printer testing program. But many lack convenient features such as an LCD screen, a memory card reader, and support for PictBridge software, which allows you to print photos directly from a camera without the use of a computer.
Designed for on-the-go use, they can run on battery power and they’re small enough to stash in a drawer.
It might seem obvious to just buy a portable printer. If you know where to look, though, it’s possible to find a compact model that performs well without monopolizing your precious home office real estate. With space at a premium as so many of us work from home these days, a printer can take up more room than you care to spare.