Best Reviewed
Color Laser Printers
- Budget color laser printer Xerox Phaser 6010 *Est. $200
- Best small office printer Brother HL-4570CDW *Est. $350
- Fastest color laser printer Dell 5130cdn *Est. $950
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Best small office printer
- Fast
- Good paper handling
- Wireless
- Excellent color and black and white printing
- Subpar photo printing
- Only 128 MB of standard memory
Earning rave reviews from professional reviewers and users alike, the Brother HL-4570CDW (*Est. $350) produces superior quality output at a respectable speed, with exceptional printing in both color and black and white. Its high duty cycle of 60,000 pages per month makes it suitable for heavy home use as well as in a small office. The Brother HL-4570CDWT printer is identical to the HL-4570CDW, but comes with an additional paper tray. Both printers have built-in networking as well as Wi-Fi capabilities, making them suitable for sharing among a workgroup in an office space.
The Brother HL-4570CDW's claimed printing speed of 30 pages per minute (ppm) for both color and black and white output is relatively fast. Tests at PCMag.com show printing speeds (about 6.8 ppm for simple graphics) are in keeping with the manufacturer's claims and M. David Stone highlights that these speeds are faster than those of the Xerox Phaser 6260DN, which won the Editor's Choice award. The HL-4570CDW's standard paper tray holds 250 sheets, with an optional 500-sheet tray, while the HL-4570CDWT model has a standard tray that holds 800 sheets of paper. The installed memory of 128 MB can be upgraded to 256 MB for faster print processing. Martyn Clayden of IT Reviews reports that, in his tests, the printer worked in fits and starts, printing about six pages and then pausing for a while. It is also slower in duplex mode, he says.
The Brother HL-4570CDW prints at a maximum resolution of 2,400 by 600 dpi, resulting in exceptional quality printing in both color and black and white. The text output is crisp and clear, in a deep black and with no jagged edges. Martyn Clayden of IT Reviews calls the black ink quality "extremely impressive," and finds little difference between the normal and high resolution print settings. The quality of the graphics is sufficient for everyday business use, though not for desktop publishing. Jon L. Jacobi and Melissa Riofrio of PC World found that, when printed on regular paper, the color graphics and photos looked slightly dull and showed background patterning. M. David Stone of PCMag.com identifies that, as with most color laser printers, the quality of photos produced by the HL-4570CDW is below par and the colors are noticeably off.
The black and cream case of the Brother HL-4570CDW has a small footprint, measuring 12.3 inches by 16.1 inches by 19.1 inches, but it's quite heavy at 46.3 pounds and may require more than one person to move it. The toner cartridges are easy to access and it's also easy to clear paper jams. Although he says that the printer is solidly built, Simon Williams of Trusted Reviews says the flip-open shelf that holds printouts is a little flimsy and he warns that it may break if someone bumps into it as they walk past.
The Brother HL-4570CDW is Energy Star qualified, and the automatic duplexing mode further reduces its carbon footprint. The easily accessed keypad is on top of the printer and has a flip-up LCD display. User reviewers at Amazon.com report that the HL-4570CDW is easy to use and that its setup is straightforward and well-explained, even for the wireless option. In addition, the printer installs automatically on Mac computers.
Reviewers are enthusiastic about the Brother HL-4570CDW, placing it in their top laser printer lists and awarding it high ratings. It wins the Gold Award from the editors at TopTenReviews in their roundup of laser printers. It's the only printer to be awarded full marks in all the evaluation categories -- printing, feature set and display. The HL-4570CDW is also in the top 10 at PC World, earning 3 out of 5 stars, where its quality of text output is praised. M. David Stone of PCMag.com reviews many laser printers and gives the HL-4570CDW 3.5 stars, citing its "impressive combination of speed, output quality and paper handling." At Trusted Reviews, Simon Williams rates this printer highly, with 9 points out of 10 for its features, and many of the user reviewers at Amazon.com also rate it highly, awarding 4 or more stars out of a maximum of 5.
| Brother HL4570CDW Color Laser Printer with Wireless Networking and Duplex | |
(61 reviews) In Stock. |
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Our Sources
The Editors of TopTenReviews award the Brother HL-4570CDW first place in their 2012 review of laser printers, giving it full marks in each category of printing, feature set and display. They praise its fast speed, extensive features and exceptional print quality, both in color and black and white.
Review: Brother HL-4570CDW, Editors of TopTenReviews.com
PC World editors recommend the Brother HL-4570CDW as a "budget-friendly" workhorse laser printer for small businesses. Calling it competitive in speed and features, they are especially impressed with the quality of this printer's black text output.
Review: Brother HL-4570CDW, Jon L. Jacobi and Melissa Riofrio, Dec. 20, 2010
M. David Stone of PCMag.com highlights the Brother HL-4570CDW's combination of speed, output quality and paper handling. He recommends this printer for a small business and says that its text printing is as good as any other color laser printer, even handling small fonts well.
Review: Brother HL-4570CDW, M. David Stone, June 1, 2011
Susan Ward identifies fast printing and excellent quality as the strong points of the Brother HL-4570CDW. She also praises its automatic duplexing feature for two-side printing as well as its range of connectivity options.
Review: Top 6 Color Laser Printers, Susan Ward
Receiving an overall ranking of 8 out of 10 FROM Trusted Reviews, the Brother HL-4570CDW is highly praised for its range of features. Reviewer Simon Williams highlights the connectivity options of USB, 10/100 Ethernet or wireless connection and states that the installation of each of these is straightforward.
Review: Brother HL-4570CDW Review, Simon Williams, Nov. 2, 2010
Martyn Clayden is impressed with the Brother HL-4570cdw's black print quality and finds little difference between the normal and high resolution print settings. He also likes the option of being able to print from flash memory through a USB port at the front of the printer.
Review: Brother HL-4570CDWT Review, Martyn Clayden, Nov. 8, 2010
7. Amazon.com
Of the more than 40 user reviews at Amazon.com, an impressive 50 percent award the Brother HL-4570CDW a perfect 5 stars. While the reviewers like the ease of use and print quality of this printer, they express concern about the cost of the toner cartridges, rating it at 4.2 overall.
Review: Brother HL-4570CDW Color Laser Printer, Contributors to Amazon.com
Using the review from sister publication PC World, the editors at MacWorld position the Brother HL-4570CDW in sixth place in their top 10 laser printer list.
Review: Brother HL-4570CDW, Editors of Macworld
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3 picks by top review sites.
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