The 10 Best-Selling Laser MFPs of 2013

Multifunction Leaders

Printers have gotten a new lease on life in recent years, thanks to the emergence of smartphones and tablets as output devices. The wireless wrinkle also gives printer companies myriad new ways to compete and differentiate their products and gain market share. Here's a look at the 10 top best-sellers of laser-based multifunction printers for 2013 based on research from the NPD Group, a Port Washington, N.Y.-based market-research firm that provides data from leading technology distributors.

10. Konica Minolta

Konica Minolta lost more than 70 percent of its laser MFP market share from 2012 to 2013, dropping from a 1.3 percent share of unit sales to 0.3 percent. The company's bizhub line includes a wide range of compact and free-standing color and monochrome machines for the small office starting at around $299. Output from mobile devices is handled by its PageScope Mobile app for Android and iOS. Konica Minolta MFPs are sold through office-supply stores and camera retailers such as Adorama and B&H.

9. Dell

Gaining two-tenths of a point over last year was Dell, which gathered 1.7 percent of laser MFP unit sales in 2013. The company offers about a half-dozen color and monochrome laser MFPs for the SOHO and enterprise workgroups, topping its lineup with the C3765 Workgroup Color Printer, a Xerox-made color model with excellent color output that's versatile and easy to use. For mobile printing, Dell built its own app for Android and endorses a ThinXtreme app for iOS.

8. Ricoh

Printer giant Ricoh improved its market share in 2013 by about 27 percent, ticking up to 1.9 percent from 1.5 percent in 2012. The company offers a large array of color and monochrome MFPs for markets ranging from small office to enterprise workgroup and output that ranges from 16 to 80 pages per minute. Mobile scanning and printing is available through apps for Android and iOS.

7. Oki Data

Printing industry pioneer Oki Data continues to offer a diverse line of printers that includes dot-matrix, thermal, labelers and others. Its multifunction laser printers in 2013 represented 2 percent of the total market, up from 1.7 percent a year earlier. Just as varied, Oki Data MFPs range in price from $299 to almost 10 times that amount. Though it has no mobile printing app of its own, Oki Data MFPs support output from several third-party mobile printing apps.

6. Samsung

Samsung saw its laser MFP market share dip one-tenth of a point in 2013 to 4.3 percent. The company offers nearly two dozen monochrome laser MFPs and more than a half-dozen color laser MFPs for nearly every budget and workgroup size. Its bare-bones SCX3405 puts out 21 pages per minute and starts at just $149. Samsung supports direct mobile printing through Apple AirPrint, Google Cloud Print and its own Mobile Print app for Android and iOS.

5. Xerox

In fifth place is Xerox, which captured 5.7 percent of the market last year, down from its 2012 share of 6.1 percent. A name synonymous with photocopying, Xerox offers a wide array of MFPs starting at $299 with color scanning and faxing and monochrome copying and printing at speeds up to 24 pages per minute. Always the innovator, Xerox offers a variety of specialized solutions for mobile printing to suit many needs.

4. Lexmark

One of only four in the top 10 with double-digit market share is Lexmark, which grabbed 13 percent of MFP unit sales in 2013. Its share is on the rise, gaining about seven-tenths of a percent from its share in 2012. Last year, Lexmark sold off its inkjet-related assets to focus more on its imaging and software solutions. The company offers about a dozen color and monochrome laser MFPs for any budget and workload. For mobile printing, it offers a Lexmark-branded tool for iOS and supports MicroTech's ePrint mobile tool for Android.

3. Canon

Canon's share of the MFP market in 2013 was 14.5 percent, down by 1.1 percent from 2012. Its extensive ImageRunner Series office machines range from 42 page-per-minute stand-alone monochrome units to room-size expandable units cranking out a ream of paper every five minutes. The company offers several apps for printing and scanning from Android and iOS.

2. Brother

In second place in U.S. MFP unit sales in 2013 was Brother, with a 16.8 percent share. In 2012, the company captured an 18 percent share. Brother offers MFPs starting at $199 for monochrome and $399 for color. In fact, the sixth-best-selling MFP in 2013 was the $199 Brother MFC-7360N, a 24-page-per-minute monochrome unit. Most Brother models support Apple AirPrint and Google Cloud Print; Brother also offers an app for Android and iOS.

1. Hewlett-Packard

The year's big kahuna in MFP unit sales was Hewlett-Packard, with six of the year's 10 best-selling MFP models. The company garnered 39.8 percent of all U.S. sales, almost 10 percentage points more than its second- and third-place rivals combined. The company offers more than two dozen color and monochrome multifunction laser printers for any budget. Most support all forms of wireless and mobile printing, and its newer models also incorporate universal print drivers developed by the Mopria Alliance mobile-device printing consortium that HP co-founded.