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The 8 Best Black-and-White Printers to Buy in 2019
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    The 8 Best Black-and-White Printers to Buy in 2019

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    By Patrick Hyde and Stacey Nguyen
    Updated January 29, 2019

    We are committed to researching, testing, and recommending the best products. We may receive commissions from purchases made after visiting links within our content. Learn more about our review process.

    Even though color and photo printers have continually gotten better over time, they remain an expensive option for people who do not need to print photographs. Sometimes it’s best to stick to the basics. While some families or businesses may need color printers, for many, a simple, tried-and-true black-and-white printer will best suit their needs. Generally more affordable and faster than color printers, black-and-white printers are essential for any organization or home office. They range from simple setups ideal for students who just need to print out their class papers, to all-in-one solutions that will satisfy the needs of a small business. Many modern monochrome printers are wireless and use laser to print, which is cheaper. With Wi-Fi, Bluetooth or NFC you get a variety of options to complement your chord-cutting ecosystem and print from any device. Monochrome printers are great options for those who don’t need to print in color. Check out our list of some of the top black-and-white printers available below. 

  • Best Overall: Brother Monochrome Laser Multifunction All-in-One
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    If your office depends on quickly and efficiently printing black-and-white documents, the Brother Monochrome Laser Multifunction All-in-One Printer will become a valuable addition to your workspace. With dependable results, cost-conscious output goals and even security features—all at a budget-friendly price—you can’t go wrong checking out this office printer. With a print and copy speed up to 42 pages per minute, you can fill binders and print out presentations under the tightest deadlines. Stay productive whether you need reports, spreadsheets, emails or slides thanks to the clear text and clean graphics. Small offices will appreciate that this Brother printer also features fast monochrome scanning and copying. The duplex auto document feeder speeds up any big copy and print jobs and a legal-sized document glass ensures that you can handle any type of business document. Scan directly to e-mail, SSH server, USB, SharePoint, cloud services or a network folder to maximize efficiency. 

  • Runner-Up, Best Overall: Samsung ProXpress SL-M3820DW
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    Combining high-speed printing with sharp, high-quality results, the Samsung Printer ProXpress M3820DW is the ideal printer for a fast-paced office or busy home. Powered by a superfast Cortex-A5 core processor, it can print up to 40 pages per minute so you waste less time standing around waiting for your print jobs to be done. Built-in ReCP (Rendering Engine for Clean Pages) technology provides sharp, clear resolution so your printouts have great readability and picture quality. Easily print from mobile devices using the Samsung Mobile Print application or Google Cloud Print. Looking for ways to lower your environmental impact? Click the One Touch Eco Button to automatically lower toner and paper usage, with a bonus of helping to reduce operating expenses. The easy-to-use built-in wireless capability allows the printer to easily integrate into any work or home environment even if multiple users need to print to the same machine. 

  • Best Budget: Brother HL-L2300D Monochrome Laser Printer
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    Need fast, low-cost printing on a budget? The Brother HL-L2300D monochrome laser printer with duplex printing is a great choice for you. Ideal for a home office, it is compact enough to fit on a desk or shelf. With up to 2400 x 600 dpi resolution, this printer provides clean, crisp printouts that are easy to read without blurry edges or smudges. Though not quite as speedy as some of the other printers on our list, this budget-friendly printer still cranks out up to 27 pages per minute, including time-saving automatic duplex printing.  The 250-sheet capacity paper tray is enough for almost any job. This machine uses a USB connection with a high-speed USB 2.0 interface for simple, reliable connections with any compatible device in your office or at your home.

