When buying the best laser printers for the home, the first thing we must decide is whether we want it to be inkjet or laser. Typically, home printers were ink printers since laser printers were much more expensive, bulky, and their consumables (toner) were more expensive.
But laser printers have evolved a lot and we can find models like Brother DCPL 2550DW in the market that for less than 150 dollars offers us a magnificent print quality.
Advantages of a laser printer
- The speed. They are about 5 times faster than ink printers. Printing the whole page at once and not by sections greatly reduces printing time. They can 21 pages print per minute. If it is necessary to take into account in contrast that when turning them on they need a few seconds to heat up and work.
- Savings. Consumables for laser printers are more expensive, although they have significantly reduced their prices compared to 10 years ago. Each toner can print many more sheets than any ink cartridge, making the price per copy considerably lower.
- Noise. laser printers are much quieter than ink printers.
- Print quality. Even the most basic model offers higher print quality than ink printers.
- Ability to work. One of the reasons they were preferred by offices is because they are prepared to print high-volume jobs or many different jobs sent from different computers.
Although there are many advantages, a number of factors must be taken into account before deciding to buy a laser printer. Although the price for each print is lower if we do not usually print the consumable, it can dry and have to buy another so it would be much more expensive.
They are not printers designed to print photographs, the quality of this type of printing is usually lower than ink. Furthermore, the vast majority do not print in color.
we want to help you choose the laser printer that suits you best. We present a comparison with the 4 most valued models on the internet, breaking them down one by one by experts and users. The analysis took into account the printing speed, the quality of the print and the price, among other factors.
The expert recommendation is the Brother DCPL 2550DW which can be purchased for less than $ 150 and with a print speed of 36 pages per minute.
The second option is the HP Laserjet Pro M130nw laser printer for having the support of a brand of trajectory in printers but at a more affordable price.
Brother DCPL 2550DW best laser printers
The Brother DCPL-2550DW laser printer stands out for its extraordinary printing speed, it is capable of doing up to 36 pages per minute. It has an anti jam printing technology so there are no annoying interruptions.
Despite its size, it is an ideal printer for the home or a small business, especially if more than the size, we are looking for an efficient and reliable brand laser printer.
Complementing its 36 ppm, the work speed is extended thanks to its automatic document feeder of up to 50 sheets, which allows us to copy and scan without having to depend on being in front of the printer so that the work is carried out and saving time, always so necessary, to perform other tasks.
The paper tray has a capacity of up to 250 sheets so we ensure a long period without worrying about replenishing. It also handles sizes from Letter to Legal through A4, which will not be a barrier to the optimal display of printed documents.
If we talk about savings, the Brother also becomes a good option, not only that it also prints double-sided, something that allows us to save paper, but its Brother Genuine replacement cartridges (TN-760) in addition to being toner and spend less, are high printing performance. In short, twice as much printing at lower costs for the performance you have. It is worth clarifying that it is also compatible with the TN-730.
This machine has a separate drum and toner cartridge so you only have to replace the depleted consumable. The toner can print up to 1,200 pages in a standard yield or 3,000 pages if we talk about a high yield cartridge.
Another of the great advantages of this model is that it is a multifunction printer. It not only prints but also photocopies and scans. It does not have the Fax function, but perhaps today and more for the public that is oriented to the 2550DW, perhaps it is not a feature that we miss.
The resolution of the Brother is really good, 203 dpi horizontally and up to 392 dpi vertically with a standard of 98 dpi. One of the drawbacks is that it is monochrome, it only prints in black and white.
It may happen that the first page usually takes longer to print due to the heating of the machine, in this case it has been possible for the first page to come out in less than 10 seconds.
In addition to the benefits already mentioned, it is one of the new models that allows us to connect wirelessly with other devices, such as a PC, notebook, cell phone or Tablet, and that thanks to the application of the brand, we can send documents to print from any of them. It also supports WiFi connection and USB port, like other print shipping options.
