The Best Laser Printers To Speedily Output Sharp Prints

If you value speed and ultra-crisp print quality, a laser printer is the way to go. A laser printer’s strength lies with its ability to output the sharpest text possible, at a speed and quality rivalling a professional printer. Whether you need to print stacks of text documents, business reports or marketing materials, the best laser printers are generally up to the task—albeit at a higher total cost compared with most inkjet printers. Our pick for best all-in-one color laser printer overall, the HP Color LaserJet Pro M283fdw works well in a home office or small business setting.

The best laser printers provide fast print speeds and professional-looking pages in black-and-white … [+] or color.

B&H Photo

A laser printer relies on a laser to heat toner which bonds to the paper, as opposed to the way an inkjet printer sprays liquid ink onto paper in tiny droplets. Laser printers typically produce sharper text and graphics than inkjet printers, but inkjet printers remain the best choice if you want a printer which can also handle creating prints from digital images.

When buying a laser printer, you need to first chose if you want a dedicated printer which only prints, or an all-on-one (also referred to as multi-function), printer which can also copy, scan and sometimes fax. Next, you need to decide whether you want a monochrome or color laser printer. Monochrome printers are less expensive, but of course can’t produce color documents. A color laser adds full-color printing to its arsenal, but they’re much more costly to purchase and maintain over their lifetime than their monochrome counterparts.

Long-term costs can play into the decision to buy a laser printer. Notes Valerie Alde-Hayman, senior analyst at consumer research firm gap intelligence, “While customers will save money on ink tank printers in the long run, when looking at some ink tank printers vs. comparable laser counterparts from a pricing perspective, customers may [choose] to purchase the laser device based on the fact tag alone.” Alde-Hayman adds that, as with inkjet printers, laser printer prices will be higher “if they have faster print speeds, duplexing capabilities (especially for duplex scanning), larger paper handling capabilities and touchscreen displays.”

Based on research and experience, we’ve rounded up the best laser printers you can buy today, with picks spanning all budgets and usage needs—whether you’re running a home office or a small business.

Editor’s Pick

Best for: High-quality, high-capacity color printing at a home office or small business.

The HP LaserJet Pro M283fdw has a reasonably fast print speed, outputting both black and color pages at 22 ppm. You’d have to spend another $200 to get a faster color laser model. This model supports wired and wireless networking, including a variety of print protocols for wireless printing (including Apple AirPrint, HP ePrint, HP Smart Apps, Mopria Print Service and Wi-Fi Direct).

The printer has a 50-sheet auto document feeder for scanning and copying stacks of documents. And it serves as a fax machine too. The 2.7-inch color touchscreen makes it easy to navigate among printer functions. Like most color laser printers, it uses a four-cartridge system—with separate toner cartridges for black, cyan, yellow and magenta. Each is available in a standard or high-capacity version and starts at $66.

Pros:

Excellent print quality and above-average print speed
Flexible wireless printing
50-sheet document feeder

Cons:

Expensive toner cartridges

Good Value

Best for: A home or office focused on low-cost black-and-white printing.

The HP LaserJet Tank MFP 2604sdw is part of HP’s Tank series designed for use with economical, refillable toner cartridges. The printer comes pre-loaded with what HP describes as up to two years’ worth of ink. It supports toner cartridge refills with enough ink to print up to 2,500 ($17) or 5,000 ($30) pages. Not only is this printer affordable to maintain on a cost-per-page basis, it allows you to produce long documents quickly thanks to its speedy 23 ppm print speed.

This all-in-one printer has a 40-page automatic document feeder and a 250-sheet paper tray. The printer lacks a display, so to control its features, you must use your computer or mobile device. Like other HP models, this printer supports a variety of wireless printing protocols, including HP Smart App, Apple AirPrint, Mopria and Wi-Fi Direct.

Pros:

High print yield from low-cost toner cartridges
Better-than-average print speed

Cons:

Best for: Fast, all-in-one monochrome printing.

With a surprisingly affordable price, the Brother MFCL2750DW is a monochrome all-in-one laser printer that offers a zippy print speed (up to 36 ppm) and impressive print resolution for crisp text and graphics. The printer has one paper tray with a 250-sheet capacity, and it can accommodate between 16- and 43-pound paper stock.

While the printer only outputs in black and white, the scanner captures full-color images at a resolution up to 1,200 x 1,200 dpi (or 19,200 x 19,200 dpi interpolated). Copy resolution is 600 x 600 dpi and copy speed is also up to 36 ppm. This model prints wirelessly via support for Apple AirPrint, Wi-Fi Direct and other protocols. A high-yield, genuine Brother TN760 toner cartridge costs $81, and it can generate up to 3,000 pages.

Pros:

Fast print speed (up to 36 ppm)
High print resolution up to 2,400 x 600 dpi
Serves as a printer, copier, scanner and fax machine

Cons:

Only one paper tray
Genuine Brother replacement toner gets pricey

Best for: A home or office that needs a low-cost, high-speed laser printer.

