12 Color Laser Printers Explored

Consumers Like Color Laser Printers, As Long As They Can Afford Them

Sales of inkjets at the low end of the market outnumber those of lasers by a ratio of three or four to one, primarily because the entry price for a laser printer ranges from $200-300 while that of an inkjet printer is under $100. That said, those buyers who do need heavier duty cycles, or for whom print quality is paramount, will find a lot to like about laser printers, both color and monochrome. A survey of consumer color laser printers indicates that they number over 140, with only about 1 in 7 sporting MFC capabilities. Our selection of an even dozen of the best-selling models from major vendors thus represents a little under 10% coverage for the whole market space. We do end up covering a disproportionate number of MFCs, thanks to the sometimes strange statistical effects of working with small numbers.

We also think that color laser printers represent a compelling demonstration of how inexpensive serious technologies can sometimes be. The printers we include in this article range in price from under $300 to no more than $1,200, yet offer outstanding monthly duty cycles (ranging from 24,000 to as high as 100,000), outstanding page rates (from 4 to 25 for color output, and 8 to 35 for monochrome output), and large paper tray capacities (none less than 150 pages, and some as high as 650). All of this information is summarized in the table that follows, along with other speeds, feeds and interesting data.

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ItemLowHighTypicalExplanation
PPM.c<10>2018-24Pages per minute rates printer output speed, which is usually lower for color (c) output
PPM.b<10>3020-25Pages per minute rates printer output speed, which is usually higher for black&white (b) output
Resolution.b6001200600Monochrome resolution; normally the same for horizontal and vertical; translates into 600x600, 1200x1200, etc.
Resolution.c2400x6009600x14404800x600Color resolution is typically greater in the horizontal dimension than the vertical one
Scanres.o600x6004800x12002400x1200Scanning resolution often resembles color print resolution, but not always (applies only to MFCs)
Scanres.e19200x1920019200x1920019200x19200Enhanced resolution tends to be the same for all MFC printers (applies only to MFCs)
ColorsCMYK/RGBKCMYK/RGBKCMYK/RGBKThree primary colors (RGB) or their complements (CMY) are needed to print color, most color lasers add black (K) to reduce color toner consumption
Paper handlingLLLLA4pe+LLpe*All printers handle legal and letter size paper, but high end units add numerous photo and envelope sizes (pe+), mid-range units offer basic photo (3x5, 4x6) and envelope support (pe*)
Fax PPM102010Price and fax output rate appear strongly related (applies only to MFCs)
Copy PPMRow 9 - Cell 1 3021-30Copy output rates vary across a wide range (applies only to MFCs)
Tray Capacity150650400Many laser printers can accommodate a second paper tray to double overall capacity
Typical interfacesUSBUSB, parallel, RJ45USB, RJ45Most modern color lasers can connect to a computer (USB) or a network (10/100 Ethernet via RJ45)

Table 1: Common value ranges for color laser printer features and functions

The low end of the color laser printer appears to start at around $300, though you can find deals in the $250 range from time to time. Be prepared to spend at least $60 and as much as $100 for toner cartridges for these printers, though you'll replace black cartridges (about $50-75) more frequently than color ones (which normally cost $60-100). In return, you'll get major output capabilities, great looking color and monochrome printed pages, and good costs per page for consumables.

Keep Things Tidy And Clean

One optional purchase that at least some printer users find helpful is a printer stand. These office furniture items offer a handy place to park your printer (generally on top) and include drawers and/or shelves where you can keep paper, envelopes, cartridges and so forth. You can spend as little as $20 to $30 on a plastic tabletop model, or over $150 for free-standing cabinets or racks. Either way, they provide a great way to keep your printer and its supplies organized and available. The casters or wheels on freestanding models also make the whole thing easy to move around when rear access or outright relocation is necessary.

By design, laser printers use a heating element to melt toner granules into liquid form onto the paper to lay down text, color and images. Toner granules do tend to go astray from time to time, so the paper path in laser printers can get a little dirty. You can purchase special cleaning kits for these printers that include supplies and information to help you keep your printer clean and working properly. We strongly urge you to purchase and use these, because they will keep your print output looking good and reduce wear and tear on your printer.

  • gorbehnare
    I was kind of disappointed to see this article completely ignores that these printers employ different Colour Laser printing technologies. In terms of the cost of ownership and cost of print per page different technologies make a huge difference.

    This information can be found anywhere and this article is only good as a list of products that are available in the market and nothing more.
    Reply
  • exceltoner
    Thank you for info. Do you know if this printer is compatible with a Mac?

    toner cartridge
    Reply
  • I Have owned the Dell 3110cn Printer for about 7 years and it has been the best, most trouble free piece of hardware I have ever purchased. I was completely fed up with dealing with clogged up inkjet printheads, and walking around with purple hands. I bought the Dell Laser for around $379.00 and the only thing that I have replaced are the toner carts, of which I am on my third set. This Printer is bullet proof, and as a bonus it prints very acceptable color photos in high quality mode. Mine has paid for itself over and over and over with zero problems.
    Reply