7 Best Monochrome Laser Printers Right Now

Few things are as unexciting in this world as single-function monochrome (black-and-white) laser and laser-class printers. Even so, these are the machines of choice for many businesses—tire shops, doctors’ offices, real estate offices, to name a few. All they do is print, and that’s all that’s expected of them.

As long as, that is, they print relatively quickly, with decent quality, and deliver a low cost per page (CPP) in consumables, in this case, toner. The more you print, the more that last item becomes important. If, for example, you’re printing only a few hundred prints per month, the less important a cent or so seems compared to if you print thousands of pages each month. We shall see which are the best monochrome laser printers in the market today.

Monochrome Laser Printers – The Best List

BROTHER MFC – L2700DW

PROS

• Automatic document feeder
• Prints, scans, faxes, and copies
• Ethernet, Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi Direct
• Duplex (Two-sided )printing

CONS

• Quality of output is in the low end while taking its category.

BOTTOM LINE

It is more suitable for micro office functioning or as a personal printer because it offers suitable speed and paper handling. It is very effective for its price (around 250) and is good looking. It designed in a small shape which helps to share a desk comfortably. As already said, while taking into the personal use it is one of the most demanded equipment because it offers high paper capacity than most of its competitors. In addition to this, it also offers support for mobile printing, which helps you to print from your phone or tablet very often.

Mobile printing support is rapidly becoming common and MFC-L2700DW’s mobile printing capability is similar to Samsung Xpress M2070FW. While talking about the network, if you connect the MFC-L2700DW to a network by either Ethernet or Wi-Fi the cloud printing is possible by the mobile printing support, assuming the network is connected to the internet. Also, the Wi-Fi access helps you to connect and print directly from a smartphone, tablet or laptop. One of the drawbacks of MFC-L2700DW is it lacks the NFC support.

BASICS AND SETUP

The basic features include printing and faxing from, as well as scanning to, a PC, including over a network, and working as a standalone copier and fax machine. The capacity of the input tray is about 250 sheets and contains a single sheet manual feed and a built-in duplexer.

It comes up with 35-sheet AFD (automatic document feeder) which can handle up to legal size paper. Setting up of the printer is just like monochrome laser MFP and can be connected using Ethernet port and windows vista can be used for installing software.

SPEED AND OUTPUT QUALITY

The ppm (pages per minute) of MFC-L2700DW is 27 pages when you print text documents.9.1 ppm is registered on business applications suits which are less than Samsung M2070FW(9.8 ppm). It’s in a lower side while comparing to canon MF4880dw also. Output quality for MFC-L2700DW is good enough for most business users.

CONCLUSION

It is one of the editor’s choice because of its adorable features at an effective rate. The text quality graphics and photo quality is good enough and the mobile printing and easy connectivity are its plus points. One of the drawbacks is the speed of printing which is in a lower side while comparing to other products. If the MFC-L2700DWs output quality is good enough for your needs. Its balance of paper handling gives you the right choice for your money.

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Canon imageClass MF249dw

Pros

• Connects via USB, Ethernet, Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi Direct
• Good output quality
• Above par Graphics

Cons

• USB Thumb drive ports are missing
• No optional paper trays

Bottomline

As all the monochrome printers Canon imageClass MF249dw is also all in one laser printer which has got ample features like speed, output quality, good connection choice and is specially designed for home and micro office use.

It is a wireless laser printer which helps to print from mobile device. It is rated above Brother MFC-L6700dw with its features.

Basics and Setup

It is fairly a large machine with a size of 15.4 x 14.2. The printing quality of MF249dw is in the middle range with a speed of 18 pages per minute for the text documents, which makes it one of the faster devices.

It has got a comparatively low duty cycle of 15,000 sheets and as per the manufacturer; you can print 750 to 3000 pages per month for optimal performance.

While taking the connectivity options by using Smart phone or Tablet using Apple AirPrint, Google Cloud Print and Canon Print App, you can directly print. In addition to this, Wi-Fi Direct helps you to print with your mobile device.

