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The Best Laser Printers To Create Sharp Monochrome Or Color Images

Whether you need to print stacks of text documents, business reports or marketing materials, the best laser printers are up to the task. A laser printer’s strength lies with its ability to output the sharpest text possible, at a speed and quality that rivals a professional printer. Our pick for best all-in-one color laser printer overall, the Lexmark MC3326i, works well in a home office or small business setting.

A laser printer uses a laser to heat toner which bonds to the paper, as opposed to inkjet printer, which sprays liquid ink onto paper in tiny droplets. Laser printers typically produce sharper text and graphics than inkjet printers (although inkjet printers remain the best choice for printing photos). 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.

Based on research, hands-on testing 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.

Best All-In-One Color Laser Printer

Sharp Output In Vivid Color

Lexmark MC3326i

Printer type: Color laser | Features: Print/Copy/Scan | Print speed: Up to 26 ppm | Duty cycle: 50,000 pages per month | Print resolution: 2,400 x 600 dpi | Scan resolution: 600 x 600 dpi | Paper tray size: 250-sheet | Two-sided printing: Automatic

Best for: A home office or small office setting.

The Lexmark MC3326i delivers print speeds up to 26ppm for both color and monochrome pages. It has a high 2,400 x 600 dpi print resolution, too. Documents output by this printer can look amazingly sharp and extremely detailed. It has a convenient 2.8-inch color touchscreen for easy menu navigation. Or, you can control the printer wirelessly from your mobile device or computer. The MC3326i provides copying and scanning, but no fax.

The MC3326i is a comparatively affordable color laser printer, but as with most lasers, it costs a lot to maintain. The printer uses four separate toner cartridges (black, cyan, magenta and yellow) which cost about $100 apiece individually, over $300 sold as a four-pack. Standard cartridges have a print yield of just 1,500 pages, while the pricier high yield cartridges have a print yield of 3,000 pages (black) and 2,500 pages (color).

What the writers say: “I found this printer consistently generates sharp black and white or full-color documents,” says writer Jason R. Rich. “The wireless printing capabilities are easy to set up, while the command icons displayed on the touchscreen are intuitive.”

Pros:

  • Sharp full-color printing at up to 26 ppm
  • Automatic 2-sided printing capabilities
  • Useful color touchscreen

Cons:

  • Expensive toner cartridges

Honorable Mention: Color Printing With Conveniences

Brother MFC-L3770CDW

Printer type: Color laser | Features: Print/Copy/Scan/Fax | Print speed: Up to 25 ppm | Duty cycle: 30,000 pages per month | Print resolution: 2,400 x 600 dpi | Scan resolution: 2,400 x 1,200 dpi | Paper tray size: 250-sheets | Two-sided printing: Automatic

Best for: A home office or small office setting.

The Brother MFC-L3770CDW has a 3.7-inch color touchscreen that makes it easy to set up and use. The printer offers most of the features you could want—from a 50-sheet capacity automatic document feeder to a 250-sheet capacity paper tray. Use this printer to create Letter, Legal or Folio (8 x 13-inch) documents at a print speed up to 25ppm. With 2,400 x 600 dpi print resolution, prints are extremely detailed.

The printer comes with a starter toner cartridge set that generates up to 1,000 pages; a four-cartridge replacement set costs about $250. Genuine standard replacement toner cartridges have a print yield of 1,400 pages (black) and 1,300 pages (color). High yield cartridges offer a print yield up to 3,000 pages (black) and 2,300 pages (color). As you’d expect, this printer works wirelessly, with a high speed USB printer cable or connected to a network via Ethernet.

What the writers say: ”If you’re looking for a relatively quick and quiet color laser printer, this one has some convenient features,” notes writer Jason R. Rich. “The USB port on the front allows you to print from a flash drive, which I found useful.”

