An all-in-one printer – or MFP (multifunction printer), 4-in-1 or 3-in-1 – includes printing, copying, scanning and, in some cases, faxing capabilities. All-in-one printers can come with a variety of secondary features as well, including wireless connectivity, the ability to read media cards, the ability to print directly from a DSLR or digital camera, and versatile media options including photo paper, envelopes and business cards.

Inkjet printers are ideal for homes that will be printing a combination of photos, graphics and text – a mix of greeting cards, brochures, scrapbook pages and school projects. They are great for image-heavy documents. If you want to print high-resolution colour images, choose an inkjet device. Inkjets can also accommodate a wider variety of paper sizes and stocks. If device size is a consideration, inkjets generally take up less space than bulkier laser printers do.

Laser printers are great for homes or home offices that print high volumes of text-heavy documents. They produce sharp text at high speeds. Designed for frequent use, they tend to have lower maintenance costs than their inkjet counterparts.

All-in-one printers consolidate multiple document handling features into one device. At a minimum, every all-in-one will print, copy and scan (a 3-in-1). The best all-in-one printers for home use do much more than that. Home printers offer the versatility to print excellent text, graphics and photos. The best home all-in-ones include wireless printing, auto duplex printing, an automatic document feeder for easy paper handling, and built-in fax (making the device a 4-in-1).

• Start your search: The affordable PIXMA TR4720 offers a strong feature set and terrific print quality in a compact package. If you regularly print photos, step up to the PIXMA TR7620, which features a five-colour individual ink system. The 4-in-1 is also compatible with a variety of paper sizes and types and allows multiple users to connect at one time.

The best office all-in-ones have a fast printing speed, a low cost-per-page, automatic double-sided printing, single-pass duplex scanning and built-in fax. An office all-in-one will likely have to handle a heavy workload of text-driven documents, jobs best suited for laser printers.

• Start your search: The imageCLASS MF455dw produces high-speed, high-quality black-and-white prints with a user-friendly interface and Wi-Fi printing capabilities. The colour imageCLASS MF644Cdw features a large-panel display with intuitive touch-and-swipe technology. A high-capacity, all-in-one cartridge helps reduce overall supply costs.

The best all-in-one printers for photos support borderless printing, include Wi-Fi capabilities and allow you to print from your Android, iOS or Chromebook device.

• Start your search: The PIXMA TS9520 makes photo printing easy with its built-in SD memory card reader. With 11” x 17” paper support, this 3-in-1 can also produce crisp, beautiful calendars and posters. Designed for high-volume, high-quality photo printing, the MegaTank PIXMA G620 features a six-colour dye-based system for a wider colour gamut. It has the ability to print on a variety of paper types – including semi-gloss, gloss and matte – at a low cost-per-page.

At a minimum, an all-in-one printer will print, copy and scan. A device that performs just these three functions is a 3-in-1; a 4-in-1 includes a fax function. Even if a fax machine is not built into the hardware, you can still fax from an all-in-one printer. You can send and receive faxes over the Internet; look for the I-Fax function on select Canon imageCLASS devices. You can also scan the document on your device, then use an online fax service to transmit it.