If you're going to get a printer, why settle for one that can only print? A multifunction or all-in-one printer will let you get a lot of utility out of a single device. While most of them will primarily do the heaviest lifting in printing, they often have a bit of muscle for copying and scanning as well. Some even excel as photo printers, and a few keep faxing functionality around.

Now, there are many multifunction printers on the market, and they can vary in quality dramatically. Some will let you churn out documents at a blazing pace while others might keep you waiting forever on prints of anything less than a couple of pages. A slower printer might be fine for you, but then you'll also need to be sure that it doesn't need a ton of maintenance between each periodic use. So, it pays to be sure you're getting a good printer regardless of whether you're going for the high-end or looking for a budget pick.

We'll guide you through a variety of quality printers that are well suited to varying needs, whether you're running a hectic home office or just print a few photos a month.

Printer type: Thermal Inkjet | Max printing speed: 22 ppm (ISO), 18 ppm (color) | Max printing resolution: 4,800 x 1,200 DPI | Max copying resolution: 600 DPI | Max scanning resolution: 1200 DPI | Power consumption: 1.2-30W | Weight: 20.43 pounds | Size: 17.3" x 20.46" x 10.94"

A multifunction printer needs to be able to do a lot, so the more work it can take off your hands, the better. The HP OfficeJet Pro 9015e gets the job done with some other smart considerations. You'll have your bases covered for copying, scanning, and faxing. While a 35-page auto document feeder means most of that is done without you needing to step in — it even works with two-sided documents. And with Wi-Fi connectivity, you can easily send print jobs over to the printer or, using its small touchscreen display, have it send scanned files to your computer, phone, or even to the cloud.

Of course, you’re probably most concerned with how the HP OfficeJet Pro 9015e handles printing. Luckily, this thermal inkjet printer can spit out 22 black-and-white prints per minute, and it's not much slower when it comes to color prints. It also handles those prints at a sharp resolution. And the printer manages to keep running costs relatively low, as it has individual ink cartridges for each color, so you won't need to waste the other colors when one runs out.

Printer type: Thermal Inkjet | Ink Cartridges: 1 x Tri-Color, 1 x Black | Max printing speed: 10 ppm (black), 7 ppm (color) | Max printing resolution: 4,800 x 1,200 DPI | Max paper size: 8.5" x 14" | Max copying resolution: 300 x 300 DPI | Max scanning resolution: 1,200 x 1,200 DPI | Power consumption: 0.10 Watts (Off), 4.0 Watts (Ready), 1.70 Watts (Sleep) | Weight: 13.58 pounds | Size: 17" x 14.2" x 7.64"

For simple printing needs, you don’t need to buy the fastest laser printer or the sharpest inkjet printer. The HP Envy 6455e is your run-of-the-mill option and comes in at a fair $190 price point. The most worrisome feature is the single black ink cartridge and single tri-color cartridge, so when one color runs low, you have to replace them all. This can quickly run up costs, but if you don’t even want to worry about ink, you can sign up for HP’s Instant Ink program, with six months of the service coming free with the printer.

The HP Envy 6455e doesn’t fall short in capabilities, offering sharp scanning and copying. With an automatic document feeder and an auto two-sided printing feature, some of the tedium is taken out of certain copying and printing tasks, too. A modest 10ppm printing speed for typical documents that dips to 7ppm when color gets added to the mix isn’t great for a home with heavy printing needs, but if you just have the occasional print job, it’s more than enough. You can also use the printer to turn out photo prints and some larger prints up to 8.5 by 14 inches.

Printer type: Inkjet (PrecisionCore Heat-Free Technology) | Max printing speed: 25 ppm (black), 12 ppm (color) | Max printing resolution: 4,800 x 2,400 DPI | Max scanning resolution: 1,200 DPI (optical), 9,600 dpi (interpolated) | Power consumption: 0.2-20W | Weight: 39.9 pounds | Size: 20.3" x 38.4" x 18"

You’ll find inkjet printers around every corner, though if you want speed, laser printers are usually the way to go. Epson is turning the tide, though. In addition to being an all-in-one device — printing, scanning, copying, and faxing — the Epson WorkForce Pro WF78 Series, namely the WF-7820, is an inkjet model but is capable of churning out black and white prints at speeds getting close to that of laser printers. You can get 25 pages per minute from this workhorse, and you can even have it do duplex prints automatically from its 50-sheet ADF.

Your monochrome document print speeds aren’t the only thing that’ll benefit from using the Epson WorkForce Pro WF-7820, as it can also churn out color prints at 12 ppm. Each ink color has its own cartridge, so you won’t have to worry about replacing them all when one runs low either. With a heat-free technology, it manages this printing while drawing a maximum 20 watts of power — much lower than you see laser printers spiking up to. And if you need to print some odd-sized documents, this machine can handle up to a 13-by-19-inch page while still producing a beautiful output.

