The era of the paperless office is declared year after year, yet printers remain as vital a part of the office as ever. As new models continue to become more versatile, more efficient and more cost effective, there has never been a better time to upgrade the office printer.

Such a diversity of printer types means that whatever the requirements of your particular office there is a printer suited to those needs. Here we list the best printers from five different categories.

Budget Laser Colour

Samsung CLP-365

Laser printers are no longer an option reserved only for businesses with high level printing requirements and large expense accounts. High quality laser printing is available in a number of cost effective models.

The Samsung CLP-365 provides vivid 2400 x 600 dpi printing in a compact design. The CLP-365 also enables users to print wirelessly, directly from a range of devices including mobile.

High-end Multifunction

HP LaserJet M521

For larger offices that need high volume and consistent quality the HP LaserJet is an ideal solution. It uses 265MB of memory that enable it to queue up a large number of jobs at once. At peak speeds the M521 produces 40ppm and offers double sided printing options to save on paper.

Copying, scanning and faxing can all be handled from the M521’s intuitive LCD touchscreen display.

Workhorse Multifunction

Epson Workforce Pro WF-4640

Some offices need a robust, reliable multifunction printer that can cover all of their printing requirements, day-in day-out without breaking the bank. Epson’s Workforce Pro WF-4640 is well suited to a small office set up with rigorous, consistent printing requirements. The printer’s substantial speed of 20ppm does not result in any loss of quality for print jobs.

It is also designed for a high workload, with a duty cycle of 30,000 pages per month. A tray capacity of 580 sheets saves workers from regular paper reloading.

Large format

HP DesignJet T520

For architectural firms and design companies a large format printer is often a necessity. However it is no small expense and choosing the right model calls for appropriate consideration. The DesignJet T520 provides printing up to 36″ across and at high resolution as high as 2400 dpi.

1GB of RAM allows for large, complicated designs to be processed quickly and efficiently. Built in wireless technology enables printing from anywhere in the office as well as from mobile devices including Apple and Android enabled smartphones.

Photo

Canon Pixma iP110

The convenience of digital photography means more pictures are taken than ever. At the same time, fewer of these are ending up as actual physical pictures that we can hold, put in albums and show to others. Modern photo quality printers have become very affordable and convenient, giving users the opportunity to produce high quality glossy print outs of the many memories stored on their phones.

Canon’s Pixma iP110 comes in a compact format that produces stunning quality photo print outs at a very reasonable price point. It offers an incredible 9,600 dpi level of quality and can print from any device as well as the cloud.