5 Best color laser printers in 2023 for multi-purpose

Laser printers are becoming increasingly popular for small businesses and home offices. They have many advantages over inkjet printers, such as faster printing speeds, lower costs per page, and better print quality.

Color laser printers are particularly well-suited for businesses that need to print high-quality marketing materials, such as brochures and flyers. However, they can also be quite expensive.

To help you find the best color laser printer for your needs, we’ve compiled a list of the top performers in our tests. We’ve also included a few models that can do more than one thing, like scan and copy (multifunction), which can save you money.

Laser printers have clearly got some perks over inkjet printers, making them the most reliable choice, especially when heavy workloads are concerned. For example, a color laser printer can be a good investment because it can be used for so many different things. Be it for graphic design or art, letter printing, spreadsheets, text documents, posters, brochures, flyers, or you name it, the color laser printer has everything in its bag for you to pick from.

Best Color Laser Printers in 2023 for Multi-Use

Scanse selects the best laser printers for the money in 2023. A bad choice can land you in great distress while breaking your bank. The Scanse team has twisted and toiled on your behalf to find you the best printer for your needs, big and small.

We have done the hard work for you to help you choose the best laser printer for your needs. The products that we have mentioned below were handpicked and put through extensive testing by our testing team to come up with an unbiased opinion. We have also produced a guide at the end of this post, explaining the things that are essentially looked into while choosing the best color laser printer.

With that said, let us draw the curtains on our top color laser printers in 2023.

1. HP Color LaserJet Pro M479fdw – Best Multifunction Color Laser Printer [Editor Choice ]

2. Lexmark MC3224adwe – Best Laser Printer in color for small office

3. HP Color LaserJet Pro M255dw – Best Color Laser Printer For Home Office

4. Brother HL-L3290CDW – Excellent Laser Printer in Color for Business

5. Canon ImageCLASS MF644Cdw – Top Color Laser Printer For Photos

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#1. HP Color LaserJet Pro M479fdw: The Best Multifunction Color Laser Printer 

HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M479fdw – Review

The HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M479fdw deserves the crown among HP’s color laser printer line-up. The entire body is made of thick plastic to give it strength and solidity. Sliders on the bottom input tray can adjust to the size of the paper that is fed.

It has an automatic document feeder (ADF) and duplex scanning support. The flatbed’s size is 8.5″ x 11″ and it has a scan resolution of 1200 DPI with a color depth of 30 bits. It shares support with different third-party cloud services, including Apple AirPrint, Google Cloud Print, and mobile devices.

Getting to the printing speeds, the black-only text documents can be printed at a speed of 22 ppm, while the color documents surprisingly reached 29 ppm. When tested with a photo, the HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M479fdw took over 18 seconds. By default, the printer is set to print on both sides, so if you only want to print on one side, you will need to turn off duplex printing.

Design and Build Quality

The build quality on this printer is top-notch, with the entire body being made of hard plastic to ensure durability. Speaking of the dimensions, it isn’t the smallest printer but can comfortably fit most desks with its dimensions of 15.5″ x 16.4″ x 18.6″ (H x W x D).

Print Quality

Speaking of the print quality, it does really well with black-and-white text documents. However, when it comes to color printing, like most other color laser printers, there is a slight inaccuracy in the produced colors, and the color print quality isn’t that great. It is fine for casual color printing.

Printing Speeds

HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M479fdw printing speeds reach 29 ppm. Black-only text documents can be printed at a speed of 22 ppm. When tested with a photo, the printer took over 18 seconds to print. The printer is set to print on both sides, so if you only want to print one side you will need to turn off duplex printing.

Productivity

The HP LaserJet Pro MFP M479fdw can take your productivity to the next level with support for auto duplex printing and an auto document feeder capacity of 50 sheets for the scanner. HP LaserJet Pro MFP M479fdw scanner has a capacity of 50 sheets for the scanner and an input tray capacity of 250 sheets.

Ease of Use

This device has an impeccable 4.3 LCD touch screen with tilting support for better visibility. The touchscreen on this device is very impressive, but we have experienced a slight lag in the touch operation.

Connectivity

The HP printer has a gigabit Ethernet port, a 2.0 high-speed USB port and dual-channel Wi-Fi. Also, the printer has the provision to directly accept printing from an external medium via the USB port.

#2. Lexmark MC3224adwe – Best Laser Printer in color for small office

Lexmark MC3224adwe – Review

Lexmark MC3224ADW Color Multifunction Laser Printer is a compact AIO color laser printer. The device itself weighs around 42.7 pounds and has the following dimensions:. 13.6 by 16.2 by 15.5 inches (HWD). It offers everything that you would typically need in an office environment, from scanning to printing. One of which is the Lexmark MC3224ADW Color Multifunction Laser Printer.

