Finding the best printer or all-in-one for your printing needs can feel overwhelming. Considering where and how you are planning to use your new printer can help eliminate some of the guesswork in finding the printer or all-in-one that's right for you. Do you plan on printing business documents or photos? Do you need to scan and archive stacks of documents or just an occasional homework assignment? When researching the best printer to buy for your home or business think about the printer's primary purpose.

Printers for Business and Office Environments

If you are looking to print, scan, and fax documents, reports, presentations, brochures, and flyers in a business, small office or home office setting, consider the WorkForce or WorkForce Pro line of printers and all-in-ones. Epson WorkForce and WorkForce Pro printers provide fast, reliable performance and are ideal for Business, Small Office, Home Office, and Workgroup environments.

Printers for Photo, CD Printing, and Creative Projects

If you or your family members are budding photographers or creative types, the Artisan line of printers and all-in-ones offer exceptional photo print quality Epson Claria six color ink cartridge system.

Economical Printers for Everyday Home Use

If you are looking for an all-in-one printer to keep up with everyday printing at home, Epson Stylus NX line of all-in-ones feature print and scan functions at an affordable price.

Printers for Photography, Design, and Fine Art

Epson Stylus Photo and Epson Stylus Pro wide format photo printers are ideal for photography, design, fine art, scrapbooking, and other wide format printing applications.

Print speed ratings can be confusing and often misleading, as many manufacturers measure them in different ways. ISO ppm aims to solve that problem by providing an industry-approved and internationally accepted measurement of speed to compare printers using a “real-world” printing scenario. All Epson inkjet printers specify speed using the ISO ppm standard, so print speeds can be accurately compared against each other using a standard measure.

When looking for a fast printer, be sure to consider the Epson WorkForce line—which feature the World’s Fastest ISO print speeds.

Two-sided printing is a convenient, environmentally-friendly way of cutting paper usage and paper costs in half. By printing on both sides of the paper, waste is reduced, paper stacks shrink and you save time by not having to refill the paper tray as often. Many Epson all-in-one printers including Artisan, WorkForce and WorkForce Pro all-in-ones and printers feature the convenience of automatic two-sided printing, so you don’t have to manually turn the paper over to print on the other side.

Plus, while other inkjet printers may require that you allow one side to dry before printing on the other side, Epson inkjets feature instant-dry ink so there is no need to wait! Save time and money with automatic two-sided printing from Epson.

When buying a printer, ink type, print longevity, and ink cartridge design are important factors to consider.

Ink Type

The type of ink will also impact the print quality. Claria Dye-based high definition inks, such as those in Epson Artisan inkjets, are best for photos, though good for text documents as well. Durabrite Ultra pigment inks, such as those featured in Epson WorkForce and Epson Stylus NX series inkjets, are best for text documents but also good for photos. Additional ink options, including Epson UltraChrome Hi-Gloss 2 and Epson Ultrachrome K3™, are available with Epson Stylus Photo and Epson Stylus Pro wide format printers.

Print Durability and Longevity

Epson inks are formulated to deliver smudge and water resistant prints that last up to 200 years when combined with Epson specialty paper. Together, Epson ink, Epson specialty paper and Epson printers are truly Designed for Excellence. Save money and make your memories last with Epson ink.

Save Money with Individual Ink Cartridges

For convenience, Epson inkjets offer individual cartridges--so you only replace the color that you need. Plus, when you purchase Epson ink multipacks you save up to 10% when compared to buying each cartridge individually. And when it comes to cost per page, Epson WorkForce Pro inkjets have laser printers beat. The compatible XL ink cartridges provide a 50% cost savings per page over color laser.

With the popularity of wireless networks in the home and the office and Epson's wide range of Wi-Fi enabled printers, it's as easy to connect your Epson printer without cables.

If you have high-speed internet at home, chances are you already have a wireless network ready for an Epson all-in-one with wireless printing capability. Through a quick setup process, you can transform your home network into a productivity hub, allowing you to print from virtually any room in the house. Also, sharing your printer with others is a breeze as networkable Epson printers offer fast, easy setup and intuitive controls.

Epson Connect and other mobile device printing services provide an easy way to print photos, documents, PDFs and web pages directly from your smartphone, tablet or mobile computer. Epson iPrint enables you to print, scan and maintain your wireless Epson printer directly from your mobile device at home, while Epson Email Print lets you print to your compatible Epson printer from virtually anywhere in the world. Now with Epson Connect, you can print from your mobile device while at home, in the office, or on the go.

Having a paper tray with sufficient capacity will save you time over the life of your printer. For low- to moderate-volume printing at home, a smaller paper capacity (around 100 sheets) is usually sufficient.

Some printers provide multiple paper trays for increased capacity as well as to conveniently house different-sized sheets of paper, such as envelopes or 4" x 6" photo paper. For those seeking the ultimate convenience and high-volume printing, Epson offers inkjets with up to a 580-sheet capacity--one of the highest in the industry—in our WorkForce Pro line.

Typically, additional functionality in a printer will lead to a larger size. This could have implications if you are limited on space in your home, office or dorm room and so the product dimensions should be considered when buying a printer.

You might also want to specifically consider the total height of a printer if you are trying to place a printer under a shelf or in a desk cubby. Some models feature back-fed paper trays that could add as much as 6 inches to the overall height of the printer when paper is in the tray as opposed to what it appears to be when all closed up on the shelf at the store.

If you are looking for robust all-in-one functionality but are tight on space, Epson offers a comprehensive line of compact inkjets to accommodate small workspaces. Epson's Small-in-One™ products are smartly designed to deliver high performance in space-constrained environments.

It is important to consider how the printer or all-in-one you are looking to purchase impacts the world around us. With this in mind, you might want to consider how the printer you are considering buying was manufactured as well as the resources it consumes when it runs.

Epson has a strong commitment to the environment, and strives to create innovative products that are reliable, recyclable and energy efficient. All Epson printers are designed with smart Eco features.

All components are never painted – saving thousands of gallons of paint and harmful VOC compounds, this is just one of many design aspects that allow for printers to be separated by material and recyclable at the end of their lifecycle.

Additionally, many Epson products carry the Energy Star logo, and are RoHS compliant, assuring your printer adheres to stringent, government directed criteria for energy efficiency and elimination of hazardous substances. The Epson WorkForce line of printers use up to 60% less energy consumption versus laser printers.

And Epson America is a SmartWay transport partner, which monitors and improves distribution in the manufacturing and delivery process.

These are just some of the ways Epson is creating better printers that use fewer resources - helping ensure a better future for us all.