What Kind Of Laser Do You Need
You can break down lasers into four key types, defined by two questions: Is the printer a mono-only laser, or can it do color, too? And, is it only a printer, or an all-in-one model that can print, scan, and copy ? Laser models exist in all four combinations.
“Printer-only” models are well and good they are all about sheer text or business-document output to the exclusion of all else. If all you need is stacks of relatively uncomplicated documents, they’re perfectly fine for that. They fall into two rough classes: inexpensive units meant for homes or student use , and larger models designed for a home office, a small office, or a workgroup .
In contrast, the laser all-in-one is a more varied animal. You can find both monochrome and color laser AIOs, but when you’re talking about a mono laser AIO, there is an inherent mismatch of functionality there. Mono laser AIOs obviously print only in black-and-white, but they can scan in color, as well as make monochrome copies of any kind of source material, like a standard photocopier can. In a sense, the mono laser AIO combines the cost efficiency of a mono laser with the convenience factor that an AIO brings. You just need to know what you’re getting into before you buy one of these.
The Canon imageClass MF424dw all-in-one color laser has an ADF for easy scanning.
Smooth Grayscale Relatively Quickly
HP rates the M234dwe at 30 pages per minute , which is a bit above average for a printer in this class. I tested it over Ethernet from our standard Intel Core i5 testbed PC running Windows 10 Professional. For the first test, I timed the M234dwe as it churned out our 12-page Microsoft Word text file. After several print runs, I added the respective scores and calculated the average print time of 33ppm.
Not only is 33ppm faster than this LaserJets rating, but its also quicker than most competing models in this class. It beat the Epson ST-M3000 by 13ppm, the HP Neverstop by 12ppm, and the Canon MF269dw by 3.1ppm. However, it fell behind the Brother MFC-L2717DW by 3.7ppm.
For the next phase of testing, I clocked the M234dwe as it printed our collection of complex color business documents, which includes Adobe Acrobat PDFs containing complicated graphics and fonts at various sizes and colors, Excel spreadsheets and accompanying charts and graphs, and PowerPoint handouts with complex gradient backgrounds and fills. After coming up with an average print time, I combined these scores with those from printing the text document in the previous test and came up with a score of 12.6ppm for printing our entire suite of test documents.
The M234dwe score isnt bad, but it falls behind these other models . Canons MF269dw, at 18.6ppm, was easily the fastest on this part of our tests.
Which Printer Is Best For Office Use
Best Printers for Office Use Printer type HP OfficeJet Pro 9020 All-in-One Wireless Smart Color Printer Inkjet Brother DCP-L2520D Multi Function Monochrome Laser Printer Laser Printer HP Laserjet Pro M126nw Multi Function Direct Wireless Network Laser Printer Inkjet Canon Pixma G2012 All-in One Ink Tank Color Printer Ink Tank.
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Quick Answer: What Is The Best Laser Printer
The Best Laser Printer Our pick. HP Color LaserJet Pro M255dw. The best laser printer. Budget pick. Brother HL-L2350DW. An affordable printer for basic tasks. Also great. Brother MFC-L2750DW. A monochrome printer that can scan and copy. Upgrade pick. HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M479fdw. Speed and features for high-volume needs.
Why You Should Trust Us
Wirecutter has covered printers for seven years, and Ive written about them since 2016. My editors and I have kept an eye on feedback from comment threads, email, and Twitter to better understand our readers real-world needs. Weve considered reviews from other editorial sources, including CNET, Computer Shopper, and PCMag. Weve scanned thousands of customer reviews to pick out recurring issues with specific models. And weve lived with many printers as long-term test units, learning how they can fail and disappoint in the long run.
For this guide to laser printers, weve considered 157 different printers and tested 19 of them since 2011. And for this particular update, we put in about 25 hours of research and testing, looking at 15 models and ultimately testing three.
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The Best Color Laser Photo Printer: Canon Color Imageclass Mf644cdw
Why you should buy this: Great color print quality in a multifunction printer.
Who its for: Anyone who needs to print or copy photos and graphics quickly.
Why we picked the Canon Color imageClass MF634Cdw:
Laser printers are not photo printers, per se, but models like the Canon Color imageClass MF644Cdw go a long way to blurring the lines between them, which makes sense coming from a company like Canon, known for its cameras. While we wouldnt recommend it for photographers, the MF644Cdw is hard to beat for the office that needs to make or reproduce documents that contain graphics and photos.
While the 22 ppm print speed of the Canon Color imageClass MF644Cdw doesnt match the HP M281fdw, it does offer automated duplex printing, copying, and scanning from its 50-sheet document feeder. With a maximum monthly duty cycle of 30,000 prints and a recommended cycle of 200 to 2,500, it can also hold up to the standard printing demands of small to medium-sized offices.