The HP LaserJet Tank 2504dw is another of HP’s refillable toner laser printers. This single-purpose laser printer is similar to the HP LaserJet Tank MFP 2604sdw, but sells for $100 less because it lacks the 2604sdw’s all-in-one capabilities.

The 2504dw does just one thing—print—and it does it rather well. This model prints monochrome documents at a relatively high speed. And it does so with an extremely low cost-per-page. Each HP 153X High Yield toner refill has up to a 5,000-page print yield and costs $30 (a 2,500-page yield refill costs $17). The printer has both wired and wireless networking, with the latter handled by HP Smart App, Apple AirPrint, Mopria and Wi-Fi Direct. The printer is fairly compact and can fit well on a desk.

Pros:

Fast print speed
Low per-page printing cost

Cons:

Lacks scan and copy functions
No color printing

Good Value

Best for: High-quality color printed output.

The Brother HL-L3210CW is a dedicated color laser printer with a reasonably fast 19 ppm print speed in either black or color. It also offers an impressive print resolution (2,400 x 600 dpi) for a printer at this low price point. On the plus side, the printer supports a variety of wireless printing protocols (including Apple AirPrint, Google Cloud Print, Mopria and Wi-Fi Direct).

Although the HL-L3210CW came out several years ago, it continues to serve well as a general-purpose color laser printer that generates good quality output at a speed that won’t keep you waiting. It uses four separate toner cartridges, which can get costly to maintain. The genuine $60 Brother TN223BK (black) toner cartridge generates about 1,400 pages, while each of the three required color toner cartridges (cyan, magenta and yellow) have a print yield of approximately 1,000 pages and cost $76 apiece.

Pros:

Good print speed (19 ppm)
First print out in 15.5 seconds
Deliver professional-quality color output

Cons:

Toner cartridges are expensive, with low print yield
Lacks two-sided printing

Best for: Printing black and white content on a tight budget.

The benefit to purchasing a dedicated monochrome laser printer is that all it does is print your documents—in this case, at up to 32 ppm and at a print resolution up to 2,400 x 600 dpi. You don’t get copying, scanning or faxing capabilities, nor any option for printing in color. But you can generate two-sided black pages. This printer has a paper tray with a 250-sheet capacity and wireless printing capabilities for use with Windows PCs, Macs and most mobile devices.

In addition to printing on multipurpose, 20-pound paper, the Brother HL-L2350DW prints on envelops and card stock. The printer uses an $80 Brother TN760 high yield toner cartridge. Each cartridge has a print yield of up to 3,000 pages.

Pros:

Fast print speed (up to 32 ppm)
2,400 x 600 dpi print resolution
Very affordable to purchase and maintain

Cons:

No color printing capabilities
Not an all-in-one printer

Best Laser Printer Deals You Can Find Right Now

In addition to our top picks for laser printers, there are a bunch of models currently on sale from places like Amazon, Best Buy and B&H Photo. If you’re looking for additional laser printer options and want to save some cash, check out these deals you can buy now.

Amazon

HP LaserJet MFP M234dwe

Head over to Amazon to get 46% off this HP LaserJet for home office use. Right now, it’s on sale for just $119 (a $100 savings). This all-in-one monochrome laser printer outputs pages at 30 ppm. Plus, it also scans and copies, and it handles automatic double-sided printing, too (at up to 19 ppm).

If all you need is a dedicated monochrome laser printer, the Canon ImageClass LBP6030w is on sale on Amazon for a mere $80, a massive $235 savings. It lacks scan, copy or fax features, but it prints at 18ppm, faster than most inkjets. It handles wireless printing and features a 150-sheet capacity paper tray.

The Lexmark MS520 is a monochrome laser printer that has a super-fast maximum print speed of 46 ppm and a print resolution of 1,200 x 1,200 dpi. You also get a 350-sheet capacity paper tray and the ability to print two-sided documents. Save $59 and buy it for $440.

A great option for a home office, this Canon all-in-one monochrome laser printer can print, copy, scan and fax. It’s currently on sale at Best Buy for $110 off, bringing the price down to $220. This printer’s maximum print speed is 34 ppm and its print resolution is 600 x 600 dpi.

Head over to B&H Photo to save $120 on the Xerox VersaLink C400/DN printer. It offers a maximum print speed of 36 ppm and a print resolution of 600 x 600 dpi. The printer has a large, 5-inch color touchscreen, and it supports wired and wireless printing. It’s a great option for a high-volume home office or small office.

Save $80 at B&H Photo on the Xerox C310/DNI color laser printer and pay $529. This speedy, high-volume printer targets small workgroups of one to 10 users via a USB, ethernet or Wi-Fi connection. It can print color or black pages at up to 35 ppm at 1,200 x 1,200 dpi. The paper tray has a 250-sheet capacity.

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The Best Laser Printers To Speedily Output Sharp Prints – Forbes

Best Laser Printer Deals You Can Find Right Now

HP LaserJet MFP M234dwe

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