Pranav Parikh, chairman and managing director of TechNova is among the few who have been able to see things from both industry and business perspective. In this conversation with Parikh, WhatPackaging? tries to understand why he believes there will be an upside potential in digital printing’s growth in coming times

To fix the HP printer not printing black error, clean the ink cartridge and print head. Update the printer software and if necessary replace the old ink cartridge.

How To Troubleshoot HP Printer Not Printing Black?

It’s never a fun day to find out that your new HP black ink cartridge is not working. In these moments, it may be tempting to deliver up and buy a new one. But don’t let the disappointment stop you, you can always fix the HP printer not printing black problem on your device. In this guide, we are sharing some easy things that you can do to correct this problem and get back on track.

Read out on how to fix the HP printer not printing black issue, so that it starts working again.You are printing a document or page and the black just isn’t turning out. It seems as if the ink is disappearing or drying out. You already confirmed that the printer and computer are working, so you decide to take a look inside your printer to see what is going on with your HP black ink cartridge. Check the following points to get rid of this trouble.

Clean The Ink Cartridge

If your HP black ink cartridge is constantly blinking then it needs to be cleaned. Take some time to clean it and then try using it again; this should resolve your issue.

Click on the test print button

A test print will determine if the problem is with your HP black ink cartridge or the printer. If you see an error that says there is a print problem or ink low, then that means it is your HP black ink cartridge.

Check for empty cartridges

Run through your printing jobs and see how much ink you have left in each of them. Sometimes, the HP printer won’t print black because there is no ink left. If you are very low on ink, consider buying more. This can be one of the main causes of an empty black ink cartridge. Check contacts on ink cartridges. When one cartridge reads empty and you put another full one in, you may discover that it doesn’t work either. This is a common issue when an ink cartridge has dried out and been clogged by dirt or dust, which prevents it from printing correctly.

Clean the printhead

Remove the printhead from the printer. You can do this with a small screwdriver or a special tool that you remove from inside the printer. You should do this with isopropyl and a soft cloth. You can also use some isopropyl on a toothbrush to clean out any debris in cracks or crevices around your rollers.

Update your software

If you have been having trouble with your printer and use it often, then update your printer’s software. You can find instructions as to how to do this by right-clicking on the icon in Windows and selecting “Help”. Now. Once you have completed these steps, restart your printer.

Take Away

HP Printers are undoubtedly one of the best printing devices you can go for. But, even being the best device, technical issues can happen at any moment. HP printers not printing black is one of the most common issues faced by users. Just like the problem is common, its solution is also common.

The post above is explaining all the necessary steps you can take into consideration to fix the HP printer won’t print black error. The given steps are easy and surely fix your problem in no time. But, if you are still unable to use the HP printing services, do not hesitate to contact the experts and get a piece of advice.

Press Release Distributed by The Express Wire

To view the original version on The Express Wire visit How can I fix the HP printer not printing black?

Even though sci-fi movies have long promised us a paperless society, paper documents often remain a necessity. When you need to print something for yourself, the kids or your work, you can’t beat the convenience of having a printer at hand. Better still, most printers can copy and scan as well. After thoroughly testing 11 models across different printer types and prices, I chose the HP OfficeJet Pro 9015e as our best home printer overall. For the best value pick, I chose the HP DeskJet 4155e.

Nearly all printers now include Wi-Fi, so you can print wirelessly from your PC, smartphone or tablet. Another trend: Manufacturers are leaning into ink subscriptions and high-capacity ink tanks to help lower the costs of consumables—a longstanding pain point for inkjet owners.

“If shoppers have the budget to spend up front on a device and would like to achieve long-term cost savings, then they should strongly consider an ink tank printer,” says Valerie Alde-Hayman, senior analyst at consumer research firm Gap Intelligence. She adds that wireless capabilities, two-sided printing and device footprint (the space required on your desk) are top priorities when shopping for a home printer, and that those who print large volumes also look closely at print speeds.

Even with those factors in mind, the home printer market is a vast landscape that spans both inkjet and laser print technologies. I narrowed down that landscape and then spent weeks hands-on with 11 models to determine our picks below.

My Expertise

As a writer with over 30 years’ experience covering consumer technology, I’ve used or tested every kind of printer imaginable. My work has appeared everywhere from CNET to Yahoo, and I’m the author of the weekly newsletter Deal Secrets, which shares great bargains and unique ways to save money. My expertise there helped to inform this roundup, in which I paid close attention to each printer’s cost of consumables. (If the printer itself is cheap but the ink will put you in the poorhouse, that’s no good.)

How I Tested The Best Home Printers

Since these printers are intended for home use, I capped the retail price at $400. Since prices fluctuate, some of these printers have an MSRP above $400 when there are no retail discounts in play.

While print speed and quality are obviously key factors in evaluating any printer, I also focused on real-world considerations like ease of setup, ease of use (Does it have a convenient control panel? What software does it include?) and overall versatility (Can it copy, scan or fax as well? Does it do automatic two-sided printing?). Tech-challenged users, take note: A lot of these models are a pain to set up. I also considered the cost of replacement ink.

I tested all the printers via a Wi-Fi connection to a Windows 11 PC, at the default print quality settings using 20-pound copy paper. To gauge speed, I clocked how long it took each printer to output a ten-page PDF document containing a mixture of text, graphics and photos—from the time I pressed “print” to the time the last page finished. I examined the printed pages closely, looking at the text’s weight and sharpness and images and graphics’ clarity and color.

