Best office printers for large organizations – 2024 buyer’s guide

Choosing the right printer is an important decision for organizations, and there are many factors to consider.

You have to take into account things like print volume and speed, print quality, printing method, available functionality, connectivity, and technical support.

There are many moving parts, which makes it difficult to choose a printer.

To assist you with that, we have reviewed the best printers organizations can use. We have categorized the printers into different categories, such as best overall office printer, best budget option, and best all-in-one printer.

6 key considerations when choosing an office printer

Before we look at the best printers, let’s go over the six key considerations when choosing an office printer.

1. Print volume and speed 

When choosing a printer, you will encounter two print volume terms:

• Max monthly duty cycle (printer’s maximum capacity per month, which you can technically reach but should avoid for exceeded time).
• Recommended duty cycle (optimum printing volume for each month)

Before purchasing anything, make sure the duty cycle matches your organization’s print volume needs.

When buying a printer, you will also encounter a term called PPM, which stands for pages per minute, and this determines how fast a printer can print a standardized page. High PPM is a useful capability for busy office environments.

2. Print quality (color vs. black & white)

Before deciding between color and black and white (monochrome) printers, ask yourself:

• What is the purpose of the printed documents?
• Are you just printing documents to use internally or for external purposes?
• Do you want both color printing and black and white printing?

As a general guideline, black-and-white prints work well for documents that are mostly text, while documents that have primarily images may need a color print. Black and white prints are more cost-effective, whereas color prints grab attention with excellent print quality.

Here is a more in-depth breakdown of when each should be used:

Monochrome printers (black and white) 

Monochrome printers are suitable if you only need to print internal documentation. These printers only need black tones, which makes them much cheaper to maintain and better for the environment.

Black-and-white printing is 10 times cheaper than color printing, which is evident when you compare the cost per page. Printer supplier BDS also estimates the same cost difference in their video.

Despite the advantages, monochrome printers aren’t ideal for most organizations because they lack color printing, which is used for external documents like banner ads.

Color printers

Color printers require three or more colors to function. Compared to black-and-white, color printers offer a wider range of printing capabilities. For example, color printers give you many options for getting the best possible color representation when creating branded materials.

Many color printers are also capable of black-and-white printing, which makes them more of an “all-in-one” printing solution.

Considering color printers’ many capabilities, they’re often more beneficial to organizations as compared to monochrome printers.

3. Multifunctionality vs. single-function printers

There are two types of printers available:

• Single-function printers: Single-function printers often specialize in printing tasks only and are often cheaper.
• Multifunction printers (MFPs): Multifunctional printers integrate multiple functions into one, letting you print, scan, copy, and fax documents.

There are Enterprise single-function printers available, but most organizations opt for multifunctional printers due to their extensive capabilities.

If you choose a single-function printer, you can’t expand its functionality later if you want.

4. Connectivity options (wi-fi, ethernet, bluetooth, mobile printing)

The five main connectivity options for printers are:

• USB: USB cables provide an easy plug-and-play interface and are often included in a printer. USB’s limitations, such as its inability to support multiple users, often prevent its use in business environments.
• Ethernet: Ethernet printers require an Ethernet cable to connect to a local area network (LAN). This allows multiple devices to connect to a single printer, making it suitable for business environments.
• Wi-fi: Wi-fi printers require a wireless network, which can be established with a hotspot, router, or access point. These printers are more flexible since they can be accessed from anywhere within their coverage area.
• Bluetooth: Bluetooth printers work through a Bluetooth connection and are compatible with PCs, tablets, and smartphones. 
• Mobile printing: Mobile printers generally use an app specific to the brand (such as the HP Smart app). They allow users to print directly from smartphones, tablets, and laptops without requiring a physical connection, making them great for remote and multi-device workplaces.

Most enterprise printers today offer all the main connectivity options.

