The Foundation: We Buy Everything
Every printer reviewed on PrinterReviews is purchased at retail by our editorial team, typically through Amazon, Best Buy, or the manufacturer's direct store. We receive no free review units from manufacturers. This policy is fundamental to our independence: a printer we purchased cannot be returned if we give it a bad review, which removes any financial incentive to soften criticism.
Minimum Review Period
Every printer we review is tested over a minimum of four weeks before publication. This is non-negotiable. Short-duration testing misses the reliability issues, ink management quirks, and firmware behavior that only emerge with sustained use. Where a printer shows early signs of hardware reliability concerns, we extend the testing period further before publishing.
Print Quality Testing
Print quality is assessed across four document types. First, standardized ISO/IEC 24712 test pages are used to evaluate color accuracy, saturation, and gamut — these pages are designed specifically for cross-printer comparison. Second, real-world business documents including spreadsheets, text reports with embedded graphics, and presentation slides are printed and assessed at arm's length and under magnification. Third, photographic test images — including a calibrated portrait, landscape, and product shot — are printed on standard and premium photo media and compared against a calibrated reference display. Fourth, fine text rendering is assessed with a serif typeface at 6pt, 8pt, 10pt, and 12pt sizes to evaluate legibility at small sizes.
Speed Testing
Speed is measured three ways. First-page-out time is measured from pressing Print on a single-page document to the page emerging from the output tray, with the printer in three states: cold start, warm (recently used), and standby. Sustained print speed is measured by printing a 40-page document and timing total duration. Duplex speed is measured separately. All speed tests are conducted with the printer on its "Normal" quality setting over a standard Wi-Fi network unless otherwise noted.
Ink and Toner Cost Analysis
Running costs are calculated using manufacturer-stated ISO page yield figures for replacement cartridges or toner, divided into the current retail cost of the cartridge. We calculate a cost per page for both monochrome and color printing. We note whether the included starter consumables are reduced-yield, as this significantly affects first-year running costs. For ink-tank printers, we use the cost of refill bottles and published yield figures.
Connectivity Testing
Wireless connectivity is tested on a standard 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi network with the printer at approximately 30 feet from the router with one interior wall between them. We test connection reliability over the full testing period, noting any dropouts or reconnection failures. USB connection and, where supported, Ethernet are also verified. Mobile printing via AirPrint (iOS) and Mopria (Android) is tested where supported.
Scoring Criteria
Each printer receives scores in five categories on a 10-point scale:
Print Quality (30% weight) — assessed across text, graphics, and photo output as described above. A score of 9+ requires excellent performance across all three output types.
Speed (15% weight) — rated against the printer's class and price tier. A budget home printer is not penalized for being slower than a business laser; it is rated against comparable class competition.
Running Costs (30% weight) — lower cost per page yields higher scores. Running costs are weighted heavily because they affect the total cost of ownership significantly over a printer's lifetime.
Connectivity (10% weight) — reliability, ease of setup, and breadth of supported connection and mobile printing standards.
Build Quality (15% weight) — assessed through the testing period. A printer that suffers paper jams, connectivity drops, or hardware failures during our test period cannot score above 7 in this category.
The overall score is a weighted average of the five category scores, rounded to one decimal place.
Review Updates
We update reviews when significant firmware updates change printer behavior, when replacement consumable prices change substantially, or when long-term reliability issues emerge that were not apparent at initial review. Updated reviews display the most recent review date at the top of the article.