Unsurprisingly, the monochrome laser printers were the fastest overall, with the Canon ImageClass MF452dw cranking out the document in just 22 seconds. The slowest laser, Brother’s HL-L2305w, was still plenty fast at 39 seconds.

Most of the inkjet printers completed the PDF test in anywhere from one to two minutes, which I suspect will satisfy the majority of home users’ daily use. While there’s not enough variance to warrant much debate over speed, the minor speed differences among the printers might add up if you’re printing a lengthy, 100-page document, for example. For the record, the HP OfficeJet Pro 9015e won the day with an impressive 45-second print time. By comparison, our best value home printer, the HP DeskJet 4155e printed that same document in 1 minute, 53 seconds—more than twice the time required by the HP OfficeJet 9015e.

For the eight color printers I tested, I ran three 4 x 6-inch test photos on standard glossy photo paper. I found these printers output photos of similar quality, with good (if not nuanced) color reproduction and clarity. Unlike the PDF, which I printed from a PC, I sent the photos to each printer via their respective companion mobile app, an obvious decision given the prevalence of smartphone photography.

The HP OfficeJet Pro 9015e makes a good impression the moment it comes out of the box, starting with its stylish two-tone design and streamlined appearance. And it continues to impress once installed, cranking out pages nearly as fast as a laser printer and offering nearly every feature a home user is likely to need.

HP’s setup guide is easy to follow, a rare find among the models I tested. Armed with this guide, I found the overall setup process about as simple as it gets: Insert the four ink cartridges, print and scan a test page, then install the accompanying mobile and desktop apps. In addition to Wi-Fi, the printer supports USB and ethernet connectivity.

The printer measures 10.9 x 17.3 x 13.5 inches, a footprint that’s fairly compact but might overwhelm a small desk. It has a bright, 2.7-inch color touchscreen, which can tilt up for easier visibility. The touchscreen is a hair cramped, especially if you have large fingers, but the uncluttered interface affords easy access to core functions like copying and scanning. I especially liked how I could configure the shortcuts menu for multi-step tasks, such as “scan and email." The scan feature can also scan documents to your Dropbox or Google Drive.

The HP OfficeJet 9015e is about as versatile as home printers get, with a 250-sheet paper input tray, automatic double-sided printing and a 35-sheet auto-duplexing ADF that can copy, scan and fax double-sided documents without manual intervention. It also has a USB Type-A input on the left side, so you can easily print from and scan to a USB drive. The only thing missing is any kind of bypass tray for fast feeding of envelopes or photo paper.

As noted earlier, the HP OfficeJet 9015e was the fastest inkjet printer I tested, finishing the ten-page sample document in just 45 seconds. Overall print quality was very good: Graphics looked crisp and vibrant, and text appeared dark and uniform, though with just a trace of splotchiness on a couple of the fonts. You’d barely notice this aberration in most cases, and it disappears entirely if you bump the print quality up from the default “Better” setting we used in our tests.

This printer’s one weakness lies with its photo printing. It produced smooth, passable images that I’d deem good enough for home projects, but not up to the same caliber as others I tested. If you plan on printing a lot of photos, I’d suggest considering a different model.

My real struggle here is with consumables: A replacement set of 4 ink cartridges retails for a hefty $113. However, this works out to a fairly reasonable 2.2 cents per monochrome page and 8.9 cents for color.

You can bring those costs down by subscribing to HP’s Instant Ink program, which automatically ships new cartridges to you when the printer detects it’s close to running out. The program’s pricing ranges from 99 cents to $25 per month depending on how many pages you print, and you get a free six-month trial so you can test the subscription waters. You must sign up for that trial within the first seven days of installing the printer, and doing so requires a credit card. As with many such trials, you’ll need to cancel to avoid getting billed once it expires. You also need to register for HP+ to unlock certain printer benefits, including a second year of warranty coverage, but there’s no charge for that.

The HP OfficeJet 9015e is a superb home printer that combines stylish looks with fast, high-quality printing. In a perfect world, it would support a second paper source and do better at printing photos, but otherwise it’s easy to recommend as a standout in a sea of printer choices.

How good can a $100 all-in-one printer possibly be? In the case of HP’s DeskJet 4155e, surprisingly good. It looks and functions like something pricier, starting with its 35-sheet ADF—a feature that’s uncommon at this price (although, the similarly priced Brother MFC-J1010DW has an ADF as well). Even better, it prints well on copy paper, though in my tests this model proved it was no speed demon.

The HP DeskJet 4155e is a little more challenging to set up than its larger cousin. It includes a terse, incomplete setup guide. Curiously, the guide doesn’t mention how to install ink cartridges; for that, you have to look at the separate reference guide. This printer uses a single black and a single color cartridge, behind a deeply recessed access panel I found tricky to open.

Continuing the setup was smooth sailing thanks to HP Smart, a novice-friendly mobile app that handles connecting to Wi-Fi and Bluetooth (for setup). The app also puts a lot of the printer’s core functions at your fingertips with a clear, visual interface—a welcome find, considering the printer has just a single-line monochrome display and buttons to navigate its functions and settings. The app also enables faxing a scanned document, something the printer can’t do directly. Another: super-handy Shortcuts, like “scan to Google Drive” and “print, email, and save.”

