Do you need to print documents, photos and other stuff  without hassle and without getting out of the house? Or maybe you work from home and need a reliable machine for all your printing needs?

If yes, then you most probably need a cheap, reliable printer, preferably multi-functional (like a scanner, fax, etc.) that will print high quality documents and photographs every time you need them.

Below you will find a list of the best printers that fit the above criteria, complete with a quite objective review and thoughts.

Let’s start with Kodak, they claim that their printers use ink more carefully, which translates into $5 billion saved per year for USA, which would otherwise be paid for ink. So what do they have to offer for the usual home consumer?

Well, they have 2 models worth looking into, all of which are inkjet and are multi-functional as a printer, scanner and copier:

1. Kodak ESP 5 All-in-One Printer

At only $149, this stylish printer can save you up to 50% ink per print, compared to similar inkjet printers from competitors, at least that’s what Kodak says. I can’t tell you if that’s true or false, so for the moment, let’s assume it’s true. Other features include high resolution printing (which is also fast, at 30 pages per minute black and 29 pages per minute color) and a very nice 3 inch lcd screen, where you can see your pictures, see how they will look on paper and select which ones you want printed and which ones you don’t. The automatic system will make you forget about the headaches you had with paper and printer settings on previous models.

The ESP 5 also has a smaller brother, Kodak ESP 3, which was a candidate for the best home printers, but which unfortunately didn’t win, because at a price increase of only $20 (the ESP 3 is $129), the ESP 5 delivers a higher quality through resolution and a cool 3 inch screen, seen above. So there’s no point in buying the ESP 3, right?

2. Kodak EasyShare 5100 All-in-One Printer

This model is a little older than the ESP 5, but thanks to that it is almost twice as cheap (and the accessories and cartridges are cheaper, too), while delivering almost the same quality! It is ideal for those who want a printer, scanner and copier all-in-one device, but do not need a screen and do not want to pay another $50 for a printer. At only $99, it will make a nice addition to your home office desk.

Now let’s take a look at what Epson, a top 3 manufacturer of printers, is offering for their home customers:

Epson WorkForce 30 and WorkForce 40 Inkjet Printers

The Epson Workforce 30 and 40 cost $69 and $99 (after a $30 instant rebate) respectively. I don’t understand why a simple photoprinter from Epson costs as much as a all-in-one from Kodak… Maybe it’s the quality, but I really think you’re paying for the brand name here, which is not fine by me and other home consumers. Oh, the Workforce 40 has Wi-Fi, which I don’t think will be hugely popular, as this printer is not portable and is designed to stay on the desk. Of course, the lack of 1 cable makes life easier, but the problems with the wireless software (which always doesn’t seem to work right) are just not worth it.

So, why did this printer make it to this article? The answer is simple: Price aside, these printers are excellent. They’re fast (38 pages per minute color and twice as fast when printing text only!), make very high quality photos (nothing less expected from Epson), and they have huge ink cartridges, which will last for a loooong time, plus they can be very easily refilled. If you only need a printer for documents and high quality photos and don’t mind the price and the lack of a scanner, these 2 are definitely worthy of your attention. It is up to you whether you want to pay an additional $30 for Wi-Fi capabilities or a cable connection is good enough for you.

Next up is Panasonic, known for it’s great quality office printers. Actually, they don’t seem to have any good quality photo printers, but the printer below is definitely worth a look:

Panasonic KX-MB781

What’s with that monster, you’ll ask… Well, at only $172 (a little more than Kodak’s all-in-one), it has integrated a printer, copier, scanner, fax plus network connectivity. Yes, it is not color, but it’s just perfect for a home office that doesn’t need any photo printing capabilities. It’s laser, so it will print lots and lots of text before it runs out of fuel toner, and even then, you can refill it very cheap and continue printing!

It is actually smaller than it may look (about the size of 2 Epsons WorkForce 30, pictured above) and it fits easily under an office desk or even on it. Also, the scanner is color and has a maximum resolution of 9600×9600 interpolated or 1200×600 optical, which is more than enough for 99% of documents and even photographs. One cool feature is the Automatic Document Feeder, which feeds the papers to the scanner/copier automatically, so you can put 20 papers for scan, press the button and go drink a tea…oh wait, you won’t make it, as the scan will be over in under 2 minutes!

Last but not the least is Canon, with their Pixma line:

1. Canon Pixma iP2600, iP3600 and iP4600 Photo Inkjet Printers

Pixma iP3600 ($79) - An excellent printer very similar to Epson’s WorkForce 30: expensive, lacks a scanner/copier, but makes superb photographs. It’s bigger brother, the iP4600 is $20 more (it costs $99), which is the cost of a 20 seconds decrease in photo-printing speed. The rest is great: a high resolution of 9600×2400 (which most home consumers never used and never will use), Auto picture correction features (like red eye removal), nice design and fast speeds.

The Pixma iP2600 costs $49, but is slower by 15 seconds in photo-printing than iP3600 (55 seconds for a full 4×6 vs 40 seconds for the iP3600 vs 20 seconds for the iP4600) and has a lower resolution of 4800×1200 (not that this accounts for much, but still, more is better).

I think it’s a really tough choice between these 3: On one hand, Pixma iP2600 is good enough for the big majority of home and home office consumers , on the other hand, the price increase is only $20 for double the resolution and double the speed on the iP3600 (for the iP4600 you pay $20 more for a even faster speed, which seems like a good trade-off for many).

Well, the choice is yours: all of the above printers are good for different types of home or home office consumers - some need only a printer, some may like to have more functions inside their device and some need fast black and white printing and copying and wouldn’t mind having a fax inside their printer. Just know that you won’t make a mistake by choosing any of the above machines, as all of them are great.