The Best color laser printer for 2020

The Best color laser printer for 2020

Colours Printer 

In our view, the Brother HL-L8360CDW is, pass on, the best shading laser printer. And it is our top choice because it offers faster speeds, uses higher capacity toner cartridges, and it works with just about every wireless printing device available. It even has an NFC card reader for security-related customers. We have tested and reviewed dozens of printers, and based on our earned expertise, we feel there is no better value than the HL-L8360CDW for your money.

But if you think the HL-L8360CDW is just not right for your needs, there are other color laser printers to consider. If you're like an all-in-one that does scanning, copying, and faxing documents or you just need a more affordable model, then be sure to have a look at the other printers featured in this list.

Best Color Laser Printer at a Glance: Best Color Laser Printer: Brother HL-L8360CDW

Why you should buy it: High-capacity toner, very fast print speed, and a wealth of wireless connectivity options.

Who it is for: Office with large print editions, or anyone who needs a color print.

Why we chose Brother HL-L8360CDW:

At 17.4 x 19.1 x 12.3 inches (width, depth, height) and weighing over 48 pounds, the Brother HL-L8360CDW is no lighter. But with print speeds up to 33 pages per minute (ppm) and high-capacity toner cartridges that can hold up to 4,500 prints, it easily churns through mass print jobs. The maximum monthly charge cycle is an impressive 60,000 pages, with the recommended monthly amount being 4,000. The main paper tray holds up to 250 sheets of either letter or legal-sized paper, while 50-sheet auxiliary trays can be used for alternative media types such as letterheads. If you need more paper capacity, additional trays can be added at a total cost of up to 1,300 pages. If you want to make that paper for as long as possible, double-sided printing is also supported for automatic duplex.

For larger organizations with security concerns, the HL-L8360CDW has a built-in NFC card reader that can authorize employees' badges to access, among other security features. The printer is controlled with a 2.7-inch touchscreen and can be connected to your company's Dropbox, Google Drive or Microsoft OneDrive accounts. For home or small office use, you can easily print wirelessly through both Apple AirPrint and Google Cloud Print 2.0. Additional wireless standards include Wi-Fi Direct, Cortado Workspace, Mopria and Brother's own iPrint and Scan apps.

When purchased from Amazon, the HL-L8360CDW also comes with a dash replacement and the toner can be set to automatically reorder when it runs low.

Best Budget Color Laser Printer: Brother HL-L3210CW

Why you should buy it: Fast, full-color laser print at an affordable price.

Who it is for: Home and small office customers with moderate print volume needs

Why we chose brother HL-L3210CW:

You can call it younger brother HL-L8360CDW (punishments), but brother HL-L3210CW is not a drawback. Any full-color laser printer that costs less than $ 200 already feels like a bargain, and offers some solid performance numbers that make it a steal. Print speeds are up to 19 ppm, the paper tray holds either 250 sheets of paper or legal-sized paper, and a manual feed slot allows for other paper sizes and media types, such as envelopes. Designed for low-volume offices, the maximum monthly charge cycle is half the HL-L8360CDW's 30,000 pages, while the recommended 1,500.

For wireless printing, Apple AirPrint and Google Cloud Print support come standard, as do brothers iPrint and Scan and Wi-Fi Direct. Unlike the more powerful L8360CDW, the L3210CW does not offer double-sided printing and does with a lower-capacity, 1,400-print toner cartridge. However, comes with an advantage in size and weight; The L3210CW weighs 10 pounds, 37.8 pounds less than the L8360CW, and is about 4 inches shorter, measuring 16.1 x 18.1 x 9.9 inches.

Best Home Office Printer: HP Color LaserJet Pro M281fdw

Why you should buy it: Quickly print, copy, scan and fax documents.

Who it is for: Busy entrepreneurs need a competent, all-in-one printing and scanning solution.

