Although color laser printers are getting better every day and have a continuous decrease of exploitation costs and increase of print quality, fact is that the monochrome printers still stay the most cost-effective option for users who predominantly need to print documents and text.
Such users demand speed and the lowest price per printed page and the best monochrome laser printers are delivering exactly that. In other words, they give you the most for the price. However, finding the one that will perfectly fit into your working surroundings is something completely different and requires for a bit of involvement.
Top Picks
Last update on 2022-06-29 // The links above are affiliate // Images from Amazon
How to Choose the Best Monochrome Laser Printer
Choosing the best monochrome printer isn’t too hard; however, it requires a little bit of attention and paying attention to the following details:
Print speed
If you are just a casual printer user and require a small volume of pages per month, printer speed won’t play a major role for you and you can live with a print speed of one minute per page. However, if you are in need of several hundreds of documents on a daily basis, a slow printing speed might cause serious issues considering your productivity.
For that reason, if you require large quantities of prints every day, go for devices with 30 ppm or faster printer speed and save yourself the valuable time and nerves.
Printer Size
A small footprint of a device is something that is usually overlooked. However, as soon as you focus more on that characteristic, you realize how practical small size is and how it can allow you to place your printer in restricted space or save room for some other devices on your work desk, such as, for instance, a paper shredder.
Capacity
A large quantity of everyday printing requires not only a lot of toners but many sheets as well. Therefore, if you have a small capacity printer and a large volume of prints per day, you will need to add paper on a daily basis, which is both time-consuming and irritating, especially if you are in a hurry or in the middle of something.
For that reason, always go for larger drawer and tray capacities and prevent any possible issues.
Connectivity
Connectivity is always an important aspect of any device that is a part of an organization. More people mean more different devices, more different configurations and as a final result, a demand for more connectivity options.
Therefore, if you are purchasing the monochrome laser printer for a larger business, always go for the one with as many connectivity options as possible.
Best Black and White Laser Printers
HP LaserJet Pro M404dw
A High-Quality Monochrome Office Printer
If you are looking for a decent-quality, fast-performing (40ppm) monochrome printer for your office, HP LaserJet Pro M404dw is a perfect option for you.
This is a good-capacity printer, with an input tray that can accept up to 350 sheets and output tray with a capacity of up to 150 sheets. It offers two-sided printing, and depending on the toner type, can print up to 3000 pages (HP 58A) or 10000 pages (HP 58X) with one filling, giving you a very good cost per page.
HP LaserJet Pro M404dw comes with a one-year warranty and support for a variety of formats including A4, A5, A6, B5, B6, Legal, Letter, etc. Moreover, it can print on media types that are up to 175 g/m² and it offers numerous connectivity options that, among others, involve LAN and dual-band Wi-Fi networking, Wi-Fi Direct and USB connectivity.
All in all, if fast laser printing and small exploitation costs are your main concern, HP LaserJet Pro M404dw is probably the best monochrome laser printer you can find.
- Good cost per page
- Solid capacity
- Fast performance
- Good connectivity
- It is delivered without cables
Brother HL-L2350DW Printer
An Excellent Entry-Level, Small Office Printer
Brother HL-L2350DW is an affordable and fast (32 ppm) monochrome laser printer that presents a perfect fit for a home or a small office because of its compact size and overall characteristics. It offers low exploitation costs and initial price and comes fitted with numerous features that will satisfy the majority of customers.
Brother HL-L2350DW allows for duplex printing and has an input tray capacity of 250 sheets. Its maximum monthly capacity is around 15000 prints, while the recommended number goes around 2000 copies. Depending on the toner type, this printer can deliver 1200 (TN730) or 3000 (TN760) prints, and more importantly, the produced prints are of high quality, which isn’t that common for devices in its price range.
This printer comes with Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi Direct and USB2.0 connectivity, and support for AirPrint and Google Cloud Print, but lacks the Ethernet connection. It is fitted with a one-year warranty and altogether offers everything you would expect from the best black and white printer, with the addition of a highly affordable price.
- Compact
- Fast
- Good print quality
- Affordable
- No LAN support
- It lacks external drives support
HP LaserJet Pro M15w
A Small Footprint Monochrome Printer Perfect for a Small Office or Home Use
If you have limited space and modest needs that don’t require hundreds of prints every day, HP LaserJet Pro M15w might be the device for you.
Yes, you will have to accept that its running costs will be a bit higher than with some other models and that there will be no wired connection. However, you will have an exceptional mobile device integration, and more importantly, great print quality that will soon convince you that a bit pricey exploitation is worth it.