In addition to USB, print jobs can be sent wirelessly via Apple AirPrint, Google Cloud Print, Mopria, Wi-Fi direct, and Canons Print Business app.
The Most Basic Laser Printer Features To Consider Are:
Monthly duty cycle
Printers are designed to carry a particular workload. When you match your expected print volume with a printers 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.
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.
Speed
Cost Per Page
Cost per page is an important criteria to consider when shopping for an efficient laser printer as it defines how much youre 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. To determine a printers cost per page, you divide a printers page yield by the cost of the ink cartridge.
Accepted Media/Paper size
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Best Overall: Brother Mfc
If wireless printing and cloud features are most important for your needs, opt for the Brother MFC-L2750DW. Fully wireless, this four-in-one printer can receive jobs from any device, including laptops, desktops, smartphones, and tablets. Still, it also has additional capabilities that go above and beyond what most wireless models offer. Case in point: its NFC printing technology lets you print automatically from any device.
This Brother all-in-one printer is also ideal for businesses that do high volume document scanningit has a 50-sheet automatic feeder with single-pass duplex scanning, which is a major timesaver. Using the touchscreen, documents can automatically be scanned or printed to most major Cloud services including Dropbox, Evernote, and Google Drive. This is a must for businesses trying to convert old paper files to digital records, or frequently need to share documents.
What Are The Factors To Consider To Find The Best Laser Printer
Monochrome or colored?
Firstly, you should figure out the type of documents you need to print using the device. If you want to print out black and white documents like invoices, you should invest in a monochrome laser printer. However, to print colored documents on a daily basis, a colored laser printer will be the best choice.
Functions
Apart from printing, if you also need to send or receive faxes, scan documents, and make copies, then you should go for an all-in-one multifunction printer. It will allow you to perform all the tasks quickly. You can also look for other functions like a high-speed USB interface, the ability to print using Cloud-based apps, toner saver, and more.
Paper handling
Since most printers only handle A4-size papers, you will have to conduct a little research to find a specific model if you need to print documents on A3-size paper. Besides, printing heavier documents and envelopes requires a multi-purpose tray in the printer. You will have to read the specifications of the machine to determine the number of envelopes it can load and the exact weight of paper it can handle.
For a busy office, filling up the paper tray over and over again can be frustrating. So, it is important to choose a printer with a lot of tray capacity that can be extended with a second or third tray to suffice your growing needs. Office printers usually have a standard tray capacity of 250 sheets.
Connectivity
Ease of use
Toner cost and TCO
Noise emissions
Power consumption
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Understanding Laser Printer Connectivity
While the vast majority of new inkjets are AIOs, with lasers you’ll find an abundance of both single-function printers and AIOs as you shop. AIOs provide copying and scanning in addition to printing, and in some cases, fax capabilities, too. Models with fax functionality will have a phone-line interface.
Most laser printers or AIOs include an Ethernet jack, and some integrate Wi-Fi. Ethernet connections are essential for plugging into the office router or other wired network infrastructure. For a small or home office, this is often sufficient, too, but also look at the other connectivity options if you just need to connect the printer to a single PC.
Also, when checking out the wireless aspects, be sure to check whether the Wi-Fi interface comes standard or is an option that you add via a module or card. Wi-Fi add-ons for laser AIOs tend to be extravagantly priced.
Control panels vary widely from one printer to the next. Make sure you get one with the walk-up features you need.
You might also see support for Wi-Fi Direct, or its equivalent, for establishing a direct peer-to-peer connection between computer and printer so you don’t need to connect to a network. Another more frequent option is support for Near-Field Communications touch-to-print, which lets you print from a mobile device by simply tapping it on a specific spot on the printer.
What Is A Laser Printer Know Everything
What is a laser printer? Most companies and businesses use printers every day. The most popular printers are laser, which is a much more complex process than inkjet. However, the operation of a laser printer is still mysterious to many people!
We want to help you understand it better to start using them in your own office. A laser printer is a machine that uses laser technology to print images on paper rather than traditional ink-on-paper printing.
They are most used in offices, companies, or even education centers thanks to their speed and efficiency in printing large volumes of documents and pages. Their quality is excellent too! This type of printer originated in 1977 and was developed by Gary Starkweather at Xerox during the 70s.