Lexmark MC3224adwe is good for most small businesses and offices. Comes equipped with a 2.8-inch touchscreen display for easier operation. It offers a 50-sheet auto document feeder (ADF) feature, but doesn’t support auto-duplexing.

It shares support with different printing services like Apple AirPrint, Google Drive, and Lexmark’s own Mobile Print for both iOS and Android devices.

Design and Build of the printer

Lexmark has done the hard work in building this entry-level color laser printer to perfection. The device itself feels sturdy and is engineered well. However, it feels a bit bulkier and bigger in size compared to most competitors in this lineup. It measures 13.6 x 16.2 x 15.5 in. and weighs 42.7 lbs.

Printing Quality

The Lexmark MC3224adwe Color Multifunction Laser Printer is doing exceptionally well in the case of text documents. The entry-level color laser printer is doing justice even for photo printing. However, there is a bit of graininess that can be seen in some parts of the photos.

Printing Speed

The device offers decent print speeds, with up to 24 one-sided pages per minute (PPM) and 13 two-sided pages per minute. However, the first print is taking considerably more time.

Ease of use

The 2.8-inch (7.2 cm) LCD touch panel on this printer helps ease navigation through the different features of this device. Setting up this device doesn’t take much time if you follow the on-screen instructions.

Connectivity

The device has all the connectivity options that you would expect from a 21st-century machine: USB 2.0, WiFi b/g/n 802.11, a Fast Ethernet port, popular cloud print services like Apple AirPrint and Google Cloud Print, mobile devices, etcetera.

#3. HP Color LaserJet Pro M255dw: Best Color Laser Printer for Home Office

HP Color LaserJet Pro M255dw – Review

HP M255dw color laser printer is 9.8 x 15.3 x 16.5 (H x W x D) and weighs about 32.2 lbs. In spite of its size, this printer has everything that you would look for in a typical desktop colour laser printer.

Setting up this device is easy and doesn’t require any expertise. There is a 2.7” LCD touchscreen display sitting on top of the printer, intended to help you navigate through its functions easily. The toner cartridge yield has also come out really well on this nifty laser printer, especially in the case of monochrome printing chores. However, it is recommended to go for this printer only if you choose to print in color occasionally and more in black and white. The color photo quality isn’t that great, with the print being grainy and a lot of banding visible throughout the photo. Nevertheless, it does exceptionally well in monochrome prints.

Printer Build Quality and design

Talking about the design and aesthetics, the printer itself is so well engineered to keep its footprint small that it sits comfortably on most desks. The toner cartridges can be accessed from the front, while the paper jams can be cleared from behind, which only involves removing a single panel.

Printing Speeds

Printing speeds are helpful, especially if you have a lot of print jobs to deal with. The HP Color LaserJet Pro M255dw has great printing speeds, with 17 ppm in black-and-white text documents and 23 ppm when it comes to color. However, the first print is taking considerably more time.

Print Quality

When it comes to printing black-and-white text documents, the HP Color LaserJet Pro M255dw does a decent job. while the photo printing quality is poor. The photos seem grainy, and there’s also a lot of banding all over the photo. Talking about color accuracy, the printer is producing yellows and reds that are close to the actuals while most other colors are slightly inaccurate, but that doesn’t matter if your only concern is to print a lot of documentation.

Economical

The toner cartridge has a better page yield, which ultimately cuts down on the operational costs, making this one of the most economical and good color laser printers on the market.

Ease of use

The HP Color LaserJet Pro M255dw is easy to use, and you don’t need to know anything about how it works. It comes equipped with a 2.7” LCD touchscreen, which makes navigating to its features way easier. Though the screen seems very small, the touch sensitivity is decent, and it has good visibility even if there is a lot of external light shining on it.

Connectivity

The HP Color LaserJet Pro M255dw is a reliable and affordable printer that is perfect for small businesses. This printer offers a variety of connectivity options, making it easy to connect to your computer or other devices. The printer also offers wireless printing, so you can print from anywhere in your office.

#4. Brother HL-L3290CDW: Excellent Laser Printer in Color for Business

Brother HL-L3290CDW – Review

Brother HL-L3290CDW digital color laser printer is designed to fit most workspaces with its dimensions of 14.5 by 16.1 by 18.7 inches (HWD) and weight of 47.8 pounds. A two-line monochrome display can be seen sitting on its control panel, surrounded by a bunch of buttons.

Brother HL-L3290CDW digital color laser printer can hold up to 250 sheets. It has a maximum monthly duty cycle of 30,000 pages and a recommended monthly print volume of 1,500 pages. The connectivity options are limited on this device, with support for USB 2.0 and Wi-Fi.

