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The best printers for small businesses: inkjets and lasers

Best Product The imageClass MF753Cdw is a large but well-designed printer.
The imageClass MF753Cdw is a large but well-designed printer. Alan Truly / Digital Trends
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Updated less than 3 days ago

Small businesses need dependable multifunction printers that can make copies, scan, and print with reliable quality and performance. The best printer deals can save you money and look inviting, but work often demands more durability.

If a big job comes in, your daily workload might double or triple, so a small-business printer must withstand sudden volume increases, along with normal daily printing and copying. We've collected the best small-business printers, each with unique features that suit the rigorous requirements of busy offices.

Canon® imageCLASS® MF753Cdw Wireless Laser All-In-One Color Printer
Canon imageClass MF753cdw
Best all-in-one color laser printer
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Epson EcoTank ET-3850 Wireless Color All-in-One Cartridge-Free Supertank Printer with Scanner, Copier, ADF and Ethernet – The Perfect Printer Home Office,White
Epson EcoTank ET-3850
Best inkjet tank all-in-one printer
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HP LaserJet Pro MFP 3101fdw
HP LaserJet Pro MFP 3101fdw
Best all-in-one monochrome printer
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Color LaserJet Pro 4201dw
HP Color LaserJet Pro 4201dw
Best low-cost color laser printer
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Epson EcoTank Photo ET-8500 Wireless Color All-in-One Supertank Printer with Scanner, Copier, Ethernet and 4.3-inch Color Touchscreen, White, Large
Epson EcoTank ET-8500
Best photographic quality all-in-one printer
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Brother INKvestment Tank MFC-J1205W
Brother MFC-J1205W
Most economical all-in-one inkjet
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Recommended Product The imageClass MF753Cdw is a large but well-designed printer.
The imageClass MF753Cdw is a large but well-designed printer. Alan Truly / Digital Trends

Canon imageClass MF753cdw

Pros
  • Superfast print and scan speeds
  • Good print quality
  • Two paper trays
  • Easy setup and use
  • Reliable operation
Cons
  • Color cost per page is just OK
  • No borderless printing

The Canon imageClass MF753Cdw is a high-performance multifunction color laser printer designed to meet the demanding needs of fast-paced small businesses. With impressive print speeds of up to 35 pages per minute, this printer can keep up in the most hectic work environments.

Whether printing, scanning, or copying, the imageClass MF753cdw delivers exceptional performance with a duty cycle of 4,000 pages per month, making it an ideal choice for small businesses requiring high-volume output. Print quality is exceptional, producing crisp text and vibrant colors.

The 5-inch color touchscreen display simplifies operation, allowing users to quickly access various functions and settings. An optional 550-sheet cassette expands paper capacity to 800 sheets, so the flow of documents doesn't have to stop. The imageClass MF753cdw's ADF keeps pace with the printer, so multi-page copies roll out quickly. It supports full duplex operation, so you can save paper by printing and copying on both sides.

For small businesses seeking a dependable workhorse printer, Canon's imageClass MF753Cdw is an outstanding option. Its exceptional performance, top-quality prints, and robust design make it well-suited for busy offices.

Canon® imageCLASS® MF753Cdw Wireless Laser All-In-One Color Printer
Canon imageClass MF753cdw
Best all-in-one color laser printer
Recommended Product The EcoTank ET-3850 has great picture quality on glossy paper and does well on plain paper too.
The EcoTank ET-3850 has great picture quality on glossy paper and does well on plain paper too. Photo by Tracey Truly / Digital Trends

Epson EcoTank ET-3850

Pros
  • Quite fast for an inkjet tank printer
  • Good photo quality on glossy
  • Includes up to two years of ink
  • Low ink cost per page
  • Compact, attractive design
Cons
  • No duplex scanning
  • Slow scan speeds
  • Rare Wi-Fi connection issues

The Epson EcoTank ET-3850 is an ideal solution for small businesses seeking to streamline their printing operations while minimizing costs. This all-in-one printer boasts a cartridge-free design, using refillable tanks instead. Each tank holds enough ink for thousands of pages so small businesses can enjoy uninterrupted printing during heavy workloads.

The Epson EcoTank ET-3850's cost per page estimates are remarkably low, approximately 0.3 cents per monochrome page and 0.9 cents per color page. Color documents are crisp and have accurate colors. The printer's compact design and quiet operation make it ideal for small offices or workspaces.

The EcoTank ET3850 isn't as fast as a laser printer but is quick for an inkjet with 15.5 pages per minute (ppm) in black and 8.5 ppm in color. Epson included an automatic document feeder (ADF) and a flatbed scanner with 1,200 dpi resolution for crisp, clear documents and photo archiving.

The Epson EcoTank ET-3850 offers impressive ink yield with low running costs and high-quality color prints with good speed, a good choice for budget-conscious small businesses.

