Laser Printers

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 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: The Brother MFC-7440N prints quickly and is fairly inexpensive to sustain, but we simply can't get behind a printer with poor quality graphics, significant hardware defects, and a boring design.

Specs: Fax, Copier, Printer, Scanner, Laser, 600 x 2400 dpi, None

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: Aside from a few complaints, we like the Dell 1125's overall package. The reasonable price tag also helps. We would recommend the Dell 1125 as a sensible solution for shoppers in the market for a text-specific all-in-one.

Specs: Fax, Copier, Printer, Scanner, Laser, 600 x 600 dpi

The Bottom Line: The Brother HL-2170W laser printer can be the perfect money saving sidekick to your existing inkjet, but don't expect it to handle even the most minor graphic jobs.

The Bottom Line: If your office printing, scan, and fax needs run to the basic, the Canon ImageClass MF4270 is a good fit, with brisk task speeds and consistent output quality.

Specs: Fax, Copier, Printer, Scanner, Laser, 600 x 1200 dpi

The Bottom Line: In a vacuum, the HP LaserJet 2727nf is a fine mono laser multifunction for small offices. But its price and feature set are out of whack with the competition: you can get more for the same money, or you can pay less for the same features.

Specs: Fax, Copier, Printer, Scanner, Laser, 1200 x 1200 dpi

The Bottom Line: In a vacuum, the HP LaserJet 2727nf is a fine mono laser multifunction for small offices. But its price and feature set are out of whack with the competition: you can get more for the same money, or you can pay less for the same features.

Specs: Fax, Copier, Printer, Scanner, Laser, 1200 x 1200 dpi