Black and white laser printer - MFP: features, specifications, settings, types of cartridges, models for printing A4, A3

Fields of application of laser black-and-white printers MFP

The variety of modern MFPs allows you to use them almost anywhere. This can be an office of different sizes, a house or a small production. Inkjet MFPs can be actively used in small photo studios specializing in printing for documents, scanning, or simply making color copies.

Advantages and disadvantages of laser MFPs for home and office

The most important advantage of any MFP is the versatility of the device, no matter how punny it sounds. In one case, a printer, a scanner and a copier are perfectly adjacent. That is, one device is capable of performing a number of tasks, which may require three different ones. At the same time, the quality of execution does not differ at all from individual devices, and sometimes even surpasses.

A significant drawback can be considered a slightly increased price, relative to certain types of devices - printers, scanners and copiers. However, to buy the entire set of office equipment, you have to pay much more than one MFP. In addition, it should be borne in mind that in the event of a breakdown, the device may be completely inoperative.

How a monochrome laser MFP works

A black and white MFP is a complex of several devices working together and most often structurally located in one block. The appearance may differ depending on the boundaries of the developers' imagination. Inside, a classic MFP usually contains a printer, scanner and copier. Less often, it may contain a fax, but this technique is already morally and technically outdated and gradually facsimile communication is becoming a thing of the past.

The printer in the MFP performs its main function - printing on paper. There is practically no difference from a separate printer. The scanner is most often located on top of the enclosure as this is the most efficient placement method. This is where the cover is located, and underneath is the scanner glass. A copier is essentially a tandem of a scanner and a printer. It's just that the data is transferred immediately from the first to the second, bypassing the computer. It is much faster and more convenient than scanning documents separately and manually sending them to print.

Since the printer must have material for printing, then, accordingly, the MFP also has a print cartridge, which must be refilled periodically. Structurally, it may differ from individual printers.

The principle of operation of the MFP

Everything is very simple here - the printer prints in the MFP, the scanner scans. There are no differences from their counterparts. But a copier is a joint work of both a printer and a scanner. The document to be scanned is placed on the scanner glass. Then the copy mode is activated. For this, almost all MFPs have a control unit on which you can specify the number of copies, quality and other parameters. After the start of the process, the scanner takes the data from the source sheet, saves it to memory and transfers control to the printer. The printer receives the data and prints out what was ordered. MFP in the simplest case is the smooth operation of two different devices: a printer and a scanner.

General characteristics of black and white MFPs

In fact, there are not so many characteristics as, for example, in other complex electronic devices. The main ones look like this:

• print format. The size of the resulting finished document. The most popular is A4. The smaller the number in the index, the larger the sheet size;
• print resolution. Determines the print quality. Recorded like any resolution - 1200 × 1200;
• print speed. Quite an important parameter, which, in fact, shows performance;
• scanner format. The same as for printing - the maximum sheet size that can fit in the working area, i.e. on glass;
• scanner resolution. Scanner resolution - the more, the better;
• copier speed. Copier speed is usually equal to print speed.

Basic and additional functions of the black and white MFP

The functionality of the MFP is steadily expanding. Each new model brings new possibilities. Today, many modern representatives of this class are equipped with their own powerful processors, large amounts of memory, as well as wireless and wired interfaces.

The main functionality rarely goes beyond the boundaries of three actions - printing, scanning and copying. Additionally, there may be such advanced features as fax, wireless printing from both PCs and mobile devices, reading from memory cards or connecting to a shared print server.

How to choose a black and white MFP according to the parameters you need

In order for the printer to serve for a long time and as efficiently as possible, it is worth paying more attention to its characteristics and capabilities when buying. Depending on the category, it is necessary to take into account those specific parameters that will become most effective.

Which MFP to choose for home

At home, MFPs are rarely used. Such a device may become relevant while studying at a school or institute. Indeed, after all, students or schoolchildren have to constantly print something or "xer". This option for the house can be chosen as a whole budget. That is, the main needs will still fall on the period of study. And then the MFP will simply stand idle, waiting for its next hour. therefore select MFPs by parameters for the home can be based on the smallest budget.

Which MFP to choose for the office

In the office, the situation changes dramatically. Here, the number of documents printed is measured in the thousands. That is, you need a hardy and reliable device. In addition, you need to pay attention to consumables and their cost, because the cartridge will have to be refilled often, and the price for this procedure may end up being quite high. Do not bypass such parameter as print speed. The queue of pending documents created by a long printer will not have a very beneficial effect on the workflow. In general, you can choose which MFP to buy for an office based on reviews on the network and from real buyers.

Popular models by category

There are just a lot of models released on the market. From the most budgetary and simple versions to complex and professional installations such as A3 or A2. Let's take a look at some of the standout models from different segments in the use case.

Black and white laser MFP A4

A4 is the most popular print format. It is accepted as the general standard for most documents, which is why A4 prevails in the market. Let's see what you can buy and at what price.

Ricoh SP 210SU

A simple, fairly budgetary option for a home monochrome laser MFP. The declared resource per month is about 20,000 pages. That is, is it more than enough for the average student. Standard - A4. The printer can produce a maximum of 1200 x 600 dpi at a print speed of 22 ppm. True, the start of the first page takes about 25 seconds. That in general for the house is not so critical. The simplest scanner is installed here - 600 × 600 points. The standard paper tray can hold 150 sheets. The recommended weight for this consumable is 60-105 g / m2. The declared yield of the cartridge is about 1,500 pages, however, in practice, it can be much less. There are no outstanding frills or functionality, a simple MFP for the home, which can be bought for 6,800 rubles.

