If your small business needs to print out flyers, process office work claims, or produce hard-copy documents, having a versatile printer that can accomplish many different jobs is invaluable. When deciding on the best small office printer to meet your needs there are a few key considerations. Since a few employees may need to share this printer, a good business printer should be able to print a large number of pages at an affordable cost without constantly running out of ink. Pages should print quickly and clearly, and you'll want to look for additional features like duplex printing or an automatic document feeder if you have a high volume of pages to print or scan to streamline your workflow.
Below are our recommendations for the best printers for small business use. See our other picks for the best all-in-one printers, the best home printers, and the best office printers.
The best small office printer we've tested is the Brother MFC-L8905CDW. This all-in-one color laser model is ideal for large print loads as it doesn't take long to warm up, prints up to 32 pages per minute, and produces outstandingly sharp documents. Its flatbed scanner is large enough to scan Legal-size sheets (8.5x14), and it has an automatic feeder with single-pass duplex scanning to process multi-page and double-sided sheets quickly. The toner cartridges aren't overly expensive and last a long time, but you need to replace the drum separately, which is an added expense. Cheaper variants are available with fewer features; see our review for more details.
While the MFC-8905CDW is an excellent laser printer, it has a weakness: photo printing. Laser models aren't ideal for printing photos as their photos look dull and lack detail. If you're looking for the best small business printer for photos or graphics, we recommend either the Epson EcoTank Pro ET-5850 or the Epson EcoTank Photo ET-8550. The former prints faster and has more features, like an ADF with duplex scanning, while the latter produces higher-quality photos. They're both supertank inkjet models that yield thousands of prints, so you won't have to worry about high running costs; however, they both tend to be more expensive upfront.
If you want something more modest but that's still capable of handling a high print volume while adding a splash of color, check out the Canon Color imageCLASS MF656Cdw. It's an all-in-one color laser printer with the same features and print quality as the Brother MFC-L8905CDW we recommend above. The big tradeoff for its lower price is picking between printing speed and wireless connectivity. It can print up to 22 pages per minute, but only when using a wired connection (USB or Ethernet); this limits its ease of use if you don't have space near your desk or router to place the printer. Unfortunately, wireless printing speeds drop significantly to just 10 black and 12 color pages per minute.
Slow printing speed aside, the Canon still has plenty to offer. There are tons of connectivity options, as well as an ADF-equipped scanner with duplex scanning for easily processing double-sided documents. Its scan speed is also slower than that of the Brother printer, but it's still respectable at 14 pages per minute. Its toner cartridges also have a very high print yield, and you won't need to replace them often, which helps keep maintenance requirements low. This printer has many variants with slightly different features; see more details in our full review.
For businesses that only print black-and-white documents but still need a great-quality scanner, get the Brother MFC-L2820DW. This monochrome laser all-in-one produces high-quality documents, doesn't take long to warm up, and prints faster than our upper mid-range pick, the Canon Color imageCLASS MF656Cdw, at 33 pages per minute. A regular toner cartridge is sufficient for about 1,300 prints and relatively cheap to replace. Unlike the Canon, you'll have to replace the drum separately. Also, while you still get an ADF scanner, it's slower, processing just seven pages per minute; it also lacks duplex scanning, although you can get variants that offer this feature, like the Brother MFC-L2880DW. See our review for more details.
Our budget pick is the Brother HL-L2460DW, and it's ideal for small businesses that only need to print in black and white. It feels well-built and sports all the common connectivity options like USB, Wi-Fi, and Ethernet, making it convenient to access. It prints quickly at up to 34 pages per minute, supports automatic duplex printing, and has low maintenance costs thanks to its solid page yield and cheap replacement toner. There's one issue: the printing quality isn't up to par with what you would expect from a Brother laser printer. Thankfully, you can still produce sharp-looking documents if you do a deep dive into the printer settings. Compared to the models above, the main drawback is the lack of a scanner, so you have to be sure you won't need to scan anything.
If your office is on a tight budget and needs a color printer with a scanner, consider the Brother MFC-J4335DW. It's a color inkjet printer with an ADF-equipped scanner; it prints detailed photos and has similar black page yields. You also get a better front panel with a larger color display and more buttons to help you navigate the interface. However, it doesn't print as quickly, and like most inkjet printers, it requires more maintenance since printheads can clog during long periods of inactivity.
The best wide-format printer we've tested for small businesses is the HP OfficeJet Pro 9730e. This is a versatile all-in-one device that's best suited to an office environment with many different needs. It's great for printing posters, charts, and blueprints, as it supports paper sizes up to 11x17. It's not the fastest printer out there, but it can still push a respectable 20 black or 14 color pages per minute. There are also many connectivity options, including Wi-Fi, USB, and Ethernet, and you can print directly from a USB flash drive; this makes it convenient for everyone in the office to access.
