Best Photo Printer 2024: The highest rated printers for photos (2024)

Every printer we review goes through a series of uniform checks designed to gauge key things including print quality, speed and cost. These include first-time setup, changing respective cartridges, and measuring key things such as print speed and quality with a range of different paper types, including plain and photo.

We’ll also compare the features with other printers at the same price point to see if you’re getting good value for your money. We’ve also calculated how much it would cost to replace the cartridge or refill the ink in order to see how much the printer will cost you in the long term.

£650

£430$549

£129.99

£175

£144$369

Epson EcoTank ET-18100

Best overall photo printer

The Epson EcoTank ET-18100 is the ultimate option for those looking for great photo prints, particularly those amateur photographers who want to print photos to their heart’s content.

With the EcoTank ET-18100, you’ll be getting an A3+ capable, six-ink photo printer that opens up the world of photo printing to you through low running costs and super convenient refillable tanks. It’s the big bottles the ink comes in and the refillable tanks that make this such an easy and cost-effective purchase. As such, you can make up for the slightly expensive starting price if you’re going to use this printer a ton.

The results speak for themselves too, producing top-notch photo print quality. Admittedly, the prints aren’t professional tier – look to our next recommendation for that – but for those after great home photo printing, it’s more than good enough. Overally, we found the printer quality to be delightful and it dishes out the prints in speedy fashion too. What’s more, despite its strong capabilities, it is still a surprisingly compact printer too.

Reviewer:Simon Handby
Full review:Epson EcoTank ET-18100 review

Canon PIXMA Pro-200

Best professional photo printer

Are you looking for professional grade photo printing at home? The Canon PIXMA Pro-200 is the choice for you.

Very few printers live up to the quality on offer from the PIXMA Pro-200, the secret? The Canon PIXMA Pro-200 is powered by an eight-ink print engine rather than your more traditional four or six options. The results are stunning, banishing grain from your photo printers up to A3+. The grey ink options make for impressive black and white photo prints too, if monochrome is your vibe.

This photo printer is laser-focused on being for professionals, and that’s why professionals will love it. As such, you’ll need plenty of desk space but, nevertheless, it’s a subtle and straightforwardly designed printer. Printing can be quite expensive if you aren’t printing those larger A3 prints so, again, this is professionals who need its remarkable photo print quality. You’ll have no shame selling your best snaps when using Canon’s high quality photo paper and this printer together.

Again, it’s the quality that sings here, it’s better than what you’d get from your typical lab and it comes back to you in a far speedier manner too – allowing you to hone what you like from your own printer in an efficient way.

Reviewer: Simon Handby
Full review: Canon PIXMA Pro-200 review

Canon PIXMA G550

Best value photo printer

The Canon PIXMA G550 isn’t the best value photo printer available, but we decided to include it on this list since it still offers affordable long-term running costs if you plan on printing out photos on a frequent basis.

This model utilises refillable bottles as opposed to cartridges, which immediately makes refills more cost effective. To boot, the G550’s bottles will last for either 3700 black pages or 8000 colour pages. It’s capable of 3800 10x15cm colour photos, giving you a cost per page of just 1.7p, which is some of the lowest we’ve ever seen. This is especially thanks to replacement bottles costing just £11.

As well as offering great value for money, the G550 delivers great quality printouts. This printer offers a six-ink setup, with an extra red and grey ink option, which helped to provide smooth shade transition in coloured printouts, as well as a neutral and exceptionally detailed greyscale print. While some of our colour samples may not be up to standard against other six-inkers, there’s a noticeable difference compared to more standard four-ink printers. Admittedly, it may not be the fastest printer in the world, with a print time of nearly seven minutes to print a single borderless A4 photo, but at least the results are good.

This is a remarkably simple printer, especially given it’s a single function device so you can’t copy or scan images. That being said, it does have a display alongside offering convenient control over key features with some actual buttons. The fact it’s a six-ink printer is also handy given the extra oomph it gives to photos, as well as the fact the ink is refillable, saving waste and also saving you money with much lower printing costs than more standard cartridge-based inkjets.

Reviewer:Simon Handby
Full review: Canon PIXMA G550 review

Canon PIXMA TS8750

Best cheap photo printer

As you can see in this list, the best photo printer options aren’t exactly cheap. If your budget can’t stretch that far, then it’s worth considering the Canon PIXMA TS8750 instead.

