Laser printers are a vital feature of most modern offices. With exceptional speed, low cost and the high level of print quality that they provide, a mono laser printer makes a fantastic addition to any work place.

There are of course two major types of printer available, laser and inkjet. Within that you also have the option to have full colour, which includes the three primary colours - blue, red and yellow - or mono, which is just black. Whilst an inkjet printer dots liquid ink across the page in horizontal lines, a laser uses a cartridge of coloured powder, which is then etched onto the page using the laser.

In the case of a mono laser printer, there is only one toner cartridge, which contains just black ink powder. This is then distributed across the page in various tones of black and grey to produce the images and text as mapped out by the attached computer.

Beyond the actual method of printing, there are a number of features to look out for when it comes to choosing your very own mono laser printer. The first one that you are likely to encounter is the tray size. This is where the paper is stored and then fed into the printer before the ink is set on it. For larger, busier offices you will probably require a larger tray. However, it should be noted that larger trays mean a larger printer, so always be aware of the overall size of the device when it comes to choosing, particularly if space is at a premium in your working environment.

Quite often there will be a primary feeding tray and a subsidiary multipurpose tray. This is particularly useful for offices where there are likely to be large printing jobs happening throughout the day, as it will help remove any congestion and ensure that you aren’t having to leave your desk every five minutes to replenish the printer. Again, the multipurpose tray is a useful addition, but it will bulk out the printer itself, so be aware that size may once again become a factor if you look for this feature.

Another prevalent feature of the mono laser printer is something called ‘duplex printing’. Quite simply this is an additional option that will allow you to print on both sides of the same page. This is perfect for anybody who is looking to create a seamless document or presentation and doesn’t want to have to be concerned about turning the pages every time one is complete. A duplex printer will sort this out for you automatically and allow you to complete jobs quickly and with limited fuss.

As with any type of printer, some mono laser printers are better than others. At the top of the heap you will find a number of devices that have all the extra fittings and the size to prove it. Quite often they’ll include large paper trays and will invariably have the duplex feature. However, another determining factor in the price and quality of a printer is found in the standard of the printed page it produces.

Print quality is typically measured in dpi (dots per inch). The more dots that it can produce in one square inch, the better the resolution of the final image. Whilst colour printers have to concern themselves about the definition and clarity of their individual tones, mono printers have no such problem. You do however need to ensure that if you are planning to print imagery to a decent standard that the printer you choose has a decent resolution.

Other things to look out for include the size of paper the mono laser printer can print onto. Many are simply A3 or lower, some may only be A4 however and very few are actually A2 or higher.

In essence though a mono laser printer is a very simple thing. Whilst you can get wireless, multifunction, USB compatible varieties, they are all fundamentally very much the same at their core.

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