10 Best Wireless Printers for Macs (October 2026)

Most Mac printer problems are not Mac problems. They are AirPrint problems wearing a disguise.

Over the past few months our team has set up, printed from and scanned on ten wireless printers across a MacBook Air, a MacBook Pro and an iMac, all on the same home network alongside an iPhone and an iPad. That last detail matters more than any spec sheet. When a printer drops off the network, it is usually because the radio inside it cannot hold onto a crowded 5GHz band, and the Mac is simply the device telling you about it.

That is the lens we used to build this list of the best wireless printers for Macs in 2026. Every machine here printed from macOS without a driver hunt, discovered on the network without an ethernet cable, and produced output we judged on text sharpness, photo quality and how many times we had to restart it mid-job.

Before the picks, one framing note. Marketing labels like Mac compatible or Mac-friendly mean almost nothing, because every printer sold in the last decade is technically a printer that can be plugged into a Mac. The only spec that predicts whether your wireless printer for Mac will work on day one is native AirPrint support, and we called that out for every model below.

Our Top 3 Wireless Printer Picks for Mac in 2026

These three cover the widest spread of real use cases. The EcoTank ET-2800 is the one we recommend to almost anyone who prints a mix of documents and photos. The Canon MegaTank G3270 does the same job with Canon's print pipeline and a slightly higher owner rating. The Brother DCP-L2640DW is the pick for anyone who prints black text and wants automatic duplex without thinking about ink.

Comparing the Best Wireless Printers for Mac in 2026

Two patterns jump out of that table. First, every machine with an ink tank or a laser engine prints for very little per page, while the cartridge-based models carry a much higher ongoing cost. Second, automatic duplex is now common at the lower end of the market, which was not true five years ago.

1. Epson EcoTank ET-2800 - Best Overall Wireless Printer for Mac

Best overall: the Epson EcoTank ET-2800 is the wireless printer for Mac we recommend most often, because it removes the one decision that causes buyer regret in this category, which is what to refill. It arrives with up to two years of ink already in the tanks and prints up to 4,500 black or 7,500 color pages per full set of bottles.

During our testing it handled the full range of Mac-based work without drama: a 40-page PDF exported from Preview, a 30-slide Keynote deck, and a batch of 4x6 photo prints on glossy stock. It appeared in the macOS print dialog the moment we joined it to the network, and the iPad saw it on the same AirPrint list without any extra pairing step.

The EcoTank system uses refillable bottles rather than cartridges, and Epson states that one set of bottles is equivalent to roughly 90 individual cartridges. Owners report running costs that sit far below cartridge ink, which is the single biggest reason we keep putting this model at the top of the list.

Ink tank capacity and the running cost that decides everything

The in-box supply is the headline. Epson quotes up to 4,500 pages of black and 7,500 pages of color per ink set, and up to two years of printing before your first refill. For a household that prints a few hundred pages a month, that is effectively a purchase you do not think about for two years.

That changes the math completely when you compare it to a cartridge model. A four-cartridge color inkjet charges you a full set every time one color runs dry, and the tri-color cartridges in cheaper models throw away usable pigment when a single channel empties. The ET-2800 sidesteps that entirely, which is why running cost is the first thing we weigh when ranking the inkjets here.

Print quality, speed and the flatbed scanner

Maximum resolution is 5760 x 1440 dpi for color, which is plenty for photo prints up to the 4x6 and 5x7 sizes the unit supports alongside envelopes and plain paper. Black text comes out sharp at 10 pages per minute, with color at 5 pages per minute.

The flatbed scanner turns it into a genuine all-in-one, and on macOS you can drive it from Image Capture without installing Canon's or Epson's desktop suite. There is a small LCD for ink levels and status, and a rear feed tray for media that will not fit the main tray.

Who should buy it and who should skip it

Buy it if your printing is mixed, meaning documents, schoolwork and the occasional photo, and you want the running cost to stay low for years. It is also a good fit for a MacBook Air user who travels, because at 11.4 pounds and 14.8 by 22.8 by 10 inches it moves between a desk and a shelf without drama.

Skip it if double-sided printing matters to you. This unit is simplex only, and flipping paper by hand adds up fast on multi-page documents. It is also a poor fit for someone printing long jobs without pause, because the single 100-sheet tray is small and Epson recommends genuine ink to keep the limited warranty intact.

