As inkjet printers have become more capable, the differences between lasers and inkjets have narrowed in recent years, but lasers are still worth considering. They offer better text quality, the ability to print in greater volume, greater paper capacity, lower running costs, and (generally) higher speeds than inkjets. Relatively high prices and mediocre photo quality have traditionally relegated laser printers to office settings, but the picture is changing. Prices have come down—though they're still, by and large, more expensive than inkjets—and photo output has improved.
A monochrome laser printer can provide the speed, durability, and paper handling to deal with the high printing volume of a busy office. And inexpensive monochrome lasers with modest paper handling can serve as personal desktop printers in any size office. Many current color lasers print photos are fine for many business uses, such as client newsletters. In higher-quality lasers, overall output quality for text, graphics, and photos is typically good enough for brochures and other marketing materials, allowing many companies to take such printing in-house.
While the vast majority of new inkjets (except photo printers) are multifunction printers (MFPs), with lasers, there's an abundance of both single-function printers and MFPs available. MFPs provide copying and scanning in addition to printing, and often fax capabilities as well. Most laser printers or MFPs include Ethernet connectivity, and some integrate Wi-Fi. There's also Wi-Fi Direct or its equivalent, which lets you establish a direct peer-to-peer connection between computer and printer so you don't need to connect to a network, and near-field communications (NFC) touch-to-print, which lets you print from a mobile device by simply tapping it on a specific spot on the printer.
Many lasers include a touch-screen interface, secure (password-protected) printing, a built-in hard drive, and/or the ability to perform a range of functions over a network. Most have an automatic duplexer for printing on both sides of a sheet of paper, and nearly all have both a flatbed for scanning and an automatic document feeder (ADF) for scanning, copying, or faxing multipage documents unattended. Many higher-end MFPs now offer ADFs for automatically scanning two-sided pages, either reversing ADFs (RADFs), which scan one side of the page, flip the page over, and scan the other side, or ADFs that scan both sides of the page in a single pass, and are thus considerably faster.
LED printers—which use light-emitting diodes instead of lasers as a light source—share many of the characteristics of laser printers, and are considered laser-class devices. They are somewhat smaller than laser printers that share the same capabilities, so they're particularly suitable for smaller offices where space may be at a premium.
Laser printers have much to offer businesses of all sizes, from sole proprietorships to large corporations, and are increasingly worth considering for home use as well. Take a look at the 10 best lasers we've tested, which span a wide range of prices and capabilities. For more buying advice and reviews, check out our top printer picks overall, our favorite wireless printers, and the best printers for Macs.
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HP Color LaserJet Enterprise M553dn

$599.00
$579.57 at Amazon The HP Color LaserJet Enterprise M553dn is fast, low-priced, and has output quality good enough to let you print your own marketing materials. Read the full review ››
Brother HL-L2300D

$119.99
$90.80 at Amazon The Brother HL-L2300D's small size and excellent paper handling—with a 250-sheet tray, manual feed, and duplexer—should be at the top of your list for a personal monochrome laser printer. Read the full review ››
Canon imageClass MF227dw

$249.00
$129.99 at Amazon The Canon imageClass MF227dw monochrome laser multifunction printer is an excellent choice as a moderate-use shared printer in a micro office. Read the full review ››
Dell Printer - E310dw

$129.99
$89.99 at Dell Small Business The Dell Printer - E310dw combines small size, fast speed, and both Ethernet and Wi-Fi connectivity, making it a good fit as either a personal monochrome laser printer or a shared printer in a micro office. Read the full review ››
HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M277dw

$429.99
Best Price at Amazon A good fit as a personal multifunction printer or for light-duty, shared use in a small office, the HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M277dw delivers high-quality text and graphics, fast speed, and mobile printing support. Read the full review ››
Xerox Phaser 6500/DN

$499.00
$299.99 at Amazon The Xerox Phaser 6500/DN color laser printer offers a highly attractive balance of speed, output quality, and paper handling for a small office or workgroup. Read the full review ››
Brother MFC-L2720DW

$249.99
$189.95 at Amazon The Brother MFC-L2720DW monochrome laser multifunction printer (MFP) can fit nicely as a heavy-duty personal printer or as a shared printer in a micro office. Read the full review ››
Dell Smart Printer - S2810dn

$229.99
$179.99 at Dell Small Business The Dell Smart Printer - S2810dn monochrome laser delivers suitable speed, output quality, and paper handling for moderate use in a small office. Read the full review ››
HP LaserJet Enterprise M605x

$1549.99
$1,079.90 at Amazon The HP LaserJet Enterprise M605x provides good speed, solid output quality, and voluminous paper capacity in a monochrome laser built for high-volume printing. Read the full review ››
OKI MB472w

$399.00
$326.19 at Amazon The LED-based OKI MB472w can serve nicely as a heavy-duty monochrome multifunction printer for a micro or small office or as a medium-duty MFP in a midsize office. Read the full review ››