Printers, color laser.(RATINGS)(Buyers guide)

Lasers slow down when handling color, and the photo quality of those we've tested has been poor. They're also big, noisy, and comparatively pricey. We don't recommend any.

Guide to the Ratings

Overall score is based on speed and quality of print, scan, and copy functions, plus ease of use. Photo quality is our assessment of the appearance of each photo. Text quality indicates how crisply and clearly a printer produced black text in a variety of faces, sizes, and styles. Models with higher scores produce more uniform type, with sharper edges and smoother curves. Text speed (ppm) is our calculation of the printer's typical output in pages per minute (ppm) for a five-page document. Speeds generally range from 2ppm to 9 ppm for inkjets and faster for lasers. Text cost (cents) is the estimated cost of black ink and paper to produce a single text page. 8x10 photo time (minutes) is our measurement of how long it took each printer to output an 8x10 color print, at the printer's best setting. 8x10 photo cost is the estimated cost of the color ink and glossy photo paper needed to produce an 8x10 photo. Graphics quality is our assessment of the appearance of color graphics produced by the printer. Copy quality is for photos, graphics, and text. Scan quality is for color photos, graphics, and text scanned at each model's default settings. Price is approximate retail.

 
Within types, in performance order. * Gray key numbers indicate Quick 
Picks. 
 
         Brand & model              Price   ...