Available for as little as £150, this cartridge-based, multi-function printer really impressed us when it came to the quality of its photo prints. This is largely thanks to the six-ink setup, which ensures accurate and bold colours, as well as realistic skin tones. Its use of both black and grey ink also allows this printer to excel with dark imagery, adding plenty of detail to the deepest of shadows.

What’s more the Canon PIXMA TS8750 features an SD card slot which allows you to print your photos directly rather than using a PC as a go-between. You can even use the printer’s screen to display thumbnails, making it easier to locate the photos you want to print.

There is a big caveat with the cheap upfront cost of this printer though, as its running costs are expensive due to its use of cartridges instead of ink bottles. If you plan on printing a lot of photos, it may end up being a costly printer over its lifespan, but the Canon PIXMA TS8750 remains a great option for those who want a low upfront cost and don’t plan on printing photos too often.

Reviewer:Simon Handby
Full review: Canon PIXMA TS8750 review

Instax Square Link

Best smartphone photo printer

The Instax Square Link is a little different to the other printers on this list, and it’s the one to choose if you’re printing pictures from a smartphone and want a portable option.

This is very much a photo printer, and it gives snaps a retro instant camera feel with a modern twist. You can edit snaps in the companion app before printing and even add AR elements that can be seen through someone else’s phone thanks to a QR code. While our reviewer found this something of a novelty, it remains a neat trick if used correctly.

The Instax Square Link prints square 6.2cm x 6.2xcm images and requires the Square Instant film. While printing time is stated to be 15 seconds and developing time 90 seconds, our reviewer noted the whole process took a little longer.

Print quality is great, it charges via USB-C and easily slips inside a bag if you want to take it on the go.

Reviewer: Hannah Davies
Full review: Instax Square Link review

We’ve reviewed

1,040

Printer

See all reviews

Epson EcoTank ET-18100

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24 sec

53 sec

121 sec

21 sec

55 sec

109 sec

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Canon PIXMA Pro-200

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37 sec

127 sec

321 sec

56 sec

177 sec

372 sec

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Instax Square Link

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–

–

–

–

–

–

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Canon PIXMA G550

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31 sec

101 sec

401 sec

35 sec

101 sec

485 sec

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Canon PIXMA TS8750

25 Watts

16 sec

59 sec

194 sec

26 sec

73 sec

282 sec

20 sec

Epson EcoTank ET-18100

£650

Unavailable

€777

Unavailable

Unavailable

Epson

No

523 x 369 x 150 MM

8 KG

B0BZ93GFQB

2023

30/05/2023

C11CK38401BY

–

USB

802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi

–

Epson EcoTank 107 ink

Colour

–

Bottle

Canon PIXMA Pro-200

£430

$549

€514

CA$752

Unavailable

Canon

No

639 x 379 x 200 MM

14.1 G

B08LW5R6K6

2020

06/06/2023

4280C008AA

–

USB, 10/100 Ethernet

802.11b/g/n wireless

–

CLI-65 black, cyan, magenta, yellow, grey, light grey, light cyan, light magenta

Colour

–

Cartridge

Instax Square Link

£129.99

–

–

–

–

Fujifilm

–

105 x 37.5 x 127.5 MM

236 G

B0BGY6S7WS

2022

–

–

–

USB-C

Bluetooth 4.2

12 sec

FUJIFILM INSTAX SQUARE Instant Film

Colour

–

Cartridge

Canon PIXMA G550

£175

Unavailable

€213

Unavailable

Unavailable

Canon

No

445 x 340 x 136 MM

5.1 KG

B093QFHMHH

2021

12/07/2022

4621C008

–

USB

802.11b/g/n/a wireless networking, PictBridge Wi-Fi

–

GI-53 BK, C, M, Y, R, GY

Colour

–

Bottle

Canon PIXMA TS8750

£144

$369

€262

CA$336

Unavailable

Canon

No

372 x 345 x 142 MM

6.6 KG

B0CHFT8W97

2023

29/11/2023

6152C008

TS8751 (white)

USB

SD Card, 802.11b/g/n/a/ac wireless

–

PGI-530PGBK black ink, CLI531 BK (black), GY (grey), C (cyan), M (magenta) and Y (yellow) inks.

Colour

Yes

Cartridge