Products at a Glance
How we choose the best printer for Chromebooks
While looking for the best printer for Chromebook, we prioritized seamless compatibility, high print quality, and hassle-free printing process. We also looked for all-in-one printers that can print on both sides of the paper, scan, copy, and fax.
On top of that, Chromebooks are conveniently sized and more common among students and beginners than business professionals. Accordingly, we made sure to include small-sized printers that can fit in houses and small offices.
Below, you’ll find printers with these features for different uses and budgets!
Product Reviews
- Compatible with HP+ printing
- All-in-one functionally (print, scan, fax, copy)
- Free smart ink offer included
- Self-healing WiFi capability
- Challenging to set up
The HP OfficeJet Pro 9025e stands proudly as the best on our list for inkjet Chromebook printing. It packs a myriad of helpful features and can handle both your office and home printing needs without hassle.
You can connect the wireless printer to your Chromebook by setting up both devices on one Wi-Fi network or directly through a USB cable. The printer’s Wi-Fi is self-healing, meaning that your print jobs won’t be uninterrupted because of a sloppy Wi-Fi connection.
Once connected, you can print 20 colored pages or 24 monochromatic pages per minute. On top of that, the printer comes with faxing, scanning, and two-sided printing options.
That said, one standout feature of the HP 9025e is a free six-month ink subscription that you get to enjoy if you activate HP+ printing. HP+ is a cloud-based printing upgrade that gives you access to advanced features, like enhanced security and a longer warranty. It’s only compatible with a select number of HP printers, among which the 9025e is.
If you work with sensitive data, you’ll be glad to know that this printer provides optimum security through encryption and password protection. Better yet, the Pro 9250e printer is compact and light enough to fit on any surface in your working space. Its dimensions are 15.6 x 17.2 x 12.53 inches, and it weighs about 25 pounds.
Still, the HP printer doesn’t come without cons, as it’s a bit challenging to set up, especially for first-time printer owners.
- Easy-to-navigate color touchscreen
- Mobile device wireless printing is available
- More affordable running costs in the long run than inkjet printers
- Environment-friendly
- Bulkier and heavier than many desk printers
- The manual feed slot takes more time than an automatic one
If you’re looking for crisp-quality text printing and seamless Chromebook connectivity, look no further than the Brother HL-L3270CDW laser printer. It’s best known for its affordable running costs and ease of use.
The printer connects to Chromebooks through WiFi, and you can set it up through your device’s Printing settings. After verifying its compatibility, you can begin printing right away through the printer’s intuitive color touchscreen. You’ll get 25 pages per minute whether you’re printing colored or monochromatic images.
The Hl-L3270CDW’s star feature is its ability to print different-sized papers, including envelopes, cards, legal letters, and more. It also produces more detailed and overall higher-quality prints than inkjet printers, making it an ideal fit for professional use.
One of the rare setbacks that this printer has is its manual feed slot, which takes more time than an automatic one. However, on a positive note, it has a maximum output of 150 sheets and comes with a 250-sheet paper tray.
Finally, the Brother printer weighs about 40 pounds and is 17.3 x 18.1 x 9.9 inches in dimensions, making it bulkier and heavier than the average desk printer.
- Compact and lightweight
- Compatible with Alexa
- Automatic two-sided printing is available
- All-in-one printer (print, scan, copy)
- Limited features
- Slow printing speed
The Canon PIXMA MG3620 is a feature-packed, budget-friendly, and space-saving printer, all in one. You can connect it to your Chromebook through WiFi or a USB cable, and it works seamlessly after that.
The wireless printer is 3-in-1, as it can copy, scan, and print. It features a maximum printing speed of 5.7 ppm for colored images and 9.9 ppm for monochromes, which is decent for home use but might be a bit slow for professional use.
If you connect your printer to Alexa, it’ll send you alerts when the ink is running low, which is a superb feature because you’ll never run out of ink unexpectedly. While the Canon printer doesn’t come with a touchscreen like many printers on our list, it features labeled buttons to help you control it. It also has automatic two-sided printing and can take up to 100 sheets at once.
While the standout feature of the Canon PIXMA is its affordable price tag, we also loved how compact it is, as its dimensions are only 12 x 17.7 x 6 inches. Better yet, it’s extremely lightweight at 11.9 pounds, making it ideal for small spaces.
Overall, we prefer the MG3620 for beginner and house use because of its affordable price, limited features, and printing speed.
- High printing speed
- Free smart ink offer included
- Compatible with HP Smart App
- Intuitive LCD display
- Small input and output trays
The HP DeskJet 3755 strikes a perfect balance between compactness, affordability, and versatility. It’s an all-in-one printer that can print, copy, and scan with a maximum speed of 15 ppm for colored images and 19 ppm for monochromatic images.
One of this printer’s best features is that it comes with a free four-month ink subscription that includes delivery. It also comes with an intuitive LCD display and labeled buttons for ease of use.
However, our favorite feature yet is its compatibility with the HP Smart App, as it allows you to print directly from cloud platforms, like Google Drive and iCloud.
The DeskJet 3755 accepts various paper sizes, ranging from letters and envelopes to legal documents. It also prints both matte and glossy documents, so it’s a wise choice for photographers and marketers.
Because of its small size, the printer has a 60-sheet input tray and 25-sheet output tray, making it better suited for small-scale home or office use than professional use. It can fit on any compact surface you have, as it only weighs 5.13 lbs and has dimensions of 6.97 x 15.86 x 5.55 inches.
- Free ink service
- Easy to set up and use
- Affordable price
- Mobile application available for remote printing
- Its size might be too small for some businesses
There are a few printers that can compete with the cost efficiency of the Brother MFC-J1010DW. For a reasonable price, you get a wide range of convenient features, all packed in a compact device that can fit anywhere.