For example, HP combines mobile printing, USB, ethernet, and wi-fi connectivity options for its printers:For example, HP combines mobile printing, USB, ethernet, and wi-fi connectivity options for its printers:

5. Cost of ownership (initial cost, maintenance, ink/toner costs)

There are many factors that contribute to a printer’s total cost of ownership (TOC). 

The main factors include:

• The initial cost
• Yield of consumables (e.g. ink or toner costs)
• Paper consumption
• Electricity consumption
• User intervention required
• Maintenance cost

Before investing in a printer, calculate your total TOC so you don’t run into any unforeseen expenses.

To calculate the total TOC, ask yourself the following questions:

1. What is the initial purchase price?
2. How long do the ink or toner cartridges last?
3. What is the printer’s energy efficiency?
4. What is the estimated cost per print?
5. How often does the printer require user intervention?
6. What are the regular maintenance costs?
7. Is there a warranty available?

If you’re on a smaller budget, a monochrome printer can be a good choice, as it is known to be cheaper to maintain. There are also relatively cheap color printers available, such as one offered by Brothers.

6. Security, brand reliability, and support 

According to Quocira’s 2023 study on IT decision-makers, 61% of organizations have experienced print-related data breaches in the past year.

Selecting a reliable printer brand and using IoT monitoring software will increase your vulnerability to cyberattacks.

Printers often highlight their printer security features on their product pages, such as Xerox here:

In addition to advanced security, your printer vendor should provide technical support when you face problems.

Enterprise office printers are complex machines that you don’t want to spend time fixing (this can be one of the biggest time-wasters for IT teams.)

Double-check the available warranty and see what technical support is provided.

This is visible on the vendor’s website, such as HP showcasing their warranty on product pages as shown below:

Don’t just skim over the warranty, actually open it and see what’s included so you don’t get caught off guard.

HP warranty details

Best printers for office-wide use in large organizations

We have divided the best printers into eight different categories:

1. Best overall office printer
2. Best budget printer
3. Best heavy-duty printer
4. Best all-in-one printer
5. Best high-volume printer
6. Best color printer
7. Best black and white laser printer
8. Best printer for Mac users

For each printer, we have considered factors such as the price, cost of maintenance, ease of use, functionality, print volume and speed, and customer warranty.

Below is a detailed description of each of the best printers.

1. Best overall office printer (Brother MFCL8900CDW)

Our choice for the best overall office printer is the Brother MFCL8900CDW, an all-in-one color laser printer with wireless networking. If you work in an organization and your monthly printing volume is 1000-4000 pages, the Brother MFCL8900CDW is an ideal choice. 

It is the most affordable printer on our list, yet it offers print speeds of up to 33 pm and an easy-to-use touchscreen interface for simple navigation. The paper capacity is 250 sheets, but it can be expanded up to 1,300 sheets through extra paper trays.
Brother MFCL8900CDW is a multi-function printer capable of printing, copying, scanning, and faxing. If you only require printing, Brother HLL8360CDW is a great alternative and a bit more affordable.

2. Best budget printer for office use (EcoTank Pro ET-16650)

As a budget printer, we recommend EcoTank Pro ET-16650. With its bulk-ink EcoTank AIO design, it prints color pages at a very low cost per page. 

Although this printer is more expensive upfront ($1,099.99) than the Brother HLL8360CDW ($449.99), Epson claims its low-cost ink replacement bottles will save you money in the long run (up to 80%).

EcoTank Pro ET-16650 can print pages up to super tabloid size (13 by 19 inches) and scan and copy standard tabloids (11 x 17 inches).

Epson has even more affordable multifunction inkjet printers for office use, although their capabilities are less impressive.

3. Best heavy-duty printer for office (Ricoh Pro C9500)

If you’re looking for a reliable, heavy-duty printer, the Ricoh Pro C9500 is a great choice. It is a true powerhouse, capable of producing 135 prints per minute and a maximum of 2,6 million prints per month.

Ricoh Pro C9500 is often compared to the Canon imagePRESS V series, but most users on Reddit agree that Ricoh is more reliable, more affordable, and capable of producing more prints.