Epson EcoTank ET-3850 Wireless Color All-in-One Cartridge-Free Supertank Printer with Scanner, Copier, ADF and Ethernet – The Perfect Printer Home Office,White
Epson EcoTank ET-3850
Best inkjet tank all-in-one printer
Recommended Product The LaserJet Pro MFP 3101fdw makes short work of long documents.
The LaserJet Pro MFP 3101fdw makes short work of long documents. Alan Truly / Digital Trends

HP LaserJet Pro MFP 3101fdw

Pros
  • First page is super-quick
  • Fast 35 ppm prints
  • 1200 dpi flatbed scans
  • Easy walk-up printing
  • Good black-and-white photo prints
Cons
  • Lacks duplex scanning
  • Limited display angle

The HP LaserJet Pro MFP 3101fdw is the best all-in-one monochrome laser printers for small businesses. It’s fast, reliable and offers good print quality and excellent value. It delivers first-page-out speeds as fast as 6.6 seconds and prints up to 35 pages per minute, making it ideal for busy office environments. It also includes faxing, copying, and scanning capabilities, streamlining multiple tasks into one compact device.

The LaserJet Pro MFP 3101fdw is built to handle high-volume jobs. HP rates it for up to 50,000 pages per month, with a recommended monthly volume of 2,500 pages. That means you’re ready for a surge of activity when a big job comes in.

Scan quality is excellent with the 1200 dpi flatbed scanner. The 50-sheet automatic document feeder (ADF) scans up to 20 ppm in black-and-white, although it lacks duplex scanning. Print quality is also notable, producing crisp text and surprisingly good black-and-white photo prints.

Setting up the 3101fdw is simple with the 2.7-inch touchscreen and HP Smart mobile app. Wireless connectivity is strong thanks to dual-band Wi-Fi, and wired options include USB-B and Ethernet. It also offers convenient walk-up printing via a hidden USB-A port.

You can often find the HP LaserJet Pro MFP 3101fdw for under $300, making it an affordable solution for daily print and copy needs. It ships with a standard-yield toner cartridge (about 1,500 pages), but high-yield HP 138X toner offers up to 4,000 pages at just 3 cents per page, making it economical for sustained use.

While it lacks duplex scanning and has a limited screen tilt, those are minor trade-offs compared to its blazing speed, durability, and low operating costs. For small businesses that need fast, reliable monochrome printing with excellent scanning and copying, the HP LaserJet Pro MFP 3101fdw is a great choice.

HP LaserJet Pro MFP 3101fdw
HP LaserJet Pro MFP 3101fdw
Best all-in-one monochrome printer
Editors' Choice The Color LaserJet Pro 4201dw works with all my devices and prints well on a variety of media.
The Color LaserJet Pro 4201dw works with all my devices and prints well on a variety of media. Alan Truly / Digital Trends

HP Color LaserJet Pro 4201dw

Pros
  • Lightning-fast print speeds
  • Good print quality
  • Two paper trays
  • Easy setup and use
  • Reliable operation
Cons
  • Fixed-angle, monochrome display
  • Color cost per page is just OK

The HP Color LaserJet Pro 4201dw is a budget-friendly, high-performance printer designed to meet the demands of small businesses. With an affordable purchase price and a durable design, this printer offers high-speed color document production for proofing and small-volume output.

The HP Color LaserJet Pro 4201dw delivers exceptional print quality, producing sharp text, even as fine print, and bright, accurate colors. With rapid print speeds of up to 35 pages per minute, this printer can quickly produce eye-catching color documents, presentations, and marketing materials.

This is a print-only model, so it can't make copies. Still, the HP Color LaserJet Pro 4201dw offers excellent value and performance, making it an attractive option for businesses looking for fast color without a big investment.

Color LaserJet Pro 4201dw
HP Color LaserJet Pro 4201dw
Best low-cost color laser printer
Editors' Choice Walk-up printing is easy since the EcoTank ET-8500 supports SD cards and USB drives.
Walk-up printing is easy since the EcoTank ET-8500 supports SD cards and USB drives. Tracey Truly / Digital Trends

Epson EcoTank ET-8500

Pros
  • Excellent photo quality
  • Fast document and photo prints
  • Easy setup and use
  • Fast and quiet scanner
  • Three paper trays with wide media support
  • SD card and USB drive support
  • Small footprint with automatic output tray
Cons
  • No automatic document feeder
  • High initial cost

The Epson EcoTank ET-8500 is a unique all-in-one printer designed to deliver exceptional photographic quality prints, making it a top pick for professional photographers, artists, and businesses requiring high-end image output.

Epson gave the EcoTank ET-8500 a six-ink color system with the standard cyan, magenta, yellow, and black, as well as “photo black” and gray. The added colors were carefully selected to extend the dynamic range while keeping color accuracy. The black is pigment, while the rest are dye-based durable Claria ET Premium inks.

Beyond its impressive printing capabilities, Epson's EcoTank ET-8500 also excels at scanning and copying. With a high-resolution flatbed scanner, this printer captures intricate details and subtle color nuances, preserving the original quality of documents and images. The ET-8500's scanning resolution reaches up to 1,200 dpi, ideal for digitizing photographs, artwork, or important documents.