To connect the printer to your Chromebook, you can do it through WiFi or a USB cable. Upon setting it up, you’ll enjoy four months of free ink if you subscribe to Brother’s Refresh service. This way, you eliminate the risk of your ink running out unexpectedly.
The Brother printer has a maximum printing speed of 9.5 ppm for colored images and 17 ppm for monochromatic images. For ease of use, it features many labeled buttons for different tasks, like scanning, faxing, and copying. There’s also a 1.8-inch color display where you can see the settings and set up the printer.
On top of that, the MFC-J1010DW comes with a 20-page automatic document feeder and a 150-sheet paper tray, which reduces the number of paper refills and saves you time and effort.
That said, our favorite feature about this printer is the comprehensive guides that come in the package. They tell you everything you need to know about using it, ranging from setup steps to warranty conditions and safety instructions.
The only setback we experienced with this printer is its small size, as it doesn’t print large documents. This point makes it better suited for students and home use, rather than professional use. However, that’s expected at this price point.
Best Cartridge-Free Printer for Chromebook
You can say goodbye to the time wasted on replacing cartridges with the Epson EcoTank ET-2850. It’s a cartridge-free printer that utilizes high-capacity EcoFit ink bottles for a hassle-free replacement process. Better yet, the printer comes with two years’ worth of ink.
The printer connects to Chromebooks through WiFi, but you need to make sure yours has Chrome OS version 59 before setting both devices up. Once they’re ready, you can enjoy premium printing quality, complemented by the Micro Piezo Heat-Free technology that Epson uses. It produces impressive text and color quality on various paper types.
The Epson printer also features a built-in scanner and copier, and you can use it for duplex printing. For more luxury and time-saving, you can activate wireless printing using your voice only.
Unfortunately, this printer falls short in one feature, which is printing speed. It has a maximum speed of 5 ppm only for colored images and 10 ppm for monochromatic images. While this speed might be suitable for beginner work, it isn’t ideal for professional use. Also, considering the product’s relatively high price, it should feature faster speed.
The Epson printer has dimensions of 14.8 x 22.3 x 10.2 inches and weighs about 16 pounds, making it compact and lightweight enough to fit in any office. As a bonus, it comes with a two-year limited warranty that includes full unit replacement.
Best Chromebook printer: features and considerations
While shopping for a Chromebook-compatible printer, there are a few features you should keep in mind. We’ve made a brief roundup of them below.
Running Costs
Chromebook users, more often than not, prioritize affordability when shopping for technical devices. If you can relate, you should check a printer’s running costs before buying it.
Some printers cost a little but require expensive inks and cartridges, most famously inkjet printers. On the other hand, some printers come with expensive price tags but have affordable running costs, like laser printers.
Before making a purchasing decision, you need to check the printer’s cartridges, their availability, and their prices.
Print Quality
A feature you always need to check no matter what type of printer you’re buying is its printing quality. The perfect quality depends on your work nature. For instance, photographers and marketing agencies need wider color gamuts than other fields, while legal offices need higher-quality text printing.
To make sure that your printer produces premium-quality prints, you should make sure it has a high dpi number and a small droplet size.
Print Speed
The Chromebook-compatible printers on our list have an average printing speed of 11-25 pages per minute. The lower side of this range is more suitable for beginner use, while the higher side is perfect for business needs. Before buying a printer, you should assess your needs and choose a printing speed accordingly.
Paper Size
Many Chromebook printers are small-sized, so they naturally have a small maximum printable paper size. Now, this can pose an issue in many business fields, like architecture and engineering.
If you work in an industry with strict paper size standard requirements, you should check that the printer you’re buying allows it.
Ink System
If you want to save as much time and effort as you can while printing, you should check the printer’s ink system. Some printers utilize cartridges that need to be replaced frequently. Meanwhile, some come with brand-specific bottles that reduce cartridge waste and don’t need frequent replacements, like the Epson EcoTank ET-2850.
In our opinion, you should look for money and time-saving ink systems if you’re buying the printer for professional use. However, it’s a feature you can skip if you’ll use the printer for beginner use only.
Cloud Printing
Cloud printing is an excellent feature in printers that can make your life easier. Instead of printing only downloaded images and documents, you get to print from cloud platforms, like Google Drive and Dropbox.
This feature saves space on your Chromebook, as you won’t need to download every single document on it. Also, it makes for more time-efficient work. If you prioritize practicality, you should look for it in the printer you’re buying.
Are laser or inkjet printers better for Chromebooks?
Both types work perfectly fine with Chromebooks, but they have differences in performance. Inkjet printers are more affordable and print higher quality images, but they’re slower and nosier. On the other side, laser printers are better for businesses because of their higher and faster output.
How do I know if a printer is compatible with my Chromebook?
You can find Chromebook-compatible printers by checking the website of the brand you want. Each brand lists all the models that can work with Chromebooks. If you can’t find this feature, you can contact the brand’s support team, and they’ll let you know whether the printer you’re buying is suitable.
Our Verdict
We can comfortably say that the HP OfficeJet Pro 9025e checks all the boxes as the best printer for Chromebooks. It carries all the essential features you might need in a printer, along with a few luxurious ones for added comfort, like a free ink subscription.
The Brother HL-L3270CDW laser printer comes a close second because of its impressive printing speed and quality. It’s an ideal option for many businesses and gives many competitors a run for their money.
Last but not least, no printer can beat the Canon PIXMA MG3620 when it comes to both limited budget and space. It’s perfect for students because of its low price, and while it doesn’t include luxurious features, it comes packing all the essential ones.