Which printer would you recommend for home use (with the best color reproduction)?
home use and best color is a bit of a contradiction
but probably one of the smaller Epson SureColor printers Epson SureColor SC-P700 or P900 or EcoTank ET-8550 maybe with PrintFab software
What do you want to use it for?
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I want to proof print the posters and logos that I create myself
If your goal is proofing posters and logos, the printer itself is only part of the equation.
So the real question might be are you trying to check layout/colour roughly at home, or are you trying to simulate a commercial print result? Those are very different workflows.
A few things to think about
Most home printers won’t give you reliable “proofs”. Even if the colour looks good, it doesn’t mean it will match what comes off a press. Proofing normally means simulating a specific CMYK/RGB print/digital condition with ICC profiles, calibrated monitors, correct paper (even the paper stock can turn colours) etc.
Inkjet is the right direction though - a small pigment ink photo printer (like the Epson SureColor P700 or Epson SureColor P900) will give far better colour reproduction than a typical office inkjet or laser. These use multi-ink systems and wide gamuts designed for photo work, which is why photographers and designers use them.
But without colour management it’s just a nice print. To get anywhere near a usable proof you’d also need, a calibrated monitor, the correct ICC profiles for the printer/paper, soft proofing in your design software, ideally a RIP if you’re trying to simulate CMYK/RGB press/digital output.
Paper matters almost as much as the printer, the same file will look completely different on matte vs coated inkjet papers.
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Do you really need a color printer?
From my experience, having owned several models of both inkjet and color laser printers, color printers are good for a couple of years and then become a pain in the back side to keep heads clean and keep registered. I currently have an HP color laser printer right now that, despite running the clean and registration cycle and updating the driver, only looks good about 20% of the time. I keep it around for a quick, low-end print for something that doesn’t really matter. For any other needs that may pop up once a month, I have found my local OfficeDepot actually does a great job.
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If you are only proofing for resolution of placed imagery, doing it yourself will be fine.You aren’t going to get accurate color unless you go through the gymnastics Smurf alluded to, and then some. And good luck match to any vendor outsource.
I’m a fan of Epson (I find HP drivers can be sort of ornery.) The desktop Epson I’m running now is obsolete, but I do find that it is pretty darn close to a good number of wide format output, IF I use photo paper and the correct profile settings in Illustrator and Indesign. But most of the time I’m just printing out rez checks of stuff clients send me, and quite often asking why they didn’t do the same before sending it.