Best Rated Color Laser Printer All in One

The 10 Best All-in-One Laser Printers of 2021

Print, scan, copy, and fax with ease

We are committed to researching, testing, and recommending the best products. We may receive commissions from purchases made after visiting links within our content. Learn more about our review process.

Multifunction printers that print, copy, scan, and fax can help businesses save money and space as well as improve workflow. But choosing the right one can be overwhelming. Whether you need a basic model for occasionally printing documents in a home office, a machine that can print volume pages quickly, or more advanced options with cloud connectivity and security features—there's a printer that'll meet both your needs and wants, at a price within your business's budget.

Here are the best all-in-one printers to consider.

Related: The Best Early Black Friday Deals

Best Overall: Brother MFC-L2750DW

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 (near field communication) 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 scanning—it has a 50-sheet automatic feeder with single-pass duplex (two-sided) 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.

Best for Security: HP Color LaserJet Pro M479fdw

Smaller and medium-sized businesses primarily concerned with security should look into the HP Color Laserjet Pro M479fdw. With several safeguards, this wireless four-in-one printer ensures data is protected from hackers who may try to use printers as an entry point into your network. It even stops attacks before they happen by sending notifications when someone attempts to intercept data or if a vulnerability is detected in the firmware. This model also has an optional PIN/Pull printing.

Additionally, this printer has several features that are helpful for large projects including automatic two-sided scanning and a 50-sheet feeder tray. It can also simplify multiple-step processes through task automation and the capability to save settings on the LCD control panel. Even more, this HP laser printer is eco-friendly, using up to 18 percent less energy compared to older devices.

Best Inkjet: HP OfficeJet Pro 9015

While laser printers are the gold standard, inkjet printers also prove to be just as good. The HP OfficeJet Pro 9015 has many of the features of laser multifunction models without the higher cost or expensive toner. Like many of the brand's printers, this device can scan, print, and copy documents wirelessly. With security options including password printing and encryption, even sensitive documents remain safe. The HP app also lets users monitor ink levels and order refills through HP Instant Ink, which can save up to 50 percent on the cost of new cartridges.

One unique feature of this all-in-one printer is the self-healing Wi-Fi, which detects potential problems, making sure the connection remains stable. This can be incredibly helpful in locations where Wi-Fi tends to be weak or lose its signal.

Related: The Best Cheap Printers

Best Value: HP LaserJet Pro M148fdw

If you're looking for an affordable four-in-one printer for a home office or small business, the HP Laserjet Pro M148fdw checks all the boxes. This machine has lots of useful features you'd expect to find on printers designed for larger offices, including wireless printing, a document feeder for fast scanning, automatic two-sided printing, and an LCD control panel with a keypad.

Whether you print 200 or 2,000 pages per month, be assured that you won't run out of ink easily, thanks to the printer's high yield toner cartridges, which can print up to 2,800 pages before needing a replacement. Better yet, the highly-rated HP Smart app makes it easy to set up the all-in-one printer. It also has features you'll use regularly like printing and scanning from mobile devices and cloud services, including Dropbox, Google Drive, and iCloud.

Best Mid-Size: Canon Color imageCLASS MF743Cdw

A three-in-one machine that saves both time and money, the Canon Color imageCLASS MF742Cdw is designed for offices that print between 750 and 400 pages per month. In other words, it's a reliable multifunction printer programmed to maximize workflow.

Conveniently, this all-in-one printer can scan documents into searchable digital files through the duplex document feeder. This is particularly helpful for accounting and other logistics. Smaller businesses concerned about security issues will be assured with this device's security system, which only stores documents in short-term memory. This is especially important for confidential or sensitive information. System administrators can also change these settings.

Best for Photos: Canon PIXMA TS8320

If your business regularly prints photos, graphics, or brochures, the Canon PIXMA TS8320 is sure to please. Unlike some of the competition, this printer is smartly designed with six ink tanks, so you only need to replace individual colors when they run out. Along with standard ink colors, this all-in-one printer uses photo blue ink, which improves image detail by reducing gradation and improving the appearance of shadows. Canon's dual-paper feeding also keeps regular and photo paper in one tray.

Print from your smartphone or tablet with ease, as this machine is both wireless and Bluetooth enabled, so jobs can be sent from any device using Canon's Print app. It also has SD card printing, so you can print (almost) directly from your camera.