Brother HL-L3290CDW is a laser-class printer with excellent print speeds up to 25 pages per minute both in color and black and white. Running this printer is relatively cheap compared to similar lasers-class printers, and it prints at a much faster rate than most competitors.

Build Quality and design of printer

Brother is well known for its engineering brilliance, especially considering its design and quality. It should ideally fit in most office spaces or even sit comfortably on a home desk. The fact that this printer is based on LED arrays and not the traditional laser apparatus has a greater advantage here.

Print Quality

The printing quality turned out to be surprisingly good. It can handle black-and-white text documents like a charm. However, color reproduction struggles a bit. You cannot expect excellent photo quality from a laser-class printer. ideal for printing documents with an occasional color splash here and there.

Printing Speeds

This printer has the upper hand when it comes to printing speeds. Brother boasts that this device is capable of printing at a speed of 25 pages per minute (ppm). However, in our testing, it came out to be around 24 pages a minute with both color and black and white.

LED Technology

The Brother HL-L3290CDW isn’t a true laser printer. Unlike a traditional laser printer, it doesn’t use the laser apparatus to instruct the printer where to fuse toner to the paper; rather, it utilizes LED arrays, which are smaller and less costly than their laser counterparts. This has an advantage over the overall build size and also makes it less expensive compared to a traditional color laser printer.

Connectivity

Connectivity is the most important aspect when it comes to choosing the best color laser printer. The Brother HL-L3290CDW offers basic connectivity features that you would typically need, be it in your home or an office. It has Wi-Fi with support for Wi-Fi Direct and USB 2.0. However, there is no provision for the Ethernet port, which is kind of odd for a 21st-century printer.

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#5. Canon imageCLASS MF644Cdw: best color laser printer for photos

Canon imageCLASS MF644Cdw – Review

Canon has done the hard work of carving the Canon imageCLASS MF644Cdw to perfection. It is a go-to choice for those looking for a printer for their small or home office. Speaking of its physical aesthetics, the device is a heartthrob with its black and white contrast. The cartridge system on this machine runs for ages before you get to replace it.

Canon Color imageCLASS MF644Cdw has a 5.0 touchscreen LCD display and an automatic document feeder that can scan your documents in a single pass. However, the screen isn’t bright enough to stand out in brighter environments. The scanner is great, especially with the automatic document-feeder incorporated.

The Canon MF644Cdw can produce black-and-white text prints at 17 ppm, while it can print at 22 ppm in color. The printer has an input tray capacity of 250 sheets. In our testing, it took a whopping 19.5 seconds to produce a photo print.

Build and Design of the Printer

Like any other Canon product, the imageCLASS MF644Cdw has been engineered to perfection. The build quality seems promising for handling heavy workloads and lasting a long time. It has the dimensions 16.2″ x 17.8” x 18.1” (H x W x D) and weighs about 48.4 lbs.

Printer Printing quality

When it comes to printing in black and white, the printer does an excellent job of producing sharp and clear text. The photo printing quality is terrible on this device, with missing details and dark bands all over. However, if you only wish to use this printer for mostly printing in black and occasionally in color, this can be a great deal.

Printing Speeds

The Canon imageCLASS MF644Cdw All-In-One Laser Printer can print black-and-white text documents at 17 ppm and color documents at 22 ppm. Photo printing on this device took about 19.5 seconds. The first printout time for a black-and-white print took about 16 seconds.

Scanner

The built-in scanner on this machine does its job well. With the Automatic Document Feeder (ADF) and single-pass technology, scanning large documents was easy and time-saving. It has a scanning resolution of 600 dpi, which is a decent figure for an office all-in-one color laser printer. The flatbed size on this built-in scanner is 8.5″ by 11”.

Ease of use

The device is quite handy with the built-in 5-inch touch screen that lets you access all of its features, making it more intuitive. The touch response on the screen is really impressive. However, the screen has poor viewing angles and invites a lot of glare, making it unreadable even at the maximum brightness.

Connectivity

Canon has incorporated every modern connectivity option, with the exception of Bluetooth and NFC. It has Ethernet, Wi-Fi with support for Wi-Fi Direct, external storage support, and a high-speed USB 2.0 port.

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What is the best color laser printer for photos?

We keep hearing this question a lot from our readers. Also, we encountered this in many forums, where people keep asking a lot about the Good color laser printers for photos. We’d been meaning to write a guide about it since we heard about it. The time has finally come.

Laser printers are not made to print photos, so the top-rated color laser printers for photos are clearly a mistake. Technically, they can print photos, but one cannot expect outstanding photo quality. Most laser printers don’t even support glossy papers. However, the color laser print can do justice to color images like charts and graphs in your documents. If you only need to print photos, you shouldn’t look for a color laser printer for photos. Instead, look for the best inkjet photo printers with good specs.

What is the best color laser printer for home use?

