For small business use:<\/strong> Choosing the right laser printer for your home office or for a small business would depend on your daily volume and what you need to print. There are some businesses that need only black and white printing while there are some that need to print graphs and colored reports. It’s recommended that small-business printer users get a color laser printer for the times you’ll need to print something in color. A good model to look at is the HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M479fdn printer<\/a>. Though color laser printers cost more upfront, they are much more economical than inkjet printers in the long run. We explain why later on in this article.\u00a0 Use your needs as your guide when deciding whether to get a monochrome or color laser printer. However, if you’re small business requires printing out high quality colored imagery or photos, you’ll need a professional photo inkjet printer for superior results (Laser printers can print photos too but we don’t recommend using them if you want professional results.\u00a0 Check out some of our favorite inkjet printers<\/a>.)<\/p>\r\n Here is our recommended list of laser printers for home and small business use. We break the list down further based on usage and budget; from affordable laser printer models you can use for low-volume home printing, small office laser printers, and heavy-duty laser printers appropriate for medium sized businesses. We’ve also made updates to the list based on customer feedback and to include newer laser printer models.<\/p>\r\n How did we come up with this list? There were many factors considered when we pulled this list together. If you want to know how to shop for the best printer instead of simply going off of printers from a list (which is smarter–IMHO), we strongly suggest you first familiarize yourself with the most common laser printer features and terminology. Knowing what these terms mean will help you understand the capabilities, strengths and weakness of each printer unit and how each one is different. When you’re more familiar with\u00a0the terms, we’ll jump right into some recommendations based off of common printing habits, so you can start making your own decisions on which machine is best for your home or business. Let’s begin!<\/strong><\/p>\r\n Printers are designed to carry a particular workload. When you match your expected print volume with a printer’s monthly capacity, you reduce the chances of unexpected breakdowns and repairs. Going beyond the technical expectations of a printer on a regular basis can lead to frequent breakdowns and a shorter lifespan for your unit. So before you decide on anything else, you need to determine how much you print on a monthly basis. <\/span><\/p>\r\n To help consumers choose the right model, manufacturers will include the monthly duty cycle as part of their technical specifications. This easy-to-use metric allows you to pair up your needs directly with a unit that is designed to handle your workload, and helps you avoid buying more printer power than you realistically need.<\/span><\/p>\r\n Print speed, also known as PPM or pages per minute, can widely vary between different laser printer models. Most budget friendly models will print at speeds between 25 and 50 pages per minute, which is more than adequate for most business purposes. High-end models can produce 100 pages per minute or more. The Brother\u00ae HL-S7000DN prints that fast, for example, which totals up to around 500 words per second. That means being able to produce the entire Bible, old and new testaments, in about 20 minutes according to <\/span>Tech Radar\u00ae<\/span><\/a>. Not everyone needs that level of output though, and that type of speed might get expensive. Taking a good hard look at your print habits will help you assess how fast you need to print, as well as how much you need to spend to get that speed.<\/span><\/p>\r\n Cost per page is an important criteria to consider when shopping for an efficient laser printer as it defines how much you’re going to be spending on toner cartridges in the long run. What you want is a cost-efficient laser printer with a low cost per page. Toner cartridges come with different price tags and page yields. (Page yield is how many pages you can expect to print with one cartridge.) To determine a printer’s cost per page, you divide a printer\u2019s page yield by the cost of the ink cartridge.<\/p>\r\n For example, the price of an original Canon\u00ae 137 black toner cartridge starts at $85.69* and its page yield is 2,400 pages. After some quick division, the cost is 3.5 cents per page. Calculating the cost per page for a color cartridge is slightly more complex. First, you’ll calculate the cost per page for each individual cartridge, using the same formula mentioned previously. \u00a0(Keep in mind, most cyan, magenta and yellow cartridges have the same page yield.) Then, add up the cost per page of all four cartridges (black, cyan, magenta and yellow). \u00a0We’ll look at HP 508X cartridges as an example. \u00a0The cost per page for the high yield black cartridge is 1.77 cents per page and each individual color cartridge is 3.23 cents per page. \u00a0If we add up all four toner cartridges we get 11.46, which would be our cost per page for color prints in this case.<\/p>\r\n Aftermarket Compatible Toner Cartridges<\/strong><\/em> Laser printers are commonly purchased for office settings and most can handle legal-size paper. Some\u00a0compact models may not, especially those designed for home-use, so be sure to research paper size specs before purchase if legal size printing is a must. If you print in sizes larger than legal, you may require a specialty printer to get the job done.