Business and pleasure generally don’t mix, but with the right laser printer, doing business can be a pleasure. Corporate consumers typically look for speed, network connectivity, pinpoint text and graphics resolution for documents and presentations, and some form of automation, whether it’s an auto document feeder (ADF) or just a really big paper tray. If you, your friend, or a loved one is in the market for a laser printer, don’t get put off by the higher price tag compared to an inkjet - toner generally costs less than ink in the long run, making it ideal for consumers with high volume printing needs. All that said, we’ve covered three laser printers over the past year that have won formal awards from respected industry publications. Here’s a summary of what they won and why:

 

The Samsung ML-2851ND Monochrome Laser Printer won an Editors’ Choice Award from PC Magazine for its speed, auto-duplexer, excellent text quality, and 500 sheet maximum paper capacity. In addition, it features Ethernet connectivity for small workgroups. The ML-2851ND prints at a very low 1.4 cents per page to help offset the already reasonable $300 MSRP.

 

 

The HP Color Laserjet CM1312nfi MFP won its own Editors’ Choice designation from PC Magazine for its office-friendly ability to print, scan, copy, and fax, as well as its 50 page ADF that basically puts you on auto-pilot for non-printing functions. You can also print and scan PC-free from a memory card, and you get razor sharp text and image quality. To top it all off, the Ethernet port gives your small workgroup broader access to the CM1312nfi’s polychromatic multifunctionality. The experts seem to agree that at an MSRP of $499.99, this color MFP represents a solid value for your small business.

 

Finally, the Brother HL-2170W Monochrome Laser Printer collected the coveted Editors’ Choice seal of approval from PC Magazine for its affordable cost per page, generous paper capacity, solid print speed, good text quality, convenient Ethernet and Wi-Fi connectivity, and simple setup. In other words, it does what it says it’ll do on its product page, and that’s relatively rare in the industry. The $149.99 sticker price cements the HL-2170W’s status as one of the better bargains in the home and small office market.

 

Anyway, that does it for Part II in our three part recap of 2008’s top printers. Be sure to check out our final installment in which we look back at a trio of industry-best all-in-one inkjet printers.