Laser Printer: Color, Wireless, LaserJet, All-in-One

Questions to Ask When Buying a Laser Printer

Introduction

Looking for the best laser printer to buy for the office? If you’re like 80 percent of small businesses, lowering print costs is on your agenda. Buying a cheap office printer will not help meet that objective. It is better to consider total cost of ownership (TCO) over time and take measures to reduce print costs. A quality printer tends to be more efficient with supplies, and needs services less frequently.The best office printer for any organization is one that fits the type of materials they print, paper volume, and whether it can be configured to enforce permissions and privacy policy.

Questions

Why use a laser printer over an inkjet?

Inkjet printers have lower prices upfront. Their ink cartridges are cheaper than toner cartridges. Inkjets are great for printing photos, images with vivid colors, and better if you print on heat-sensitive material.

However, if you’re printing enough black-and-white paper documents, laser printing is more cost efficient and much faster. If you print lots of long documents with graphs and images in them, a color laser printer is a worthy investment. If your documents are black and white only, a monochrome is great value.

Laser printers tend to be larger with more bulk and weight, but OEMs do offer compact laser printers if device mobility is a requirement.

Why are monochrome laser printers popular?

The top selling laser printers for B2B customers are monochromes. Why buy a printer that prints only hues of black?

Frequent blank and white document printing wears on inkjet printers; also sometimes ink text looks fuzzy on standard office paper, and self-cleaning drains ink cartridges quickly. The total cost of ownership adds up and it makes sense to buy a laser printer if your printing needs are mostly documents.

A monochrome printer tends to have a lower price per page than color laser printers, and inkjets produce nicer color images. If a company has dual needs—bulk black-and-white printing and occasional color printing—they usually buy both. A monochrome laser and a color inkjet gives you quality printing for most situations.

How do you match printer durability to your company needs?

Manufacturers rate printer durability by duty cycle, the number of pages per month it is tested to withstand. Calculate how much your business prints looking at paper costs over a few years. Make a rough calculation with that data, and consider the trajectory of your needs—remember to plan for five years.

Can you print over a Wi-Fi network safely?

Most laser printers connect over a wireless network for convenient mobile printing in a BYOD office. A Wi-Fi printer reduces cable clutter, and connects to cloud storage which enables remote employees to print files on the office printer. Professional grade printers accommodate network security configurations to enforce privacy policy.

What is the difference between all-in-one and multifunction?

A printer that functions as a copier, scanner, and fax machine is called an all-in-one (AIO) or multi-function peripheral (MFPs). The difference is networking—MFP connects to a network, and an AIO interfaces with a computer though USB. Either works great for cutting down equipment costs and space in compact office settings. An MFP works well for a business that wants set printing policies on a user-by-user basis.

What printer features do you need to enforce privacy policy?

Printing sensitive information is subject to regulatory compliance in healthcare, law, accounting, and many other lines of work. Pro-grade laser printers are great tools to enforce a privacy policy a company puts in place to prevent regulatory fines for breaching privacy. Authentication and security features built into the printer keep documents private, and attach printing output to users.

Support for card readers, password protection
Certificate based security protocols
Encryption via SSL SFTP, 802.1X.
Track costs on single user basis, or assign users to a department.
Single point of control for managing an enterprise-scale printer deployment

What is the fastest printer?

Tight deadlines sometimes require fast printing. Laser printers are ideal for printing a long file onto paper in a timely manner. The fastest printers print 65 pages per minute. The slowest do 12 pages. Choose based on what works well for your profession.

What are the best laser printers for B2B customers in 2017-2018?

Based on sales data and customer reviews on product pages, the Brother HL-series entry level models are the top laser printers for SMBs and branch offices. Tested for 700 pages a month, and a price around $100, ratings-wise, it is the best laser printer at the level.

Three HP laser printers are among the top six sellers for business customers at Newegg. Two LaserJet Pro, and a LaserJet Enterprise; both are ideal for performance and Ethernet networking options for standard office network setups. Enterprise leads among the workhorse laser printers, for high volume, high speed printing.

The top selling laser MFP under $200 is Canon ImageCLASS – it offers bang for buck performance specifications for print speed and volume.

Where do I find deals on new laser printers?

NeweggBusiness frequently offers deals and discounts on printers and print materials. Remember that newer printers will save money on toner costs. A printer falls out of date quickly when you purchase an older model. Good advice is to look for brand-wide offers that apply to new printers.

What is the lifespan of a laser printer?

A five-year lifespan is the rule of thumb for tech products. IRS code dictates this for B2B procurement. Depreciation costs of IT equipment is a tax write-off for five years after purchase. Retiring a laser printer before full depreciation is a waste of money. The best laser printer for your company needs to last at least that long.

By NeweggBusiness Staff

Laser Printers

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