Though admirably compact at 13.1 x 16.9 x 7.9 inches, the HP DeskJet 4155e needs several inches of front and rear clearance to accommodate its input and output trays. The input tray tilts out from the back and holds just 60 sheets, so plan on reloading fairly regularly. It’s also kind of a pain, forcing you to lean way over the printer to see what you’re doing (the ADF partially obstructs the view). The input tray’s sliding paper guide is challenging, too—it’s both hard to see and hard to reach. If you often switch among paper, envelopes, photos and the like, you might prefer a printer with a front-loading paper tray, like the Brother MFC-J1010DW.

The HP DeskJet 4155e has a basic control panel, with the aforementioned small status LCD flanked by seven buttons. On the right, press the color button (offset by an array of colors) or the monochrome button to copy a document; press multiple times to increase the number of copies. The left buttons are less intuitive. One toggles wireless on and off, another resumes print jobs. And the “i” button? Well, you’d think pressing “i” would show information on the LCD, but it actually prints an information page.

It took the HP DeskJet 4155e nearly two minutes to print our ten-page sample document, making it the slowest model tested. Its text was dark and sharp, though, the best of the value contenders. I was surprised the printer had more pep when printing photos, where it output my test images quickly and produced good overall results. In my test document, graphics and images exhibited vibrant color, but appeared grainy. Unsurprisingly, switching to the “best” print quality setting yields vastly improved results, though doing so makes an already slow printer even slower.

The HP DeskJet 4155e comes with a 6-month HP Instant Ink trial so you can decide if an ink subscription works for you. You must sign up for that trial within the first seven days of installing the printer, and doing so requires a credit card. As with many such trials, you’ll need to cancel to avoid getting billed once it expires. You also need to register for HP+ to unlock certain printer benefits, including a second year of warranty coverage, but there’s no charge for that. If the subscription isn’t a good fit, a standard dual-cartridge replacement set would cost you about $32; a high-yield set about $53. That translates to a relatively high cost-per-page of around 14 cents (with a standard black cartridge yielding 120 pages, a standard color 100). A subscription has the potential to reduce those costs.

While not perfect, the HP DeskJet 4155e handles basic printing, scanning and copying chores very well, at a low up-front cost and with better quality than competing models. And it has the best companion app of any home printer manufacturer (and the same app as the HP OfficeJet 9015e).

With its oversize touchscreen, dual input trays and sizable footprint, the Canon ImageClass MF452dw looks like something you’d find in a fancy office. Fortunately, it’s priced to fit home budgets (on sale, its price dips to $250 or less). Canon’s monochrome laser was the fastest printer we tested, and it aced our test document, producing razor-sharp text and smooth, well-balanced images.

Once I got this big, heavy (36 pounds) machine situated and removed all the packing tape (there was an unusually large amount of packing tape), the printer was ready to use. The toner cartridge came installed and ready to use (something I’ve never seen in a laser printer), and its roomy, 5-inch touchscreen made it easy to get connected to the Wi-Fi network and navigate print, copy, scan and fax functions. However, Canon’s only desktop software setup instruction was a curt, “Download the desktop software.”

There’s very little this printer doesn’t do. Aside from its rapid print speeds, its standout features include a 250-sheet input tray and 100-sheet multipurpose tray (for things like envelopes and labels). You can scan documents directly to the cloud service of your choice. If you really want to get into volume printing, you can add an optional 550-sheet third tray to the bottom of the printer, an accessory that reflects this model’s intended office use.

The printer includes a standard toner cartridge that should last for about 3,100 pages. A standard replacement costs about $100, while Canon’s high-yield cartridge (good for nearly 10,000 pages) costs around $225. To put that in some perspective, a typical inkjet might be good for only a couple hundred pages before you need new ink cartridges. Laser printer toner doesn’t dry out the way ink does. Plus, you don’t have to worry about a print head getting clogged up, a common issue with inkjet printers. This is why I often champion laser printers to home users who don’t print very often; they’re cheaper to operate over the long haul and present fewer hassles.

The Brother MFC-J5855DW is an absolute beast of a printer, both in terms of physical size and print prowess. Its desk-swallowing footprint accommodates a 250-sheet paper tray that can hold media up to 11 x 17 inches. There’s also a bypass tray for feeding photo paper and envelopes, without having to swap out your main paper supply.

This machine was refreshingly easy to set up, with little packaging to remove and easy-to-install ink cartridges. A spacious touchscreen interface made quick work of the initial configuration, and I liked the detailed instruction manual, which included links and QR codes to set up videos online.

The Brother was one of the fastest inkjet printers we tested, at least for documents. Photos took longer to print and appeared a bit grainy, but they exhibited good color quality overall. In our test document, text looked a touch soft and overly dark, but images and graphics were solid overall. Brother’s mobile app puts print, scan and copy controls at your fingertips, but the desktop software is dated and limited, offering just basic scan tools.

Brother promises that the four included “Inkvestment” cartridges can last you up to one year (based on 300 pages per month). A replacement set costs about $100. That still translates to an extremely low cost per page, around 1 cent per monochrome page and 5 cents per color, making this a great fit for small offices that need to print big on a budget.

Other Home Printers Tested

The four standout printers here left seven models by the wayside, though all of them have points in their favor. Here’s a look at the ones that didn’t make the cut—but might still be worthy of your consideration.

