The 5 Best Photo Printers

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With the availability of online printing services and in-store photo kiosks, getting photo prints has never been easier. But if you want to get copies of your favorite photos whenever you want without having to leave your home, nothing beats owning a good photo printer. Not only are photo printers incredibly convenient, they can give you total control on how you want your printed photos to look like.

Given the wide variety of photo printers available, searching for the best one can be quite the difficult task. Fortunately, Wise Bread is here to help simplify your search with our top 5 list of the best photo printers.

What Is a Photo Printer?

A photo printer is an inkjet printing machine that's optimized to publish high-quality digital photos and color projects with specialized color ink cartridges. Photo printers come in a wide range of sizes, from ultra-portable models to large professional versions. While most photo printers can produce 4-by-6-inch prints, there are some options available that are capable of making prints up to 8-by-10-inch in size as well as prints for CD/DVD covers.

Although photo printers require a direct USB connection to your computer to make prints, they can print photos straight from a camera's memory card as well. There are even wireless photo printers available which allow you to print wirelessly from a computing device using a Wi-Fi connection. The most important factors to consider when buying photo printers are color quality, features, and ease of use.

Best 5 Photo Printers

Epson Picturemate Charm

Both a Consumer Search and Consumer Reports top pick, the Epson Picturemate Charm is an excellent option for a photo printer that's small in size and big on quality and features. With the ability to reproduce up to 77% of a photo's original color gamut as well as a blazing fast printing speed of 34 seconds per print, users absolutely love the Charm's exceptional printing performance and color quality, with some saying it gives professional-grade photo printers a run for their money.

It's incredibly compact design comes with a nice carrying handle for easy transport along with a 2.5" LCD screen that lets you easily touch up your photos right on the machine before they print. Although replacement units can cost quite a bit, the Charm is still less expensive than most of its competitors overall.

Currently $167.62 on Amazon

Epson Picturemate Show

Another Consumer Reports top pick, the Epson Picturemate Show is another fantastic option for a photo printer that essentially gives you your own personal on-the-go photo lab. The first thing you'll notice on the Show is its gorgeous 7.1" high-resolution, widescreen display. Not only does it give you the freedom to edit and refine your photos with great precision before they print, it can also serve as a digital picture frame that can play slideshows of photos that you've saved on the printer's internal memory, and it even provides you with a wide variety of slideshow styles to choose from.

This incredible feature comes in addition to the marvelous printing quality and speed that the Picturemate line of printers has been widely praised for. The Show is also optimally designed to easily go wherever you go, thanks to its lightweight body and a convenient carrying handle.

Currently $256.90 on Amazon

Epson Stylus Photo R2000

For the serious artists and photo professionals, the Epson Stylus Photo R2000 is an outstanding wireless photo printer that delivers an uncompromising performance and a multitude of advanced features. Unlike most photo printers, this Consumer Search top pick utilizes seven individual large ink cartridges, each one filled with Epson's own top-of-the-line pigment ink, to produce high-quality color prints that are amazingly vibrant and long lasting.

Having individual ink cartridges also allows you to just change the colors you need, which can save you quite a bit on replacement costs. The R2000 is also capable of printing on virtually any media you want, from papers up to 13-by-19-inches in size to CD/DVD covers to canvases. In addition, a built-in wireless card allows a whole network of computers to easily connect to this printer via Wi-Fi.

Currently $697.50 on Amazon

Canon PIXMA MX922


With a 4-star Amazon rating averaged from over 1,000 reviews, the Canon PIXMA MX922 is another terrific wireless photo printer that also provides the incredible functionality of an all-in-one printing machine. Beyond its wonderful ability to print photos with astoundingly rich quality and detail, the MX922 allows you to scan, copy, and fax your photos and paper materials as well. It also comes with a built-in auto duplex printing function that lets you print on both sides of a paper sheet simultaneously as well as a auto duplex document feeder that lets you load up to 35 pages at a time into the printer.

A 3-inch LCD screen gives you easy control of the printer's editing and export functions. Many users also love the many options that the MX922 offers for wireless connectivity, which include printing via Wi-Fi, online cloud storage, or straight from your mobile device.

Currently $113.95 on Amazon

Canon Selphy CP900

The Canon Selphy CP900 offers a very affordable option for photo printer that delivers a solid printing performance along with a nice suite of handy features. The CP900 utilizes an exclusive dye-sublimation process that gives it the capability to reproduce about 16.8 million colors, which makes for some truly high-quality color photos. In addition, the printer applies a clear protective coating on each print, providing them with long-lasting protection from light and water damage. It also comes with a 2.5" tilting LCD screen that lets you examine your photos closely before they print.

At only two pounds in total weight, the CP900 is especially ideal for traveling, and you can purchase an optional rechargeable battery pack to truly turn it into a portable printing machine. Last but not least, the CP900 is Wi-Fi compatible, allowing you to wirelessly send images straight from your computer, smartphone, or tablet to print.

Currently $84.99 on Amazon

And those are our recommendations for the best photo printers. As always, be sure to check out the Wise Bread Buying Calendar to learn when and how to buy just about anything!

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