One of the key benefits of the Epson EcoTank ET-8500 is its cost-effective operation. Its refillable ink tanks, eliminate the waste, expense, and time required to replace ink cartridges. Each tank holds enough ink for thousands of pages, so businesses can minimize downtime.

For professionals and businesses requiring exceptional print quality, the Epson EcoTank ET-8500 is a top-tier solution for photographic prints, crisp documents, and eye-catching marketing materials.

Epson EcoTank Photo ET-8500 Wireless Color All-in-One Supertank Printer with Scanner, Copier, Ethernet and 4.3-inch Color Touchscreen, White, Large
Epson EcoTank ET-8500
Best photographic quality all-in-one printer
Recommended Product Brother MFC-J1205W INKvestment Tank printer is a small, affordable home office printer.
Brother MFC-J1205W INKvestment Tank printer is a small, affordable home office printer. Alan Truly / Digital Trends

Brother MFC-J1205W

Pros
  • Fast printing for an inkjet
  • Low price for an all-in-one
  • Relatively low cost per page
  • Up to a year of ink included
  • Fast scanning
  • Page yield estimation
Cons
  • Photos lack contrast and saturation
  • Photo scans require an extra step
  • Difficult to set up envelope prints

If you’re looking for an economical printer for your business that won’t hurt your budget or your desk space, the Brother MFC-J1205W INKvestment Tank is worth consideration. It’s not a true tank printer, but it’s one of the most economical all-in-one printers I’ve tested.

For about $100, you get good, reliable performance and long-term savings on supplies. It’s compact enough to fit on a small desk, measuring 17.1 by 14.1 inches and only 6.3 inches tall. It’s also light and easy to move around. Since both the paper tray and output bin are front-access, you can place it right up against a wall or inside a tight workspace without blocking access.

Brother’s INKvestment system uses high-capacity cartridges rather than refillable tanks. You get up to 750 pages per black or color cartridge, which comes out to about 3 cents per black-and-white page and 6 cents for color. That’s cheaper than most cartridge-based printers, but it doesn’t quite compete with true refillable tank models that offer thousands of pages per bottle.

That said, the print speeds are impressive for an inkjet — 16 ppm for mono and 9 ppm for color. Text is crisp, graphics are clean, and photo output is decent, though colors lack the vibrancy you'd expect from a dedicated photo printer. Photo scans need an extra step to correct exposure, but scanning documents is fast and sharp.

It isn’t a perfect solution, though. I had to set up a custom paper size for envelopes via the web interface. Still, if you’re mostly printing documents and want something reliable, fast, and inexpensive, the Brother MFC-J1205W is a solid pick for a small business or home office with light to moderate needs.

Brother INKvestment Tank MFC-J1205W
Brother MFC-J1205W
Most economical all-in-one inkjet

More small-business printers

While the printers above are great options for small-business users, there are plenty more choices. For example, the best all-in-one printers boost office productivity with scan, copy, and fax capabilities.

Our guide to the best color laser printers highlights the fastest and most durable models we've tested and reviewed. If color isn't required, you might want to explore the benefits of buying a monochrome printer.

Alan Truly

Alan Truly is a Writer at Digital Trends, covering computers, laptops, hardware, software, and accessories that stand out as the most unique and effective solutions. Alan also researches and reviews VR headsets, AR glasses, AI, and robotics, the advances that can redefine how we live and work.

As a kid, Alan marveled at Star Trek, Popular Science, and other science news and sci-fi concepts on the horizon. Now, that future is fast approaching as we work from home, converse with computers thanks to AI, and visit the equivalent of a holodeck with VR and AR. The robot revolution began in factories but could soon reach our homes. What a time to be alive!

Alan's degree in Computer Science from Cal State Fullerton set him up for a diverse career centered around advanced technology. His first job in journalism was as a roving reporter and video editor at a cable TV station in Laughlin, NV before returning to California and starting a video production company specializing in computer animation. After the internet boom, Alan shifted to website design and marketing. He also spent several years as COO of a tablet accessory manufacturer, before returning to communications.

With bylines at Android Police, Peta Pixel, Mixed, and Screen Rant, Alan has written about every type of technology from mobile devices, watches, and tablets to drones, electric vehicles, and space habitats. It's all fascinating and all powered by computing.

Alan lives in Nova Scotia, Canada. A tech-enthusiast since his youth, he stays current on what is new and what is next. With over 30 years of experience in computer, video, and photo equipment, you can expect useful tips and insights in his writing. To stay flexible in mind and body, he practices daily yoga, light cardio, and eats a whole food diet, based on minimally processed plants.

When the weather is nice, and sometimes when it's not, Alan enjoys bringing tech on adventures with beach visits and woods walks. There's no better way to review an FPV drone, AR glasses, and 3D cameras.

Whenever the opportunity arises, Alan advocates for animal rights, green energy, and universal basic income to ease the burden of those without a voice and those who are less fortunate. In his free time, he catches up on the fascinating and unfolding UAP revelations that suggest humans aren't the only intelligent species in the cosmos.

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The best Prime Big Day printer deals
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