Personal Laser Printers

Best monochrome laser printers for home use

Personal laser printers fit on a desktop (some are only 10 inches high) and have duty cycles of 5,000 to 30,000 pages per month. Speeds (according to the manufacturers) range from 10 pages to over 20 pages per minute. Competition in this category has grown in recent years, as the price of lasers has come down while speed and quality have improved.

HP's LaserJet P1505 (*Est. $150) boasts excellent print speeds for an entry-level monochrome laser printer. M. David Stone of PC Magazine says that this Editors' Choice product, for its price class, has text output and paper handling that is reasonably good. The LaserJet P1505 has a 250-sheet capacity paper tray, and also features a 10-sheet multipurpose tray that allows printing small jobs on specialty paper without swapping out the plain letter paper. Stone's biggest complaint is that the black-and-white laser printer comes with no printed documentation, only digital instructions on the installation disc. Some consumers might prefer to have a hard copy, as Stone does.

Yet not all are in agreement with this high assessment. Melissa Riofrio of PC World confirms that the LaserJet P1505 prints text at a very impressive average of 26 pages per minute. But she concludes that this low-priced model is not very well designed, expensive to run (at about 3 cents per page) and produces substandard photo prints, even for a monochrome laser printer.

Riofrio finds that the Dell 1720's (*Est. $200) performance in tests is good, averaging 29 pages per minute for text. She is also impressed with the printer's display panel: lights are labeled with icons as well as written explanation, and even what different blinking light patterns mean is explained in plain English. There are a number of different size options for replacement toner cartridges, making costs variable but as low as 1.5 cents per page with a high-yield cartridge.

PC World lists the Dell 1720 as a Best Buy, but the site reviews so few monochrome laser printers in its survey that the Dell model seems to win only by default. PC World gives the 1720dn a score of 79 out of 100, which hardly seems outstanding.

The Brother HL-2170W (*Est. $120) replaces the HL-2070N model, which was previously the ConsumerSearch top pick for a personal monochrome laser printer. This line of Brother printers continues to be well received. PC Magazine names it an Editors' Choice budget monochrome laser for personal or small-office use, with M. David Stone praising its good print quality and paper handling. He also notes that the printer has a separate exit tray that provides a straight-through path for heavyweight paper and envelopes, a rarity even on more expensive printers. The Brother HL-2170W has an input tray that holds 250 sheets, and Brother rates its speed at up to 23 pages per minute. Like its predecessor model, the HL-2170W is noted for its small size and footprint, measuring just 14.5 inches by 14 inches by 7 inches. It weighs just 15 pounds, about 10 pounds less than the Samsung ML-2851ND and Brother HL-5280DW models.

IT Reviews also has high marks for the HL-2170W, giving it a Recommended rating. That such an inexpensive printer has built-in Wi-Fi and Ethernet connectivity is already impressive, and IT Reviews finds that wireless setup is simple on this printer. Still, both IT Reviews and Personal Computer World bemoan the lack of an LCD screen, and Personal Computer World finds the text output not as dark as it is from other printers.

Brother's least expensive laser printer, the HL-2140 (*Est. $120), gets good marks, even if it is necessarily lacking in features. Despite its low price, print quality is judged good, and setup is reportedly easy. Like the Brother HL-2170W, this model has a single-feed straight-through path for heavy paper, but no multipurpose feed tray. It also lacks networking capability and a duplexer, not surprising for its price range. Trusted Reviews' Simon Williams recommends this printer for those needing a "one-per-desk machine" without any frills. Robin Morris at PC World Australia concurs, saying the inexpensive Brother printer is a good buy for occasional use. Both reviewers express concern over long-term costs with this printer, and real-world print speeds (between 12 and 14 pages per minute) fall well below Brother's stated 22 ppm.

Reviewers complain that monochrome laser printers are often unattractive and outmoded-looking. One exception is the Samsung 1630W (*Est. $250), which features a glossy black case. Trusted Reviews recommends the Samsung monochrome laser printer, saying that in addition to its stylish looks and low profile this model is quiet and delivers good quality prints, and that wireless networking makes it stand out in its class. Computer Shopper is somewhat less impressed, pointing out that networkability still doesn't make it a worthy work group printer, especially considering its meager 5,000 page-per-month duty cycle and non-upgradable paper tray that holds a mere 100 sheets. PC World agrees, finding that it is adequate only for light office or home use. Its small footprint -- 13 inches by 15 inches by 5 inches and 14 pounds -- also makes it ideal for the home.

The older (and more traditional-looking) Samsung ML-2510 (*Est. $105) has less support from reviewers. PC Pro recommends it and favors it over the Lexmark E120n (see above), another direct competitor. PC Pro's Dave Stevenson cites speed and price as the Samsung ML-2510's greatest virtues, but he notes that the included cartridge is only one-third full. User reviews are average. Reliability is the biggest problem.

The Oki B4400 (*Est. $240) monochrome laser printer gets a lukewarm assessment at PC Magazine. Editors say its print quality is fine but unexceptional. And although it costs more than similar entry-level printers, its per-page costs are about a penny less than others. Plus, like its predecessor (the Oki B4100) it has a straight paper path, which minimizes paper jams when printing on heavier paper and envelopes. This feature could affect your decision if you regularly print projects on heavier paper or need easier envelope printing. But unless you need the straight paper path for all print jobs, the Brother HL-2170W is a better deal, with included networking. To get networking on the Oki B4400, you have step up to the B4400n (*Est. $330), which costs significantly more.