After “What is the best color laser printer for photos?” We hear this question a lot from our subscribers. There are a lot of color laser printers for home use on the market. It is indeed tough to pick the right color laser printer for home office use with a perfect balance between price, features, and performance.

Also Read: Best 11/17 Color Laser Printer in 2023

best color laser printers – Buying Guide

Selecting a printer from the sheer number of options can be the toughest job even for someone with decent knowledge in the printer technologies. Finding the best color laser printer on the market for a not so techy kind of person is like finding the way out of a maze with no escape. Worry not! As always, we at Scanse have done the hard work to succor you out of the dilemma with our intense buying guide for the top Color Laser Printer 2023.

Why should you prefer a color laser printer? over inkjet printer

When it comes to selecting the right type of printer, color laser printers are often the preferred choice over inkjet models. Color laser printers offer several advantages over inkjet models that make them a better choice for both home and office use.

They produce high-quality prints with sharp details and true-to-life colors. A toner cartridge generally lasts longer than an ink cartridge, which helps reduce costs in the long run. Laser printers also tend to be more reliable because they have fewer moving parts.

Printing Speed:

Laser printing is considerably faster than inkjet printing. You might not notice this if you only print a few pages at a time. The speed difference does come into play, especially when you have larger print jobs to accomplish.

Low running costs:

The running costs of laser printing are relatively low compared to their inkjet counterparts. Over time, toner costs for a laser printer total far less per page than refilling and replacing inkjet printer cartridges.

they prints Sharper text:

Laser printers are inherently good at producing crisp, legible text. If your print jobs involve mostly text with occasional graphics, the laser is the ideal choice. Laser printers have an advantage over inkjet printers, especially when it comes to handling small fonts and fine lines.

Quieter Operation:

Laser printers are quieter than inkjet printers because they don’t have as many moving parts.

Color Laser Printer Duty Cycle:

Laser printers are built to handle heavier workloads compared to inkjet printers and have larger duty cycles.

But inkjet printers are also better than laser printers in some ways, like being more flexible and able to handle larger paper sizes than inkjet printers.

A Good Color Laser Printer should have below Qualities

Color laser printers have become an invaluable tool for businesses, schools, and homes alike. Finding the right printer is important for a number of reasons, such as the purpose, the reputation of the brand, your budget, and the quality of the prints. Knowing which qualities to look for in a color laser printer can help you find the perfect one for your needs.

The primary purpose of a color laser printer should be taken into consideration when making a purchase decision. Some printers are suited specifically for high-volume printing needs while others may be more appropriate for home use or smaller office settings. Choosing the right kind of printer depends on how it will be used and what type of documents need to be printed.

The brand name of the color laser printer also plays an important role in determining its reliability and capability.

Purpose:

The first and foremost thing to be sure of while going for a good color laser printer is to understand your purpose, as most options that we find on the market are purpose-driven. Wasting your resources on features that you don’t use is pointless.

Printer Brand:

Printers demand a lot of maintenance and after-sale support. It is wise to invest in a brand that is renowned. Established brands understand user requirements better and improve themselves constantly to keep up with the trend. Also, a renowned brand can offer better serviceability and after-sale support.

Best features within your budget:

The budget is the next big thing to decide on. The term “best” is always a budget constraint. That means you can choose the best product in every budget range. So, it is very important to decide on your budget before researching the best color laser printer for high quality in 2023.

Print Quality:

Print quality directly refers to the performance of your printer. It is intensely dependent on the resolution of your printer. The resolution is measured in DPI, which stands for dots per inch. DPI technically measures the total number of dots that can be seen in an inch of a print. To summarize, the higher the DPI, the higher the print quality.

Touchscreen LCD Display:

You no longer have to rely on the printer’s utility tool on your computer to control your color laser printer. Most printers have an LCD touchscreen that makes it easy to change your printing preferences and keep track of the printer’s queue.

connectivity options:

The connectivity options are the biggest deal for many, as different color laser printers come with different connectivity options. It is totally the user’s choice to decide how you are going to use your device. However, most printers come with onboard Wi-Fi, an Ethernet port, and USB connectivity. while some offer Bluetooth and NFC as well. So, connectivity is purely in the user’s interest.

Size of the printer:

Usually, color laser printers are bulkier compared to inkjet printers. However, it is also important to check the dimensions of the printer to know if it fits your desk space.

Printing Speeds:

Print speeds do come into play, especially when you have to print large volumes. If it is for an office, it cannot let you wait to get your job done. Another important aspect to stress about is the time that your printer takes to produce the first print. Most printers take longer to warm up. Make sure to choose the one with the shortest preparation time.

To make your life easier, we’ve compiled a list of the best picks that provide the performance you expect while also meeting your budget, feature, and build quality requirements.

FAQs About- Best Color laser printing systems