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Hp Laserjet Pro Multifunction M428fdw Wireless Laser Printer
as of February 19, 2022 4:55 pm
Features
- BUILT TO KEEP YOUR BUSINESS MOVING FORWARD Print, scan, copy and fax consistently high-quality documents with the HP LaserJet Pro Multifunction M428fdw, a wireless printer designed to let you focus on growing your business
- BEST-IN-CLASS SECURITY A suite of embedded security features, like instant threat notifications and optional PIN/Pull printing, help protect your laser printer from being an entry point for attacks and help ensure the safety of your sensitive data
- AUTOMATE COMPLICATED WORKFLOWS – Help save time by automating steps in a complicated workflow, and apply your saved settings at a touch of a button via the customizable control panel
- PRINT WITH OR WITHOUT A NETWORK Use built-in Wi-Fi Direct to connect your smartphone directly to your wireless laser printer for easy mobile printing, even without a local network connection
- SPEED THROUGH TASKS Stay productive with single-pass, 2-sided scanning, 50-sheet auto document feeder, 250-sheet input tray, and print speeds of up to 40 pages a minute from this multifunction laser printer
What To Consider In A Laser Printer
Laser printers use toner cartridges, which have powder that gets transferred onto paper through heat. This method makes them better than ink at printing large batches of text. The toner also doesnt smudge as much as ink or dry out as fast, so you can save money over time. The main downsides to laser printers are that they tend to be a bit bulkier than inkjets, and many only print in black and white. The color laser printers will also cost much more, though the investment may be worth it for offices and small business that need to print a lot in bulk.
In addition to considering whether you need to print in monochrome or color, you should also consider whether you need an inkjet printer strictly for printing or an all-in-one model that can also scan, copy, and fax documents. Like inkjets, laser printers are available with all four functionalities.
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From Crisp Black Text To Brilliant Photos Weve Got The Inkjet And Laser Printers That Can Do It All
The problem with definitively choosing the best printer on the market is that there are so many things to consider. Is it best to go with an inkjet or laser printer? Cartridges or refillable tanks? Do you need a multifunction printer that also scans and copies, or are you after something that just prints? When similar-looking printers cost anywhere between £30 and £300, how much do you need to spend?
Yet a printer remains essential, whether for business or the home. Thats why weve pulled together a new roundup covering the best printers from the leading brands, so youll know which model will be the best fit for your specific needs.
These recommendations come from hours of rigorous hands-on testing, so we know what were talking about. Look below and youll find guidance on everything from the different types of printer to the major functions and features, to help you work out what you need and what youre not prepared to pay the extra for.
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Canon Imageclass Mf743cdw: Best For Auto Duplex Printing
This simple cube of a laser printer can churn out colour or monochrome pages at a steady rate of 25 per minute. Its simple to use too, and easy to connect with thanks to its inclusion of both Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi Direct. Theres even an NFC chip built in for added wireless convenience. NFC makes it possible for you to pull down individual print jobs by simply tapping your NFC-enabled smartphone so that sensitive documents are never left lying on the printer. The Ricoh P C301Ws high yield toner cartridges also ensure a low running cost.
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Brother Compact Monochrome Laser Printer Hl
as of February 19, 2022 4:55 pm
Features
- Print more, wait less. Engineered for increased efficiency with class leading print speeds of up to 32 pages per minute.
- Dynamic features accommodate your evolving needs. The 250-sheet paper capacity helps improve efficiency with less refills and handles letter or legal sized paper.
- Flexible printing. The manual feed slot offers flexible paper handling for a variety of papers and sizes, such as card stock, envelopes, etc. to help you create professional looking documents.
- Printing as mobile as you are. Print wirelessly from your desktop, laptop, smartphone and tablet.
- Connect your way. Versatile connection options with built-in wireless or connect locally to a single computer via its USB interface.
Best For Business: Xerox Versalink C500
This beast of a printer is perfect for the office environment, with fully wireless capabilities that also include connecting to smartphones and directly to the cloud. It has a large, easy-to-use touchscreen, prints at up to 45 ppm, and has a capacity of up to 3,250 sheets. And with Amazon Dash, you’ll never be without ink since the printer can order replacements.
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The Most Common Types Of Printer
Most printers are designed to print text, graphics, or photos. Generally, business models use laser technology and are geared toward text , while home printers favor photos. Within these considerations, printers still vary widely in output quality for these categories. Some business printers can handle all three output types well enough that they can be used for in-house printing of brochures and other marketing materials.
How Do You Intend To Use Your Printer
Printers vary widely based on whether theyâre for home or business use , what you intend to print with them , and whether you need color printing or just monochrome.
Most printers are designed with either business or home use in mind. Generally, business models and are geared toward text and usually graphics, while home printers favor photos. Special-purpose options include dedicated and near-dedicated and label printers. Even if you primarily want to print photos, you may also want a printer that can do other things, so be clear on the whole scope of your printing needs before you buy.
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