Ricoh has a custom quotation in place, so we cannot confirm the exact price of the Pro C9500 model. However, Reddit users mention that it is slightly cheaper than Canon V1000, whose price hovers around $110,000 and $130,000.

4. Best all-in-one printer for office use (HP Color LaserJet Enterprise MFP M776z)

HP Color LaserJet Enterprise MFP M776z is an all-in-one multifunctional printer for large organizations. With this printer, you can print, copy, scan, fax, and digitally send documents. It is relatively expensive upfront but has reasonable running costs, which make up for the price.

HP’s Enterprise printers are highly regarded because they are secure. The printer automatically checks its operating code and repairs itself if it is attacked. Outgoing network connections are inspected for suspicious activity.

At an additional cost of $1,879, HP offers next-day onsite hardware support.

5. Best high-volume printer for business (Xerox AltaLink B8200 Series)

The newly released Xerox AltaLink B8200 Series offers a range of multifunction printers capable of producing up to 300,000 images per month at a print speed of 72 ppm.

AltaLink B8200 printers have a user interface similar to a tablet. The printer has a built-in AI that learns from your activities over time and simplifies them. Any organization should be concerned about security, and the AltaLink 8200 Series provides predefined security templates to assist with this.

AltaLink B8200 printers support only black-and-white printing. However, an AltaLink C8200 Series is available for color printing, although the monthly print capacity is lower.

6. Best color printer for business (Kyocera TASKalfa Pro 15000c)

Large organizations requiring superior printing quality benefit most from Kyocera TASKalfa Pro 15000c, as it combines high productivity with exceptional image consistency. This printer ensures consistent color printing throughout the entire print cycle.

Unlike offset printing, color adjustments or specialized staff are not required, resulting in a significant reduction in operational downtime. According to Kyocera, the TASKalfa Pro 15000c can print up to 60 million sheets without maintenance.
For organizations with fewer monthly printing requirements and looking for a color printer, the Lexmark CX820de is a great choice. It supports high-quality laser printing technology and can print up to 25,000 pages monthly.

7. Best black and white laser printer for business (Kyocera Ecosys M3860idnf)

Medium-sized and large organizations looking for a black-and-white laser printer will benefit from Kyocera Ecosys M3860idnf. It is a monochrome multifunctional printer with a high-quality output of up to 1200 dpi and speeds up to 62 pages per minute.

The printer features a Single Pass Duplex scanning feeder, which allows documents to be processed faster. This is ideal for busy office environments.

Kyocera Ecosys M3860idnf features an intuitive seven-inch touchscreen for easy operation.

8. Best printer for Mac users (HP LaserJet Enterprise M611dn)

Another HP Enterprise printer, HP LaserJet Enterprise M611dn, is a great single-function printer for Mac users. It prints the first page in 7.8 seconds at a speed of 65 pages per minute and can print up to 275,000 pages per month.

Like other HP Enterprise printers, LasetJet Enterprise M611dn is highly secure, thanks to its self-healing capabilities. 
The M611dn model is single-function and only supports printing. If you also need copying, scanning, and faxing capabilities, most HP Enterprise printers are compatible with Apple AirPrint and Mac. For example, HP LaserJet Enterprise MFP M528f can be a suitable multifunctional alternative.

What should an organization do after selecting a printer?

Printers are often thought of as safe devices with low maintenance needs.

While this might be true for legacy printers only using USB or Ethernet, today’s multifunctional printers pose security risks and vulnerabilities that must be addressed.

Organizations that don’t secure their printers are at risk of significant data breaches and security risks. According to IBM, data breaches cost organizations an average of $4.88 million in 2024, so you want to avoid them at all costs.

Investing in printer monitoring software, such as Atera, is one of the best ways to safeguard your printers. The enhanced security is achieved through real-time monitoring and alerting of threats, patch management, secure print releases, and user authentication features.
If you want to try out Atera, we offer a 30-day free trial for all customers, or you can contact our sales team for a custom demo.