From the beginning of Wirecutter’s existence, we’ve been testing printers, totaling nearly 550 hours of research and trying dozens of models.
In general, we’ve found that a black-and-white, print-only laser machine is the way to go for most people, and the Brother HL-L2350DW is the best one you can get. This printer is reliable, cheap to buy and run, and simple to operate. And unlike an inkjet printer, it won’t clog if you leave it sitting idle for weeks or months at a time.
If you need to scan occasionally, consider a mobile scanning app rather than a printer with a built-in scanner. But if you have more demanding business needs that require more frequent scanning, if you want to print in color, or if you like to print glossy photos to stick on the fridge, take a look at the other printers we recommend below.