The user manual can be downloaded directly from Canon Website, but there is no trouble shooting guides and FAQs.

Spec Table

The Canon imageClass MF249dw operates in a low cost with a multifunction design. It is designed for small office purpose and home use because the print quality is not par with high ranked models. While the cost is considered it meets our demands.

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Samsung Xpress M2070FW

Pros

• Automatic document feeder
• Ethernet
• Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi Direct
• Prints, Scans, Faxes, Copies
• NFC

Cons

• Low paper capacity
• High running cost
• No duplexer

Bottomline

The Samsung Xpress M2070FW has the features of mobile printing from NFC to printing through the Cloud and multifunction properties like print, scan, copy and fax. The Xpress M2070FW built around a monochrome laser engine and is essentially a light duty personal multifunction printer. It holds NFC and mobile printing features which makes a difference from others. If your phone or tablet supports NFC, you can simply print with a one touch. If you are looking for a printer which can offer print from your mobile device you can definitely make Samsung Xpress M2070FW as your choice.

It outshines its competitors like Canon imageClassMF4880dw in its mobile printing support. But Canon printer delivers at higher paper capacity, faster speed and even it has go a Duplexer but lacks NFC, or Wi-Fi Direct to a mobile device. M2070FW offers both along with mobile printing which makes it Editors choice.

Basics and Setup

As already said, it is a multiprinter which can print, fax and scan including over a network can be used also as a standalone copier and fax machine. It measures 16 by 14.2 by 12.3 inches (HWD). One of the limitations for M2070FW is it holds only 150 sheets which becomes a drawback for personal use. While taking paper handling for scanning a letter-size flatbed and a 50 page ADF (Automatic Document Feeder), which scans in simplex (one sided mode) only.

Setup is standard and the software installation can be done on Windows Vista System.

In the case of connectivity, the network connection is using Ethernet or Wi-Fi which will let you to print through Cloud. Using Wi-Fi access port you can connect the printer from a mobile device using NFC and Wi-Fi Direct directly to the printer even if it is not on a network.

In addition to this, M2070FW mobile support is not limited to printing. By using Samsung’s Mobile Print app you can scan to and fax from an iOS, Android or Windows Smart phone or Tablet.

Speed and Output quality

The pages per minute (ppm) of M2070FW are 21 pages per minute while printing text or other files which needs no processing. On business application it is about 9.8ppm which is better than Canon MF4880dw. One of the drawbacks of M2070FW is its high running cost at 5.3 cents per page.

Conclusion

If you are not looking for mobile printing feature, you can go in for Canon MF4880DW or Canon MF4770N, because it is faster than M2070FW. But on the other side, if you are looking for mobile printing technology and NFC, M2070FW is the better fit.

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Dell C1760nw Color Printer

Pros

• Wi-Fi
• Ethernet
• USB Connectivity
• Compact

Cons

• No port for USB thumb drive
• Lacks auto-duplexer

Bottom Line

The Dell C1760nw color printer is a small and capable LED-based printer for a micro or home office or for use as personal printer in any size office. The Dell C1760nw color printer comes up with features like Ethernet connectivity with a bypass tray and it uses slightly faster print engine with lower running cost. It is a frontline choice for a micro or home office use because of its excellent speed, output and quality.

The print engine of C1760nw is LED based, i.e., rather than lasers as its light source it uses light-emitting diodes. The C1760nw measures 8.9 by 1.5by 11.8 inches (HWD) which is comparatively smaller and the same size as the Dell C1660w. It weighs 23 pounds which is easy enough to share a desk.

150 sheets is the paper capacity of C1760nw additionally includes a 10 sheet bypass tray which helps you to switch alternate paper stock. The above mentioned paper stock capacity makes it best for relatively light duty use in office or for personal purpose.

One of the drawbacks of C1760nw is it lacks auto-duplexer for printing both sides of the paper as well as USB port.

