HP color laser printers are some of the best solutions for getting fast color and black prints at large volumes and low cost. Laser printers are loved the world over for their longevity, efficiency and reliability. Most offices and enterprise spaces rely on laser printers for their daily needs.
In this article, we have hand picked three of our most popular color laser printers for your consideration. They will give you a look at what HP color laser printers have to offer your work style, from your home to enterprise level use.
Laser printers are high-precision printers that are known for their speed, sharpness and low cost of use. Since laser printers use a dry ink (called toner), they are easier to maintain and use, especially in large-volume printing. Laser printers are by far the best for quickly printing quality text documents.
Color laser printers are relatively new when compared to color inkjet printers. They are usually more expensive than color inkjet printers, but they have a lower running cost and tend to run more efficiently over a longer period of time. Thus, the cost difference balances out.
Laser printers are always preferred for commercial use and there are more laser options for enterprise use than home use. However, if you are printing a lot of documents or fine detail-oriented drawings and designs, it might be worthwhile to invest in a laser printer, even at home.
Laser printers are also able to print on a few special mediums that give them an edge over inkjet printers in industries like publishing.
Laser vs inkjet
Laser printers use a completely different technology compared to inkjet printers. Here are the main differences.
Quality
Laser printers are known for producing really high quality prints at a reliable rate. They are extremely dependable and add a lot of efficiency to any workflow. Inkjet printers are extremely affordable and can produce quality prints too, but they shine in areas related to art and photography.
Sharpness
Laser printers are loved for their crisp rendering of documents, drawings and anything that requires sharp points and edges. This is why they are the go-to option for designers, publishers and other users in similar fields.
They are especially good for printing documents because of how crisp the text becomes. Inkjet printers, on the other hand, are good at printing photos, where color and shading is much more important than precise sharpness required in something like an architect’s drawings.
Speed
Laser printers are much faster than inkjet printers, giving them top speeds that are much higher on average. This makes them very efficient to use in high-speed and high-intensity workspaces, especially in enterprise and commercial printing situations where there is a lot of volume on a regular basis.
Laser printers can achieve top speeds of over 70 pages per minute (ppm) in certain high-end models.
Top color laser printers from HP
Here are three of our most popular color laser printers, hand picked specially to represent various niche segments of the market.
HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M283fdn: Best overall color laser printer
If you are looking for a nicely balanced option for using anywhere - home or office - the HP Color LaserJet Pro M283fdn has all the features you need, at a significantly lower cost than the enterprise solutions. You can scan and copy documents along with getting all your printing jobs done. It is especially suitable for those who want to print on a lot of different stationary.
This model can handle formats, like Letter, Legal, Executive, A4, and a lot more.
It can connect to up to five users via Ethernet and wireless features. This means you can control your prints remotely via your local area network (LAN) and WiFi, giving you the flexibility of placing the printer anywhere. This is great for spread out offices or large homes with multiple users.
It has the usual USB 2.0 port and an additional port in the front for printing directly from a USB drive. This adds even more versatility to the already feature-packed printer. It has a large duty cycle of 40,000 pages per month, and comes with a 2.7-inch color graphic screen to easily operate this printer. It has a fast printing speed of 21 ppm for both color and black printing, making it extra useful for those who do a lot of color printing. Best of all, the flatbed scanner comes with an ADF for automating scanning and copying of documents.
It is ideal for large homes or home offices, and can also serve as an efficient office printer.
HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M479dw: Most fully-featured color laser printer for enterprise use
The HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M479dw is one of our most versatile and feature-packed color laser printers. It is an all-in-one model that can scan, copy and print.
Since it is meant for large offices and similar spaces, it has the ability to connect to up to 10 users. This feature is supported by the presence of gigabit Ethernet connection for remote printing abilities, along with WiFi capabilities for even greater flexibility. It supports 802.11b/g/n/2.4/5 GHz standards, offering super fast connectivity, even under heavy use from multiple users.
As with most of our enterprise solutions, this printer comes with multiple trays (optional) and the ability to handle a wide range of media formats and sizes.
It has a huge duty cycle of 50,000 pages per month and recommended monthly volume is 750 to 4,000 pages. It can maintain the same printing top speed of up to 27 ppm for both black and color A4 prints, which is a great time saver for most offices.
The flatbed scanner that comes built-in has an ADF feature that allows you to automatically scan and/or copy multi-page documents. Just set it and forget it.
It supports a wide range of operating systems, including Windows enterprise solutions and Apple macOS. This ensures a wide range of compatibility, no matter what system is being used. The touch screen display just adds to the ease of use.
HP Color Laser 150nw: Best color laser printer for home
When you are looking for a color laser printer for your home, you are probably looking for something that is affordable and has a small footprint. For these two reasons, the HP Color Laser 150nw is a great choice for home users. It has a compact form factor that fits into a lot of different spaces. Best of all, as a wireless option, it can be placed anywhere in the house.
It also comes with a standard Ethernet port, so it can easily connect to your domestic LAN. This enables you to remotely use your printer from anywhere in the house - or anywhere in the world depending on your network setup. There’s also the standard USB 2.0 port for direct connection to a computer.
It can handle multiple paper sizes and there is an option for adding a second tray for extra storage. It comes with four ink cartridges (black, cyan, magenta and yellow) and has a print speed of 18 ppm for normal black and 4 ppm for normal color A4 prints.
As far as home use is concerned, most users will find this printer more than enough for all their needs. This is a light-use printer, with a recommended monthly print volume of 100 to 500 pages. However, it still has the same 20,000-page monthly duty cycle in common with other HP printers.
It can handle up to five users, which makes it convenient for use by multiple family members, and it’s protected by a three-year onsite warranty.
Summary
Affordable and reliable. Fast prints with uncompromised quality. Efficient and long-lasting. What’s not to love about HPs A4 color laser printers? Tried and tested in high-use, high-traffic office spaces, these best-selling color laser printers don’t miss a beat.
Choose from HP’s wide range of printers and start meeting your printing needs today - there’s a printer for everyone.
About the Author: Harrison Hosking is a contributing writer for HP Tech Takes. When he's not gaming on his PC, Harrison loves to spend time gardening, writing and playing soccer.