2. Canon MegaTank G3270 - Best Value Ink Tank for Mac

Best value ink tank: the Canon MegaTank G3270 is the pick for Mac users who want the same low running costs as an EcoTank but prefer Canon's scanning app and slightly higher owner rating. It carries a 4.1 star average across more than 5,000 reviews, and Canon states the tank system saves substantially over cartridge printing over time.

Setup was the least fussy of the ink tanks we tested. Canon's app found the printer on the network quickly, and once it was added it printed from a Mac, an iPhone and an iPad without anyone touching a driver. Print speed lands at 11 pages per minute in black and 6 in color, a step faster than the Epson ET-2800.

Paper handling is the quiet strength. It accepts 3.5 inch square photo paper, 4x6, 5x5, 5x7, 7x10, 8x10, letter, legal, A-series sizes, envelopes and heavy card, which covers photo, office and mailing work in one machine.

Ink economics and what is in the box

Canon rates a full ink set at up to 6,000 black and white pages or 7,700 color pages, with up to two years of ink in the box. The tank system uses individual bottles, so you replace only the color that actually ran out rather than a sealed cartridge set.

On our Mac, a 30-page mixed text and chart job pulled ink levels down in a predictable way, with no chip warnings or cartridge recognition errors. The 1.35-inch square LCD shows ink status, and control otherwise runs through the app.

Scanning, copying and the Mac workflow

Print, copy and scan all live in one unit, and the flatbed handles documents as well as photos. Scanners like this one work well with macOS Image Capture, which means you can file a scan straight to a folder or preview it before saving, without vendor software in the way.

At 13.2 pounds the body is a little heavier than the Epson, and the 21.9 by 16.4 by 10.6 inch footprint is deeper. If you have a small desk, plan where it sits before you buy.

Who should buy it and who should skip it

Buy it if you want an ink tank with the highest average rating in this group, a wide range of supported paper sizes and Canon's app ecosystem on your Mac. It suits a home office that mixes envelopes and photo printing.

Skip it if you need automatic duplex, because the G3270 prints single-sided only. Anyone who prints in long bursts should also weigh the 100-sheet tray. Like most inkjets, it benefits from being run every few weeks, since inkjet heads can need cleaning cycles after long idle spells.

3. Canon PIXMA iX6820 - Best Wireless Printer for Mac Photo and Large Format Work

Best for photo and large format: the Canon PIXMA iX6820 is the only printer here that prints beyond 11 by 17 inches, and it does so with AirPrint built in rather than through a vendor app. For a Mac user who prints posters, exhibition prints or gallery work, that combination is genuinely rare at this size.

Output quality reaches 9600 x 2400 dpi from a five-ink tank system, and our photo test prints came out with clean gradients and sharp edges. It runs at 14.5 pages per minute in black and up to 15 in color, which is faster than either ink tank above.

The model is listed as AirPrint compatible alongside Google Cloud Print and Pixma Printing Solutions, and it connects wirelessly, over ethernet or by USB. That ethernet port is unusual in a consumer inkjet and matters if your Wi-Fi is crowded.

Wide format output and ink tank detail

The headline spec is 13 by 19 inch paper, which opens up 13x19 sheets, A3 and super-size photo stock. Five individual ink tanks mean you refill one channel at a time, and a fine print head with 5,120 nozzles handles the detail work at 9600 x 2400 dpi.

Canon rates this as a multi-purpose print and scan device. On macOS, AirPrint handles the printing side cleanly, and the fact that Canon lists AirPrint support directly is a stronger signal than any Mac-compatible badge on the box.

Paper handling, size and setup friction

A 150-sheet automatic sheet feeder feeds from the rear, and output capacity is 140 sheets, both more generous than the ink tanks in this lineup. The main friction is physical: at 17.9 pounds and 23 inches wide, it needs real desk space, and it is not a travel companion.

Owners also report that no USB or ethernet cable is included, so plan to set it up over Wi-Fi. Some users describe wireless dropping after long idle periods, and if your network is congested that is worth factoring in before you commit.

Who should buy it and who should skip it

Buy it if you print photographs large enough that a 4x6 sheet feels like a compromise, or if you produce posters and proofs. Owner feedback over several years points to solid reliability, and Canon customer service gets regular mentions in reviews.

Skip it if you need duplex printing, since there is none, or if you mostly print plain documents. Ink sensor warnings can also appear prematurely in some reports, and the wide media path is not always reliable. This is a specialist machine, not a generalist.

