Choosing the Best Office Printer: Which is Right for You?

Before you can evaluate which type of printer will be the best office printer for your workplace, it’s crucial to understand your specific printing needs and your office’s printing habits. It’s important to take the time to evaluate:

• Volume: How many pages do you print per month?
• Type of Documents: Are you primarily printing text documents, graphic-heavy documents, or a mix? Are you printing on standard 8.5” x 11” paper or do you need the ability to print larger documents?
• Color vs. Black & White: Does your office need the ability to print in color?
• Features: Do you need scanning, copying, or faxing capabilities? Do you need to be able to automatically staple or hole punch your documents? Do you need the ability to create booklets or folded brochures?
• Space: Limited space may mean you need to consider a compact device with a smaller footprint.
• Budget: You need to consider both initial purchase price and the total cost of ownership, including supplies and maintenance. You also need to consider whether it makes sense to purchase the printer outright or lease it.
• Growth: You need to consider not just your current needs but anticipated growth over the next 3-5 years as well.

You can check out our 3-minute video for a quick, comprehensive guide to understanding your office print needs.

Choosing the Best Office Printer: The Options

When it comes to choosing the best office printer for your needs, there are five main categories of printers: single-function printers, multifunction printers, office copiers, production printers, and specialty printers.

Single-Function Laser Printers

Single-function laser printers are dedicated to one task: printing. They are the best office printer choice for any office that does not need additional printer functions such as copy, scan, or fax. These types of printers offer models that vary in how fast their printing speed is as well as models that offer color printing and black-and-white only printing, ensuring any organization that only needs to print can find the perfect fit for their office. Typically, the more expensive the printer is, the faster the print speed will be as well as the higher the volume the printer is capable of handling. Additionally, a color printer of the same speed ban as a black-and-white printer will be more expensive. There are standard A4 single-function printers which print standard 8.5” x 11” documents as well as A3 single-function printers that will give you the ability to print up to 12” x 18” documents.

Desktop Multifunction Printers

If your organization uses the printer for more than just strictly printing pages, you’ll need to be looking at a multifunction printer. Multifunction printers combine printing, scanning, copying, and faxing into a single device, making them a versatile solution for any office environment. Just like single-function printers, multifunction printer models range in print speed and color vs. black and white only options. Most manufacturers will offer their print models in both a single-function and multifunction option. For example, Xerox offers the VersaLink C620 Color Printer and the VersaLink C625 Color Multifunction Printer. Both printers are identical in how fast they print, as well as the volume they can handle and the mobile, security, and connectivity features they offer. The only difference is that the multifunction printer can copy, scan, and fax and the cost for the multifunction will be higher than the single-function version.

Office Copiers

Office copiers are essentially floor-standing multifunction printers. So, if your organization needs multifunction features, what is going to determine whether a desktop multifunction printer or an office copier is going to be the best office printer for you needs will be largely dependent on your workplace’s print volume, the size documents you need to print, and your finishing needs. Typically, if your office is printing high volume on a monthly basis (6K+ pages/ month), an office copier is going to be a better fit for you needs than a desktop multifunction printer. If you need to print larger size documents (11” x 17” or 12” x 18”), you’ll need an office copier. If you desire/require automated advanced finishing for documents such as hole punching, booklet making, or folding, you’ll need an office copier. These types of printers are offered in both color models and black-and-white only models.

Production Printers

Production printers represent the pinnacle of printing technology, designed for high-volume, commercial-grade output in professional environments that require large-scale printing operations such as marketing firms, print shops, hospitals, publishers, and enterprises with heavy document workflows. These robust machines offer incredibly high print speed (typical speeds range from 60-150+ pages per minute) with exceptional print quality and durability engineered for continuous operation. Unlike office copiers, production models support advanced media handling—accommodating various paper weights, sizes, and finishes—while offering sophisticated finishing options such as binding, saddle stitching, and full-bleed trimming. Modern production printers typically feature powerful workflow automation software, variable data printing capabilities, and integration with prepress systems to streamline complex jobs.  These types of printers are offered in both color models and black-and-white only models.

Specialty Printers

Some workplaces, such as architecture, engineering, design, construction, and manufacturing firms, require specialty printers such as wide format printers and thermal printers. Wide format printers are large printers that can produce prints up to several feet wide and are needed for printing documents like blueprints, CAD drawings, and technical diagrams. Thermal printers are a type of specialty printer serve specific office functions rather than general document printing, such as label printing, receipt printing, barcode printing, and wristband printing, making them ideal for retail, logistics, and healthcare environments.

Choosing the Best Office Printer for Your Needs

The best office printer for your workplace is one that aligns with your specific printing needs, as well as budget constraints and space limitations. It’s extremely important when evaluating office printer options to separate the non-negotiable requirements from your ‘nice-to-have’ features so that you can ensure you are choosing the printer that best fits your printing needs. For example, a smaller office with a tighter budget that needs to be able to scan documents and would like to have automated document hole-punching (but isn’t necessary) might opt for a desktop multifunction printer rather than an office copier to better suit their overall needs.

It’s also important to remember that the lowest-priced option isn’t always the most economical in the long run. For example, a law office that prints 10,000 pages per month should opt for an office copier over a desktop multifunction printer as this choice will not only better suit their high-volume needs, but it will also be more cost-effective overall. Considering the total cost of ownership, including supplies, maintenance, and potential productivity impacts, is crucial before making your final decision.

Need help determining which is the best office printer for you? Let the team at Parmetech help! With over 100 years of combined industry experience, we can guide you through the process of evaluating office printer options to ensure you select the right choice that will best suit your needs and your budget. Give us a call at (800) 727-6383, email us at info@parmetech.com, or connect with us through our website and we’ll be happy to help!