• HP LaserJet MFP M140we ($169 at HP): An extremely good multifunction printer that just missed earning the best home laser printer crown, the 140we is compact, affordable and easy to use, with an impressive two-year warranty if you sign up for HP+. Once again, HP’s companion app simplifies setup and provides a useful roster of functions. But print quality was just average, with text that looked a little light and some noticeable banding in grayscale images.
• Brother HL-L2305w ($120 at Best Buy): Brother’s venerable laser hasn’t changed over the years—which is unfortunate. For starters, it’s just a printer; no scanning, no copying. It’s also a pain to set up, with dated instructions and software. It’s good at printing text, but most images showed pronounced banding. Still, it’s very compact and inexpensive to operate, making it a worthy choice if all you need is fast, mostly-text monochrome output.
• Brother MFC-J1010DW ($100 at Amazon): The second-best-value printer in the group, Brother’s versatile multifunction ink-jet includes an ADF and supports automatic duplex printing, but it suffers from complex setup and operation. Plus, although it was one of the quickest printers, text looked a bit soft and overly dark. It has a low cost, though, and Brother’s optional ink subscription can make operating costs equally affordable.
• Canon Pixma MG3620 ($66 at Amazon): Available in black, white or a striking red, Canon’s Pixma is compact and also very affordable. Surprisingly, it can do automatic duplexing, though the lack of an ADF means you can scan and copy just one page at a time. Also, its text output lacked sharpness; it was among the worst in the group. sample photos popped out quickly, with colors that popped but seemed a little oversaturated in places.

• Epson EcoTank ET-2800 ($230 at Amazon): An affordable ink tank printer that requires time and patience to set up, the ET-2800 impressed me with its low operating costs and infuriated me with its confusing mobile app setup, its control panel and “paper type mismatch” errors when switching to photo paper. And while those photos looked pleasing, they took forever to print. Put simply, this is a competent but complicated all-in-one with large ink tanks.
• Epson WorkForce Pro WF-2960 ($120 at Amazon): If judged on the heinous setup process alone, this is the only printer in the group I’d recommend avoiding. Assuming you’re able (and willing) to get past all that, the WorkForce Pro is a well-rounded all-in-one with automatic duplexing, an ADF, a small but useful touchscreen and Epson’s decent mobile app. Overall print quality ranged between okay (text was light and not always solid) and very good (graphics had good color, photos were sharp but lacked vibrancy); the printer itself is affordable and reasonably cheap to operate.

• HP Smart Tank 7301 ($450 at Amazon): The Smart Tank 7301 is expensive (it lists for $460 but is almost always on sale for under $400, hence its inclusion in this group), but its large ink tanks and inexpensive refills promise to save you money over the long term. Unlike other HPs here, this one was a pain to set up, and its warranty covers just one year, not two. But it was among the fastest inkjet models, and it produced the best-looking text, graphics and photos of any inkjet printer tested here.

How To Pick A Home Printer

When choosing a home printer, there are several factors to consider. We walk through these factors below, to help you make an informed decision:

What You Print

The first step is to assess your printing needs. Consider how often you print documents and what types of documents you print (text, photos, graphics, etc.). For example, if you routinely need to print envelopes, you might want a printer with a rear input tray and front output tray to keep the envelopes or heavy paper stock from curling.

Next consider other special features you may need, such as scanning, copying and faxing. Most all-in-one printers can handle scanning and copying, and some also handle faxing over a landline. While you can find printers that only print, as our roundup here shows, you don’t have to spend tons of money to get an all-in-one printer. Some models handle these abilities better than others, though. If you scan a lot, look for a model that gives you lots of destinations for those scans: PC, USB drive, email and so on. And if color printing isn’t important to you, a monochrome laser printer is a great bet: It’ll produce razor-sharp text on plain paper and typically print more quickly than an inkjet. Plus, you don’t have to worry about print heads drying out and expensive ink cartridges going to waste.

Setup and Operation

Some printers are easier to set up than others. If you’re not especially tech-savvy, it might be good to enlist a friend to help with things like ink cartridge installation and Wi-Fi setup. Unfortunately, very few printers come with instructions for configuring the printer using desktop software, which you’ll need for basics like printing and more advanced features like scanning.

All printers can print from a computer, smartphone or tablet. But some printers are better suited for walking up and using via the control panel or touchscreen than others. If you frequently use your printer to do a quick walk-up copy, scan or fax, look for a touchscreen control panel, which makes doing so easier. Investigate a printer’s mobile app (in your preferred app store) before making a purchase decision; if it looks up-to-date and logically designed, that’s a good indicator of how easy the printer is to use once it’s in your home.

Printer Features

The typical all-in-one printer can print, scan and copy; some models can fax as well, either directly (via an old-school landline) or via mobile app. If you plan to copy or scan lots of pages—or even just a few—look for a model with an automatic document feeder (ADF). An ADF can zip through stacks of pages, a time-saving convenience over tediously feeding pages on the flatbed scanner one at a time.

Similarly, if you want to save time (and paper), choose a printer that supports automatic duplexing. This feature lets you print on both sides of a page without having to flip it over manually. You might also want an ADF that can perform double-sided scans as well.

Finally, look at the paper handling options. Most printers can accommodate multiple sizes, weights and media types, but if they have just one input tray, you’ll be doing a lot of manual switching. Some models include a second tray, usually called a multipurpose or bypass tray, for feeding other media without added hassle. If envelope printing is on the menu, look for a rear-feed or straight-path tray to help minimize curling.