Related: The Best Wireless Printers

Best for Features: HP Smart Tank Plus 651

Though technically neither a laser nor an inkjet printer, the HP Smart Tank Plus 651 uses a cartridge-free ink tank. One bottle of ink should last for approximately two years, making this ideal for anyone who needs to frequently print graphics. In addition to printing in black and color, this printer copies, scans, and faxes. It even has a 35-page document feeder, a 100-sheet tray, and a flatbed scanner.

Along with wireless printing, this all-in-one is compatible with Alexa devices, allowing you to print a document with your voice. But should you need to set up a more complex job, the 2.2-inch touchscreen makes it easy and quick.

Best for Speed: Brother MFC-L5850DW

Always in a rush? The Brother MFC-L5850DW can print and copy up to 42 pages per minute (ppm). With a maximum resolution of 1,200 x 1,200 dots per inch (dpi), you can print professional-looking brochures, handouts, and other documents in no time. Better yet, with a 250-sheet input tray, you'll rarely run out of paper.

This printer can also fax, which may not be essential for every office, but is important to have for businesses such as medical practices (it even sends double-sided documents). With a 70-page duplex automatic document feeder as well as a flatbed scanner, this all-in-one lets you scan everything from standard papers to smaller receipts and invoices.

Best Color Laser: Lexmark MC3224

Loaded with features, the Lexmark MC3224 color laser printer can print, copy, scan, and fax. The tray can hold up to 250 pages, which means you won't have to refill it very often, and it prints up to 24 ppm, making this printer ideal for most office needs. It can also print wirelessly through Ethernet or USB connection.

Even more, this machine has a generous amount of ink in each cartridge: the black ink cartridge can print 750 pages, while the cyan, magenta, and yellow cartridges can print up to 500 pages. Best of all, it prints quietly at a maximum of 49 decibels, which is even quieter than most modern dishwashers.

Related: The Best Color Laser Printers

Best Monochrome: HP LaserJet Pro M29w

If you don't need to print in color and want to keep costs down, the HP LaserJet Pro M29W gets the job done. It has a small footprint at just 14.2 x 7.8 inches, so it's perfect for those working in small spaces. Just note that this machine prints, copies, and scans but does not fax.

A versatile choice, this printer supports all types of paper including envelopes, labels, and postcards. The automatic feeder even holds up to 150 pages, and with a speed of 19 ppm in black, you won't have to wait around all day for most printing jobs.

Final Verdict

The Brother MFC-L2750DW (view at Amazon) is the best overall all-in-one laser printer for several reasons. Loaded with lots of features, this machine is perfect for home offices as it's more affordable than other options on the market.

The Balance / Gannon Burgett

What to Look for in All-In-One Laser Printers

Toner

When shopping for all-in-ones, it's important to factor in the cost of toner. Even if a printer is cheap, some refills can be costly, which may not be ideal for businesses with a lot of printing needs. In that case, you may also want to look at printers with high-volume cartridge refills.

Speed

A printer's speed, or how fast it can print and copy, is measured in pages per minute (ppm). Keep in mind that the speed may be reduced if you are printing complex photos as opposed to plain text.

Resolution

Printer resolution, which is measured in dots per inch (dpi), is important if you are printing images because the higher the resolution, the higher their quality will be. A 600 dpi is a good minimum for most professional uses.

The Balance / Gannon Burgett

FAQs

What is the difference between a laser and an inkjet printer?

The difference between a laser and an inkjet printer is that the latter uses ink, and the former uses toner. Ink is adequate for low volume printing, while toner is best for higher volume jobs. So laser printers are recommended for offices with multiple people.

Is it worth it to get a multifunction printer that can fax?

While still used by some industries, including health care, fax machines are outdated for most business needs. However, if you send faxes a few times a year, it may be less expensive to use a cloud-based fax service (which also eliminates the cost of a dedicated fax line).

How important is printer resolution?

Printer resolution, or dpi, measures how many dots your printer can fit in 1 inch, but it's not as important as you probably think. A 600 dpi is more than adequate for boardroom printouts with text and graphics. If you're considering a printer above 1,200 dpi, it's not worth the extra cost because the difference between 1,200 dpi and anything higher than that isn't visible to the naked eye.

Meet the Expert

Amanda Lauren is a freelance writer for publications such as Investopedia, Simply Recipes, and Forbes. She has covered a variety of topics including home, tech, and gadgets.

Best Rated Color Laser Printer All in One

Source: https://www.thebalancesmb.com/top-multifunction-laser-printers-2948399