Printer type: monochrome laser | Max printing speed: 36 ppm | Max printing resolution: 2,400 x 600 DPI | Max scanning resolution: 1200 DPI | Power consumption: 4.6-440W | Weight: 25.6 pounds | Size: 16.1" x 15.7" x 12.5"

If you're inundated with tons of printing and copying tasks of black-and-white documents, then the Brother DCP-L2550DW is going to be your new best friend. This laser printer is built for speed and comes at a reasonable price. It can churn out prints at 36 ppm, so even the lengthiest of documents will be done in no time. With automatic duplex printing and a toner-saver mode, it can also help you save not just time but also supplies.

The Brother DCP-L2550DW has a 250-sheet paper tray to keep it well-fed for long print jobs, and it has a 50-sheet ADF that can let you remain hands-off while copying or scanning multi-page documents. A Wi-Fi connection is a convenient way to use it with all of your devices, while a USB port makes it simple to save scans or print directly on the printer itself.

Printer type: Inkjet | Max printing speed: 15 ppm | Max printing resolution: 4,800 x 1,200 DPI | Max copying resolution: 600 DPI | Max scanning resolution: 1200 DPI | Weight: 21.3 pounds | Size: 18.5" x 14.5" x 7.6"

Though a good chunk of multifunction printers can spit out photos, they aren’t always going to offer as impressive results as a printer that’s a little more specialized. The Canon Pixma TS9520 sets itself apart by using five separate ink cartridges — one being a pigment-based black and another a dye-based black. By doing this, it allows the printer a wider tonal range than would be achieved with just a single black ink source, making your photos even more realistic. The separation of each color into its own ink cartridge also makes it more economical to operate the machine, as you won’t have to throw out a multi-color ink cartridge that’s half-full when only one color has run out.

The Canon Pixma TS9520 offers more capability beyond just the prowess of its coloring. With an SD card reader built-in, you can go straight from camera to printing, while Wi-Fi and Bluetooth support makes it simple to print from just about any other device. It’s also relatively speedy at 15 ppm for monochrome prints and can even print in some extra large formats. Beyond printing, you can copy and scan, as well, making it the ideal all-in-one option for your home.

Printer type: monochrome laser | Max printing speed: 27 ppm | Max printing resolution: 2,400 x 600 DPI | Max copying resolution: 600 DPI | Max scanning resolution: 1200 DPI | Power consumption: 5.4-537W | Weight: 15.21 pounds | Size: 17.4" x 11.3" x 19.8"

Yeah, this breaks the rules a bit, but if you just need to print term papers, receipts, and various other non-glamorous computer-related tasks, a simple laser printer is hard to beat. The Brother HL-2340DW is one of our favorites with a minimal, rounded design that doesn't draw attention to itself — the two paper guides thankfully fold flat — but it's a dorm room or home office hot rod where it counts: printing speed and cost of ownership. We're talking 27 ppm, and the toner will last you between 1,200 - 2,600 pages depending on whether you go for the standard or high-yield, respectively. Now, the output won’t be as stunning as other printers on our list, but it should suffice for most jobs.

There’s a bit more to the Brother HL-2340D than its speedy printing on the cheap, you get automatic duplex printing to make life a little less tedious, while the 250-sheet tray should rarely need refilling. With Wi-Fi on board, it’s also simple to print from any of your devices. Of course, copying and scanning can be done on this compact machine, and you won’t need to deal with an annoying touchscreen to accomplish those tasks.

When it comes to multifunction printers there are really only two options: inkjet or laser.

Inkjet printers work just like they sound by spraying ink through a print head full of nozzles. They're fantastic for printing high-quality photos with rich colors and sharp details, but they aren't particularly fast at spitting out pages. Inkjet printers also often cost less than their laser-based counterparts, but you'll end up paying more for new ink cartridges in the long run as they don't last as long as toner cartridges.

Laser printers utilize a process of rolling toner onto pages and baking this powder onto them using lasers, which is why the copies that come out of laser printers are usually warm. The biggest advantage of laser printers is they can produce a lot of prints in a short amount of time.

The bad news is laser printers and toner cartridges are usually more expensive than inkjet tanks, especially if you're looking to buy one that also prints in color. That said, toner cartridges often last much longer than ink cartridges, so you likely be able to use the one that came with the printer for more than a year, even if you're making a lot of copies every day.

Picking the right type of multifunction printer comes down to considering how often and what you'll be printing.

If you won't be printing any photos or color documents, a monochrome laser all-in-one is much more suited to your needs than one geared towards high-quality photos. And if you stumbled down here looking for something to just print documents, quickly, always go for a laser printer.

Mark Knapp is a regular contributor to IGN and an irregular Tweeter on Twitter @Techn0Mark