The C1760nw works with iOS and Windows RT versions and compatible with Dell mobile print for Android.

Setup and Speed

The PPM, i.e., pages per minute of C1760nw is effectively 4.8 ppm. While printing the test documents registers 15 pages per minute monochrome and 12 pages per minute for colour print.

Output Quality

The output quality of C1760nw is though good, it was on a touch below par with colour laser, text and average graphics. Text is good for general business use and with graphs most part colours were bold and well saturated, some black backgrounds are faded. Overall the graphics are good for Power Point presentations.

While going through the running cost, its lower one is 3.5 cents per monochrome page and 18.5 cents per color page which is little more upfront than Dell C1660w. In addition, you get Ethernet and 10 sheet bypass tray and a faster print engine.

Conclusion

One of the Editors’ choices for monochrome printer is because it satisfies you with the features and price. It is good for office purpose with its price range and my rating is 3.8 out of 5

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Samsung Multifunction Xpress – M2875FW

Pros

• Prints, Scans, Faxes and Copies
• Automatic Document Feeder
• Ethernet
• Duplex (two-sided) printing
• Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi Direct

Cons

• No additional paper handling options available.

Bottom Line

It is specially designed as a heavy duty personal multifunction printer or a shared printer in a micro or small office or workgroup.

It is one of the best featured MFP which satisfies home and personal use. It offers excellent output quality than Canon imageClass MF4880dw but has got a lesser speed than the same.

In the case of connectivity part like CanonMF4880dw, the M2875FW offers both Ethernet and Wi-Fi connections. You can connect to Wi-Fi directly from a Tablet, Laptop or Smartphone through Wi-Fi Direct, without any access port on your network and no printer connected to a network.

The M2875FWhelps you to print from iOS, Android or Windows, Smartphone or Tablet over Wi-Fi and an addition to the above, it is possible to scan and fax from your mobile device. M2875FW allows Cloud option too, i.e., if the printer is connected to a network you can print through Cloud.

The Basics and Setup

As already mentioned it is a multifunction printer with features like print, fax, scan, standalone copies, etc. In the case of scanning 40 page, Automatic Document Feeder (ADF) supplements letter-sized flatbed which can scan up to legal size pages.

Paper handling of M2875FW is limited to a single 250 sheet tray plus manual feed which helps to print on different paper stock without having to swap out the paper in the tray. Setup is standard. The M2875FW measures 14.4 by 15.8 by 14.3 inches (HWD) which are bit large to share the desk.

Speed and output quality

M2875FW rates 29 pages per minute (ppm) while printing a simple text file. The business application time is 10 pages per minute, which is reasonably fast. In tests, 9.6 ppm is shown in default duplex mode and hit 12.5 ppm in Simplex mode.

The best feature is the output quality which is excellent for business use. The text is shown at the high-end range and it also includes graphics deed on par, mono laser MFPs, and photos at low-end par.

Conclusion

Samsung Multifunction Xpress M2875FW offers excellent features which satisfy all our demands for office and personal use with no real weaknesses. It offers good speed, high output quality, paper handling, etc., which makes it one of the best.

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BROTHER HL-L2395DW

PROS

• Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi direct, Ethernet and USB connectivity.
• Good text and graphics quality.
• Includes Nuance PaperPort software.

CONS

• No ADF.
• No fax capability.
• Slightly below par photos.

BOTTOMLINE

It offers a wide range of features with above par text and graphics, a wide range of connectivity choices, good paper handling and low cost in the monolayer all in one printer category for a micro or home office. The Amazon price is about $120.00 which is quite affordable and user payback with its features. One of the drawbacks of L2395DW is it doesn’t have automatic document feeder(ADF), but has got a wide range of connectivity while comparing to its peers like canon image class MF216n.

BASICS AND SETUP

The HL-L2395DW is typical in size and weight for a color laser and its price. It weighs 22 pounds and measures 10.7 by 16.1 by 15.7 inches (HWD). Probably it is a lightweight device and it is easy to carry but it is large enough to put on the table. A 2.7-inch color touch LCD is situated on the top of the printer which is combined with numeric keypads and function keys. This makes it user-friendly to control the printer functions.

