If you are looking for the best color laser printer, you are at the right spot! We will guide you through everything you need to know about laser printers, what you should look for when buying one, and present some of, what we consider, are the best color laser printers on the market.
Let’s start!
Top Picks:
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How to Choose the Best Color Laser Printer
Buying a color laser printer is not a small investment. Therefore, ensuring you are making the correct choice is pretty important.
The list of things you should be aware of is quite long. So, let’s get down to the job!
Speed
Now, if you are buying a color laser printer for home use, then the speed might not be of great importance. However, if you intend to put it in an office where several users are trying to work together, and use that printer quite often, then speed might be the most important factor.
For home offices, the difference between 24 and 34 pages per minute is irrelevant. On the other hand, for high-volume environments, the difference can be a deal breaker.
You should know and always keep in mind that the PPM that you see on the box, or in specs is usually the fastest it can go.
So, if the speed matters to you, we suggest checking some monochrome laser printers, as they are well-known by their speed.
Ownership Costs
Laser printers are not just one-time purchase things. They require a lot of investment, especially when they are color laser printers. You need to keep in mind the costs of replacing toner cartridges or upgrading certain parts.
Therefore, ask, or research a bit how much these replacement parts cost and then do your math.
Dimensions of a paper tray
This one might be the most important thing to check on your list. Why is that? Well, it will determine what document type you will be able to actually print. In most of the cases, the tray will support A4 paper.
If you don’t intend to go with A4 dimensions, we recommend checking out the size of the paper tray first.
Functionality
So, what are you looking for in a printer? Would you like to scan photos, but don’t buy a photo scanner, or copy, send, and receive faxes, for example? There are numerous features that one laser printer can have. Make sure it matches your requirements.
There are awesome features to look for. You can even connect it on Wi-Fi nowadays. So, do you need it to be able to easily connect to Wi-Fi, or to your phone or PC? Then make sure you find the one with these features included.
Parallel printing
This one is quite important to those who intend using the printer in their offices. Parallel printing enables more people to use the printer at once. It’s an enormous timesaver, indeed. However, if you plan it for home use, you don’t actually need a parallel printing.
Print quality
Obviously, you need a color laser printer that can bring the quality images on the table. Quality of these pictures is expressed in something similar to resolution – dpi (or dots per image). Here is a tip for you: look for a printer that has at least 600×600 dpi.
That’s a bare minimum.
7 Best Color Laser Printers
Canon Color imageCLASS MF733Cdw
The Best All in one Color Laser Printer
If you are looking for a laser printer which has all the features that the new age brings, then this all in one Canon color printer might be the thing you are searching for.
It’s quite easy to connect it to any smart device, even via Wi-Fi direct connection. The speed is all you will ever need, as it’s capable of printing up to 28 pages per minute. That’s almost 1 page each 2 sec.
That makes it perfect even for business purposes that require high-volumes of printing. The first page prints within the first 9 seconds, while the memory capacity is up to 512 sheets and the paper output is 150 sheets.
The paper capacity is highly expandable and can fit up to 850 sheets! On top of all, Canon gives a 3-year warranty, to make your experience flawless and without any unpleasantness.
Pros:
- All in one solution
- Wi-Fi connection
- Great speed, up to 28 PPM
- Huge paper capacity
- 3-Year warranty
Cons:
- None thus far
Brother HL-L8360CDW
The Best Color Laser Printer for Small Business
If you are running a small business, this one might just be what you need. With a blazing speed of up to 33 PPM, it will meet your needs for sure.
What you can expect with this one is a top-notch performance that comes at an affordable price. On average, toner cartridges will last up to 6500 pages. That’s huge! And think about the replacement as an extra cost that you will be facing.
Therefore, we can say that this one is a budget-friendly solution. It offers flexible connectivity with Gigabit Ethernet or through wireless networking. In other words, you will be able to connect it to your PC, laptop or cell phone.
It has a paper capacity of 250 sheets which can easily be expanded up to gigantic 1300 sheets. With this one, you will be able to choose between trays, as well.
Pros:
- Perfect for small business
- Amazing speed up to 33 PPM
- Long lasting cartridge (up to 6500 pages)
- Budget-friendly
- Paper capacity expandable up to 1300 sheets
- Optional trays
Cons:
- No over-ride settings for “toner out” message
Canon Color imageCLASS MF644Cdw
Decent Multifunction Printer
Canon never seems to fail. This absolute tech beast company released one of the best color laser printers on the market.
This device offers a unique, customized experience with 5 inches color touchscreen for easier navigation through the settings. You can now create direct hotspots and directly connect it to the mobile device. No external router needed.
The speed is perfect for those who intend to use it in a small capacity. It can go up to 22 PPM, which is fair enough for home use.
It has an all-in-one cartridge feature, which reduces overall supply costs. It’s a two-sided printer, or you can even go further with printing several pages on one paper sheet.
Finally, one great safety feature is the existence of short-term memory storage. Namely, it protects yours, or anyone’s data, and makes sure that confidential information gets deleted quickly afterward.