As for its price of $ 146, it is quite affordable for everything that this model offers.
HP Laserjet Pro M130nw A cheaper option, best laser printers
The HP Laserjet Pro M130nw laser printer is a multifunction printer that allows you to copy, scan, and print in black and white.
Slightly less than the Brother, 23 pages per minute, but the truth is that it is also somewhat cheaper, around $ 70.
It is also the type of printers that allows you to connect to the WiFi network to be able to print from any fixed or mobile device connected to the same internet signal. It even allows printing from DropBox or Google Could Print, but it does not have a USB print port.
The print quality is not very high, it reaches 600 x 400 dpi. To print text documents is more than enough but perhaps in certain graphics, photographs or other types of similar printing, we are a bit short on quality.
Before talking about its capacity, we must emphasize that it does not have an automatic food feeding tray, that is, if we intend to scan or photocopy, we must manually supply the documents.
The HP is not one of the printers with more sheet capacity, in fact it can support between 150 per recharge. In any case, it will depend on the intensity with which we use it and perhaps for school prints or sporadic work, it is more than enough. The output tray can hold up to 100 sheets, making sure to print large numbers of copies or large documents.
We can print on Letter, Legal, Executive, labels, photo paper, etc. So in this sense you have nothing to envy the Brother.
A flaw that experts have experienced is the difficulty in installing it and then sometimes if connectivity fails and can hinder the printing task. This is due to the complexity that HP has in its authentication certificates. It is not something that happens often, but if the case arises, solving this problem is not an easy task.
Samsung SL-M2026 best laser printers
For less than $ 100 we can buy this laser printer. This is the Samsung SL-M2026 model.
Its price is not its only quality, this printer has a print quality of 1200 x 1200 DPI. Great print quality on black and white prints. And is that one of the biggest drawbacks of this type of printers is that the vast majority are monochrome models, that is, they only print in black and white. It is a factor to take into account when deciding on the purchase.
It also achieves by varying the size of the dots and the position of these to print in maximum detail, obtaining sharper images.
Another advantage of the Samsung is its printing speed, it is capable of printing up to 20 pages per minute.
The toner cartridge can make up to 500 prints and the printer has a capacity to load up to 100 sheets. These two features together ensure a long time without worrying about consumables.
The Samsung SL-M2026 has a really small design, with 33.5 x 21.5 centimeters of base, it is one of the smallest brand printers. Being so small it is perfect to adapt to any space.
It should be noted that although it is not a multifunction model itself, it also scans documents.
Kyocera Ecosys P5021cdw
The Kyocera Ecosys P5021cdw laser printer is one of the few printers in the home use range that prints in both color and black and white.
Print quality is good 1200 x 1200 inches per dot at reduced speed. With the multi-bit technology that icorpora can achieve a quality of 9600 x 600 dpi. Even so, its use is not recommended for the reproduction of photographs.
It is a really fast printer since it can print up to 21 pages per minute.
The tray has a 50-sheet capacity and the toner can print up to 1,200 copies. The capacity of the tray seems a little small to us and if we are going to send large quantities to print we will go a bit crazy continually replenishing the pages.
One of the advantages of this model is that it has ranges compatible with SD and SDHC memory cards to be able to print directly from them.
It is a heavy printer to be for domestic use, 21 kilograms, but with good measures to adapt to any office. Exactly measures 41 x 41 x 32.9 centimeters.
Another of the strengths of this Kyocera device is that it can be printed from any Apple device. It supports AirPrint so you can print any document you have on your smartphone or tablet without turning on the computer.
In addition, with the Kyocera Mobile Print application, other smartphones with Android systems can also print on this laser printer.
The biggest drawback of this model is its price, which exceeds $ 300.
Canon LBP162
This Canon laser printer is monochrome so it only prints in black and white. An important detail to take into account before launching to buy a printer because if you want to print photos or graphics, this model would not work.
