Best Laser Printers (Aug. 2026) - Rated by CherryPicks' Experts

A Guide to the Best Laser Printers

For students and those just starting a new home office, this means buying a lot of printing equipment with little initial outlay. For busy offices, laser printers are a breeze. It provides the best text quality printing, fastest speed, and most economical printing per page.

Laser Printers Buying Guide

Before purchasing a Laser Printer, it's important to learn as much as possible about each model. For example, you should know the brand name of the printer, as well as its function and output color. You should also know about its connectivity options, which can help you decide whether a certain model is best suited for your needs. And lastly, you should be aware of the warranty terms. In this article, we'll look at the most important factors to consider when buying a Laser Printer.

Laser Printers: brands

There are many different types and brands of laser printers, but the main characteristics of all of them are the same: they use heat to melt solid toner colorants to produce crisp output at high speeds. While all laser printers use the same basic technology, different brands use a different approach to building them. Keep these qualities in mind when shopping around. If you want to avoid buying an expensive machine that will not work properly, opt for a cheaper brand.

Buying a cheap laser printer may seem like the best option. However, cheap ones can often break quickly or fall short of expectations, which can cost you more than a decent model. There are many factors to consider before purchasing a laser printer, including the W Score system that ranks products by quality, but this is only a guideline. If you're buying one for your home or office, choose a brand that has a high W Score.

Laser Printers: Printer Function Type

If you need to scan documents, copy, send and receive faxes, then you'll want to consider a multifunction laser printer that can perform all of these tasks. Also, you may want to know about other types of features, such as printing from a USB stick (file support may vary, so check the specs), scanning to USB sticks and network locations, and possibly using cloud-based printing and scanning function application.

Laser Printers: Printer Output Color

Laser Printers can produce various colors, including black and white, and sometimes even color. While monochrome laser printers use one laser scanner assembly to print black and white documents, color printers make multiple passes to produce color images. These printers use different toner colors to create each color. As a result, the printer output color may be a little slower than monochrome versions. Toner for different colors can vary in price and quality.

Monochrome or color laser printers produce sharper text and graphics and last longer between toner changes. You can buy monochrome or color laser printers depending on your printing needs and financial resources. While both types of printers produce crisp, high-quality output, monochrome is best for documents and photo printing. Both monochrome and color laser printers have their pros and cons, so it's important to choose the right one for your needs.

Laser Printers: Connectivity

USB is standard on all printers, but for an office environment, the key type of connection you should be looking for is Ethernet. This will allow you to plug the printer into a network router and share it among staff in the office. The printer driver needs to be installed on all computers in the network that need to be accessed.

If you want to set up the printer on a wireless network, look for a wireless connection (usually up to the 802.11n specification). Also, if you want your mobile device to communicate directly with the printer and print from the app, look for the Wi-Fi Direct feature. This works with the NFC feature on some printers, allowing a direct connection to be set up by pairing the device by placing it on the printer.

Laser Printers: Paper handling

There are several things to look for when choosing a laser printer. The type of paper and the weight can play a big part in how well the printer will handle your project. Thick paper can be problematic for the printer, so you should check the manufacturer's specifications. You should also make sure that your laser printer is calibrated for thicker paper. The right paper handling settings will prevent your text and images from flaking off.

Typically, printers can handle paper up to A4 size, so if you also want to be able to print documents on A3 size paper, you'll have to look for a specific model. If the printer has a multi-purpose tray, it can print things like envelopes and heavier paper, you'll want to check your printer's specs to know exactly how much paper it can handle (in gsm), and what envelopes it can load number.

Laser Printers: Toner cost and TCO

Choosing the right printer can save you thousands of dollars over its lifetime. Black and white laser printers are sufficient for low-volume monochrome text printing. For high-resolution color images, enterprise color laser printers with high-yield toner cartridges are required. Ink costs for color laser printers are significantly higher than those for black and white laser printers. Whether you print more or less than 2,000 pages a year will ultimately depend on your requirements.

The cost of ink and toner is the largest component of the total cost of ownership for most consumers. Consumables cost more than the printer's purchase price, so it's crucial to determine the total cost of ownership before you buy. The added price of a higher yield, however, might allow you to buy larger toner cartridges or use different types of paper. When comparing the cost of toner, make sure you compare manufacturers' prices.

What are disadvantages of laser printers?

1. Implementation costs

Laser printers are expensive to implement. The average price of a laser printer is almost 3 times that of an inkjet printer. That's why inkjet printers are more commonly used for home and personal use where printing levels are low. Especially for those color printers because of their all-in-one capabilities.

2. Paper Options

Not all types of paper can be used with laser printers. There are specially designed laser papers for this purpose. If you use any low-quality paper, you run the risk of damaging the printer. Thermal media is known to cause paper jams in laser printers.

3. Physical Dimensions

Generally, laser printers are heavier and bulkier than inkjet printers. They contain imaging drums and other precision components that make them larger. Therefore, this limits their portability, making them discouraged to carry around.

4. Graphics processing

Although laser printers are capable of producing simple color prints, they cannot handle high-quality graphic images. This makes them not recommended for printing photographs and other complex graphic materials. The only preferred option here is an inkjet printer.

5. Power consumption

Laser printers consume a lot of power even when idle. This is because the fusing element inside the printer heats up and releases heat. Eventually your room may become very warm. This is why laser printers are not suitable for use in hot and humid climates. However, the latest models of laser printers come with a "power save" mode that helps the printer save some power.

6. Health problems

The toner used in laser printers is harmful to human body. This toner contains respirable powder particles that cause several health risks, including respiratory problems. In addition, because the printer requires high voltage to function properly, it also releases ozone, which depletes the ozone layer.

Do laser printers dry up if not used?

No, LaserJet toner cartridges will not be a problem for extended periods of time between uses. The HP Toner Cartridge Warranty Statement clearly states that there is no expiration date on the toner cartridge.

One of the other answers is incorrect, at least for the LaserJet toner cartridge warranty. The HP toner warranty has no time limit; let alone only 90 days. Cartridges are guaranteed not to be defective until the "Low" message is displayed. At this point, the toner cartridge may still have usable capacity, but HP can no longer guarantee that it will be flawless. You may see faded prints or changes in color balance. If these are acceptable, keep using the cartridges as long as you are happy with the results.

One of the main advantages of LaserJet printers over ink printers is that they can sit for several months and then print without issue.

Can you print photos on a laser printer?

It is possible to print photos on a laser printer, but it is not recommended. The quality of the photo is not as good as it would be if you were to print them on a traditional inkjet printer.

While laser printers are able to produce high-quality images, they are not designed for printing photos. They are designed for text and graphics. Photos require a lot of ink and toner which can be costly in the long run.

Can you use regular copy paper in a laser printer?

Regular copy paper is made with different types of chemicals and ink to make the paper look like it has been printed on a laser printer. However, when you use regular copy paper in a laser printer, the chemicals and ink do not react well with the toner powder and can cause issues such as smearing or color fading.

Top 10 Laser Printers Sellers: CPR Seller Rank List

CPR sellers rank is based on CherryPicks-AI bestselling ranking system that helps us analyze each seller's sales trends. The List of top seller ranks is our in-house data, essential for our product ranking to help you make the right shopping choice.