Laser printers don’t have the problems with output quality that ink causes for printing on plain paper. Toner particles, often chemically grown epson workforce to uniform size and shape, are tiny bits of plastic. Unlike ink, they can’t bleed into the paper to soften sharp edges for lines and graphics.
If you like the sound of our budget pick but want the ability to scan and copy documents and photos too, the Brother MFC-L2750DW should fit the bill. At its core it’s a very similar printer—and it’s just as easy to set up—but it also has a flatbed scanner and a fast, single-pass duplexing automatic document feeder on top. Its print quality is slightly better out of the box, and you get the same operating costs, the same print speed, and the same connectivity options as you do with the HL-L2350DW.
(It sounds absurd, but such hacks have happened.) It also allows for PIN-encrypted print jobs, so you can make sure no one else is intercepting your documents. Role-based access control for multiuser environments allows you to choose who can access which printer features. If your work involves sensitive material, these are legitimately helpful additions—and features you can’t get from other manufacturers. Laser toner cartridges don’t have to be replaced as often as ink tanks, and they won’t clog—as inkjet print heads sometimes do—if you go weeks or months between print jobs. The MFC-J4335DW prints, scans, copies, functions as a stand-alone fax machine, and allows faxing from the computer using the Brother Fax application or a driver that allows faxing from almost any Windows program. Paper handling for printing is suitable for most small offices, home offices and personal use.
The hassle of your ink cartridge running out or drying up in between uses. And most important, it should produce professional-looking documents. There are countless printers on the market, and vague or impenetrable product descriptions can make it difficult to compare apples to apples. To cut through the clutter, we sorted out the most important criteria, filtered the available options and came up with the best monochrome printers to outfit your home office.
It doesn’t take long to warm up, prints quickly at 36 pages per minute, and prints double-sided automatically. Its regular toner cartridge yields around 2000 prints, and the printer accepts third-party toner, which might help you save some money. The downside is that you have to replace the drum separately, which adds to your overall maintenance cost. You likely won’t need to do it often, as the drum is usually good for about 12,000 prints. Although the cost per print is excellent, remember that the drum is a separate unit that you’ll have to spend extra to replace.
The scanner has good features, but the lack of a duplex scanner is a bit disappointing, as scanning duplex documents takes a long time. Photo brother monochrome laser printer printing is not recommended, as printed photos look terrible. Overall, this is an excellent printer, as long as you only print in black.