Specialists recommend it for home use. Its size is small and if its weight does not reach 7 kilos. It is ideal for fast work because it prints up to 30 ppm and on both sides. It has a small screen in the upper area next to some buttons to control the functions of the printer. It has Wifi.
It does not have a drawer that can be pulled out to insert the paper. In its place it has a door where the paper is inserted. Holds 250 sheets.
BUYING GUIDE FOR BEST LASER PRINTERS
If you need to buy a new printer you will quickly realize how difficult it can be to make the right purchase decision: there are many different models and types of printer and, given so much variety, it is normal for confusion to exist.
When you buy a new printer you will have to take into account different factors. In addition to the price (a determining factor for many and many), it will be important to look at the quality of the print, the price of the ink that this model requires, the speed of printing, and other extra tools.
The printer market is a market that is progressing more slowly than other technological sectors (such as that of smartphones, for example), so sometimes the latest printer models are not much improved compared to their previous models.
Also keep in mind that there are different types of printers, the ones that we show you in this article are conventional printers that you can use at home or in the office (depending on the model).
To put you in a position to clarify your ideas when buying a new printer, we have created a mini buying guide so that you can choose the best printer according to your needs.
Before continuing, if you are reading this article because your printer has stopped working, you may want to read our tips to try to fix your printer.
Buying guide to choose the best printer
There is no exclusive model of printer capable of impressing everyone, that is why in our selection of best printers we have mixed different models: for home, work, multifunctional, color, mono, etc.
Printers are usually divided into two main groups: inkjet printers or laser printers. The latter tend to be more expensive than the former, but offer better quality and tend to print faster.
With this we do not mean that laser printers are always the best, since as you will see below, you can find models of injection printers that far exceed the quality of laser printers.
If your only intention is to print text (and a lot), your best option will be a monochrome laser printer.
However, if you need more to print photos, then you need an inkjet printer, that is, a printer with ink cartridges for each color.
We would also like you to take into account the following factors: total cost of purchase, need or not for a multifunction printer, print speed and extra tools.
1. Total cost of the printer
When you decide to buy a printer you have to know that the price you pay for it in the store is only the beginning of the total outlay.
Understand that you have to maintain a printer: you will have to replace the toner, ink and cartridges throughout the life of your new printing device.
Most printer brands offer an estimate of the yield and life of their ink cartridges (the pages you can print with one cartridge).
Thanks to this estimate, you will be able to calculate the average cost per page, something that surprisingly varies greatly from one printer model to another, so it is essential to do this calculation before deciding on one printer or another.
Obviously, if print quality is more important to you than the cost of the product, then you can go for more specialized printers that use up to five or even six ink cartridges to print photos with the highest possible quality.
Thanks to these additional ink cartridges, you can print impressive photos, but keep in mind that the final cost will increase dramatically.
2. Do you need a multifunctional printer?
Most modern best laser printers are “all-in-one” multifunction devices, that is, they include scanners and other tools.
This type of multifunction printers will allow you to scan photos or any other document and convert them into digital files that you can store on your computer. You can also print copies of your scanned documents as if it were a photocopier.
Some models even come with a fax. So if you also need a printer, scanner or copier, we recommend you buy a multifunctional printer model, since you can save a lot of money by not having to buy each of the devices separately.
Obviously, if your only need is to have a printer, it is not worth spending more money for a multifunctional model.
3. Print speed and extra tools
The print speeds that brands claim to have often never correspond to actual speed.
That is why if your main requirement when choosing a printer is printing speed, we recommend that you check reviews from media or users not related to the brand.
Extra features that we consider must be taken into account when having a new printer: USB ports and memory card slots to be able to print directly from them.
Also high capacity paper trays, thanks to which you can feed hundreds of pages of paper without having to be aware of adding more paper so often.
Important is also the double-sided printing tool, an option that can save you a lot of money on paper, in addition to avoiding unnecessary waste.
And finally, we think we need to pay attention to the printer software. Some of these softwares come with editing tools, color adjustment possibilities, etc.