Review of Ricoh SP 210SU

Review of Ricoh SP 210SU

HP LaserJet Pro MFP M28w

A pretty good option for a black and white laser MFP from HP. The stated print speed is 18 ppm. With scanning, everything does not look so rosy, since the scanner can take a long time to think. The paper feed can hold about 150 sheets. Of the interesting things, we can highlight the built-in Wi-Fi and support for control from smartphones. There is such a laser b / w MFP from HP 8,200 rubles.

HP LaserJet Pro MFP M28w Review

HP LaserJet Pro MFP M28w Review

A3 black and white laser MFP

A3 size is less popular and is used mainly in narrow specifics. This standard has a fixed dimension of 420 × 594 mm. As a rule, it is presented in a horizontal orientation. Scope A3 - drawings, wall newspaper design, various student work. Therefore, such a printer at home or in the office is a rarity. Most often they are used in various photography service companies.

Kyocera Taskalfa 1800

The budget version of the MFP A3 format. The monthly page resource is 20,000. The print resolution is 600 × 600 dpi. The declared print speed is not too high: 18 ppm - for A4 and 8 ppm - for A3. It takes about 17 seconds for the printer to warm up. The scanner is also not particularly happy with the resolution - 600 × 600 dpi. Scanning speed is 22 ppm, which means printing is slightly slower. The paper feed tray can hold 400 sheets, up to a maximum of 1300. The claimed cartridge yield is a bit fantastic at 15,000 sheets. About 999 copies can be ordered in one copy cycle. You can buy such a black-and-white laser MFP for office or home for 9,600 rubles.

Review of Kyocera Taskalfa 1800

Review of Kyocera Taskalfa 1800

Canon imageRunner 2520

An interesting variant of Canon's laser black and white MFP. It is a floor-standing model that, most likely, will fit more harmoniously into the office than at home. The print resolution is not bad - 1200 x 1200 dpi. The speed also did not disappoint: 20 ppm - A4 format and 15 ppm - A3. The scanner can scan up to a resolution of 600 × 600 dpi. A maximum of 2,000 sheets can be loaded into the paper feed tray. By the way, this model can be equipped with special equipment for double-sided printing. You can buy the device 63,000 rubles.

Canon imageRunner 2520 review

Canon imageRunner 2520 review

Review of the inkjet MFP Canon PIXMA MG3640.In a special publication of our portal, we will tell you in detail about the Canon PIXMA MG3640 MFP. You will learn the main technical characteristics, for whom the Canon PIXMA MG3640 MFP is suitable, where to find and how to install drivers for the Canon PIXMA MG3640 and instructions for use.

Wi-Fi laser black and white multifunction devices

Instead of the standard wired approach to network connectivity, many manufacturers have opted to use Wi-Fi. Yes, and it turned out to be really handy. Now you don't have to pull tons of wires, create separate networks, install switches and hubs. You just need to connect the printer to your office or home wireless network once, and you're done.

Samsung Xpress M2070W

A great home Wi-Fi laser MFP solution that can work for both home and office. It features good print speed, a resolution of 1200 × 1200 dpi, as well as a scanner resolution, in an improved version - up to 4800 × 4800 dpi. The cartridge resource is not as great as we would like - 1000 pages. And the most interesting thing is Wi-Fi and AirPrint support. Such a combine will cost 9,100 rubles.

Review of Samsung Xpress M2070W

Review of Samsung Xpress M2070W

Brother DCP-L2520DWR

Another good representative of multifunctional devices. First, the large maximum resolution of 2400 × 600 dpi is good news. Then the print speed is a little even surprising - 26 ppm. At the same time, a cold start does not take much time - 9 s.

The scanner of the device is also interesting - with an improved resolution it can produce 19200 × 19200 dpi. Yes, that's just fine. However, simple copying will still use 600x600 resolution. The paper capacity is 251 sheets. And the cartridge resource is not bad compared to competitors - 2600 pages. Well, in fact, the Wi-Fi interface, which allows you to easily integrate the MFP into the network and use it from anywhere in your home or office. The cost of the device is 12,300 rubles.

Brother DCP-L2520DWR Review

Brother DCP-L2520DWR Review

Laser MFP with double-sided printing

There are not many printers that can print on both sides at the same time. Perhaps due to the fact that the demand for this type of documents is not so great, or maybe people are simply not lazy to turn the document over by hand. Basically, all the models on the market are in one way or another focused on office work, because it is there that the speed of preparing documents is important.

Canon i-Sensys MF411dw

Probably one of the best options in the ranking of MFPs for the office. Has a good monthly resource of 50,000 pages. It is also worth highlighting the excellent speed - as much as 33 sheets per minute. The start, by the way, begins after 6.5 s. Enhanced resolution scanner can go up to 9600 × 9600 dpi. Interestingly, even in the copy mode, the two-sided processing mode is observed. That is, the scanner scans the original from both sides, and then also prints it from both sides. You can order up to 999 copies in one cycle. Holds the main tray up to 800 sheets. The stock cartridge should last for 2,100 pages, which is pretty good. For those who need more, there is an extended 6,400 page option. Additional functionality includes a wireless interface, support for all known operating systems and its own color LCD display. You can buy such a unit for 20,500 rubles.

Review of Canon i-Sensys MF411dw

Review of Canon i-Sensys MF411dw

If you are the proud owner of an MFP, then you can talk about the nuances of their work or operation in the comments.