Tips For Buying A New Mono Printer
Do's | Don'ts |
Find a good printer deal and check the price of cartridges | Buy a printer because it is on sale |
Check how many pages a cartridge is quoted as doing | Assume cheap cartridges are better value |
Read user reviews online | Blindly follow in-store recommendations |
Consider different brands | |
Check what other consumables it needs - drums/fuser units etc |
Key Questions:
Are you certain you won't need colour at any point?
The price of colour printers has come down and the colour printers we've recommended in our office guide are fantastic machines with good running costs. If there's even the slightest chance you'll need colour, don't take the risk, shop the whole market.
What functionality does my printer need?
Mono printers vary in features, make sure you check whether you need things such as extra paper trays, wireless connectivity, ethernet ports or a scanner.
The Best Small Office Mono Printer
Brother have really knocked it out the park for mono printers in 2018, giving us the MFC-L5750dw. It's a fantastic all round machine that achieves the holy trifecta of easy to use, cheap to run and good print quality.
The MFC-L5750dw is feature rich. It has the essentials, like wireless and automatic 2-sided printing (Duplex), whilst also boasting an ADF and excellent cloud functionality for scanning and printing. For anywhere between 1,000-3,000 pages a month you'll struggle to find better value. Read the full Brother MFC-L5750dw printer review.
Key Features:
Automatic 2-sided printing; Wireless; Two paper trays
Perfect for you if...
You print up to 3,000 pages a month and need a solid, reliable workhorse.
Cartridges: Brother MFC-L5750dw toner cartridges
Also worth considering:
Canon i-Sensys MF6180dw , Samsung XPress M2885fw (our previous top rated)
The Best Busy Office Mono Printer
HP Laserjet Pro M501dn
It took a while but our previous best buy recommendation, the Canon MF6180dw, has finally been unseated by the new HP Laserjet Pro M501dn!
Why do we recommend it? It's pretty simple. This printer mixes excellent print quality with high reliability and large capacity cartridges. Throw in automatic 2-sided printing and ease of use and you have a fantastic all encompassing package. If you really need wireless and scan/copy functionality then the Canon MF6180dw is still a fantastic machine, if you can find the stock. Otherwise give this HP a go, you won't be disappointed.
Key Features:
Optional two paper trays; high-capacity cartridges; Duplex
Perfect for you if...
You're in a busy office printing over 3,000 pages a month and you need a workhorse without wireless capability.
Cartridges: HP Laserjet Pro M501dn toner cartridges
Also worth considering:
The Best, Fast Mono Printer
The HP Laserjet Pro printers have dominated the fast, simple mono printers for years now. Hot on the heels of the stupendously good Laserjet Pro P1102w is the Laserjet Pro M12w. It's a great, simple printer designed for offices that need documents quickly.
This speed doesn't impact quality, with good crisp black prints and accurate text/illustrations. An all-round solid machine that is perfect for a small office. Read the full HP Laserjet Pro M12w review.
Key Features:
Very fast first-page print speed; Wireless
Perfect for you if...
You need a small office printer that is speedy and very easy to use.
Also worth trying
For an equally simple printer you can also try the HP Laserjet Pro M402dn
Cartridges: HP Laserjet Pro M12w toner cartridges
Our Other Printer Buying Guides
We have guides for pretty much any printing requirement, so whether it's a new home machine for your inner-artist, or a cheap printer to send away with a student, we have you covered.