  • Best Wireless: Samsung Xpress SL-M2835DW/XAA Wireless Monochrome Printer
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    If you are trying to choose a new printer and the feature you most care about is wireless access, the Samsung Xpress wireless monochrome printer may be the choice for you. This printer features NFC technology that allows you to print documents or manage printer settings simply by tapping an NFC-enabled mobile device. Use the Samsung Mobile Print app to print straight from a mobile device like a smartphone or tablet—both Android and iOS devices are supported—without worrying about installing drivers, configuring network settings or going through the usual setup hassles of a new printer. The printer is also Google Cloud Print Ready, making it compatible with smartphones, tablet PCs, Google Chromebooks, PC/notebooks and many other Web-connected devices. This Samsung printer is also efficient from both a time and financial perspective – it can print up to 29 pages per minute and offers an Eco button and duplex printing to save on toner and paper.

  • Best Value: Brother Compact Monochrome Laser Printer, HLL2390DW
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    For under $100, you can add this multi-tasking Brother compact monochrome laser printer to your home office or place of business. Finish print jobs quickly with printing speeds of up to 32 pages per minute and waste less time refilling the printer paper thanks to the 250-sheet paper tray that handles both legal and letter-sized paper. The printer is also equipped with a convenient flatbed scan glass for easily accessible copying and printing—handy to have even for a home office. The easy-to-use manual feed slot also enables users to print professional-looking envelopes, card stock, or unusually-sized papers for additional value and versatility. Even more convenient, this printer has also been updated with new features that allow users to scan and print directly from mobile devices, including tablets, and cloud-based accounts. This printer also participates in Amazon Dash Replenishment, so when activated the printer can automatically detect when the toner is low and order more to keep your printer running happily. 

  • Best Compact: HP Laserjet Pro M29w All-in-One Wireless Printer
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    This HP Laserjet Pro M29w All-in-One Wireless Printer is one of the smallest laser printers you’ll find in the market, yet it still lets you print, copy, and scan in a cinch. It measures 14.2 x 10.4 x 7.8 inches and weighs a mere 11 pounds. It prints relatively quickly, up to 19 pages per minutes through a wireless network. You can connect it with the HP Smart app to print and scan even from a smartphone or tablet in addition to cloud services such as iCloud, Google Drive, and Dropbox. It also allows you to set up your device as well as order extra toner. In addition to its many conveniences, you won’t need to worry about your energy bill hiking up either since the printer uses Auto-On and Auto-Off technology. Overall, this version of the Laserjet is an affordable and reliable option for small workplaces or individuals. It's compatible with most operating systems, including Mac OS, Windows, and Linux.  

  • Best Speed: Canon imageCLASS LBP214dw Monochrome Laser Printer
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    If you have a high-volume print job to run, you’ll be glad you checked out the Canon imageCLASS LBP214dw monochrome laser printer. With an incredible 900-sheet maximum paper capacity tray, the double-sided printing functionality, and the ability to print up to 40 pages per minute, this printer is the clear winner in terms of efficiency and speedy printing. This printer can also handle paper sizes up to 8.5 inches x 14 inches for some flexibility when dealing with different types of documents. This unique printer also includes a USB desktop microphone so users can use PCvoiceLink technology to provide audible commands to the printer. Noise-cancelling technology and the uni-directional microphone help keep instructions clear. As an added convenience, you can also print directly from an external USB source such as a thumb drive. This printer offers wired or wireless connectivity and is EnergyStar certified. 

  • Best Security: HP LaserJet Pro M402dw Wireless Monochrome Printer
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    The HP LaserJet Pro M402dw wireless monochrome printer is designed to deliver excellent printing performance as well as tough security ideal for a shared workplace. Quick, capable and easy-to-use, this printer starts up faster than other similar models so you can get your print job and get on with your work. Print multipage documents quickly thanks to two-sided printing and HP high-yield black toner cartridges. Speaking of toner, thanks to Amazon Dash Replenishment, you may never have to shop for toner again. This HP printer can track your usage and automatically reorder the original HP toner cartridges you need so you never get stuck furiously searching for the right cartridge. Plus, this printer even helps you save energy with the built-in HP Auto-On/Auto-Off Technology. This printer comes with a one-year limited hardware warranty and web support 24-hours a day, seven days a week so you can buy with confidence.

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