Multifunction Laser Printers: Which is the Best of 2021? - Go Get Yourself (2023)

FAQs

What is the best laser printer on the market today? ›

1. Xerox VersaLink B600DN: Best for heavy print loads. 2. Brother HL-L5100DN: Best for busy SMBs.

The HP Color LaserJet Pro M283cdw is the best color laser printer you can get right now. It prints fast, sports a space-saving design, and includes scanning, copying, and faxing features alongside printing. It even has a handy color touchscreen to navigate its features.

The best laser printer is the powerful, versatile HP Color LaserJet Pro M255dw. It's easy to set up and simple to use, and it produces great-looking results, both in color and in black and white.

Most laser printers print much faster than inkjet printers. This isn't and shouldn't be a strong selling point for casual printers, but high volume users will notice a huge difference. Laser printers produce sharp text. If you're a high volume printer that only requires text documents, laser is the way to go.

As print quality goes down over time, this will be a reason to replace the color printer. We find a black and white printer can sometimes last 10 years or more and most color laser printers are replaced every 3 to 5 years.

Laser printers can't handle a variety of paper or printing materials like inkjets. Anything heat-sensitive cannot be run through them. Home laser printers can handle simple graphics, but smooth photographs are a challenge. If you want to print photos, go for inkjet.

Mar 10, 2023: Minor structure change. Added the HP OfficeJet 250 as the 'Best All-In-One Portable Printer' and the Epson EcoTank ET-3850 as a Notable Mention.

If your business's needs include only occasional printing, a laser printer may be your best choice. The method used by a laser printer to produce a printed page makes it a dependable occasional-use printer.

Should I get a mono or Colour laser printer? ›

Monochrome laser printers use one black toner cartridge. Color laser printers typically use four cartridges: cyan, magenta, yellow, and black. Color printing uses more toner to print a single page, which significantly increases the cost per page.

While you can use plain paper with your laser printer, using quality paper that has been engineered for use with a laser printer tends to provide better results. Laser printer paper has a high level of heat resistance, as laser printers generate heat when printing.

Summary. At the end of the day, toner's powder form means it is a very long-lasting product. Laser printers can operate with the same toner cartridge for years without the toner going bad.

Inkjets and laser printers don't technically require different paper. You can use a ream of cheap office copy paper and get results that are adequate for most uses.

Keeping your printer on all the time will keep your print heads cleaner, making them less likely to break. Regularly cleaning and maintaining your printer are essential in ensuring it continues printing high-quality documents for a long time.

You should get a laser printer if you print high volumes of black and white documents. Laser printers can print much faster than inkjet printers can. Most are equipped with high-capacity paper trays, so they can print more pages at a given time.

Glossy photo paper typically doesn't work very well with laser printers, as the ink will simply wipe away after being applied to the surface.

The average lifespan of a printer is around 3-5 years. With proper upkeep and maintenance, some printers can last longer, but eventually your machine will need an upgrade.

Laser printers use toner which will not dry out the same way an ink cartridge does. Unlike ink, which is liquid-based, toner is a dry powder composed of plastic components so it will not dry out. You can leave a toner cartridge in your printer for weeks untouched and it should still print.

What is the most common laser color? ›

The most common laser pointers are red (630 nm-670 nm), green (520 nm and 532 nm) and violet (405 nm and 445 nm).

Although toner drums in a laser printer are more expensive to replace than inkjet ink cartridges, they last longer and will require less frequent replacements, which will generally lead to a lower cost per page.

Generally, inkjet papers are not suitable for use on laser and could in some instances damage a laser printer. Inkjet photo papers are not designed to take a high heat and the coating used on this paper could contaminate a laser printer.

Laser printer maintenance is much more affordable due to the toner price. For now, the cost-per-page of black-and-white prints is below 5 cents for any laser printers. And the color printouts cost around 15 cents per page. Another thing that you should be aware of is the expiration date of toners and ink cartridges.

