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3 Best HP Black-and-White Laser Printers
Michelle Wilson
|
September 6, 2019
If you work in an office or have a busy schedule at home, you likely print many documents throughout the day and week. Whether you need client contracts printed out, handouts for a presentation, or tickets for a local show, the right printer can make or break your productivity and your ability to whip through your to-do list.
One of the best choices for office and home printing is an HP LaserJet printer. A black-and-white laser printer by HP® boasts professional results thanks to a more exact printing process that eliminates ink spillage compared to printers using inkjet technology.
If you’re looking for crisp black-and-white printing for text documents, a laser printer may be the best option. It’s time to leave your inefficient, slow printer in the past where it belongs and upgrade to a laser printer that will improve every aspect of your printing, whether you need to print, scan, or copy.
Below, we’ll dig into why laser printers work so well and their advantages over other kinds of printers. Plus, we’ll show you our picks for the best black-and-white laser printers from HP® for home and office environments.
How laser printers work
The technology behind laser printers is actually very similar to photocopiers.
Curious as to how laser printers actually work? Here’s a quick explanation of how your print job gets converted from a virtual file in your computer to a physical printout from a black-and-white laser printer [1] in your hand.
1. Data is sent from your computer to your printer.
2. A small electronic circuit in your printer interprets the data to form what will be the printed text or image.
3. The electronic circuit engages a high-voltage wire called the corona wire, which imparts a static charge to anything that’s around it.
4. A photoreceptor drum is positively charged by the corona wire.
5. Simultaneously, the laser within the printer is activated by the circuit. This laser draws the image of the document or photo onto the drum. Wherever the laser shines on the drum, it replaces the positive charge with a negative one. The parts of the paper that will be just white negative space have a positive charge and where there is black text or lines, there is a negative charge imparted.
6. The ink roller covers the photoreceptor drum with positively-charged powdered ink (toner). Because the toner has a positive charge, it's attracted to the photoreceptor’s negatively-charged areas. Text or images are created on the drum using these opposite charges.
7. A piece of positively charged paper is fed towards the drum.
8. The positive charge of the paper is attracted to the negative toner particles. The inked image is then placed on the paper very lightly.
9. The paper passes through a fuser unit to permanently attach the toner to the paper.
10. Your printout emerges.
Compared to laser printers, a printer that uses inkjet technology is much simpler. Inkjets work by spraying very small droplets of ink, measured in microns, onto a paper or other substrate. These devices are more common and usually less expensive than laser printers. With that said, inkjet technology does have a few drawbacks [2].
Inkjet printers have slower overall print speeds so high-volume offices may want to opt for laser instead. Inkjets may also be subject to more ink bleeding issues and can be more expensive in terms of ongoing costs - ink cartridges tend to be pricier than toner.
Bottom line: If you regularly print out large volumes of pages, a laser printer might be a better option for the sake of speed and convenience so you can quickly get your printing done and then move on to other tasks.
These precision-driven devices are especially helpful if you work at home or at an office and need high-quality, text-based documents. With an HP black-and-white laser printer, you can expect bold blacks and clean lines of text for any professional printout you need.
Color vs black-and-white laser printer
If you need a color-printing option, you can invest in a color laser printer, but these machines are slightly more complex than black-and-white laser printers which are also known as monochrome printers. For example, in a monochrome laser printer, there is only one black toner cartridge to worry about, but a color laser printer requires four separate ones [3].
Because there are fewer cartridges, black-and-white HP LaserJet printers have more minimal maintenance requirements associated with them. You can also expect higher cartridge yields. With this information in mind, a black-and-white HP LaserJet printer is a wise choice for any size office that requires a device that can handle large amounts of text-based documents each month.
Keep reading to discover the best HP laser printers for your home office, small to midsize business, or enterprise.
The 3 best HP LaserJet printers
HP has some of the best black-and-white laser printers on the market. In fact, any model in HP’s LaserJet fleet provides users with an efficient printing process and results that will help any office increase their productivity. Get ready to do more at a cost-efficient price that won’t negatively affect your bottom line.
Here are the top three picks for the best HP black-and-white laser printers:
1. Best black-and-white laser printer for home
Maybe your home study is also your remote office space where you still need to pump out assignments on pace with those at HQ. Or perhaps you have a family with a variety of printing requirements. Your daughter needs to print out her book report, your husband needs his tickets to the big game, and you need to print out the power bill.
There are plenty of times when a fast, dependable printer is handy. That’s where the HP LaserJet Pro MFP M29w printer comes in to help you accomplish whatever you need. It’s capable of printing, scanning, and copying and has wireless capabilities for complete convenience. This multi-function device also boasts the title of the world's smallest laser printer in its class.
With print speeds of 19 pages per minute, you’ll never be stuck waiting around for a print job to finish. You can also easily scan files right from PDF to email thanks to the addition of preloaded business apps. Need to copy an ID? Easily copy both sides of your ID card onto just one side of the paper.
And don’t waste energy ever again with HP’s Auto-On/Auto-Off technology feature.
Toner that just won’t quit
Paired with Original HP toner cartridges, your HP LaserJet Pro MFP will be the workhorse you can rely on for years to come. Why? HP’s toner performs consistently time and time again and is specifically designed to work flawlessly with HP laser printers.
With these two components working together, you’ll enjoy a finely-tuned machine that generates quality, professional results you can count on for every project.