Why we picked up HP Color LaserJet Pro M281fdw:

This color laser all-in-one not only prints up to 22 ppm, it can also copy and scan documents - in full color - at the same speed (monochrome documents can also be scanned at 26 ppm faster) . The main paper tray holds up to 250 sheets with support for various paper sizes ranging from 3 x 5-inch all the way up to 8.5 x 14-inch legal size, while a 50-page automatic document feeder empowers you through long copy Provides or scan jobs. With a recommended monthly fee cycle of 150 to 2,500 pages, the HP Color LaserJet Pro M281fdw is perfect for the busy home office's print needs. Found online for under $ 450, it is not as many on the market as the price tag.

Even with all that power and versatility, the M281fdw manages to maintain an average size and weight for high-end-laser laser printers. It measures 16.5 × 16.6 × 13.2 inches and weighs 41 pounds, slightly heavier than the Brother HL-L3210CW, which does not have all the multi-tasking capability. It includes a 2.7-inch color touchscreen for navigating the menu system and even has a dedicated USB port for printing directly from a USB device. Wireless printing is possible from a mobile device using Apple AirPrint, HP ePrint, Mopria, or Wi-Fi Direct. However Google Cloud Print is not supported.

Best Color Laser Photo Printer: Canon Color ImageClass MF634Cdw

Why you should buy it: Excellent color print quality in multi-function printers.

Who it is for: Whoever needs to print or copy photos and graphics quickly.

Why we took the Canon color image MF634Cdw:

Laser printers are not photo printers, per op., But models such as the Canon Color ImageClass MF634Cdw go a long way to blur the lines between them, which is known for cameras coming from a company like Canon. While we would not recommend it for photographers, for an office that needs to create or reproduce documents that make graphics and photographs, the MF634Cdw is difficult to defeat - especially when it can be found for around $ 300.

Although its 19 ppm print speed does not match that of the HP M281fdw, it offers automatic duplex printing, copying, and scanning from its 50-sheet document feeder. Monochrome scans are as early as 28 ppm, while color scans fall to 14 ppm. With a maximum monthly charge cycle of 30,000 prints and a recommended cycle of 200–2,500, it can also meet the standard printing demands of small to medium-sized offices.

In addition to USB, print occupations can be sent remotely by means of Apple AirPrint, Google Cloud Print, Mopria, Wi-Fi Direct and Canon's Print Business application.

Best shading laser printer for macintosh: hp shading laserjet professional m254dw


Why you should buy it: A printer that is as easy to install as your Mac.

Who it's for: Whoever needs a basic-no-color laser printer.

Why we picked up HP Color LaserJet Pro M254dw:

Any printer on this list will work with your Mac, but the HP Color Laserjet Pro M254dw is probably the most Mac-like in its user experience. Praised by customers for its ease of use, you will have it and it will be printed within minutes of getting it out of the box. With built-in Apple AirPrint support, you can print wirelessly from your Mac, iPhone, or iPad without installing drivers. The printer also supports HP ePrint, Mopria and Wi-Fi - but, like the HP M281fdw, it does not support Google Cloud Print.

Ease of use may be the primary selling point, the M281fdw does not disappoint on performance and timing, with print speeds up to 22 ppm in both black and color. The printer's recommended monthly duty cycle of up to 2,500 prints makes it suitable for medium-high volume environments, while its first print time of 10.2 seconds (monochrome, 11.8 seconds for color) makes it effective even in low volume settings. Is where you can be. There is a need to make prints once in a while and the printer does not have to wait for heating.

With a slim (for class) profile and weight of just 32 pounds, this color laser printer will do a great job of blending in the background, making it a good choice for home offices or customer-facing locations where appearances a matter of.

Research and Purchase Tips

Color Laser Printer vs. Inkjet Printer: What's the Best?

Laser printers are better for text documents because they make crisp lines even in very small font sizes. Over time, they are also cheaper to run because you can get more prints per dollar spent on toner than you can with inkjet ink. Laser printers also provide faster printing speeds and can save some serious time on large print jobs.