Cost of Consumables

This is arguably the trickiest part about choosing a printer, because the old “bargain-razor, expensive-blades” model is still in effect: The printer itself tends to be fairly affordable (if not outright cheap), but ink can cost a pretty penny.

As noted above, a monochrome laser is almost always the cheapest to operate, and toner lasts for years; it won’t dry out the way ink does. For high-volume color printing, however, an ink-tank model (which you refill yourself using actual bottles of ink) is likely to be your best bet, though it’ll usually cost you more up front.

As for old-school cartridge-based models, many are now available with ink subscriptions, which deliver replacement cartridges on-demand and can cost less than buying them à la carte. An ink subscription is convenient and might save you money, but it requires you to anticipate how many pages you might print in a given month. Your savings depends on your printing habits.

Should I Choose A Laser Printer Or An Inkjet Printer?

This age-old question has an age-old answer: If you need to print color, buy an inkjet—but keep in mind that ink can be expensive and printheads can clog or dry out with lack of use. A laser printer won’t have this problem, and toner cartridges typically have a much lower cost-per-page, but home laser printers don’t print color pages typically (and those that do have expensive color toner). There are color lasers, yes, but they tend to be large and expensive, and therefore not ideal for home users.

Are Ink Tank Printers A Good Value?

The problem with traditional ink cartridges is that they’re fairly small, and therefore can’t hold much ink, and therefore need to be replaced frequently—which gets expensive. An ink tank printer can hold considerably more of the stuff, and when it runs out, you just refill the ink tanks from plastic bottles. Although ink tank printers cost more up front, you can definitely save in the long run. An ink tank printer is an excellent value for anyone who does high-volume color printing, but you can expect to see a higher purchase price for the printer itself.

Are Ink Subscriptions A Good Value?

This question is tougher to answer because there are so many variables. In theory, it makes sense to pay a small monthly fee so you never run out of ink, especially if that fee works out to less than buying cartridges à la carte. But unless you print roughly the same amount every month, and even the same kinds of documents (that use similar amounts of ink), the math gets complicated. Thankfully, you can usually try an ink subscription free for at least a couple months, which should help you determine whether it makes sense to continue.

Can I Print Double-Sided?

If you want to print on both sides of the page, look for a model that supports double-sided printing, also known as duplexing. A printer that supports auto-duplexing can automatically print on both sides of a page. Some models have manual duplexing, in which you can instruct the printer to pause the job after one side finishes so you can turn the page over manually. This gets tedious and time-consuming, and it’s often challenging to know which way to orient the paper for the second side. If double-sided printing is important to you, choose an auto-duplexing printer.

Computer monitors keep evolving rapidly, with new technology like OLED Flex, QD-OLED and built-in smart platforms just in the last year alone. That’s on top of big improvements in things like color accuracy, image quality, size and resolution.

The choice is nice but overwhelming, as there are a lot of products in this market and a lot of features. Buyers looking for computer monitors now have to consider things like HDR, brightness, color accuracy, type of display technology, input lag and more. And then there are the usual considerations like size, adjustability, inputs and so on.

To help you with all that, we’ve researched the latest models for all kinds of markets, whether you’re a gamer, business user or content creator. Read on to find out which is the best computer monitor for you and, especially, your budget.

The basics

Panel type

The cheapest monitors are still TN (twisted nematic), which are strictly for gaming or office use. VA (vertical alignment) monitors are also relatively cheap, while offering good brightness and a high contrast ratio. However, content creators will probably want an IPS (in-plane switching) LCD display that delivers better color accuracy, image quality and viewing angles.

If maximum brightness is important, a quantum dot LCD display is the way to go — those are typically found in larger displays. OLED monitors are now available and offer the best blacks and color reproduction, but they lack the brightness of LED or quantum dot displays. Plus, they cost a lot. The latest type of OLED monitor, called QD-OLED from Samsung, just came out in 2022. The most notable advantage is that it can get a lot brighter, with monitors shown at CES 2022 hitting up to 1,000 nits of peak brightness.

MiniLEDs are now widely used in high-end displays. They’re similar to quantum dot tech, but as the name suggests, it uses smaller LED diodes that are just 0.2mm in diameter. As such, manufacturers can pack in up to three times more LEDs with more local dimming zones, delivering deeper blacks and better contrast.

Screen size, resolution and display format

In this day and age, screen size rules. Where 24-inch displays used to be more or less standard (and can still be useful for basic computing), 27-, 32-, 34- and even 42-inch displays have become popular for entertainment, content creation and even gaming these days.

Nearly every monitor used to be 16:9, but it’s now possible to find 16:10 and other more exotic display shapes. On the gaming and entertainment side, we’re also seeing curved and ultrawide monitors with aspect ratios like 21:9. If you do decide to buy an ultrawide display, however, keep in mind that a 30-inch 21:9 model is the same height as a 24-inch monitor, so you might end up with a smaller display than you expected. As a rule of thumb, add 25 percent to the size of a 21:9 monitor to get the vertical height you’d expect from a model with a 16:9 aspect ratio.