The scanner is feature-rich; its flatbed scanner supports up to 11x17 paper, and its ADF supports automatic duplex scanning, so processing multi-page and double-sided documents is a breeze. It produces very sharp documents and prints relatively quickly for an inkjet model. For photo printing, it has a decently wide color gamut and color accuracy; however, there's a lot of grain in the photos, and skin tones are overly warm. Unfortunately, scan quality is a major pain point. This printer produces mediocre scans due to its excessively aggressive image processing. You can toggle many image processing settings off in the HP Smart app, which improves scan quality but doesn't completely fix it. If you're interested in purchasing a wide-format printer and want to see some other options, check out our recommendations for the best 11x17 printers.
If your small business has you constantly traveling to see clients or setting up kiosks at trade shows, then a portable cordless printer is worth considering. We recommend the HP OfficeJet 250. Thanks to its compact design, it fits easily into a backpack. It also has a rechargeable battery that lasts about 225 prints on a full charge. It produces good-quality documents, but it's on the slower side, so it isn't the best for regularly printing long multi-page reports quickly. Also, it can only print around 100 to 150 pages before it runs out of ink, so you'll need to carry a few extra cartridges if you're printing frequently.
Despite its compact size, it has an ADF scanner, so you can still scan documents on the go. It scans at a maximum resolution of 600 DPI, which isn't as good as a desktop printer but more than enough for text documents and photos. You can connect to the printer via USB or Wi-Fi or print directly off a USB flash drive. It also supports Wi-Fi Direct, meaning it can generate its own wireless signal, which is handy when you don't have access to an existing wireless network. If you want to consider some other options, check out our recommendations for the best portable printers.
Mar 13, 2025: We've edited the article for clarity and conciseness while verifying that our recommendations are available and represent the best options.
Dec 17, 2024: We've replaced the Epson WorkForce Pro WF-7840 with the HP OfficeJet Pro 9730e as it performs much better overall and is better suited to a small business environment. We also made small edits for clarity.
Oct 02, 2024: We've added the Canon PIXMA TS9520a/TS9521 to the Notable Mentions as a wide-format printer that produces better photos. We also made small edits for clarity throughout.
Aug 08, 2024: We've completely revamped this article, introducing a new format, new performance usages, and changes in recommendations to better represent the best choices available.
Jun 07, 2024: We've verified that all picks are available and relevant and made minor text changes for clarity.
Our recommendations above are what we think are currently the best printers for small business that you can buy. In addition to the test results, we factor in the price, feedback from our visitors, and availability.
If you would like to do the work of choosing yourself, here's the list of all our printer reviews. Be careful not to get too caught up in the details. While no printer is perfect for every use, most are good enough to please almost everyone, and the differences are often not noticeable unless you really look for them.
What do you think of our picks? Let us know below.
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Update: Added the RYOBI PCL720K as a better-built alternative to the Tineco PURE ONE S11. Added the Miele Duoflex HX1 to the Notable Mentions.
What do you think of these changes? Let us know
Have you measured the noise levels of the vacuums and if so, where can it be seen?
Update: Minor text edits for conciseness and clarity. No change in recommendations.
What do you think of these changes? Let us know
I’d encourage the team to check out the Lupe Pure Cordless. I’ve had one for a few years and it still impresses me. It’s engineered fantastically, has amazing battery life, and is entirely modular, allowing for easy parts replacement and most importantly cleaning. It’s a shockingly impressive vacuum cleaner made by ex-Dyson engineers. https://lupetechnology.com/products/pure-cordless-vacuum-cleaner
Hey Jason!
This product is currently on our review pipeline page. So, we’ll consider buying and testing it if there’s enough user interest!
I’d encourage the team to check out the Lupe Pure Cordless. I’ve had one for a few years and it still impresses me. It’s engineered fantastically, has amazing battery life, and is entirely modular, allowing for easy parts replacement and most importantly cleaning. It’s a shockingly impressive vacuum cleaner made by ex-Dyson engineers.
https://lupetechnology.com/products/pure-cordless-vacuum-cleaner
Update: Added the RYOBI PCL720K as a better-built alternative to the Tineco PURE ONE S11. Added the Miele Duoflex HX1 to the Notable Mentions.
What do you think of these changes? Let us know
Have you measured the noise levels of the vacuums and if so, where can it be seen?
Update: Minor text edits for conciseness and clarity. No change in recommendations.
What do you think of these changes? Let us know
I’d encourage the team to check out the Lupe Pure Cordless. I’ve had one for a few years and it still impresses me. It’s engineered fantastically, has amazing battery life, and is entirely modular, allowing for easy parts replacement and most importantly cleaning. It’s a shockingly impressive vacuum cleaner made by ex-Dyson engineers. https://lupetechnology.com/products/pure-cordless-vacuum-cleaner
Hey Jason!
This product is currently on our review pipeline page. So, we’ll consider buying and testing it if there’s enough user interest!
I’d encourage the team to check out the Lupe Pure Cordless. I’ve had one for a few years and it still impresses me. It’s engineered fantastically, has amazing battery life, and is entirely modular, allowing for easy parts replacement and most importantly cleaning. It’s a shockingly impressive vacuum cleaner made by ex-Dyson engineers.
https://lupetechnology.com/products/pure-cordless-vacuum-cleaner