Avoid exposing the imaging cartridge to light, and never open the drum's protective cover as this may damage the light sensitive drum. Overexposure of the drum may cause very dark or light areas to appear on printed documents and reduce its functional life.

Are laser printers good for photos? Yes, absolutely. In fact, they have always been good at printing photos.

A laser printer used to be the only option for fast, high-quality document printing, but in the last few years, office-focused inkjets have started running them close for speed and quality. Despite popular belief, inkjets are often cheaper to run than their laser equivalents, too.

The most common types of printers you find on the market are inkjet printers and laser printers. Inkjet printers are commonly sold for home use, while laser printers are more frequently sold to businesses, but both can be used in either environment.

How often should you clean a laser printer? ›

The inside of your printer should be cleaned every 6 months or every 300 hours of operation, depending on which comes first. If you're using a shared printer in an office, you'll likely need to clean it once a month. If it's a home printer that doesn't get much use, it will probably be closer to once every 6 months.

Laser printers are typically a little more expensive during the initial purchase, but the overall savings actually boil down to our original comparison: printer toner vs ink? While ink is still relatively expensive to refill or replace, toner powder is much more affordable over time.

Since it lasts forever and never dries up, you can print as much or as little as you need without worry. No more wasted ink! The cost to print is also lower. Laser printers yield more pages than inkjet printers, so you'll make fewer trips to the store to stock up on pricey inks.

Our top pick, the Brother HL-L2325DW, produced high quality text and images, is easy to set up over a wired or wireless connection, has a relatively small footprint and costs less per page than most comparable models. That's everything you can ask for from a printer, and the Brother is nicely priced, as well.

Laser printers are more efficient, printing pages more quickly than comparable inkjet printers perform. The printing process is noticeably quieter with a laser printer vs. inkjet. Even when not in use for long periods of time, toner does not run the risk of drying up and becoming unusable.

Canon imageCLASS MF264dw

This all-in-one laser printer is one of the best options on the market for consumers looking for cheap monochrome printouts, plus the ability to copy, scan, and fax. The MF264dw produces black-and-white text with admirable speed and outstanding quality.

In short, yes, laser printers can print on glossy coated paper. As long as the right type of paper is used to allow the toner to fuse with it, great printing effects on glossy paper can be achieved with any laser printer.

175 to 200gsm – Quality paper with a card feel.

The heat from a laser printer applied to an inkjet product could damage an adhesive label product by weakening the adhesive; therefore, the adhesive will not adhere to the surface applied. The heat from a laser printer applied to an adhesive product can cause the color of the label to change.

Unlike inkjet printers, laser print heads don't get clogged with dried ink. However, dust and bits of debris can accumulate on a laser print-head lens, causing many of the same print-quality issues as a clogged print head on an inkjet printer, including blurred or faint text and images.

How many times can you refill a laser toner cartridge? ›

Until the print head wears out you can continue to recycle your empty cartridges. Generally, you can expect to refill your empty OEM cartridge between 2-6 times.

But the replacement of a drum unit is vital to laser printers' health. A degraded drum unit can cause streaks, smudges, and blank spots on your printed page even if you just inserted a new printer toner. While a broken drum unit won't break your printer, it will just fail to stop printing at a certain point.

('Normal' 80, 90 or 100gsm bond papers can be printed on both laser and inkjet printers.) If you want good-looking prints, you must be discerning when choosing papers. Avoid plain office paper. The best results will come from coated papers with smooth surfaces and these can come in matte, low-gloss and glossy finishes.

Direct thermal printers do not require any form of ink or toner. A direct thermal printer is equipped with a “thermal head” that generates heat. This thermal head heats up the special paper in specific spots as it rolls through.

The Challenge of the Great Printer Shortage

Labor has also been an issue thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, especially in manufacturing and logistics. Supply chain shortages are affecting: Printer ink and toner. Printer parts / spare parts.

It all depends on how much you print. So this leads to the question, "how long before a toner cartridge expires"? We've seen manufactures state that a toner cartridge should be used within 12 to 24 months after purchase.