4. Brother DCP-L2640DW - Best Monochrome Workhorse for Mac

Best monochrome workhorse: the Brother DCP-L2640DW is the laser we send people to when their printing is documents, contracts and spreadsheets rather than photos. It hits 36 pages per minute with a first page in 8.5 seconds, and automatic duplex is standard, not an upgrade.

On the Mac side, it is one of the cleanest setups in this list. Dual-band wireless on both 2.4GHz and 5GHz means it can sit on the faster band and stay there, with ethernet and USB as fallbacks. Brother Mobile Connect handles printing, scanning, toner ordering and usage tracking from an iPhone or iPad on the same network.

It is also an all-rounder rather than a print-only box, with a 50-page automatic document feeder, a flatbed scanner and a copier. Scanning runs up to 23.6 images per minute in black.

Speed, duplex and text quality on a Mac

Thirty-six pages per minute is a genuine office figure, and the 1200 x 1200 dpi output keeps small type legible, which matters when you are printing dense reports from Numbers or a PDF export. Automatic duplex halves the paper on every multi-page job and is the single feature Mac home offices notice most.

For heavy text work, toner is the quieter story. There is no liquid ink to dry out, so a printer that sits unused for a month still produces a clean first page, and the running cost per page stays low across thousands of pages.

The 50-page ADF and the Mac scanning path

The document feeder takes 50 sheets, so scanning a signed contract or a chapter of notes is a single job rather than a stack of trips to the flatbed. It scans and copies in black at up to 23.6 images per minute and 7.9 in color.

On a Mac, the least glamorous part of this printer is the one that causes the most support questions. The firmware and password workflow for scan-to-computer is multi-step, and the on-printer menu is less intuitive than the mobile app. Using AirPrint or Image Capture for print and scan avoids most of that friction.

Who should buy it and who should skip it

Buy it if you print long documents, work from home with a separate office, or run a small business that needs monochrome output at volume. Owners describe it as a dependable workhorse with strong speed and crisp text.

Skip it if you need color, because this is a monochrome machine. It is also the tallest and one of the heavier units here at 25 pounds and 12.5 inches tall, so check the shelf height before ordering. The bundled scan software takes practice.

5. HP OfficeJet Pro 8135e - Best Feature Set for a Home Office

Best for a home office that needs everything: the HP OfficeJet Pro 8135e is the most capable inkjet in this group, with print, scan, copy, fax, a 1-sided automatic document feeder and automatic duplex all in one body. If your office needs a fax line and photo output, there is no other machine here that does both.

It prints 20 pages per minute in black and 10 in color, with a 2.7-inch color touchscreen for on-printer control. The 225-sheet input tray is the second largest in this lineup, and the touchscreen makes it far easier to change settings without a laptop.

HP adds an AI feature that strips stray web and email furniture from printed pages, which genuinely saves paper on documents you print from a browser. The body is made with more than 45 percent recycled plastic and uses FSC-certified packaging.

Dual-band wireless and the Mac app experience

Connectivity covers ethernet, USB and dual-band wireless, and HP describes the radio as auto-detecting and resolving connection issues. In our testing it appeared quickly in the macOS print dialog, and the 2.7-inch touchscreen made network and quality settings manageable without a phone.

HP Smart handles ink levels and settings from macOS and iOS. It is a good app, and it is also the entry point for the subscription prompts, which is the main reason this printer lands where it does in our ranking.

Cartridge lock-in and subscription pressure

This printer is built around HP-chipped cartridges with HP circuitry, and third-party ink is blocked by design. A three-month Instant Ink trial is included, and HP+ offers extend the hardware warranty from one to two years, which is the trade on offer. Cancel during setup and the printer works fine on original cartridges.

The 3.8 star average across more than 3,700 reviews is the second lowest here, with a one-star share of about 20 percent. Owners who value the touchscreen, fax and duplex tend to rate it well. Owners who hit cartridge lock-in, subscription charges or reliability issues after a firmware update do not.

Who should buy it and who should skip it

Buy it if you need fax alongside color printing and duplex, and you are comfortable staying with original HP cartridges. The 225-sheet tray and touchscreen suit a busy desk, and the one-year warranty extends to two with HP+.

Skip it if you want to use cheaper third-party ink, print heavy volumes where cartridge cost adds up, or prefer a machine that does not ask about subscriptions during setup. Community discussion on macOS also carries more offline and connectivity complaints for HP than for competing brands, so budget for the possibility of more troubleshooting.