HP LaserJet Pro M15w allows for 19 ppm and has a suggested monthly volume between 100 and 1000 prints. It offers Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi direct connectivity and more importantly, with the help of HP Smart app, it allows for direct printing from your tablet or smartphone, or cloud services such as Google Drive, iCloud, or Dropbox.
Moreover, this printer has an input tray capacity of 150 sheets and output tray capacity of 100 sheets; it supports for duplex printing and in general, has every tool that you might need in your office or at home. In other words, one of the best monochrome laser printers, especially considering the price, is in front of you.
- Small size
- Affordable
- Easy to use
- Good print quality
- Solid mobile device integration
- No LAN connection
- High exploitation costs
HP LaserJet Pro M404dw
Compact, Powerful, and Fast
HP LaserJet Pro M404dw is a nice-looking, high-performing monochrome printer that belongs to the sheer top among the best monochrome printers, thanks to its great characteristics.
With this device, you are getting excellent connectivity that involves Ethernet and Wi-Fi connection, USB connection, as well as Wi-Fi Direct support. Also, there is support for HP ePrint, HP Smart App, Google Cloud Print, Mopria, Apple AirPrint, and many other mobile apps, which should help you with your work.
Then there is the solid 350 sheets capacity (250 sheets in a tray and 100 sheets in the override tray), the ability to add an additional drawer with a 550-sheet capacity, as well as the great security features that include username and password protected control access, PIN protection of documents, as well as the HP JetAdvantage Security Manager that helps you take immediate action, in the case of an attack.
HP LaserJet Pro M404dw can print 42 pages per minute, and has an impressive maximum monthly duty cycle of 80.000 pages, while the recommended value is set only around 4000 copies, which isn’t much; however, it should satisfy the most.
In other words, if you are after an excellent monochrome printer that brings a great value for the money, HP LaserJet Pro M404dw should be your pick.
- Fast printing performance
- Excellent print quality
- Great connectivity
- Auto-duplex support
- Expensive toner
- Not the best grayscale photo quality
Canon Image CLASS D1620
An Excellent Multifunctional Monochrome Laser Printer
Canon Image CLASS D1620 is an exceptional monochrome printer, designed for low- to medium-volume printing and a perfect companion for small offices and businesses.
This is a high-quality printer that offers excellent print quality and a decent print speed of 45 prints per minute. Its maximum monthly print duty cycle is listed at 50.000 prints, while the recommended duty cycle is 7500 copies, which should be enough for most small businesses.
Canon Image CLASS D1620 comes with great connectivity options that include a USB2.0 connection, Ethernet and Wi-Fi connection, as well as the Wi-Fi direct that should help you perform your every task with ease. Also, there is support for Canon Print Business, Apple AirPrint, Mopria Print Service, and Google Cloud Print.
Control and the management of the printer are performed with the help of the responsive five-inch touchscreen that comprises the entire Control Panel, or the practical Application Library platform that provides seven strategic functions that can be modified with print templates, scanner presets, and others.
Canon Image CLASS D1620 can hold up to 650 sheets of paper (550 in the sheet cassette and 100 in a multipurpose tray); it has a 50-sheet automatic document feeder that supports single-pass, two-sided copying, and scanning, and altogether offers great value for the money if you are willing to accept its higher running costs.
- Fast performance
- Great print quality
- Great paper capacity
- Good connectivity options
- High running costs
- No NFC support
Brother MFCL2750DW
A Budget-Friendly AIO Monochrome Printer
Brother MFCL2750DW is an affordable, low-cost running multifunction printer (it can be used as a printer, scanner, copier and fax) that provides an excellent value for your money, but with a few drawbacks here and there – in the first place, the not-that-great print quality.
However, since its ink usage is extremely economical, and as result, exploitation costs among the smallest in the class, this is somewhat expected and something you must cope with if you want to get the most for your money.
Brother MFCL2750DW supports single-pass duplex, it offers Wi-Fi, Ethernet and USB2.0 connectivity and allows for NFC printing. Moreover, it has a speed of 36 ppm and, depending upon the cartridge type, it can print 1200 pages (TN730), 3000 pages (TN760), or 4500 pages (TN770).
This printer allows for Cloud service (Dropbox and Google Drive) direct printing and printing from applications such as Evernote, OneNote, and similar. Also, it offers a 250-sheet capacity and overall presents a good entry-level AIO device that will make you more than satisfied, of course, if you are willing to accept a few of its weaknesses.
- Good connectivity
- Great speed
- Low exploitation cost
- Easy to use
- Not the most reliable Wi-Fi connection
- Not the best print quality
Conclusion
Let’s be honest – if you are printing documents on a daily or weekly basis, and anything more complicated next to never, you really don’t have a need for a color printer. A monochrome printer, on the other hand, can be extremely useful in various situations. We hope this guide was helpful in choosing your perfect one!