Pros:

  • Print, copy, scan and fax
  • Fast 25 ppm print speed
  • High resolution up to 2,400 x 600 dpi

Cons:

  • Expensive toner cartridges

Honorable Mention: Add A Splash Of Color To Your Documents

HP LaserJet Pro MFP M283fdw

Printer type: Color laser | Features: Print/Copy/Scan/Fax | Print speed: 22 ppm | Duty cycle: 40,000 pages per month | Print resolution: 600 x 600 dpi | Scan resolution: 600 x 600 dpi | Paper tray size: 100-sheet, 250-sheet | Two-sided printing: Automatic

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 up to 22 ppm. 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.

What the writers say: “I found this model versatile and intuitive to operate. Everything I printed consistently looked sharp and detailed,” says writer Jason R. Rich.

Pros:

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

Cons:

  • Expensive toner cartridges

Best All-In-One Monochrome Laser Printer Overall

A Printing Workhorse For Home Or Office

Good Value

HP LaserJet Tank MFP 2604sdw

Printer type: Monochrome laser | Features: Print/Copy/Scan | Print speed: Up to 23 ppm | Duty cycle: 25,000 pages per month | Print resolution: 600 x 600 dpi | Scan resolution: 600 x 1,200 dpi | Paper tray size: 250-sheets | Two-sided printing: Automatic

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

The HP LaserJet Tank MFP 2604sdw is part of HP’s Tank series designed for use with an economical and refillable toner tank—not a cartridge. 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 capacity 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.

What the writers say: “My favorite thing about this printer is the high-capacity toner tank. Refilling the task is easy and mess-free, and you can get up to 5,000 pages from a single fill. The printer costs very little to operate and offers a decent print speed,” says Jason R. Rich. “This is definitely the most economical monochrome laser printer I’ve tested.”

Pros:

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

Cons:

  • One paper tray

Honorable Mention: Affordable And Fast

Brother MFC-L2750DW

Printer type: Monochrome laser | Features: Print/Copy/Scan/Fax | Print speed: 36 ppm | Duty cycle: 15,000 pages per month | Print resolution: 2,400 x 600 dpi | Scan resolution: 1,200 x 1,200 dpi | Paper tray size: 250-sheets | Two-sided printing: Automatic

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

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. 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. It can generate up to 3,000 pages.

What the writers say: “The Brother MFC-L2750DW is a versatile workhorse that will serve you well at home or in a small office setting,” says writer Jason R. Rich. It’s an affordable monochrome option with a decent print speed and print resolution.”

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

Honorable Mention: Prints Up To 46 ppm

Lexmark MS521dn

Printer type: Monochrome laser printer | Features: Prints | Print speed: Up to 44 ppm | Duty cycle: 120,000 pages per month | Print resolution: 1,200 x 1,200 dpi | Scan resolution: N/A | Paper tray size: 250-sheet | Two-sided printing: Automatic

Best for: A home or a small office setting.

As a dedicated monochrome laser printer, the Lexmark MS521dn offers an impressive print speed—up to 44ppm—with a print resolution up to 1,200 x 1,200 dpi. You also get full-duplex (automatic two-sided) printing and a first page out speed of around 6 seconds. When you use a genuine, ultra high yield toner cartridge with this printer, it can generate up to 25,000 pages before needing a replacement.

The 2.4-inch display is not a touchscreen, so to control the printer, you need to press the physical buttons located to the immediate right of the display. However, you can also control the printer easily (and wirelessly) from your mobile device or computer. Thanks to the built in high speed USB printer cable port and ethernet port, you get a variety of additional connectivity options. What’s most attractive about this printer is its higher-than-average print speed, that can reach up to 44ppm. The included media tray allows you to use a variety of paper sizes with the printer, while the 100-sheet multi-purpose feeder accepts smaller media, including envelopes.

Pros:

  • A dedicated monochrome laser printer
  • 1,200 x 1,200 dpi print resolution
  • Fast print speed, up to 44ppm

Cons:

  • One paper tray
  • No touchscreen capabilities

Honorable Mention: An Affordable Monochrome Printing Workhorse

Canon imageCLASS MF269dw II

Printer type: Monochrome laser | Features: Print/Copy/Scan/Fax | Print speed: Up to 30 ppm | Duty cycle: 30,000 pages per month | Print resolution: 600 x 600 dpi | Scan resolution: 600 x 600 dpi | Paper tray size: 250-sheet | Two-sided printing: Automatic

Best for: Using a laser printer in tight spaces.