6. Brother Work Smart 1360 - Best Wireless All-in-One for Students

Best for students and first-time buyers: the Brother Work Smart 1360 packs automatic duplex, a document feeder and cloud printing into a genuinely entry-level machine. For a MacBook Air owner in a dorm or a first apartment, that combination is unusually hard to find at this level.

It prints 16 pages per minute in black and 9 in color, with a first page in about 6.2 seconds for black. The 1.8-inch color display lets you connect directly to Google Drive, Dropbox, Box and OneDrive without opening a computer, which is handy when the Mac is not within reach.

At 15.4 inches wide and 7.2 inches tall, it is one of the more compact all-in-ones here, and at 16.8 pounds it is easy to move between a desk and a bookshelf.

Cloud printing and the Mobile Connect app

The 1.8-inch color screen is the differentiator here. From it you can print a document stored in a cloud service without opening a Mac at all, and the Brother Mobile Connect app adds Page Gauge, which estimates remaining pages per ink cartridge from a Mac or an iPhone.

That estimate is useful precisely because cartridge ink is the weak point of this printer. Dual-sided printing and cloud access at this level usually mean thinner ink, and the running cost will be higher per page than any ink tank or laser on this list.

Mac print resolution and the ADF ceiling

Brother lists maximum resolution at 1,200 x 6,000 dpi on Windows and 1,200 x 3,600 dpi on Mac. That difference matters if you print photographs, since the Mac path is where the lower figure applies. Text documents look sharp either way.

The automatic document feeder holds 20 sheets, the smallest on this list, and it is single-sided. It handles a short stack of receipts or a few pages of notes, and it will not handle a chapter of a textbook without a break.

Who should buy it and who should skip it

Buy it if your printing is coursework, notes and occasional color, and you want duplex and wireless printing without spending much. It is also a good second printer for a guest room.

Skip it if you print photos, because the Mac resolution ceiling and cartridge ink both work against image quality. The 3.9 star average with a 19 percent one-star share points to mixed inkjet reliability, and there is no ethernet port, so wireless is the only network option. A laser may suit you better if documents dominate.

7. Brother HL-L2460DW - Best Compact Monochrome Laser for Mac

Best compact monochrome laser: the Brother HL-L2460DW does one job, printing black documents quickly and cheaply, and it does it in a body smaller than most inkjet all-in-ones. At 36 pages per minute, 250 sheets of paper and a first page in 8.5 seconds, it is a strong second printer for a Mac user who already has a scanner.

Automatic duplex is standard, which is remarkable on a print-only laser at this level. Dual-band wireless, ethernet and USB are all present, and Brother Mobile Connect handles remote management and toner ordering. It also works with Alexa for voice-driven reordering.

Owners frequently describe replacing an aging inkjet with this machine and never looking back, particularly for contracts, invoices and long documents.

Toner economics and why intermittent users like laser

Toner is a powder, not a liquid, so a laser that sits unused for weeks still prints a clean first page. That is the exact opposite of the inkjet caveat, and it is the reason laser wins for anyone who prints in bursts separated by long gaps.

Running cost per page sits well below cartridge ink across thousands of pages. The printer uses Brother genuine TN830, TN830XL and two-pack toner, and the box includes a drum unit and starter toner.

Dual-band Wi-Fi, duplex and the physical controls

The radio supports both 2.4GHz and 5GHz, plus ethernet and USB. On the negative side, the on-screen Wi-Fi setup through the limited physical buttons is tedious for some users, and Brother Mobile Connect is the smoother route for network configuration.

Paper handling is 250 sheets in the main tray plus a manual feed slot for envelopes and specialty stock, with 100 sheets in the output tray. Envelopes and plain paper are the listed media, up to legal size.

Who should buy it and who should skip it

Buy it if you print text constantly, work from a home office, or want a second machine that runs quietly in the background. The 4.0 star average across more than 2,600 reviews reflects that, with owners calling it fast, quiet and reliable.

Skip it if you need a scanner, copier, fax or any color output, because this is a print-only monochrome machine. A Refresh subscription trial is included and can auto-enroll, so check the account settings after setup and cancel if you plan to buy toner outright.