<\/span><\/p>\r\n Print pros call the process by which printers arrange and produce double-sided prints duplex printing or “duplexing,” and it’s something you should keep in mind. Double-sided printing makes your documents look professional, and it helps save money on copier paper. Most top level laser printers worth their salt today automatically duplex your prints, just select the “print-on both sides” option in your print preferences and you’ll be good to go!<\/span><\/p>\r\n The wise folks at PC World\u00ae<\/a> list paper handling as one of the most important qualities you should shop for when buying a laser printer. \u00a0Paper handling describes the smoothness, efficiency, and consistency with which your printer moves paper from the loading tray and delivers your final print. In other words, it describes the inner workings of the printer unit. Better paper handling means fewer paper jams and fewer repairs.<\/span><\/p>\r\n Traditionally, most laser printers only print in black and white. They’ve always been best for clean, crisp text, but the nature of their printing mechanism isn’t designed for photo-quality images. Nowadays, many models include single-pass color printing, which is perfect for adding color to graphs, tables, and other design elements. If you are creating a lot of presentations where color would pop, consider choosing a model that features color. <\/span><\/p>\r\n A wireless connection is an incredible boon for networking printers among multiple devices or employees. While a lot of newer laser printers feature built-in WiFi and Bluetooth capabilities, there are a number that still rely on a\u00a0wired Ethernet or USB connections. The reason? Speed. WiFi is super versatile, allowing different devices to link up from anywhere, but it cuts into the speed at which your unit can print. For many offices, especially those where computers aren’t moving around, the printing speed is more important than versatility. <\/span><\/p>\r\n If you’re working in a small office or buying a printer for your home or dorm, space matters. Always check the measurements listed by the manufacturer to get an idea of how big the unit really is. \u00a0<\/span>Some laser printers are designed to be more compact than others, and recent printer innovations in technology have resulted in LED printers—designed to be even smaller than standard laser printers. Make note of the amount of room you have and ensure it matches up with manufacturer measurements before you make your purchase. <\/span><\/p>\r\n In the not-so-distant past, the differences between inkjet printers and laser printers made their roles straightforward. Inkjets were less expensive and vastly superior for producing images, ideal for home and creative uses, whereas laser printers printed fast and reliable\u00a0text, a must\u00a0for daily office use. \u00a0 Nowadays, the gap between the two has largely been closed, especially when it comes to laser image quality. If you\u2019re looking to high quality photos with your laser printer, there are several models that do a pretty decent job. <\/span><\/p>\r\n Once you move beyond the most basic printer models, you start getting other additional features designed to make your life in the office easier. Some laser printers are available with built-in scanner copiers, perfect for small sized teams. Others feature faxing capabilities and convenient LED interfaces to help you manage your print queue. When looking at features, always step back and evaluate it’s\u00a0necessity in the context of your printing needs.<\/span><\/p>\r\n Nearly every printer today comes with a warranty, but not all warranties are created equal. Some warranties cover parts and replacement; others include professional on-site service. And, naturally, some warranties last longer than others. Look into the terms of your warranty before you make a big purchase, it will help prevent headaches down the road.<\/span><\/p>\r\n Based on all of these laser printer considerations, let’s jump into our top picks when it comes to the best laser printers.<\/p>\r\n The Brother HL-L2300D is a no-nonsense monochrome laser printer which prints at 27 pages per minute and has a monthly duty cycle of 10,000 pages. This machine offers low operating costs for the home or office users that just need to print in black and like all the laser printers mentioned on this page, toner cartridges won\u2019t dry out if the printer goes unused for a long time. Change the printer setting to Toner Save mode to use less toner on everyday documents.<\/p>\r\nBudget Laser Printers<\/h3>\r\n
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Small Business Laser Printers<\/h3>\r\n
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Heavy-Duty Networked Laser Printers<\/h3>\r\n
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\r\nThe Most Basic Laser Printer Features To Consider Are:<\/h3>\r\n
Monthly duty cycle<\/h4>\r\n
Speed (PPM)<\/h4>\r\n
Cost Per Page<\/h4>\r\n
If you want to get serious about saving money on printing, you might want to try using compatible toner cartridge replacements. The main draw of compatible toner cartridges is an even lower cost per page.\u00a0If you were to buy a compatible replacement for the\u00a0Canon 137 toner<\/a>\u00a0from LD\u00ae at $19.99, your cost would only be .83 cents per page. Compared to an original Canon 137 toner with a CPP of 3.5 cents per page,\u00a0that\u2019s huge savings!<\/p>\r\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.ldproducts.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/ld_blog_LaserPrinter_v1.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\r\nAccepted Media\/Paper size<\/h4>\r\n
\r\nOther Features<\/h3>\r\n
Automatic duplexed print<\/h4>\r\n
Paper handling<\/h4>\r\n
Monochrome or color<\/h4>\r\n
Wi-Fi<\/h4>\r\n
Printer size<\/h4>\r\n
Photo quality<\/h4>\r\n
Other perks<\/h4>\r\n
Warranty<\/h4>\r\n
\r\nBEST BUDGET LASER PRINTERS<\/h3>\r\n
Brother\u00ae HL-L2300D Laser Printer<\/a>– Buy on \u00a0Amazon<\/a><\/h4>\r\n