Now we can move to the details of paper handling.HL-L2395DW comprise of a 250 sheet main tray and one sheet multipurpose feeder. It can print up to 15,000 pages is a monthly duty, making it good for home and office purpose. As already said it lacks automatic document feeder scanning is strictly from machine letter-size flatbed. It also has no fax capabilities.

The excellent set of connectivity choices makes it different from its competitors. The Ethernet or Wi-Fi helps you to connect to a PC via a USB cable or to a local network. It can also connect via a direct peer to peer connection to a compatible device via Wi-Fi direct. The Google cloud print is possible and it works with Brother iprint&Scanapp.

In addition, you can print from iOS devices because it is air print compatible. One of the premium features of HL-L2395DW is a download link for nuance PaperPort 14 SE, OCR program. OCR is a document management and optical character recognition program.

Table showing features in a glance.

SPEED AND OUTPUT QUALITY

The rated speed is 36 ppm in text only and 14.6 ppm in printing full business suite, which includes Pdf, PowerPoint and Excel file which is good. The overall output quality of HL-L2395DW is above average but photo quality is below par. Graphics are excellent for business users because it prints thin lines well and backgrounds were free of banding. In photo printing, there is a slight loss in bright areas.

CONCLUSION

With excellent text quality and above par graphics with an affordable cost, this is one of the highly rated editors choices.

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Samsung Multifunction Xpress – M2885FW

Pros

• Suitable paper handling for personal or micro office use
• Prints, Scans, Copies, and Faxes
• Duplexer
• Ethernet
• NFC
• Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi Direct

Cons

• Cost on a higher side
• No additional paper handling option

Bottom Line

It is mainly designed for personal use or shared use in a micro office. It delivers the best output quality among monochrome laser printers. But its price is on a higher side. Even though the price is on a higher, the output quality can be enough to justify the expense. In addition to the output quality, it delivers in excellent speed too. The paper handling, weight and printer size can be categorized with its competition Dell Multifunctional Printer – E515dw and Canon imageClass MF227dw.

It is small enough for the room and even in a small office. The M2885FW weighs 24 pounds and measures 14.4 by 15.8 by 14.3 (HWD). It has got 250 sheets main tray plus a one-sheet manual feed and a built-in duplexer for two-sided printing.

It is comprised of an automatic document feeder (ADF) which can handle up to legal size paper and letter size flatbeds. While comparing Dell and Canon models, it offers 40 sheets rather than 35 sheets of the above-said ones.

The Basics

As already said it is a multifunction monochrome printer which has the ability to print and fax, scan to a PC and in addition to it, it is a standalone copying and faxing machine. It doesn’t support mobile scanning but at the same time, it offers mobile printing.

While talking about the connection it includes USB, Ethernet, Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi direct. By using Ethernet or Wi-Fi you can connect the printer to your network and also you can print from iOS, Android and Window phones, and tablets as well as print through Cloud which is not applicable when you connect it to a single PC via USB cable. But you can print from your mobile device using Wi-Fi direct.

M2885FW supports NFC which means you have to touch your phone or tablet to the NFC logo on the top front of the printer.

Setup and Speed

Setup is standard. You can connect it to a network using Ethernet port and install the drivers and other software on a system running on Windows Vista.

The pages per minute (ppm) registered is 29 which you can see while printing text documents and when it comes to business applications, it is 9.9 ppm which is faster than Dell E515dw and Canon MF227dw.

As ready said the feature that distinguishes M2885FW from others is the output quality in a text, graphics, and photos all within the range.

Conclusion

If you want a multifunction printer with output quality as best, you can definitely go for Xpress M2885FW.

One of the Editors’ choices for a monochrome printer is because it satisfies you with the features and price. It is good for office purpose with its price range and my rating is 3.8 out of 5

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