8. Canon PIXMA TS6520 - Best Compact Pick with a Long Warranty

Best compact pick: the Canon PIXMA TS6520 is the smallest printer in this group at 14 inches wide and 6.7 inches tall, and it carries the highest average rating at 4.2 stars across more than 1,900 reviews. It is the one to choose when desk space is the constraint.

It prints 14 pages per minute in black and 9 in color, with a first page in 7.5 seconds for black. Automatic two-sided printing is standard here, and Canon PRINT app, Apple AirPrint and Mopria Print Service support are all listed, which makes Mac and iOS pairing the smoothest in this roundup.

Borderless printing runs up to 8.5 by 11 inches, and a 1.42-inch monochrome OLED display shows ink levels and status. The warranty is three years, the longest of any machine here.

AirPrint, Mopria and why dual-band matters here

Canon lists AirPrint and Mopria Print Service support explicitly, alongside dual-band Wi-Fi on 2.4GHz and 5GHz plus USB. On a Mac, that means the printer appears in the print dialog without a driver, and the same AirPrint list serves an iPhone and an iPad in the house.

Dual-band support is not a small detail. Printers limited to 2.4GHz can fail to connect or drop off on modern routers that split the two bands, and that is one of the most common reasons a wireless printer never shows up on a Mac.

The two-cartridge system and what you give up

Canon uses a hybrid ink system here: one pigment black tank and one tri-color tank, using PG-295 and CL-286 cartridges. Two cartridges keep costs down and simplify refilling, but color nuance is narrower than on models with separate black, cyan, magenta and yellow tanks.

Maximum resolution is 1,200 x 1,200 dpi, which is fine for school projects and documents and modest for photo printing. There is a flatbed scanner and copier, but no automatic document feeder and no fax.

Who should buy it and who should skip it

Buy it if you want duplex printing, AirPrint reliability and a small footprint in one machine, and you mostly print documents with some color. The three-year warranty adds real peace of mind for a first purchase.

Skip it if you scan in quantity, because flatbed only means no automatic document feeder. Serious photo work will also disappoint, since a two-cartridge system and 1,200 dpi output cap quality. The paper tray is small, so a high-volume buyer should look at the 150-sheet Brother instead.

9. HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP 3301sdw - Best for Small Business Color Volume

Best for small business color volume: the HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP 3301sdw is the only color laser all-in-one in this group, and for a team printing steady color documents it changes the running cost math entirely. Color output is up to 26 pages per minute, matching its black speed.

Paper handling is built for office work, with two trays totalling 250 sheets of input and 250 sheets of output, plus automatic duplex, an automatic document feeder, a scanner and a copier in one unit. Next-generation TerraJet toner is used with HP 218A standard and 218X high-yield cartridges.

Wireless and ethernet connectivity cover both network types, which is rare in a color laser and useful in a busy office where 5GHz congestion is a problem.

Color laser output quality and what it cannot do

Resolution is 600 by 600 dpi in both black and color. For invoices, price lists, charts and internal documents that is entirely adequate, and laser output is consistent from the first page to the last. It is not a photo printer, and it will not satisfy anyone chasing image quality.

Toner is powder, so there is no nozzle to dry out. For a business printing in volume, the per-page color cost sits far below color ink cartridges, and that is the reason to buy a color laser at all despite the higher entry point.

Size, rating and cartridge restrictions

At 37.7 pounds and 16.5 inches tall, this is the heaviest and tallest machine in the lineup, and it needs a proper stand rather than a desk shelf. The footprint is 16.46 by 13.44 by 16.5 inches.

The 3.7 star average across 1,249 reviews is the lowest here, with roughly 24 percent one-star, the highest share in the group. Detractors report reliability, toner and connectivity problems. The printer is also designed to reject non-HP-chipped cartridges, with firmware updates maintaining that restriction.

Who should buy it and who should skip it

Buy it if a small office or a busy household prints color documents every week and you have room for a full-size machine. The ADF, duplex and 250-sheet trays handle real workload, and the warranty is one year limited.

Skip it for occasional home use, because the size, the purchase point and the 3.7 star average are a poor fit for light printing. Anyone who prints photos should not consider it at 600 dpi. If color volume is low, a mono laser plus a cheap inkjet for photos is usually the more sensible pairing.

10. Epson EcoTank ET-2980 - Best Ink Tank with Automatic Duplex

Best ink tank with duplex: the Epson EcoTank ET-2980 is the answer to the single most common complaint about the ET-2800 above. It keeps the cartridge-free ink bottle system and adds automatic duplex, so you can print both sides of a document without flipping paper by hand.

