Below is our full list of the best printers for Macs. All these models will work with your Mac or Macbook straight out of the box and they come from a range of trusted brands. But which is best for you?
We are big Apple fans at Creative Bloq, but as there's no official Apple printer, it's not always clear to users which model would best work with their Apple PC. Well, we've taken the time to review and absorb dozens of peer reviews of all our picks to judge whether they're a great printer for your MacBook or not, or if they sit better in our guide to the best art printers. Printers with AirPrint support will allow easy use straight away, from iMac, Mac mini, MacBook, iPad, and even iPhone, so obviously that features heavily in this list.
Our favorite pick for best printer for Mac, the Epson XP-6100/6105 will print on basic anything, has plenty of wireless and wired connection options, and is really find fault with. A quality pick from a quality brand that'll have most folks very well served indeed. Read more below
Perfect for those looking to maximize their budget and still get an all-in-one printer for max, the HP Deskjet 2720e is a brilliant printer that's built with Mac users in mind. This is a great value-for-money printer, and it'll provide a full, neat package that doesn't even require any cables. Read more below
Looking for the best quality without destroying the wallet? The Canon Pixma TS8320/TS8350 could be the one for you as it offers super quality, has an SD card slot and AirPrint support, and offers exquisite colors with its six-cartridge setup. Read more below
A supreme all-in-one printer, this WorkForce Pro WF-4740/4745 model from Epson is aimed more at small businesses as it'll do a great job of serving multiple folks at once. It's pretty cheap to run too, as well as being fast, and supports AirPrint and NFC connections. Read more below
This is a big old printer in reference to others on our list, but the Brother DCP-L3550CDW is a superb laser printer for mac that ticks most boxes within the A4 size limit. It's quick and accurate, has great color reproduction, and the 9.3-inch touchscreen is so useful. Read more below
If you specialise in printing photos then this printer for Mac is a great choice. The Canon Pixma TS6320/6350 has incredible color reproduction and finish (of which there are different options) while also offering superb connectivity. Read more below
If you're a serious designer and need something large-scale, then the Epson SureColor SC-P5000 is the printer for you. Going all the way up to A2, and having brilliant printing quality it's a superb choice for those looking for something premium. Read more below
The secret power of the Canon PIXMA G3560 is that uses refillable ink tanks to supply it - and we love that. As well as also being a scanner, copier, and supporting AirPrint, it's a fine pick for a printer for Mac. Read more below
The best printers for mac we recommend in 2023
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The Epson Expression Premium XP-6100/6105 (the number varies depending on your country – expect to find a lot of this minor annoyance throughout this roundup) is an excellent choice when looking for the best printer for a Mac. It's wireless capabilities make it super-easy to use, and it comes with a variety of other functions including scanning, copying and automatic duplex printing too.
For a mid-range printer operating over a wireless network (which we all know can cause issues), it's hard to fault. In fact, we were so impressed with this unassuming little printer, that we rated it 4.5 out of 5 stars in our full Epson XP6100 review. If you're after a printer for Mac that's capable of high quality prints and do a little bit more, this is a solid option.
The best budget all-in-one wireless printer for Mac.
Our expert review:
Specifications
Connection : WiFi / Apple AirPrint /Bluetooth
Print speed : Up to 7.5ppm (b/w)
Maximum paper size: A4
Weight: 3.42kg
Reasons to buy
+
Great value for money
+
Simple, white design
+
Scans and copies
Reasons to avoid
-
Not especially quick
-
Basic print quality
Designed with Mac users in mind, the HP Deskjet 2720e All-in-One Wireless Printer is a delightfully minimal and compact printer that'll complement the MacBook Pro and iMac M1, but should also appeal to anyone who wants a printer that won't take up too much desk space. It has full AirPrint compatibility, which makes it a breeze to print from any Apple device, and there's no need to fiddle with drivers or plug-in cables.
It's a cheap option, and it won't offer the best quality for high-end design work or photos. However, it is versatile, with the option to scan and copy as well as print. Its connectivity means that you can get high-quality scanning and sharing – plus easily make copies – from your smartphone using the HP Smart App. There are also built-in wireless capabilities and Bluetooth, which gives you another way to print fast from iPhone or iPad.
If you're looking for great print quality without spending a fortune (scroll further down the page if you're actually looking to spend a fortune), this Canon Pixma would be our first choice. It's thoroughly Mac-friendly with AirPrint connectivity ready to go, but what really marks it out is its use of six ink cartridges. We've found that, combined with the 4800 x 1200 DPI resolution, they give impressive colour fidelity and prints that really pop.
There's also an SD card slot so that you can print photos from your camera without having to get a computer involved. This Pixma can also do duplex printing and it'll scan and copy as well. It'll look great on your desk, too!
Aimed more at small businesses rather than individuals, this Epson WorkForce Pro is a good choice if you're after a printer that everyone in a studio can share, and which can do all those extra things you're likely to need such as scanning and copying. It boasts AirPrint compatibility for printing from any Apple device, as well as an Ethernet port so that anyone on your office network can print with ease. With a decent print speed and lots of room for paper, nobody should be kept waiting for their prints.