A 4K monitor is nearly a must for content creators, and some folks are even going for 5K or all the way up to 8K. Keep in mind, though, that you’ll need a pretty powerful computer to drive all those pixels. And 4K resolution should be paired with a screen size of 27 inches and up, or you won’t notice much difference between 1440p. At the same time, I wouldn’t get a model larger than 27 inches unless it’s 4K, as you’ll start to see pixelation if you’re working up close to the display.

One new category to consider is portable monitors designed to be carried and used with laptops. Those typically come in 1080p resolutions and sizes from 13-15 inches. They usually have a lightweight kickstand-type support that folds up to keep things compact.

HDR

HDR is the buzzy monitor feature to have these days, as it adds vibrancy to entertainment and gaming – but be careful before jumping in. Some monitors that claim HDR on the marketing materials don’t even conform to a base standard. To be sure that a display at least meets minimum HDR specs, you’ll want to choose one with a DisplayHDR rating with each tier representing maximum brightness in nits.

However, the lowest DisplayHDR 400 and 500 tiers may disappoint you with a lack of brightness, washed out blacks and mediocre color reproduction. If you can afford it, the best monitor to choose is a model with DisplayHDR 600, 1000 or True Black 400, True Black 500 and True Black 600. The True Black settings are designed primarily for OLED models, with maximum black levels at .0005 nits.

Where televisions typically offer HDR10 and Dolby Vision or HDR10+, most PC monitors only support the HDR10 standard, other than a few (very expensive) models. That doesn’t matter much for content creation or gaming, but HDR streaming on Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and other services won’t look quite as punchy. In addition, most models supporting HDR600 (and up) are gaming monitors, rather than content creation monitors – with a few exceptions. 

Refresh rate

Refresh rate is a key feature, particularly on gaming monitors. A bare minimum nowadays is 60Hz, and 80Hz refresh rates and up are much easier on the eyes. However, most 4K displays top out at 60Hz with some rare exceptions and the HDMI 2.0 spec only supports 4K at 60Hz, so you’d need at least DisplayPort 1.4 (4K at 120Hz) or HDMI 2.1. The latter is now available on a number of monitors, particularly gaming displays. However, it’s only supported on the latest NVIDIA RTX 3000- and 4000-series, AMD RX 6000-series GPUs.

Inputs

There are essentially three types of modern display inputs: Thunderbolt, DisplayPort and HDMI. Most monitors built for PCs come with the latter two, while a select few (typically built for Macs) will use Thunderbolt. To add to the confusion, USB-C ports may be Thunderbolt 3 and by extension, DisplayPort compatible, so you may need a USB-C to Thunderbolt or DisplayPort cable adapter depending on your display.

Color bit depth

Serious content creators should consider a more costly 10-bit monitor that can display billions of colors. If budget is an issue, you can go for an 8-bit panel that can fake billions of colors via dithering (often spec’d as “8-bit + FRC”). For entertainment or business purposes, a regular 8-bit monitor that can display millions of colors will be fine.

Color gamut

The other aspect of color is the gamut. That expresses the range of colors that can be reproduced and not just the number of colors. Most good monitors these days can cover the sRGB and Rec.709 gamuts (designed for photos and video respectively). For more demanding work, though, you’ll want one that can reproduce more demanding modern gamuts like AdobeRGB, DCI-P3 and Rec.2020 gamuts, which encompass a wider range of colors. The latter two are often used for film projection and HDR, respectively.

Console gaming

Both the Xbox Series X and Sony’s PS5 can handle 4K 120Hz HDR gaming, so if you’re into resolution over pure speed, you’ll want a monitor that can keep up. 4K resolution, HDR and at least 120Hz is the minimum starting point, but fortunately there are 27-inch displays with those specs starting at well under $1,000.

Pricing and parts shortages

Though the pandemic has eased, monitor supply is still a bit tighter than pre-pandemic levels due to supply and demand issues. To that end, you may have trouble finding monitors at Amazon, B&H or elsewhere for the suggested retail price. For our guide below, we’re basing our picks on the MSRP, as long as the street price doesn’t exceed that by more than $25.

Best monitors under $200

Samsung T35F

The monitor with the best balance of size, refresh rate and color accuracy is Samsung’s 27-inch 1080p T35F. It’s good for business or light gaming and content work, thanks to the IPS panel and 75Hz refresh rate. Plus, it’s fairly attractive and modern looking. There are some things you don’t get at that price, of course – it can only tilt and has an HDMI 1.4 connection.

LG 24GL600F

If you’re fine with a smaller display and are more into gaming, another solid option is LG’s 24-inch 24GL600F. It offers a high 144Hz refresh rate with AMD FreeSync support, a 1ms response time and low input lag. You also get HDMI and DisplayPort inputs, but like the T35F, there’s no height adjustment.

Best monitors under $400

HP U28 4K HDR Monitor

The 28-inch HP U28 4K HDR monitor is a great all around choice, especially for content creators. The 60Hz IPS panel and factory calibration delivers excellent color accuracy and it’s a nice size for creative or business work. It comes with DisplayPort, HDMI and three USB 3.0 ports, along with a USB-C port with 65W of charging for a laptop or tablet. And it’s easy to set just right, thanks to height, swivel and pivot adjustment.

Gigabyte G27QC

If gaming is more your thing, the $300 Gigabyte G27QC is a top pick. The 27-inch, 1440p curved monitor has an ideal size and resolution for gaming, and it has a quick 165Hz refresh rate and 1ms response time. You can connect via HDMI 2.0 or DisplayPort 1.2 connections and get HDR support – albeit, without DisplayHDR certification.