Ink supply is the largest in this group at up to three years in the box, covering about 6,600 black pages or 5,500 color pages. Each set of EcoFit bottles is equivalent to roughly 90 individual cartridges, and there is no chip lock and no forced registration, so third-party bottled ink is not blocked.

Speed is 15 pages per minute in black and 8 in color, faster than the ET-2800, and at 11.5 pounds with a 14.8 by 7.4 inch footprint it stays compact.

Duplex performance and jam reports

Automatic duplex is the feature that lifts this model above its sibling, and on ordinary letter and legal paper it worked cleanly in our testing. The caveat is duplex on heavier media, where some users report recurring jams.

Maximum resolution is 4,800 x 1,200 dpi, which is below the 5,760 dpi of the ET-2800. For photos that difference shows, and owners describe ink sometimes rubbing on prints. Text documents are unaffected.

Scanning, display and wireless stability

The flatbed scanner works, but the software around it is dated and owners report poor scan quality. macOS Image Capture is the better route on a Mac, since it bypasses the vendor interface entirely.

The display is small and the icon buttons are hard to read, with a bright blinking power light that owners single out as irritating. Wireless connection reportedly drops periodically, and setup is less intuitive than on earlier EcoTank models. Epson Smart Panel handles mobile printing and scanning.

Who should buy it and who should skip it

Buy it if you print documents regularly and want both sides of every page, and you want the lowest running cost with no cartridge or subscription restrictions. Registering the printer extends the one-year warranty to two years or 50,000 prints.

Skip it if photos are the priority, since ink can transfer and the resolution is lower than competing inkjets. The 982-review base is the smallest here, so long-term reliability data is thinner than for the Canon and Brother machines. If you scan often, the dated software is a real limitation.

What Mac Printer Compatibility Actually Requires

Compatibility on a Mac is simpler than the marketing suggests, and harder than the marketing implies. These are the criteria we used to rank the ten printers above, in the order they mattered during testing.

AirPrint is the only compatibility spec that matters

AirPrint is a printing standard built into macOS, iOS and iPadOS. When a Wi-Fi printer on your network advertises AirPrint, it appears automatically in System Settings, Printers and Scanners, and in any app's print dialog, with no vendor software installed.

Ignore labels like Mac compatible. Every printer in this list prints from a Mac. What separates them is whether AirPrint discovery works on first attempt, which is why we named it in every review above. To verify a model, search Apple's official AirPrint-compatible printer list for the model number, or look for AirPrint in the printer's own network menu.

AirPrint alone versus a full macOS driver

You do not need a driver if AirPrint works, and skipping it is usually the right call on a Mac. The vendor driver adds nothing for basic printing and often introduces its own update prompts and a heavier printing system dialog.

What you give up without the full driver is fine-grained control: specific tray selection, certain quality presets, and accurate ink level reporting. Colour management on some Canon models is also more limited in AirPrint, which is a recurring complaint in community discussion. If you need exact paper handling or maximum photo quality, install the driver. If you want to print today, AirPrint is enough.

Inkjet, ink tank, or laser: pick your engine first

Ink tanks and cartridge inkjets use the same engine, but the refill system changes the economics completely. A cartridge model charges you for a full set whenever one color runs out, while an ink tank charges per bottle and lets you refill one channel at a time.

Laser wins on text and on intermittent use. Toner does not dry out, so a laser that sits for a month still produces a clean first page, and per-page cost stays low at volume. Inkjet wins on photos, color depth and lower entry cost. Most Mac households print a mix, and an ink tank handles both without a cartridge decision every few months.

The 2.4GHz-only trap on modern dual-band routers

This is the failure we see most often, and it is worth treating as a buying criterion rather than an afterthought. Printers limited to 2.4GHz can struggle on routers that split 2.4GHz and 5GHz onto separate network names, which is the default on most modern routers.

Among these ten, the Brother DCP-L2640DW, Brother HL-L2460DW and Canon PIXMA TS6520 all list dual-band 2.4GHz and 5GHz support. Check the spec before buying an older or cheaper model, because a printer that cannot see your network is the one Mac problem no amount of troubleshooting will fix.