While a higher print, copy and scan resolution would be nice, the print speed of the Canon imageCLASS MF269dw II is slightly above average. You get all the core functions you could want from a monochrome laser printer, including wired and wireless printing, 2-sided printing and a first page out speed of around 5 seconds. What’s nice about this printer is that it’s rather compact. It takes up less desk space than most competitors. The printer measures 15.4 x 16 x 15 inches and it weighs 29.3 pounds.

This printer has a 50-sheet capacity ADF and a one-sheet multipurpose tray that’s separate from the 250-sheet capacity paper tray. The paper tray can handle paper between 3 x 5 inches and 8.5 x 14 inches. While the display is a touchscreen, it’s not in color.

What the writers say: “This is a really good, general purpose monochrome laser printer that’s affordable and easy to operate,” says writer Jason R. Rich. “I recommend the Canon 051H high capacity toner cartridge. It has a print yield up to 4,100 pages, as opposed to the standard cartridge that has a print yield of just 1,700 pages.”

Pros:

  • Has copy, scan and fax
  • Reasonable price
  • Smaller and lighter than competitors

Cons:

  • Standard cartridges have low print yield

Best Dedicated Monochrome Laser Printer For Home

Fast, Inexpensive Printing

HP LaserJet Tank 2504dw

Printer type: Monochrome laser | Features: Print | Print speed: Up to 23 ppm | Duty cycle: 25,000 pages per month | Print resolution: 600 x 600 dpi | Paper tray size: 250-sheets | Two-sided printing: Automatic

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 like 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—it prints—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

Best Dedicated Color Laser Printer

Color For The Price Of Monochrome

Good Value

Brother HL-L3210CW

Printer type: Color laser | Features: Print | Print speed: Up to 19 ppm | Duty cycle: 30,000 pages per month | Print resolution: 2,400 x 600 dpi | Paper tray size: 250-sheets | Two-sided printing: No

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).

The HL-L3210CW came out several years ago, but it continues to serve well as a general-purpose color laser printer 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) has 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:

  • Expensive toner cartridges
  • Lacks two-sided printing

Best Budget Monochrome Laser Printer

Fast Printing, Low-Cost

Brother HL-L2350DW

Printer type: Monochrome laser | Features: Print | Print speed: Up to 32 ppm | Duty cycle: 15,000 pages per month | Print resolution: 2,400 x 600 dpi | Paper tray size: 250-sheets | Two-sided printing: Automatic

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

The Brother HL-L2350DW is a compact dedicated monochrome laser, with fast 32 ppm print speeds. You don’t get copying, scanning or faxing capabilities, nor any option for printing in color. But you can generate two-sided black pages, which saves on paper usage. 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.

This model prints on multipurpose, 20-pound paper, the 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:

  • Prints documents rapidly
  • 2,400 x 600 dpi print resolution
  • Affordable to purchase and maintain

Cons:

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

Best Premium Laser Color Printer For Home Office

Fast, High-Volume Color Printing

HP LaserJet Pro M479fdw

Printer type: Color laser | Features: Print/Copy/Scan/Fax | Print speed: Up to 28 ppm | Duty cycle: 50,000 pages per month | Print resolution: 600 x 600 dpi | Scan resolution: 1,200 x 1,200 dpi | Paper tray size: 250-sheets | Two-sided printing: Automatic

Best for: High-end, color laser printing in a small office setting.

With its massive 50,ooo-page duty cycle, the HP LaserJet Pro M479fdw is a great choice for high volume printing. It outputs color, one- or two-sided documents that will impress important customers and clients.

This printer prints both color and black pages at up to 28 ppm. It can serve as a copier, scanner and fax machine. You can print wirelessly using Apple AirPrint or HP’s ePrint app. Or you can connect this printer to a computer or network. The generous 50-sheet automatic document feeder makes multi-page scanning and copying easier. A built-in 4.3-inch touchscreen makes it easy to control the printer. The printer uses four separate toner cartridges, which are pricey to replace.

