The 6 Best Printers For Small Business - Fall 2024

Our choice for the best small office printer is the Brother MFC-L8905CDW. This all-in-one laser model produces incredibly sharp documents, doesn't take long to warm up, and prints quickly at up to 32 pages per minute. Its flatbed scanner is large enough to scan Legal-size sheets (8.5x14), and it has an automatic feeder with single-pass duplex scanning to process multi-page and double-sided sheets quickly. The toner cartridges aren't overly expensive and last a long time, but you need to replace the drum separately, which is an added expense. Cheaper variants are available with fewer features; see our review for more details.

While the MFC-8905CDW is an excellent laser printer, it has a weakness: photo printing. Laser models aren't ideal for printing photos as their photos look dull and lack detail. We have two recommendations if you're looking for the best small business printer for photos or graphics: the Epson EcoTank Pro ET-5850 and the Epson EcoTank Photo ET-8550. The former prints faster and has more features, like an ADF with duplex scanning, while the latter produces higher-quality photos. They're both supertank inkjet models that yield thousands of prints, so you won't have to worry about high running costs; however, they're more expensive upfront.

If you want something more modest but still capable of handling any task you have in mind, check out the Canon Color imageCLASS MF656Cdw. It's an all-in-one color laser printer with the same features and print quality as the Brother MFC-L8905CDW we recommend above. The big tradeoff for its lower price is its slower printing speed. It can print up to 22 pages per minute; however, that's only achievable via a wired connection (USB or Ethernet), which is inconvenient if you don't have space near your desk or router to place the printer. Wireless printing speeds drop significantly to just 10 black and 12 color pages per minute.

Slow printing speed aside, the Canon still has plenty to offer. There are tons of connectivity options, as well as an ADF-equipped scanner with duplex scanning for easily processing double-sided documents. Its scan speed is also slower than that of the Brother printer, but it's still respectable at 14 pages per minute. Its toner cartridges also have a very high print yield, and you won't need to replace them often, which helps keep maintenance requirements low. This printer has many variants with slightly different features; see more details in our full review.

For businesses that only print black-and-white documents but still need a great-quality scanner, get the Brother MFC-L2820DW. This monochrome laser all-in-one produces high-quality documents, doesn't take long to warm up, and prints faster than our upper mid-range pick, the Canon Color imageCLASS MF656Cdw, at 33 pages per minute. A regular toner cartridge is sufficient for about 1,300 prints and relatively cheap to replace. Unlike the Canon, you'll have to replace the drum separately. Also, while you still get an ADF scanner, it's slower, processing just seven pages per minute; it also lacks duplex scanning, although you can get variants that offer this feature, like the Brother MFC-L2880DW. See our review for more details.

Our budget pick is the Brother HL-L2460DW, and it's ideal for small businesses that only need to print in black & white. It feels well-built and sports all the common connectivity options like USB, Wi-Fi, and Ethernet, making it convenient to access. It prints quickly at up to 34 pages per minute, supports automatic duplex printing, and has low maintenance costs thanks to its solid page yield and cheap replacement toner. There's one issue: the printing quality isn't up to par with what you would expect from a Brother laser printer. Thankfully, you can still produce sharp-looking documents if you do a deep dive into the printer settings. Compared to the models above, the main drawback is the lack of a scanner, so you have to be sure you won't need to scan anything.

If your office is on a tight budget and needs a color printer with a scanner, consider the Brother MFC-J4335DW. It's a color inkjet printer with an ADF-equipped scanner; it prints detailed photos and has similar black page yields. You also get a better front panel with a larger color display and more buttons to help you navigate the interface. However, it doesn't print as quickly, and like most inkjet printers, it requires more maintenance since printheads can clog during long periods of inactivity.

For those needing to print on Tabloid-size sheets, get the Epson WorkForce Pro WF-7840. This budget all-in-one is great for printing posters, charts, and blueprints, as it supports paper sizes up to 11x17. It has Wi-Fi, USB, and Ethernet connectivity and can print directly off a USB flash drive. The scanner is feature-rich; its flatbed scanner supports up to 11x17 paper, and it also has an ADF that supports automatic duplex scanning, making it easy to process multi-page and double-sided documents. It produces very sharp documents and prints relatively quickly for an inkjet model. For photo printing, it has a decently wide color gamut; however, its color accuracy is just okay, and there's a lot of grain in the photos.

Unfortunately, this printer's yield is pretty low, so a set of ink cartridges only gets you around 350 black and 300 color prints. The cartridges are cheap, so the cost-per-print isn't an issue; however, it's inconvenient because you'll likely need to interrupt your print jobs to replace them. If you can afford to spend a lot more upfront, the Epson EcoTank ET-15000 is a great alternative. Thanks to its refillable ink tank, it yields significantly more prints, making it a better choice for larger print loads, and its replacement ink costs less, making it cheaper to maintain. However, it only supports wide-format paper when using the rear feeder instead of the larger main input tray. It has a smaller flatbed scanner and doesn't support duplex scanning. For more options, check out our recommendations for the best 11x17 printers.

If your small business has you constantly traveling to see clients or setting up kiosks at trade shows, then a portable cordless printer is worth considering. We recommend the HP OfficeJet 250. Thanks to its compact design, it fits easily into a backpack. It also has a rechargeable battery that lasts about 225 prints on a full charge. It produces good-quality documents, but it's on the slower side, so it isn't the best for regularly printing long multi-page reports quickly. Also, it can only print around 100 to 150 pages before it runs out of ink, so you'll need to carry a few extra cartridges if you're printing frequently.

Despite its compact size, it has an ADF scanner, so you can still scan documents on the go. It scans at a maximum resolution of 600 DPI, which isn't as good as a desktop printer but more than enough for text documents and photos. You can connect to the printer via USB or Wi-Fi or print directly off a USB flash drive. It also supports Wi-Fi Direct, meaning it can generate its own wireless signal, which is handy when you don't have access to an existing wireless network.