A dedicated photo printer can improve photo output compared with a typical office-focused all-in-one, but home printing costs can still be high because photo printing uses a lot of ink and paper. Based on the community feedback, an office inkjet is fine for basic proofing, but there can still be a noticeable gap between home prints and good lab prints.

If your main goal is high-quality finished photographs at reasonable cost, using your current printer for drafts/proofs and ordering final prints from a photo lab is often the better value. Lab prints are usually inexpensive and tend to deliver more consistent photo quality.

So unless you need the convenience of printing photos at home regularly, buying a second printer just for photos may not be the most practical choice.