Which printer is best for small office?
If you need to print out flyers, process office work claims, or produce hard-copy documents, having a printer that can multitask different jobs is invaluable for a small business. Pages should print quickly, and these printers should have additional features like duplex printing or an automatic document feeder that can help simplify your workload. Since there may be a few employees who may need to share this printer, the best small business printer should be able to handle a high amount of pages at an affordable cost and without constantly running out of ink.
If you're looking for an all-in-one color laser printer, it's a fantastic choice. It's especially nice since the cartridges can get expensive, especially if you're buying all of them at once. The best laser printer for small business use we've tested is the Canon imageCLASS MF743Cdw. While laser printers are known for being bad at photo printing, this one prints images with a surprising amount of detail, and its colors are decently accurate, too.
Unfortunately, it's a bit slow at printing single-page documents if your printer has been idle for over an hour, which isn't great if you tend to print one-pagers every few hours. That said, it's more than fine for document scanning. This bulky all-in-one comes with an automatic document feeder for those long, double-sided documents that need scanning. Also, its flatbed scanner maxes at 600 DPI, which
isn't enough for photo touchups or enlargements. It prints monochrome and color documents very quickly, so you won't have to wait too long for those. If you need to scan something too thick to fit in the feeder, there's a large flatbed scanner to meet those needs.
You can print thousands of pages before the toner cartridges run out, meaning you won't have to buy replacements too often.
Also, while it prints impressively quickly overall, it's still slower to print documents than other options. The best all-in-one printer for small business setups we've tested is the Canon MAXIFY GX7020. This inkjet printer uses a refillable supertank ink system to give you incredibly high page yields and a superbly low cost-per-print, which reduces maintenance. It can also print directly from USB flash drives.
Unfortunately, it prints only decent-looking photos, with only satisfactory color accuracy and a lot of grain, but should still work fine for casual use. However, it has a large input tray capacity and is compatible with many paper formats, making it a fantastic printer for small or home offices and one of the best inkjet printers we've tested. It's very fast at printing single pages even after the printer has been idling for an hour, and its touchscreen display is easy to navigate.
The printer feels excellently well-built, sturdy, and it gives easy access to paper jams on the rear. The flatbed scanner has a good scan resolution and color depth, and its automatic document feeder supports duplex scanning to process double-sided documents. It can fax and has outstanding connectivity options, including Ethernet, Wi-Fi Direct or router, and Apple AirPrint and Mopria Print Service.
It's very quick at printing single pages, too, even if the printer has been idle for over one hour. However, if you don't need to include color or photos in any of your documents, this is a great choice, and it's one of the best office printers we've tested. Of course, since it's a monochrome printer, it can't print in color, and photos are very grainy. While the cartridge is a bit expensive, it includes the drum unit, so you won't need to replace it separately later.
It prints pretty quickly at 28 PPM, which is great if you're waiting on having your document in hand to continue with another task. There's a flatbed scanner and an automatic document feeder for scanning, whether it's a textbook, manual, or stack of loose sheets. The best small business printer for black and white printing we've tested is the Canon imageCLASS MF445dw. This monochrome laser model can print many pages before you need to worry about buying a new toner cartridge, which saves you a lot of money in the long run. It can even scan double-sided, so you won't have to flip any pages over.
Unfortunately, its flatbed scanner scans at a max of 600 DPI, which isn't enough for photo editing and retouches, but it's more than fine for document scanning.
It doesn't yield as many pages at the Canon imageCLASS MF445dw, and its automatic document feeder doesn't support duplex scanning. Even though its page yields are much lower, its cost-per-print is only marginally higher due to the much cheaper cartridges, which might be better if you don't plan to print very high volumes.
If you prioritize large page yields and being able to quickly scan double-sided documents, go with the Canon. If you need something cheaper and need a higher-resolution scan, go with the Brother.
. However, it's cheaper, and its flatbed scanner has a higher scan resolution. It takes a bit longer to warm up, but subsequent pages print faster, which is good if you often print lengthy reports or papers. If you prefer something cheaper for black-and-white printing, check out the Brother MFC-L2710DW.
The best small office printer in the budget category we've tested is the Brother MFC-J4335DW. This helps you stay within your budget, and you can also go longer without replacing the cartridges. On the bright side, the accuracy of printed colors is decent, good for printing logos or labels. Connectivity is great, including Wi-Fi and an Ethernet port.
Unfortunately, it can't print directly from external media like USB flash drives, which is limiting in some situations. This all-in-one color inkjet feels very well-built and gives easy access to the ink cartridges and potential paper jams. All in all, this printer is great for a small business on a budget. Also, it's slow at printing pictures, and the photo quality is only alright, with washed-out blacks and plenty of grain throughout the photo. It has a decent display screen alongside a full physical keypad and navigation buttons that make it easy to navigate print and scan tasks.
Like the Brother MFC-J805DW INKvestment Tank that it replaces, it uses the INKvestment Tank, a hybrid cartridge–tank system, for excellent page yields at a superb cost-per-print. It has a flatbed scanner with a high scan resolution, an automatic document feeder, and built-in fax if you need it, and it warms up to print documents very quickly.
See our review
Recent Updates. It prints much faster than the Canon MAXIFY GX7020 and prints better-looking photos with significantly more accurate colors. See our review
Epson EcoTank ET-3760: The Epson EcoTank ET-3760 is a supertank printer with an outstanding cost-per-print and a high page yield. It does come with six free months of HP's Instant Ink subscription. However, it has only a third of the color page yield at double the cost-per-print. See our review
HP OfficeJet Pro 9025e: The HP OfficeJet Pro 9025e is a good alternative to the Canon MAXIFY GX7020, which is cheaper and has the same scanning features and connectivity. Unfortunately, it can't perform duplex scanning. See our review
Brother MFC-J805DW INKvestment Tank: The Brother MFC-J805DW INKvestment Tank has much higher page yields than the Brother MFC-J4335DW, but it prints far slower, produces significantly less accurate colors, and doesn't have an Ethernet port. Unfortunately, it doesn't yield as many pages for either black or color ink. However, its cost-per-print and page yields are significantly worse. See our review
HP PageWide Pro 577dw: The HP PageWide Pro 577dw is an incredibly small office printer with a high page yield, a low cost-per-print, and a high scan resolution. However, it's significantly more expensive than the Canon imageCLASS MF743Cdw. See our review
Canon imageCLASS MF644Cdw: The Canon imageCLASS MF644Cdw is a cheaper alternative to the Canon imageCLASS MF743Cdw. Notable Mentions
HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M479fdw: The HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M479fdw is an excellent printer for a small business since it has a fast printing speed and a higher scan resolution than the Canon imageCLASS MF743Cdw, but its page yield and cost-per-print aren't as good as the Canon. See our review
Brother MFC-L2750DW: The Brother MFC-L2750DW is better than the Brother MFC-L2710DW, with higher page yields, a cheaper cost-per-print, and a duplex-scanning automatic document feeder. See our review
Epson EcoTank Pro ET-5850: The Epson EcoTank Pro ET-5850 is outstanding for small or home offices. It's also hard to find in stock at a reasonable price. However, it's hard to find it available at a reasonable price at most retailers at the time of writing.