It's also cheaper to run than most inkjets since it uses Epson's XL cartridges that can go for up to 2,600 pages. They offer a lot more value for money than standard cartridges, making this printer almost as cheap to maintain as a laser printer.
If you love the smell of hot toner in the morning and absolutely must have a laser printer to go with your Mac, we'd recommend the Brother DC-PL3550CDW All-in-One Wireless Laser Colour Printer. It's big and heavy but spits out pages at a fair old lick, and it can do colour prints as well, with separate cyan, magenta and yellow toner cartridges bringing decent colour results.
It'll connect wirelessly as well as via a network or USB, and like many of the printers listed here it can also be used for scanning and copying. It'll also hold up to 250 sheets of paper, so if you need lots of pages printed really fast, this is an option to go for.
Need the best printer for Mac that'll do justice to your photography skills? If you don't have a massive budget but want gorgeous glossy prints of your photos, this Canon Pixma should serve you well. Colour prints on glossy paper are where it really excels, delivering fantastic colour reproduction and a super-smooth finish, but it can also do a fantastic job with matte and fine art media.
There's AirPrint support for straightforward printing from your Mac, iPhone or iPad, as well as USB and Ethernet connections, and it also comes with Canon's own software to help you get your prints looking their best.
This is our pick as the best printer for Mac if you're a serious designer who needs quality prints larger than A4. There's no denying that the Epson SureColor SC-P5000 is very expensive, not to mention incredibly heavy. But if you need to print at poster size, we reckon it's worth every penny. It goes up to A2, and in terms of print quality it beats every other printer in this roundup, as you might reasonably expect.
The SureColor SC-P5000 uses a set of 10 Epson UltraChrome HDX pigment inks that enable it to reproduce 99 per cent of the Pantone solid coated colour range. Combined with an internal colour calibration sensor, this means that anything that comes out of it is going to look absolutely stunning.
Another budget printer for Mac that's worth considering.
Our expert review:
Specifications
Connection : Wi-Fi, USB
Print speed : Up to 10.8ppm (b/w), 6ppm (colour)
Maximum paper size: A4
Weight: 5.4kg
Reasons to buy
+
Cheap to run
+
Loads of ink included
+
AirPrint support
Reasons to avoid
-
Not cheap to buy
Look at the price of this Canon Pixma and you might not think it counts as budget, but, as you probably know, with cheap printers the cost of ink cartridges can often quickly add up. And that's where this printer comes into its own; instead of cartridges, it uses refillable ink tanks, and it comes with enough ink for 6,000 black and white pages and 7,700 colour pages.
It's also AirPrint compatible and it can scan and copy as well as print. It's not the fastest printer in the world, but if you have an eye on the bottom line, we think it's well worth considering.
At Creative Bloq, we're well aware of the importance of a good printer. As we print both text documents and high quality art and design prints, we've used, tested and reviewed a number of inkjet and laser printers over several months, even years, to find out which is best for what job.
For these printers above, we either used the printer for several weeks and months to see how it faired in a work environment, and to see what issues crop up over loads of use (such as empty cartridges).
Our top pick of the printers for Mac right now is the Epson XP-6100 inkjet printer, so will be excellent for high image quality, and any text docs you need in hand. It's also not the most recent model, so you'll get a great price on it – just a few reasons why we've put it as our number one pick.
FAQs
Inkjet or laser: Which is best?
Short answer: laser printers are more for larger office workloads, specialising in text print. Inkjet printers - although ranging in quality and price - can be better for images, and for more personal / small business workloads.
Longer answer: laser printers use toner, not ink, which can handle way more pages of print. Laser printers are often much bigger than inkjet printers, but also quieter. Again, they're really aimed at huge workload, in a large office.
Inkjet printers use cartridges of colour – cyan, magenta, yellow and black (CMYK). Although you will have to replace these more than the toner of the laser printer, the image quality that they can achieve is much better - bright and detailed images for the win! You can also print onto various paper types, giving you the option of printing on a nice matte paper idea for framing. They are also smaller than laser printers, so are ideal for home offices and small businesses.
What brand of printer works best with Mac?
Any brand of printer should work absolutely seamlessly and smoothly with Macs. From HP to Brother, and from Epson to Canon, all the major players in the printer world will play nice with Macs. However, we do think the best printer for Mac is an Epson - the Epson Expression Premium XP-6100/6105 to be precise.
What printer is good for Macbook Pro?
We think all of the products on our best printers for mac guide right here will be splendid companions to a Macbook Pro. As long as the printer offers what you need it to and falls in your budget then you should have no reason to pick a good one for your Macbook Pro.
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Beren has worked on creative titles at Future Publishing for over 13 years. Cutting his teeth as Staff Writer on the digital art magazine ImagineFX, he moved on to edit several creative titles, and is currently the Ecommerce Editor on the most effective creative website in the world. When he's not testing and reviewing the best ergonomic office chairs, phones, laptops, TVs, monitors and various types of storage, he can be found finding and comparing the best deals on the tech that creatives value the most.
