Workgroup Printers

The Bottom Line: We like the simplicity of the HP Officejet 6000 single-function inkjet printer. The print quality meets HP's high standards, and it outputs full color photos at an impressive rate, but its lack of an LCD screen takes some getting used to. Nevertheless, the HP Officjet 6000 performed well and earns our recommendation as a great single-function printer.

Specs: Workgroup printer - Ink-jet - Color, Legal (8.5 in x 14 in), Workgroup printer, None, None, None, PC, Mac, 1 year warranty, USB, Ethernet

The Bottom Line: The Color LaserJet CP1215 is HP's entry-level printer built to serve small workgroups, but it suffers from frustratingly slow print speeds, a missing LCD screen, and other problems. Your $299 will go much further with the Dell 1320c, another color laser with faster print speeds for the same price.

Specs: Workgroup printer - Laser - Color, Legal (8.5 in x 14 in), Wired, 12 pages/min, 8 pages/min, PC, USB

The Bottom Line: The OKI C3600n is neither small nor lightweight, but its quick print speeds and its impressive output quality make it one of our favorite color laser printers on the market today.

Specs: Workgroup printer - LED - Color, A4 (8.25 in x 11.7 in), Legal (8.5 in x 14 in), Wired, 20 pages/min, 16 pages/min, PC, Mac, Unix, USB, Ethernet 10/100Base-TX

The Bottom Line: The Lexmark E460dw is an overly priced one-trick pony that produces mediocre prints at an inconsistent pace. Small businesses looking for a single-function monolaser should turn their attention toward the Samsung ML-2851ND instead.

Specs: Workgroup printer - Laser - Monochrome, A4 (8.25 in x 11.7 in), Legal (8.5 in x 14 in), Wired, 38 pages/min, 18 pages/min, 40 pages/min, PC, Mac, Unix, USB, 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n (draft), Ethernet 10/100Base-TX

The Bottom Line: The Samsung CLP-315W is a fancy looking wireless laser printer with a clean design and small footprint, but the output quality is unacceptable and the blisteringly slow speeds will have you searching for other options

Specs: Workgroup printer - Laser - Color, A4 (8.25 in x 11.7 in), Legal (8.5 in x 14 in), Letter A Size (8.5 in x 11 in), Wired, Wireless, 16 pages/min, 17 pages/min, 4 pages/min, PC, Mac, USB, 802.11b, 802.11g, Ethernet 10/100Base-TX

The Bottom Line: Small businesses should take a serious look at the Samsung ML-2851ND's monolaser because of its excellent print speed, text print quality, autoduplexer, and networking features. It's a little more expensive than the competition, but its chart-topping test results speak for themselves.

Specs: Workgroup printer - Laser - Monochrome, A4 (8.25 in x 11.7 in), Legal (8.5 in x 14 in), Wired, 30 pages/min, 28 pages/min, PC, Mac, USB, Ethernet 10/100Base-TX

The Bottom Line: The HP Officejet Pro K850 fits a small and very specific niche: offices that need low volumes of high-quality prints--including wide-format prints. Otherwise, it's too expensive for a general-purpose single-function printer.

Specs: Workgroup printer - Ink-jet - Color, Super B (13 in x 19 in), Wired, 24 pages/min, 21 pages/min, PC, Mac, USB, Parallel

The Bottom Line: The HP Officejet Pro K850 fits a small and very specific niche: offices that need low volumes of high-quality prints--including wide-format prints. Otherwise, it's too expensive for a general-purpose single-function printer.

Specs: Workgroup printer - Ink-jet - Color, Super B (13 in x 19 in), A3 plus (13 in x 16.65 in), Wired, 1.1 min/page, 24 pages/min, 21 pages/min, 3 pages/min, 4 pages/min, 6 pages/min, 3.6 pages/min, 0.2 min/page, 5.5 pages/min, 0.7 min/page, 0.3 min/page, 0.9 min/page, 1.8 min/page, 1.2 min/page, 11.5 pages/min, PC, Mac, USB, Ethernet, Parallel

The Bottom Line: Despite its lagging black print speeds, the Brother HL-4040CN does a lot of things right and makes a compelling color laser printer for small offices or workgroups.

Specs: Workgroup printer - Laser - Color, A4 (8.25 in x 11.7 in), Legal (8.5 in x 14 in), Wired, 21 pages/min, 20 pages/min, PC, Mac, USB, Direct print USB, Ethernet 10/100Base-TX

The Bottom Line: The Dell 1720dn offers fast prints and good print quality, making it an excellent mono laser printer for small offices or work groups.

Specs: Workgroup printer - Laser - Monochrome, A4 (8.25 in x 11.7 in), Legal (8.5 in x 14 in), Wired, 28 pages/min, 30 pages/min, PC, Mac, Unix, USB, Parallel