However, laser printers and the toner they use bear high upfront costs; If you don't print very often, you can buy a cheaper inkjet printer - some as low as $ 30 or so - and its high operating costs can take a long time to catch up to the high initial cost of a laser printer . For small print jobs, laser printers will not benefit more than the faster pages-per-minute rate.

Color laser printers can be slightly slower than similar monochrome versions because of how the color toner process works. To create color, most color laser printers use a combination of cyan, magenta, yellow, and black. They make one pass for each toner color (methods here can vary, but many use multiple rollers), which naturally take longer.

While color laser printers have become much better at handling photographs, a high-end inkjet if you want to create detailed, color-accurate photographic prints to hang on your wall, display in a gallery, or sell to customers. Photo printers are still the way to go (or simply outsource work to a photo lab). Beyond print quality, inkjet photo printers can also handle a wider range of paper types and sizes than laser printers. A color laser printer will properly handle inline photos and graphics in documents.

Do shading laser printers accompany Wi-Fi or Airprint support?

Yes. Like inkjet printers, wireless connectivity has become very common on color laser printers. However, not every model will support every brand of wireless printing technology. The Brother HL-3170CDW above supports both Apple AirPrint and Google Cloud Print, for example, while the Dell C1760NW does not, although it still offers mobile printing via its own proprietary app.

How can I print from my iPad, iPhone, or Android device?

This will rely upon the remote highlights of your printer. Many printers today support Apple AirPrint, which makes it easy to print to a printer from an iPad or iPhone on your Wi-Fi network. Not all applications support AirPrint, however many do - including non-Apple applications.

On Android, Google Cloud Print will allow you to print any document stored in your Google Drive, or directly from Google apps like Docs and Sheets. With AirPrint, a printer that supports cloud print is required.

If your printer does not support cloud print or Airprint, but features Wi-Fi, your printer manufacturer can offer its own iOS and Android apps for printing from your mobile device.

How often do I have to buy toner?

It depends on how much you print. Toner cartridges often have a yield of 2,000 pages or more (check your printer's specifications for the specific yield of your model). For light home use, this means that many people can easily go a year or more without changing toner. For office use, the replacement interval will be shorter, but the toner can still last a few months.

How can I save money on toner?

The first step is to print efficiently; That is, double check your page layout settings and make sure everything is correct before you hit that print button.

When it is time to restart, you can save money by purchasing third-party toner cartridges. A single genuine toner cartridge for the Brother HL-L8360CDW costs around $ 78, while a full set of black and colored toners (four cartridges in all) from E-Z Ink costs around $ 66. The possibility of purchasing a third-party toner is not recommended by the manufacturer of your printer, but it should work fine as long as you make sure that it is compatible with your printer. However, some printers, like the HP model above, look for a toner that uses a special chip that identifies it as a native device. HP warned that while some other cartridges may work today, they may not in the future.

Can I buy a color laser printer with built-in fax?

Yes. All of the above can print and copy multiple laser printers, such as the HP LaserJet Pro M281fdw. Note that not all all-in-ones are also called multi-function printers - faxes are modems, so be sure to check the specs before purchasing.

How do we test

To find the best color laser printer, we factor in criteria such as speed, price, maintenance costs, and any unique features that help them compete.

Our selections are based on our long term and short term testing; Experience with earlier models; Be familiar with companies' technologies; Consultation with industry experts, fellow journalists and users; Online forum; Laboratory results; And other third party reviews. We look at the board - not just our own experiences - to get consensus on the best-performing printers we can currently buy. We also look at list pricing to determine if a product is worth the cost. We would also recommend printers that are not new, provided the features are still best-in-class.

The printer market is constantly evolving, with manufacturers offering improved models with either new features or basic upgrades. So you can expect our choice to change, as well. But don't worry - the models you see here will stay with you for some time, and if we predict a better model on the horizon, we'll point out that it will help you decide whether you should buy now or wait. should do.