BenQ 27-inch QHD HDR Monitor

The $400 BenQ 27-inch 2K QHD HDR model is ideal for creative work, particularly photo editing and graphic design. While resolution is limited to 1440p, it covers 100 percent of the sRGB color gamut with a “Delta E” accuracy value of less than 3 for consistent color performance. You also get height, pivot and swivel adjustment (a full 90 degrees), with HDMI 2.0, DisplayPort 1.4 and USB-C daisy chaining and 65W power delivery.

Best monitors under $500

LG 32UN650-W

The 32-inch LG 32UN650-W is a great 4K monitor for entertainment, creative chores and gaming. The 31.5-inch, 60Hz IPS panel covers an excellent 95 percent of the DCI-P3 gamut with 10-bit color, but also supports AMD FreeSync for gaming. It also supports HDR, albeit with just 350 nits of maximum brightness. It has HDMI 2.0 and DisplayPort 1.4 ports, tilt and height adjustments and even built-in speakers.

ASUS ROG Swift PG259QN

Sometimes speed rules over size and resolution, and the 24.5-inch 1080p ASUS ROG Swift PG256QN is fast. It maxes out at a 360Hz refresh rate (with NVIDIA G-Sync support) and 1ms GtG response time. At the same time, you get 1.07 billion colors with HDR support (up to 400 nits brightness) so you can see your enemies quickly and clearly. Other niceties of this best monitor pick include a fully adjustable stand, ASUS’s GamePlus Hotkey Enhancements and a large heatsink.

Gigabyte M28U

Gigabyte’s M28U 28-inch 144Hz 4K gaming monitor sure does a lot. It has an IPS panel with a 2ms (MPRT) response time, 94 percent DCI-P3 coverage, DisplayHDR 400 certification, 2 HDMI 2.1 ports and FreeSync Premium Pro support. It comes in a little bit more expensive than $500, but we've often seen it on sale for less.

Best monitors under $1,000

ViewSonic ColorPro VP2786-4K

In this price range you can have resolution, color accuracy or brightness, but not all three. The one with the best balance is ViewSonic’s $1,000 ColorPro VP2786 27-inch 4K HDR Monitor. The true 10-bit IPS panel covers 98 percent of the DCI-P3 color palette with an excellent Delta <2 accuracy figure, and is certified for soft-proofing by the demanding Fogra print industry. At the same time, it offers HDR10 support, albeit with a limited 350 nits of output. It even includes a “ColorPro” wheel control compatible with Adobe or Capture One apps.

Dell G3223Q

The best 4K gaming monitor under $1,000 is Dell’s G3223Q 4K 32-inch HDR 144Hz monitor because of the speed, brightness and compatibility. It has an IPS panel with a 144Hz refresh rate, 1ms GtG response time, 95 percent DCI-P3 coverage and DisplayHDR 600 certification. Plus, it comes with a pair of HDMI 2.1 ports and is both FreeSync and G-Sync compatible.

Dell P3223QE

Dell’s P3223QE 4K USB-C Hub monitor is productivity-oriented, thanks to the wired Ethernet connectivity and USB-C ports that offer up to 90W of power delivery for laptops. It’s a 4K IPS panel with a 178-degree viewing angle and 350 nits of brightness and support for a billion colors (8-bit + FRC). It offers height, pivot, swivel and tilt adjustment, a VESA mounting interface and DisplayPort/HDMI inputs.

Best monitor for Mac users

Apple Studio Display

In general, monitor compatibility issues with MacBooks and Macs are a thing of the past, though you can still experience issues with things like refresh rates, particularly on M1 Macs. If you’d prefer to stay within the Apple family, the most cost-effective option is still the 27-inch Apple Studio Display. It supports 5K resolution (5,120 x 2,880) with up to 600 nits of brightness, so it can handle creative chores with ease. It even includes a 12-megapixel UltraWide camera that keeps you in frame via Center Stage, along with a three-mic array.

LG Ultrafine 4K and 5K

The best third-party option is LG’s $700 UltraFine 4 display, also sold on Apple’s Store. With a 24-inch 4K panel, you not only get very high resolution but also 500 nits of brightness (albeit, without HDR capability). It’s color-accurate out of the box, making it great for video- and photo-editing work on a Mac or MacBook. Finally, it supports Thunderbolt 3 with daisy chaining and power delivery, all of which is very useful for Mac users who may want multiple displays.

Best Ultrawide monitor

LG 34GP950G-B

Ultrawide 21:9 monitors are a great option for some types of content creation, games (particularly driving and flight sims) and productivity work. The best model this year is LG’s 34GP950G-B, a 34-inch 3,440 x 1,440 curved monitor. The curved IPS panel supports HDR10 with 400 nits of brightness and maximum (via overclocking) 180Hz refresh rate. It’s also G-Sync and FreeSync compatible (the latter over DisplayPort only).

Best portable monitor

LePow C2S

For the best balance of performance and price, LePow’s 15.6-inch C2S is a solid option. It offers decent brightness (220 nits), solid contrast and a very respectable 96.1-percent sRGB gamut coverage. You get a generous selection of ports (one mini-DisplayPort, one mini-HDMI port and two USB-C ports, along with a headphone jack. The metal stand is solid and practical, and it even has built-in speakers of decent quality.