Pros:

  • Fast black and color printing
  • High-volume duty cycle
  • Generates crisp, color prints

Cons:

  • Expensive to purchase and operate
  • Uses four separate toner cartridges

How We Chose The Best Laser Printers

We combined research with hands-on testing and experience, and we spoke with product experts and industry leaders to help us determine the products that made the cut. We carefully evaluated each laser printer’s speed, resolution, paper tray capacity and more. We also paid attention to what sets each laser printer apart from its competition.


How To Choose The Best Laser Printer

Everyone has different printing needs. If you require laser printer quality output because you desire the sharpness and speed this type of printer offers, you then have a few other decisions to make based on the added functionality you want out of the printer. The following are key features to consider when shopping for a laser printer.

Color Or Monochrome

Do you want monochrome (black and white) printing, or are you willing to pay a premium for full color printing? If you opt for a monochrome laser printer, you get sharp text with a high print speed at a very affordable price. Plus, the cost to replace the toner cartridge is relatively low, while its print yield will be high (in the thousands of pages).

A color laser printer also offers a fast print speed, and it lets you produce color images. But color lasers can’t create photo prints using photo paper, and their multiple toner cartridges are pricey to replace. The print yield of most color toner cartridges is also relatively low (typically less than 2,000 pages each).

Dedicated Versus All-In-One

As the name suggests, a dedicated laser printer allows you to print documents. An all-in-one printer also offers photocopying and scanning capabilities. Some also allow you to send and receive faxes. These days, all-in-one (AIO) printers are readily available and don’t cost too much more than a dedicated printer, yet they’re much more versatile.

Print Speed

Especially if you’ll be doing a lot of printing or printing long documents, print speed is an important consideration. Some monochrome laser printers offer a print speed upwards of 40 pages per minute (ppm). A printer with a slow print speed can get frustrating to use.

Duty Cycle

The duty cycle refers to the maximum number of pages per month a printer can handle (per the manufacturer’s specifications). Unless you plan to use the printer is a busy office setting, this should not be too much of a concern.

Print Resolution

Print resolution determines how crisp and detailed text and graphics appear on each page. The higher the resolution, measured in dots per inch (dpi), the better. For a laser print, choose one with at least 600 x 600 dpi. Several printers in this roundup, including the Lexmark MC3326i and Brother MFC-L3770CDW, have a print resolution of 2,400 x 600 dpi. The Lexmark MS521dn has a print resolution of 1,200 x 1,200 dpi.

Auto Document Feeder (ADF)

When photocopying, scanning or faxing, an auto document feeder is a convenient feature, since you can insert multiple pages at once. Ideally, you want the ADF to have at least a 20-sheet capacity, although one with a 50-sheet capacity will be more convenient when working with longer documents.

Paper Tray Capacity

Some laser printers have two or even three paper trays, while most that are designed for home use have just one. The capacity of the paper tray determines how often you need to refill it with paper. The location of the paper tray determines how easy it is to add more paper.

Choose a printer with a paper tray capacity of at least a 250-sheets and that’s conveniently accessible from the front of the printer. Also, determine if the paper tray is adjustable, allowing you to use different paper sizes—such as Letter, Legal and various envelope sizes, for example.

Two-Sided Printing

Full-duplex or two-sided printing means the printer can automatically print on both sides of the page. Two-sided printing slows down the printer a bit, but it conserves paper.

Display

A large touchscreen display is helpful for easily and quickly navigating among menu options. Ideally, you want a full-color display that showcases menus with intuitive icons. A smaller display, or a display without a touchscreen, can make menu access harder.

Price

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 price 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.”

Most laser printers go on sale often, so you can find a printer to meet your needs and budget. Also consider the ongoing cost of toner and how much a replacement drum costs.


Why Trust Forbes Vetted

The Forbes Vetted tech team strives to offer accurate and trustworthy product assessments that are the result of intensive research and hands-on testing. Our writers and editors have years of experience writing about a broad range of consumer electronics and have the background and expertise to help you make the best buying decisions possible.


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