Color laser printers are the go-to choice for home offices and small businesses. But which should you buy? Here are our picks for the best color laser printers.
The best color laser printers can be a great investment, saving you quite a bit of time and money. For shoppers worried about the long-term ink costs, you’ll find color laser printers surprisingly affordable. Laser printers use toner, which lasts a very long time, delivering a low cost per page for monochrome documents and fast color prints. The best color laser printers offer quick performance and reliability to help keep your home office or small business productive.
If you need to scan documents for record-keeping and photo capture or want the convenience of a color copier, an all-in-one color laser printer is an essential tool for your small business or personal use. For a small added cost, you get expanded capabilities. That’s why every model on this list is an all-in-one from the best printer brands.Quick Overview
HP Color LaserJet Pro 4301fdw: Best all-in-one color laser printer
HP LaserJet Pro MFP M182nw: Best deal on color laser printer
Canon imageClass MF656Cdw: Best color laser printer for small business
Brother MFC-L3720CDW: Best Brother laser printer for photos
Brother HL-L3270CDW: Best budget color laser printer
Brother MFC‐L8905CDW: Best all-in-one scalable laser printer for offices
HP Color LaserJet Enterprise MFP M480f: Best color laser printer for medium-sized businesses Why you should trust us
Digital Trends has been reviewing printers for 20 years, testing them to determine which offer the best quality and fastest speeds. We check the long-term value of each printer, so you’ll know in advance if a low-cost printer is truly affordable or if it has outrageous toner costs.
Printers are complex machines that require a good understanding of the technology to make a solid recommendation. Reviews also highlight problems with compatibility and other details that can become deal breakers when you depend on particular features.Key considerations while selecting the best color laser printer for you
There are several key factors to consider when choosing a color laser printer. Purchase price matters, but long-term costs can add up quickly. Review the entire list to find the perfect printer.Print quality and color fidelity
If you’re choosing color, you need more than a hard copy — you want your document to look great. You still need razor-sharp text, but it’s essential for colors to match what you see on-screen and in photos without banding or streaks.Speed and economy
A laser printer should be fast and efficient with low running costs. Otherwise, you should choose a more versatile and lower-cost inkjet printer.Special features
All-in-one printers include scan, copy, and sometimes fax functions, filling multiple roles in your office. Many printers offer duplex printing (double-sided), an automatic document feeder (ADF), multiple paper trays, Wi-Fi connectivity, and walk-up printing. These details could be critically important when making a purchase decision.
HP Color LaserJet Pro 4301fdwBest all-in-one color laser printer
Why you should buy this: It’s a modern, eco-friendly color laser printer with great speed and quality.
Who’s it for: Home offices and small businesses that need documents printed quickly.
Why we picked the HP Color LaserJet Pro 4301fdw:
With blistering fast print and scan speeds, the HP Color LaserJet Pro 4301fdw makes short work of challenging jobs. It prints 35 pages per minute (ppm) for monochrome and color documents and scans with its ADF at 31 ppm.
Color documents look great and photos come out nice even on plain paper. A USB port allows walk-up printing via a thumb drive, making the LaserJet Pro 4301fdw an excellent all-in-one printer for home and office.
HP LaserJet Pro MFP M182nwBest deal on a color laser printer
Why you should buy this: It’s a great bargain on an HP color laser printer.
Who it’s for: Anyone upgrading from an inkjet printer for more speed and durability.
Why we picked the HP LaserJet Pro MFP M182nw:
An HP color laser printer usually costs a lot more than this. HP is recognized as one of the most popular brands for rugged and durable laser printers, so you know a LaserJet will have good quality and long-lasting value.
The HP LaserJet Pro MFP M182nw outputs the first page in 11.6 seconds and has sustained print speeds of up to 17 ppm. That’s not superfast for a laser printer, but doubles or triples the color document speed of most inkjets. Combined with budget pricing, this is a good introduction to laser printers for anyone who has used only inkjet printers so far.
Setup should be quick and easy with the HP Smart mobile app, or you can connect the LaserJet Pro MFP M182nw directly to a Windows PC or Mac. HP quality is rarely this cheap.
With integrated scanning and copying, this will work nicely for a home office to take the burden off your inkjet printer.
Canon Color imageClass MF656CdwBest color laser printer for small business
Why you should buy this: Great color print quality in a multifunctional printer.
Who it’s for: Anyone who needs to print or copy documents and graphics quickly.
Why we picked the Canon Color imageClass MF656Cdw:
Laser printers are known to be fast and rugged, and the Canon Color imageClass MF656Cdw fits this description well. While we wouldn’t recommend it for photographers, the MF656Cdw is hard to beat for an office that needs to make or reproduce color documents that contain graphics and photos.
While the 22-ppm print speed of the Canon Color imageClass MF656Cdw doesn’t match the fastest color lasers, it does offer duplex printing, copying, and scanning from its 50-sheet document feeder. With a monthly duty cycle of 2,500 pages, it can also hold up to the standard printing demands of small to medium-sized offices.
In addition to USB, print jobs can be sent wirelessly via Apple AirPrint, Mopria, Wi-Fi direct, and Canon’s Print Business app.
Brother MFC-L3720CDWBest Brother laser printer for photos
Why you should buy this: You’ll get full-color laser prints quickly at an affordable price.