Convenient, on-the-go printing
Mobile printing and scanning with the HP Smart app means you can continue your life uninterrupted and still get your tasks completed. Scan documents from your smartphone, print directly from the cloud, and order more toner when your supplies are getting low through the app.
You can also connect your mobile device right to your printer without being forced to access a network.
Specifications:
- Functions: Print, copy, scan
- First page out: As fast as 7.9 seconds
- Resolution: 600 x 600 dpi
- Monthly duty cycle: Up to 8,000 pages
- Connectivity options: Hi-Speed USB 2.0 port, built-in WiFi 802.11 b/g/n
- Memory: 32MB
- Media sizes supported: A4, A5, A6
- Energy efficiency: ENERGY STAR®, EPEAT® Silver Certified
2. Best black-and-white laser printer for small to midsize businesses
If you own a small or midsize business, there’s nothing small or midsize about your goals for the company and your requirements for success. In all likelihood, you have serious demands when it comes to what your printer can do. Could your printer be the one element of your business holding you back from industry domination? Support the growth of your company with a printer that can handle high volume without burning out.
The HP LaserJet Pro MFP M148dw printer will be the new hire for your business you didn’t know you needed. And luckily, it doesn’t require a 401(k).
Small or medium-sized work teams can expect 1000 pages from the included toner straight out of the box. Since it’s ready to print as soon as you fire up your device now is the time to test your limits because you’ll have a printer that can keep up.
Budget-friendly value
Precise black toner means you get client-ready results that won’t create a hole in your budget. The imaging drum in this model is built to last up to 23,000 pages. That means 23,000 pages of professional, trouble-free printing. Paired with Original HP toner, this machine is built to help you make the most of your 9 to 5.
The future of printing is here
Don’t settle for standard printing technologies, enjoy the newest advances in printing like HP voice-activated printing. This device works seamlessly with Amazon Alexa, Microsoft Cortana, and Google Assistant. Multi-tasking is crucial to keep up with a busy office, so continue writing your reports while using HP voice-activated printing to continue grinding distraction-free.
Specifications:
- Functions: Print, copy, scan
- First page out: As fast as 6.6 seconds
- Resolution: 1200 x 1200 dpi
- Monthly duty cycle: Up to 20,000 pages
- Connectivity options: 1 Hi-Speed USB 2.0, 1 Ethernet 10/100 network, wireless
- Memory: 256MB
- Media sizes supported: A4, A5, B5 (JIS), A6
- Energy efficiency: ENERGY STAR, EPEAT Silver Certified
3. Best black-and-white laser printer for enterprises
Big companies require powerful printers. If you work at an enterprise company, only the best black-and-white printers will complement the higher volume workloads your company handles. The HP LaserJet Enterprise Flow MFP M631h printer might just be the answer.
Security options to meet and disarm modern security threats
HP Sure Start means that each printer monitors and evaluates its operating code. It also self-repairs from attempts at hacks so you’ll have peace-of-mind sensitive data stays protected. In addition, you’ll get a notification of any security issues so you can take fast action to preempt any potential attacks from outside sources.
With HP Web Jetadmin, you can also centralize control and manage your printing environment plus, build up business efficiency.
Energy-efficient with high speeds to match the pace of your business
Two-sided documents print out with speeds that compete with one-sided printing so you can save time and resources at the same time. A fast wake-up paired with a lightning-quick first page out in 5.3 seconds means you get what you need so you can move on to other tasks.
Professional results every time
Crisp texts and midnight blacks mean you’ll get printouts you’ll be proud to show off to clients. You can also be sure that your toners are true Original HP toner with anti-fraud and cartridge authentication technology. Don’t trust inferior toner that could cause your printouts to be marred by smearing and other imperfections.
If you choose high-yield toner cartridges, you can expect to make your budget stretch even farther. And, you’ll save time since you won’t be constantly replacing your toner in a busy office environment.
Specifications:
- Functions: Print, copy, scan
- First page out: As fast as 5.3 seconds
- Resolution: 1200 x 1200 dpi
- Monthly duty cycle: Up to 300,000 pages
- Connectivity options: 1 Hi-Speed device USB 2.0, 2 Host USB (1 walk-up and 1 external accessible), 1 Gigabit Ethernet 10/100/1000T network, 1 Hardware Integration Pocket
- Memory: 1.5GB
- Media sizes supported: feeder 1: A4, A5, A6, RA4, B5 (JIS), B6 (JIS), 10 x 15 cm, Oficio (216 x 340 mm), 16K, envelopes (C5, B5, C6, DL ISO), Postcard (JIS single and double); feeder 2: A4, A5, A5-R, B5 (JIS), 16K
- Energy efficiency: ENERGY STAR, EPEAT Silver Certified, CECP
A black-and-white laser printer by HP for everyone
HP’s range of LaserJet printers offers varying levels of power, speed, and price points to match your business or lifestyle requirements. For high-volume, text-based printing, nothing matches the speed, precision, and reliability of laser printers.
[1] Explain That Stuff; Laser printers
[2] JM Bruneau; The advantages and disadvantages of inkjet printers
[3] LD Products; Best Black and White Laser Printers
About the Author: Michelle Wilson is a contributing writer for HP® Tech Takes. Michelle is a content creation specialist writing for a variety of industries, including tech trends and media news.