Pros:
- Short-term memory storage
- Great speed for home usage
- 5 inches color touchscreen for easier navigation
- Wi-Fi connection
- Budget-friendly
Cons:
- A bit slower for professional purposes
HP LaserJet Pro M281fdw
Great Choice for Home
Looking for a compact, small, yet powerful color laser printer for home use? We’ve found one for you!
HP LaserJet. Should we say more? They released a series of great printers, and this one is not an exception. It offers a friendly 2.7-inch colored touchscreen for simpler navigation through preferred options and a Wi-Fi connection establishment so that you can do the work even from your mobile device.
With the printing speed of 22 PPM, you will have everything you need for the home use. The first page gets printed in 10.3 sec when the print is black, and 11.7 sec when colored.
The capacity of the input tray paper is 250 sheets, which is a lot. You can now print from Dropbox, Google drive or iCloud directly! You can print the fax, scan docs, print from USB drive, and much more!
You will get a one-year warranty, and more importantly, a customer service that’s 24/7 active and free for all of your queries.
Pros:
- Speed of 22 PPM, great for home use
- Fast first page (colored) in 11.7 sec
- Prints from Google Drive, iCloud or Dropbox directly
- Touchscreen for easier operation
- Great customer support
Cons:
- Doesn’t do well or print clearly when used infrequently, so you might need several attempts before you print high-quality pages
Brother HL-L3210CW
Budget-Friendly Color Laser Printer
If you are just looking for a budget-friendly solution, and you need it mostly for home use – this one might suit your needs. Besides, it may be a good printer for college.
Although the speed is not great (19 PPM) as in some professional, business printers, it’s still more than enough for home use.
Apart from the speed, this one has everything you can find in a professional laser printer. It provides rich, vivid colors, and professional quality of images.
The refills are minimized with the 250-sheet paper tray. It does not just offer a USB connection, but it’s mobile friendly as it has a built-in wireless, Wi-Fi Direct, and USB interfaces.
Simply put, a valuable solution for a home user!
Pros:
- The great versatility of connection
- Easy to use through the colored touchscreen
- Professional quality, vivid colors
- 250-sheet paper tray capacity
Cons:
- Not the best speed you can get, but still pretty decent
HP LaserJet Pro M254dw
Small Color Laser Printer That Gets the Job Done
Another laser printer of extraordinary performance coming in a small package. This compact color printer will fit anywhere. It’s perfect for those who lack space in their offices or homes.
One of the fastest in its class with the speed of up to 22 PPM, ensures that the first colored page is ready in just 12 sec approximately. It’s a double-sided printer, mobile friendly, and with the feature of wireless printing.
Paper tray capacity is huge and can store up to 250 sheets. You can connect it to your Android or iOS thanks to its wireless connectivity. The connection is stable which is ensured by dual-band Wi-Fi. Also, it offers Ethernet in case you need wired networking.
The output capacity is 100 sheets, which is quite enough for home use. The manual recommends up to 10 users, which explains its capability to work at high-volume.
With it, you can finally print things directly from the clouds such as iCloud, Dropbox, or Google Drive. Small and compact, with the power of 10 average printers!
Pros:
- Space-friendly
- Wireless and Ethernet connectivity
- Up to 10 users
- Nice speed, 22 PPM
- Input/ output capacity of 250/100 sheets
Cons:
- Requires a direct connection with the rooter
Samsung Xpress C430W
Worthy Contender From Samsung
If you are looking for a nice, small home printer, Samsung has to offer this Xpress model of great performance.
It offers both, Wi-Fi and NFC connectivity, amazing printing speed and built-in Ethernet. It even offers a free Samsung mobile app that will help you print directly from the Google Cloud.
Now, the speed it offers isn’t really recommended for business purposes, but it’s perfect for home use. It goes up to 19 PPM when it comes to black print and up to 4 pages of colored print.
The recommended volume of monthly printing is between 100 and 500 pages. What you get is a guarantee of professional-looking images, with vivid colors and undeniable clarity.
It supports a wide range of paper sizes – from 14’’x 8.5’’ to 3’’ x 6’’. It works with original Samsung cartridges.
Finally, there is a one-year limited hardware warranty to ensure that your experience is uninterrupted even if something unexpected occurs. The support team is there for you 24/7, which is pretty awesome for those troubling with modern technology.
Pros:
- Supports a wide range of paper size
- Recommended printing volume high
- Direct print from Google Cloud and other services
- Wi-Fi and NFC connectivity
- 24/7 support for your troubles
Cons:
- The color printing speed might be better, but still pretty legit for home use
Conclusion
In the light of everything we said, we can conclude that these are some of the finest examples of laser printers you can find out there.
Their price varies, depending on the quality and purpose. So, you need to find out what will fill your needs best, and only then decide what’s best for you. There are some printers on our list great for home office use, and on the other side, there are examples of professional, real- business color laser printers.
Hopefully, this article made your choice a bit easier!