Best luxury monitor

ASUS ProArt PA32UCG-K

ASUS still holds the prize for best luxury monitor, but it discontinued the previous mini-LED $4,000 ProArt PA32UCX monitor and replaced it with the $5,000 PA32UCG-K display. It uses the same mini-LED tech, but ups the ante with 1,600 nits of brightness via 1,152 backlight zones, an HDMI 2.1 port, 4K 120Hz resolution, 10-bit, 98 percent DCI-P3 coverage and an impressive 85 percent Rec.2020 coverage. Oh, and it’s one of the few monitors out there that supports Dolby Vision, along with HDR10 and HLG.

You’re probably doing it wrong if you’re using a $5K monitor for gaming. However, it does support AMD FreeSync (good for gaming creation) and has a 5-millisecond response time, very respectable for a display essentially designed for professional colorists. And to that end, color accuracy is calibrated to Delta E < 1 and it’s a true 10-bit panel delivering billions of colors. To verify that, it even comes with an X-rite i1 Display Pro color calibrator, normally sold separately for around $500.

On top of this model, ASUS now makes several slightly less bright and less expensive variants, namely the $4,180 PA32UCX-PK, (plus -P, and -K variants with slightly different features), offering 1,200 nits of brightness and a 60Hz (not 120Hz) refresh rate. Specs are nearly identical otherwise.

Now that so much work can be done online without the need for a hard copy, many people have begun to wonder in exact years if they really need a printer at home. 

However, with tons of people now working from home, we've seen a renaissance for home printers. If you're one of the many who find yourself in need of your own printer, CNET is here to help you find the right one. We've combed through the changing landscape of printers to bring you the best models available in 2023 so you can print photos, documents, college essays and more whenever you need. 

Every printer profiled below can manage basic printing needs. For example, they can handle mobile printing and wireless printing from a phone or any PC, Mac or Chromebook, which is a must when it comes to office printers. They can also print over a cabled connection and via wireless printer connectivity. (Note that some -- but not all -- printers support Apple's AirPrint and Google's Cloud Print protocols, which are usually less onerous than the printer vendors' proprietary systems.) 

But what you intend to print will determine which is the best printer for you. If you're mostly working with shopping lists, concert tickets or travel itineraries, having excellent print quality is arguably less important than print speed and price. If you're using your printer for professional materials or photo printing, then color accuracy, printing quality and the inclusion of features like borderless printing will be primary considerations when you're looking for the right printer.

Another factor to consider is the cost of ink and making sure that you have enough ink to print everything you need. (There's nothing more frustrating than having a printer but no ink in the ink tank.) Inkjet printers use liquid ink to print, whereas laser printers use toner cartridges containing powder. So even if you're getting a great printer deal, just be sure to do some research into how you'll refill the ink, so you can choose the best printer for your overall budget. Some new printers include an ink subscription in their original price tag, so that may be something to consider as well.

We've tested and reviewed the top models for home and small office use from many of the major printer manufacturers including Brother, Canon, Epson and HP. Whether you print for business or personal use, we've got the best printer for you. 

How we test

For a long time, CNETs methodology for testing printers didn't change. Our original testing was designed in the days when Wi-Fi printers were rare, and faxing was an important consideration when choosing a device. These days, Wi-Fi is standard, app-controlled printers are everywhere and what and how we print have changed considerably. I designed a new set of printing parameters in 2022 that I hope will mesh with how we use printers nowadays.

Print and copy speed

The speed at which things print and copy is important in our daily lives. Printing a quick theater ticket, or copying a document needs to be done quickly and accurately. Testing this is easy; I simply used a stopwatch and printed 10 pages of text of varying sizes and typefaces. I used Fillerama to generate random text from Star Wars and Monty Python and changed the font size randomly across the page. I also used different fonts like Arial and Times New Roman to see how they would print. I even added Comic Sans into the mix, as people still think it's a good idea to use it. Middle managers mostly.

Brochure and web page test

When asked, people told me that they use their home printer for printing online tickets from webpages as well as their resumes for job interviews. With that in mind I used the standard brochure template from Google Docs that I changed a little -- I made the font size smaller and larger and changed the font too -- to deliver that modern resume look. I also saved my article about becoming a Star Wars action figure into a PDF -- I needed to keep the ads the same on every test so the live article wouldn't do. Sometimes we are in too much of a rush to select just the ticket, so printing the entire webpage is easier. This test simulates that.

Receipt test

When you work from home you often have to submit your receipts for traveling and incidentals. One of the most common ways to do that, if you aren't lucky enough to have an app, is to tape receipts to a piece of paper and scan them into your computer. That way you can email to where they need to go quickly and easily. To recreate that, I taped my receipts from my food shopping to create a scan. I used a mixture of new receipts and ones that had faded in my wallet, then I checked the scan for legibility. Most scanners will enhance the image you are scanning and that certainly helps with receipts.

Picture quality test

Like the previous CNET photo tests, I use the PhotoDisc Target file for my image tests. I print them on the same Canon glossy paper and study them according to the guidelines associated with this industry standard. I take special note of the skin tones at the bottom to make sure they're replicated correctly and I also check for chromatic abrasion. Chromatic abrasion is a purple hue that often surrounds images and can make even the best picture look cheap and tacky. I also check for stippling; an image error that occurs on poorly calibrated inkjet printers.