The best laser printer is something a lot of us are looking for right now. Because even though the world is starting to open up again, most of us have got used to the productivity spike of working from home and skipping the commute. And so, even when we're officially allowed back in the office, we're still likely to spend at least one or two days a week at home.
Admittedly, if you just need to print out the odd page now and again, your best choice will be a cheap and cheerful inkjet printer - such as one of the best all-in-one printers, or best compact printers. Inkjets also generally do a better job of printing photos than laser printers. But if you need to print out a lot of documents, and don't want to wait around all day for them, you'll want a laser printer. Aside from printing more quickly, you'll also save money over the long term, due to the lower per-print cost of toner ink compared with inkjet cartridges.
So how do you choose the best laser printer for your needs? The first consideration will be whether you need to print in color, or just black and white. Also think about whether you want just a device for printing, or if you'd prefer a multifunctional device that offers scanning, copying and faxing too.
If you're doing a large amount of printing, you'll want to know the capacity of the printer; in other words, how many sheets you can load up at one time. If quality is important, you'll also want to know the maximum resolution it can print at. This is measured in dpi (dots per inch); the higher the figure, the better the quality. And you'll also need to think about how you print. Do you prefer to print wirelessly, via an Ethernet cable or by USB; or would you like all those options just to be sure?
In this article, we'll bring you the best laser printers available today, and give you all the information you need to choose between them.
Best laser printers in 2021
The Lexmark MB3442adw offers everything you could possibly want from a mono laser printer, at a very reasonable price. That includes not just two-sided printing, but also copying, faxing and automatic two-sided scanning, via a very nice 7.2cm colour touchscreen.
It's fastest on our list, too, offering print speeds of up to 40 pages per minute. You can print via Ethernet, USB 2.0 or Wi-Fi. Its paper capacity of 550 sheets should be enough for most needs, plus there's the option to add an extra tray to bump that up to 900. And it's relatively compact and lightweight, making it easy to move around your home office. For all these reasons, this is our pick as the best wireless printer overall.
Need to print in color? Then we recommend the Kyocera Ecosys P5026cdw. It does a great job of accurately printing your files, time after time, at a high resolution of 1,200dpi. It offers very respectable speeds of up to 26 pages per minute, and duplex printing comes as standard. You can print via Wi-Fi or by inserting a USB stick.
Note that this is a one-use printer: there's no scanning, copying or faxing. And while there is a touchscreen display, it's pretty small and basic. But that helps keeps the cost down, and so as long as none of these are deal-breakers, this is an excellent value buy.
Need a laser printer but watching the pennies? Then we'd suggest the HP LaserJet Pro M15w. It's very cheap, but surprisingly capable.
This lightweight mono printer offers printing over Wi-Fi via the HP app, or AirPrint if you have an iPad or iPhone. Alternatively, you can hook it up to your computer via USB. While its print speed (18 pages per minute) and paper capacity (150 sheets), aren't as high as some of the laser printers on our list, they should be enough for most people's needs. And so overall, this represents exceptional value for money.
Need a laser printer for a small office that offers color and mono printing, along with scanning, copying and fax? The Xerox WorkCentre 6515dni provides all this, plus the ability to connect to up to seven people.
The 6516dni provides a printing resolution of 1,200 x 2,400dpi image quality and copy resolution up to 600 x 600dpi. You can print wirelessly from your laptop, tablet or smartphone via Apple AirPrint or Google Cloud Print. Alternatively, you can print via your computer via Ethernet Cable or high-speed USB 3.0.
With a capacity of 250 sheets, you won't have to change the paper too often. Duplex printing and booklet printing are both included. Print speeds are impressive at 28 pages per minute. And you can email your scanned documents too, which is a potentially handy feature when you're out of the office.
If you only need black and white printing for your home office, then take a look at the HP LaserJet Pro MFP M227fdw. This laser printer offers excellent quality mono prints, at 1,200dpi resolution, sharp text, bold blacks and crisp graphics. You also get scanning, copying and faxing.
Duplex printing is included, and print speeds go up to 28 pages per minute. You can print via WiFi via the HP app or AirPrint if you have an iPhone or iPad. Alternatively, you can print via Ethernet or USB, and you can print via email when you're out of the office. The touchscreen display works nice and smoothly, and while this isn't the cheapest on our list, it's a reliable and professional choice for any home setup.
Xerox is known for high quality and performance, but its printers are generally pretty expensive. Here's a notable exception. The Xerox B215 offers mono printing, via Ethernet, Wi-Fi or USB, as well as scanning, faxing and copying, at an affordable price. And it's a very decent performer too.
You get higher than average print speeds of up to 30 pages per minute, and high resolution reproduction at 1,200dpi. Not to mention a generous capacity of 251 sheets plus a tilting, 3.5 inch color touchscreen, which makes this laser printer easy and convenient to use. On the downside, it takes a little time to warm up, but on the whole this is quite the bargain.
This laser printer from HP has the name 'Neverstop' because it uses a refillable toner tank instead of disposable cartridges. This isn't just good for the environment, it also saves you money: up to 60 per cent on toner each time you reload. Not to mention that you're already getting 5,000 pages of toner right out of the box.
Besides that, this is a very capable multifunctional printer, offering mono printing, scanning and copying (although not faxing). You can print via Ethernet, USB or Wi-Fi. On the negative side, there's no duplex printing, the paper capacity is limited to 150 sheets, and the small LCD display isn't the best. But overall, this is a good, solid performer that delivers quality results, time after time.
This color laser printer is one the expensive side, but you do get good value for money. The Brother MFC-L3770CDW allows you to print, copy, scan and fax, via Wi-Fi or USB. It has a lovely 9.3cm color touchscreen, that makes it easy to access the printer's wide range of document handling functions.
Duplex printing and scanning is included, as is in-built toner sufficient to print 1,000 pages. Print quality is high, at resolutions of up to 1,200 x 2,400dpi, and there's a generous paper capacity of 250 sheets. In short, this is great choice for either a home office or small business.
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