Monochrome Laser Printers Reviews

Best Monochrome Laser Printers Reviews: (out of 25)
Choice.com.au, Computer Shopper, PC Magazine

Best Monochrome Laser Printers: (out of 41)
Brother HL-5250DN, Brother HL-5280DW, Brother HL-2070N

Fast Answers - Best Monochrome Laser Printers

Top Rated	What the Research Says
• Brother HL-5250DN (*est. $240) >> Where to buy	Best monochrome laser printer for small offices. Multiple reviews cite the Brother HL-5250DN as a best buy, with sprightly speeds, top-quality text output and built-in Ethernet networking. The HL-5250DN laser printer has 1200 x 1200 dpi resolution and prints more than 20 text pages per minute in tests. According to calculations by PC World, cost of ownership is a low 2.2¢ per page. The Brother also includes an automatic duplexer for double-sided printing and it ships with a full-capacity toner cartridge. Duty cycle is 20,000 pages per month. Owners are also happy with this printer, which gets high ratings on both Newegg.com and Amazon.com. (compare prices)
• Brother HL-5280DW (*est. $355) >> Where to buy	Small-office laser printer with Wi-Fi. The Brother HL-5280DW has the same key specifications as the Brother HL-5250DN, but it adds wireless Wi-Fi networking and an LCD status display. Both printers are compatible with Windows, Mac and Linux computers. Options include additional paper trays and high-capacity toner cartridges, which help reduce running costs. This Brother laser printer has a duty cycle of 20,000 pages per month. (compare prices)
• Brother HL-2070N (*est. $140) >> Where to buy	Personal monochrome laser printer. For home use, reviews say the text quality of the Brother HL-2070N is excellent. Although the Brother HL-2070N is networkable, it otherwise lacks any business features or frills. Paper handling is limited with this printer relative to its big brothers; the top bin holds just 100 sheets of paper and the only alternative is a manual feeder that takes one page or envelope at a time. Paper handling is also an issue on the output end; older reviews say the Brother HL-2070N curls paper. The compact size and small footprint are assets. Toner cartridges cost a reasonable $45 each (2500 page yield). Duty cycle is rated at 10,000 pages per month. (compare prices)
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What the experts say, our analysis, and more...

Updated October 2007

Color inkjet printers are more popular for home use, but if you mainly print text pages or don't need color printing, monochrome laser printers offer sharper, cleaner printouts. Additionally, monochrome laser printers print faster and cost much less to operate than inkjet printers.

The best reviews for monochrome laser printers come from sources that regularly evaluate laser printers and offer a way to compare them. X-bit Labs is the only reviewer to publish close-up photos of each printer's text output, revealing differences between models. X-bit's last roundup of nine monochrome laser printers is outstanding in all regards. Printers are compared and the reviews are balanced and thorough.

Several review sources excel in certain regards. Australian consumer magazine Choice compares a dozen inexpensive monochrome laser printers in a recent test. The magazine does the best job of evaluating cost of use. PC Magazine's reviews are balanced and comparative, but there are more reviews here for color laser printers than monochrome printers.

British magazine Computer Shopper's reviews are helpfully comparative, with detailed descriptions of text and image quality. While most reviewers use vague general descriptions like "very good," Computer Shopper's Simon Handby will tell you, "The B4100 prints excellent text with crisp and tidy outlines, but its toner seems more dark grey than black, robbing characters of their full impact." Other computer and consumer magazines, such as PC World and Consumer Reports, have decent reviews that fall short in key areas. They have too little or no recent coverage of monochrome laser printers, reviews aren't comparative or reviews overrate the importance of features relative to print quality.

Most reviews overrate the importance of speed. We found that only a minority of reviews cover any of four major buying considerations: projected printer reliability, actual as opposed to interpolated resolution, printer paper paths and whether the printer comes with a full or starter toner cartridge. This last point can be a major impact on your wallet. For example, good reviews reveal the false economy of the Lexmark E120n (*est. $140) . This model is small, cheap and fast, and reviewers agree that output quality is at least good. PC Pro admits that cost-per-print is high, but nonetheless recommends the printer. However, PC Magazine's review notes that the Lexmark laser printer comes with a starter toner cartridge that only contains 25% of the toner contained in a full cartridge. Replacement toner cartridges cost about $75.

Of the 12 laser printers measured by Choice, ten cost much less per page than the Lexmark E120n. With the same price and networking capability, the Brother HL-2070N (*est. $140) is the E120n's most direct competitor. Choice calculates that the Lexmark printer costs more than twice as much per page (from a full cartridge) as the Brother HL-2070N. While the Brother printer also ships with a starter toner cartridge, you get about 50% as much toner as a full cartridge (*est. $45). ... Continued

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Consensus Report

Our Consensus Report shows how many times products are top-ranked by reviewers included in our
All The Reviews Reviewed chart.

# of Picks	Model (with retailer links)	Details from Amazon.com
10	Brother HL-5250DN (*est. $240)	details
4	Brother HL-5280DW (*est. $355)	details
4	Brother HL-2070N (*est. $140)	details
3	Samsung ML-2250 (est. $195) / ML-2251N (est. $225)	details
3	Kyocera Mita FS-1030D (*est. $300)	-
3	HP LaserJet 1320 (*est. $500)	details
2	OKI B4100 (discontinued)	details
2	Samsung ML-2510 (*est. $135)	details
1 each	Ricoh Aficio AP410 , Brother HL-2040 , Dell 1710, Dell 1720dn , HP LaserJet 1022 , Ricoh Aficio AP610N , Samsung ML-2571N , Samsung ML-3051N, Lexmark E120n

Brother monochrome laser printers easily earn the most favorable reviews in several price ranges. Because they have all been on the market for a long time, like most competing products, we include ratings from older reviews as well as recent ones. The Kyocera Mita FS-1030D is favored by many reviewers, but distribution is limited to specialty office supply dealers, so it’s harder to find.

Samsung, HP and Lexmark printers receive the highest ratings in some reviews, but most of those same models get mixed scores in other reviews. In general, the reviews that praise those models emphasize value.

Ricoh’s more home-oriented printers are not especially recommended in reviews, but the company’s entry-level office printers are seen as great choices for those who need to step up to a higher level of quality or functionality. Like the Kyocera Mita FS-1030, the Ricoh Aficio AP410 and AP610N are only sold by specialty dealers.

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