Best of black and White Printers

If you’re reading this article, that means you constantly print business reports, school assignments, or spreadsheets. You want to know which black and white printers can save you the most on printing costs. Also known as monochrome laser printers, these types of machinery are planned for homes and offices and can handle high capacity black and white printing demands, manufacturing them perfectly for consumers that just want B&W prints.

In this chaperone, we analyze some of the best black and white laser printers on the market. We cover all of the essential features of each model and cartridge costs, too, so you can make the most economical decision before you buy. We also show you how to save even more on laser printing costs with compatible printer cartridges. If you are still debating between an inkjet and a laser printer, check out our inkjet vs. laser comparison article, or if you are considering a color laser printer, we have the best color laser printer buying guide too.

Why choose a black and white laser printer?

Cheaper operating costs

Prospective printer buyers might also be considering a color inkjet or color laser printer. These are obviously great for color photos or business proposals, but if you are printing in black and white printers the majority of the time, cartridge replacements can get expensive. Black and white laser printers only use a single cartridge to produce a print, related to four cartridges in most of color printers. Switching to a monochrome laser printer will rapidly lower your printing costs because you only have a single cartridge to replace!

Minimal maintenance

Basic monochrome laser models without extra cartridges are easier to operate and maintain. Printers can be frustrating at times, and if something goes wrong in the middle of an important print job, it may take a bit of detective work to figure out which cartridge is causing the issue. With monochrome printers, you only have one cartridge to worry about, so there is less to maintain throughout the life of the printer.

Higher cartridge yields

Monochrome printers are built for businesses, so most offer printer cartridges with generous page yields that keep your office printing longer. The higher the page yield, the more prints you can get from your cartridge. Look for a high product or extra high-yield cartridges to get the most from your machine.

Lower cost per page

High-yield and extra-high-yield cartridges typically offer a lower price per page. Cost per page, or the cost of printing a single page with a particular cartridge, is calculated by dividing the cartridge page yield by the price of the printer cartridge. Although high-yield cartridges can be more expensive than standard-yield cartridges, they are often a better value thanks to their high page yield.

Best Mid-Range Black And White Printer

Brother HL-L2390DW

You can save money with the Brother HL-L2390DW if you have more straightforward needs. It’s also an all-in-one monochrome model, but unlike our top pick, it lacks an automatic feeder and Ethernet connectivity. It produces sharp-looking documents, prints quickly at 32 pages per single minute, and supports automatic duplex printing. The toner cartridge is suitable for about 1400 prints and is relatively cheap, so you don’t need to worry about high maintenance costs. The lack of an automatic feeder is probably the most significant compromise with this printer, so ensure you won’t need to scan many long, multi-page documents. This model has a variant, the Brother HL-L2395DW. It’s essentially the same printer but with Ethernet connectivity, a more significant touch-sensitive display, and a slightly faster printing speed.

Pantum P2502W

If you want a cheap printer that can get the job done, consider the Pantum P2502W. Like the Brother HL-L2350DW above, this is also a print-only unit, so there isn’t a scanner. It produces friendly, sharp documents and doesn’t cost much to maintain because the toner cartridge lasts a long time. It takes a little longer than most laser printers to warm up, but it’s speedy once it starts printing, pushing up to 23 pages per minute. You just have to flip the pages manually when printing double-sided because it doesn’t support automatic duplex printing.

Unfortunately, there’s an issue with this printer. It tends to push printed sheets off the output tray, which can be annoying during large print jobs, as you’ll have to rearrange the prints into the proper order. This issue also causes misaligned prints. While this doesn’t always happen, it’s still inconvenient, as you might waste a lot of time, paper, and toner. Again, this model can get the job done; you just might encounter occasional problems.

HP LaserJet Tank MFP 2604sdw

If you have a large print load and need a printer with a high page yield, the HP LaserJet Tank MFP 2604sdw. As you can probably guess from its name, it’s a laser printer with a tank of sorts. Indeed, it has a refillable toner tank instead of a cartridge, similar to super tank inkjet models. A full tank gets you about 4500 prints, and you can refill the tank as you go, even during a print job. The print quality is outstanding, though, like most laser printers, it isn’t ideal for printing photos. As for printing speed, you can print up to 22 pages per minute, but only over a wired USB connection, which is inconvenient if it’s a shared printer or you don’t have room to keep it close to your computer. Its printing speed drops to nine pages per minute over Wi-Fi.

Printing speed issues aside, this printer has excellent connectivity options. You get USB, Wi-Fi, Ethernet, and support for Apple AirPrint and Mopria Print Service. There’s a scanner with an automatic feeder but no duplex scanning, so you’ll have to scan double-sided documents manually. Although the drum unit lasts a long time, with an estimated lifespan of 50,000 prints, know that it isn’t user-replaceable. The drum is hard to access, as it requires a fair amount of disassembly, and it isn’t available for purchase to the general public, anyway, so you can only replace it through an authorized service provider. The drum’s long estimated lifespan is reassuring, but remember that the drum can get damaged by staples or imperfections on the paper.

Brother MFC-L2750DW

The best black and white printer we’ve tested is the Brother MFC-L2750DW, an all-in-one laser model. It produces exceptionally sharp documents, doesn’t take long to warm, and prints quickly at 36 pages per minute. You can link to the printer via Wi-Fi, USB, or Ethernet, and there’s also NFC support, so you can connect by tapping your NFC-enabled device against the printer. Its ADF-equipped scanner could be faster, but it’s still more convenient than scanning each page manually, and it can scan double-sided sheets in a single pass. The toner cartridge produces a large number of prints. The drum is a discrete unit you’ll have to spend extra to replace, although it’s usually good for about 12,000 prints and won’t need regular replacement. It consider as a best black and white printers.

If you don’t need all the features on the MFC-L2750DW and would instead save some money, know that there are cheaper variants with slightly different features and performance. You can get a model like the Brother MFC-L2710DW, which lacks duplex scanning and prints a little slower at 32 pages per minute. The print quality remains the same, so you’ll still get sharp-looking documents. You can also get bundles with longer-lasting XL toner cartridges, like the Brother MFC-L2750DW XL, which might be cheaper than buying the cartridges separately. You can see more details about the variants in the full review.

Brother HL-L2350DW

For our budget pick, we have yet another Brother laser printer (Brother makes really good laser monochrome printers), the Brother HL-L2350DW. This print-only unit is a variant of the Brother HL-L2325DW, one of the best monochrome laser printers we’ve tested in the budget range. We chose this model because the HL-L2325DW is hard to find, so this is the best option. It feels sturdily built, produces outstanding quality documents, and prints around 32 pages per minute.

It costs little to maintain as the toner cartridge delivers a large number of prints and is relatively cheap. Of course, if you have a very tight budget and don’t mind shopping around, the HL-L2325DW is more inexpensive and performs almost identically. Like the Brother printers we recommend above, you’ll have to replace the drum on this model separately, which is an added expense, but again, the drum usually lasts a long time, so you won’t need to do it all that often.