The 3 Best Black And White Printers - Spring 2025

The best black-and-white printer we've tested is the Brother MFC-L2820DW. This all-in-one monochrome laser model is the ideal choice for a small office. It's great for printing large documents quickly, as it pushes up to 33 pages per minute, and its print quality is excellent; documents look sharp with easy-to-read text and great detail in fine elements like lines on a graph. It also has an ADF-equipped scanner that scans up to seven pages per minute. The printer is easily accessible from a wide variety of devices, as you can connect to it via Wi-Fi, USB, and Ethernet and use the Brother companion app for more functionality.

Its page yield is good at around 1,300 prints, and you can get a high-yield XL cartridge that'll last even longer. The drum is a separate unit you'll have to spend extra to replace, although it's usually good for about 15,000 prints, so you won't need to change it too often. There are other variants with more features. For example, the Brother MFC-L2880DW has duplex scanning, single tap NFC support, and prints a little faster at 36 pages per minute; the print quality remains the same, so you'll get sharp-looking documents. The issue is this model can be hard to find in North America. See our review for more details about variants.

If you only need to print and want to keep your budget in check, we recommend the Brother HL-L2460DW or one of its variants. This monochrome laser print-only model gets the job done quickly, pushing out 34 pages per minute, and it also supports automatic duplex printing. The build quality is impressive, and the power cord is removable, making it easy to replace if damaged. Another positive feature is its small footprint, which makes it a great option for anyone with space constraints. You get the usual Wi-Fi and USB connectivity and support for Apple AirPrint and Mopria Print Service.

As for its page yield, you can expect to get around 1,300 prints from a regular toner cartridge. If you think you need more than this, high-yield cartridges are available that'll yield around 3,300 pages. Like the other Brother printers we recommend above, you'll have to replace the drum on this model separately, but again, you won't need to do it all that often. One thing worth mentioning is that you'll have to tweak the printer's settings a bit to get the best print quality; see our full review for details about what to change. If you have a very tight budget, the full review also has information about cheaper variants with more limited connectivity options or slightly slower print speeds.

If you have a large print load, get the HP LaserJet Tank MFP 2604sdw. As the name suggests, it's a laser printer with a refillable toner tank instead of a cartridge, similar to supertank inkjet models. A full tank gets you about 4,500 prints, and you can refill the tank as you go, even during a print job. The print quality is outstanding for black-and-white documents. As for printing speed, you can print up to 22 pages per minute, but only over a wired USB connection, which is inconvenient if it's a shared office printer or you don't have room to keep it close to your computer. Its printing speed drops to just nine pages per minute over Wi-Fi.

Printing speed aside, this printer has great connectivity options. You get USB, Wi-Fi, and Ethernet, as well as Apple AirPrint and Mopria Print Service support. There's a scanner with an automatic feeder but no duplex scanning, so you'll have to scan double-sided documents manually. It's worth noting that while the drum lasts a long time, replacing it is a hassle. This is because the drum is difficult to access, and it isn't available for purchase to the general public, so you can only replace it via an authorized service provider. As such, you'll have to be very careful in not damaging the drum, like ensuring that you don't use paper with imperfections or staples attached.