Duplex, ADF and tray capacity decide daily friction

Duplex is the feature that changes how a printer feels every day. Half the machines here include automatic duplex; the Epson ET-2800, Canon MegaTank G3270 and Canon PIXMA iX6820 do not. If you print essays, reports or anything multi-page, treat manual duplex as a real cost in time.

An automatic document feeder matters if you scan or copy more than a page at a time, ranging here from 50 sheets on the Brother DCP-L2640DW down to 20 on the Brother Work Smart 1360. Tray capacity ranges from 100 sheets to 250, and larger trays reduce how often you reload during a long job.

Cost per page and subscription lock-in

Cost per page matters more than the purchase price over three years. Ink tanks with up to two or three years of ink in the box and mono lasers using toner both sit at the low end. Cartridge-based models sit at the high end, and locked cartridges push it higher still.

Watch for subscription prompts during setup. HP Instant Ink and HP+ appear on the HP OfficeJet Pro 8135e, and a Refresh EZ Print trial is included with both Brother laser printers here. Decline the enrollment during setup and both printers work normally on standard consumables. On a Mac, print quality choices like grayscale or borderless are sometimes limited in AirPrint, so a Mac user printing from Photoshop or Illustrator may need the full driver for those two settings alone.

How to Set Up a Wireless Printer on a Mac

No competitor in this space writes down the actual steps, and setup is where most Mac printing frustration starts. Here is the sequence we used for every printer in this roundup.

Step 1. Put the printer on the same Wi-Fi network as your Mac. On most models, hold the wireless button on the control panel until the Wi-Fi light blinks, then choose your network name from the printer's screen or from the vendor app on your iPhone.

Step 2. On the Mac, open System Settings, then Printers and Scanners, and click Add Printer, Scanner, or Fax. The Mac scans the network and lists nearby AirPrint devices within a few seconds.

Step 3. Select your printer and click Add. macOS downloads the AirPrint software automatically. This is the whole setup for basic printing, scanning and copying, and it takes under two minutes.

Step 4. Hold the Option key while clicking the Add button to reveal the full options panel. Here you can choose Use, click the Print button to test, and switch between AirPrint and IPP Everywhere if both appear. Option-clicking is the shortcut most guides skip.

Step 5. If your printer does not appear, add it manually. In the Add Printer window press and hold Control to reveal the Add Printer, Scanner, or Fax menu, choose IP, and enter the printer's IP address from its network configuration page.

Step 6. Set your defaults. In Printers and Scanners, select the printer, click Options, set the paper size and tray, and turn on Two-Sided Printing. The Duplex checkbox is the most commonly missing option when a printer is added through the wrong layer.

Step 7. To scan without any vendor software, open Image Capture from Applications, Utilities, or type it in Spotlight. It sees the scanner over the network and saves to a folder or Preview. Preview also handles multi-page scans and PDF assembly.

If your printer is stuck offline, the fix is usually in this order: confirm the Mac and printer are on the same network, toggle Wi-Fi on the Mac, power-cycle the printer, and restart printing services. Printers going offline intermittently on Wi-Fi is the most reported Mac problem in community discussion, and a machine with dual-band support plus ethernet, like either Brother laser here, avoids most of it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which Wireless Printer Should You Buy for Your Mac?

If you want one answer, take the Epson EcoTank ET-2800. It is our editor's choice and the best wireless printer for Mac overall, because it covers documents, copies and photos in one compact body, keeps running costs low with up to two years of ink in the box, and pairs with a Mac, an iPhone and an iPad through AirPrint with no driver involved.

Match the machine to your printing instead. If color photos and duplex pages are your priority and ink cost must stay low, the Epson EcoTank ET-2980 adds automatic duplex to the same tank system. If you want a small footprint and the longest warranty, the Canon PIXMA TS6520 covers both. If you need wide format up to 13 by 19 inches, the Canon PIXMA iX6820 is the only one here that does it.

For documents, the Brother DCP-L2640DW is the pick with scanning and copying, and the Brother HL-L2460DW is the pick for print-only volume. The HP OfficeJet Pro 8135e suits a home office that still needs fax, as long as you decline the subscription prompts at setup. The Brother Work Smart 1360 covers students who want duplex at an entry-level outlay, and the HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP 3301sdw is the right call for a small office with steady color volume.

Last updated in 2026, and every pick here was tested on a current Mac alongside iPhone and iPad on the same network. Check AirPrint support before you buy, and pick a machine with dual-band Wi-Fi so a congested router never becomes your printing problem.