Buyer’s Guide: Finding the Best Laser Printer for Your Office

Laser printers offer undeniable strengths—from fast print speeds & reasonable costs per page to crisp edges and smudge-proof outputs perfect for texts & line graphics. HP, Brother or Lexmark laser printers are most suitable for law offices and other businesses that need to regularly print contracts, invoices, reports, and other text documents in bulk. But like any equipment, not all laser printers are made equal. So if you’re planning to buy a new one, here’s a quick guide to help you find the best laser printer for your office.

Decide between print-only or AIO lasers.

You have the option between a single-function (print-only) or multifunction laser printer. Multifunction or all-in-one (AIO) laser printers may have scanning, copying, and faxing capabilities on top of the printing function.

It makes good sense to choose a print-only laser rather than spend more money on an AIO machine that can’t adequately meet your requirements. For example, say your office requires scanning performance that can be more than an AIO can handle. So even if you already have an AIO laser, you may still have to buy a separate scanner. You can save on costs by purchasing a single-function laser printer instead. Similarly, getting another AIO isn’t a good idea if you already have an AIO. If you only need multiple printing machines in the office, an extra single-function laser will suffice.

However, if you run a small office that merely prints, scans, and faxes text documents, you should get an AIO laser printer. It’s a cost-efficient commercial printer option for your requirements.

Choose a laser printer with a lower cost per page.

Undoubtedly, the biggest expense of using an office printer isn’t the machine’s upfront cost or the price of the paper—it’s the ink. Fortunately, there’s a way to determine a ballpark figure of how much a printer will cost you over a long time. Calculate the cost per page by dividing the ink cartridge price by page yield (the number of pages expected to be printed by each cartridge). You can find the page yield among the product details given by the manufacturer.

If you have to choose between two laser printers with similar features & capabilities, calculate the cost per page to know which is a better option for your office. But, of course, the cost per page is not a black-and-white thing. For instance, some manufacturers don’t publish the page yield of their lower-cost models. Plus, even when the page yield is available, remember that this detail comes from the manufacturer, so the number of pages you can yield per cartridge can be too optimistic. Still, looking at the cost per page can help you decide when looking for the best laser printer for your office.

Look for a laser printer that offers duplexing.

Most laser printers let you print on both sides of the paper, but you must re-feed the paper manually into the printer after the first side has been printed. That can be a real pain in the neck if you have to do it repeatedly for hours. So when shopping for the best laser printer for your office, look for one that offers duplexing.

Laser printers with the ability to duplex can print on both sides of a single page automatically. This feature is practical, especially if you do a lot of printing in the office and want to save on paper costs.

Check the input and output trays.

Most printers work by pulling the paper in from the front, feeding it around the roller or drum, and then popping it out to the output tray. But the paper might bend if you use a heavier stock. So if you do a lot of printing in the office, you should look for a model with an input tray installed from the back of the printer. The paper is pushed to the output tray through a straight line, keeping the paper crease-free.

Some printers have multiple trays to let you designate a different tray for coloured papers or letter-sized papers. These can boost your office’s printing efficiency. You should also consider the number of sheets that the trays can handle. If your staff regularly prints 400-page manuscripts, you don’t want them to stand in front of the printer trying to feed or take pages to a tray that can only handle 50 sheets.

Read reviews to know a printer’s maintenance needs.

While all brands require laser printer repairs from time to time or need maintenance to sustain their optimal performance, some printer models or brands are known to be prone to jamming or other issues. So before you settle on one, read user reviews online. Also, consider the upfront cost. There’s a reason some commercial printers have a lower price tag than others—that could be because you have to spend on repairs often.

Get in touch with us for a smooth printer purchase process.

If you still feel overwhelmed by too many options, get in touch with Printer Repair Centre. Apart from printer servicing, we handle laser printer sales. Our sales staff can do the hard part for you—from reading through lengthy specification sheets to comparing different laser printer features and capabilities. They will ask about your printing needs and then do all the research for you. And once we’ve found the best laser printer for your office, we’ll make a recommendation and provide you with an appropriate product quotation.

Contact us today to know more.