8 Cool New Printers For the Modern Workforce

As part of Printer Week 2024, CRN takes a look at some of the latest multi-function printers that address a variety of business needs, whether they’re priced and sized for small teams, designed to reduce power consumption or crank out larger numbers of pages every month.

As businesses settle into their new normal of where and how employees get work done, printer vendors are making sure office environments—forever changed by the COVID-19 pandemic—are equipped with the right solutions for printing, copying, scanning and faxing.

For the first day of Printer Week 2024, CRN is taking a look at some of the latest multi-function printers to hit the market from vendors such as HP Inc., Epson, Xerox, Lexmark and others.

These printers are built to address a variety of business needs, whether they’re priced and sized for small teams, equipped to crank out a massive number of pages every month, protected by advanced security technologies or designed to significantly reduce power consumption.

What follows are eight cool printers that recently entered the market from HP, Epson, Xerox, Lexmark, Brother, Canon and Sharp.

HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP 3301fdw

The HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP 3301fdw wireless printer is part of a new series the company debuted this year with an emphasis on enabling vibrant colors and fast print speeds using its energy-efficient TerraJet toner technology.

Equipped with copy, scan and fax capabilities, this multi-function printer can print as many as 26 pages per minute, making it a good fit for individuals or small teams who “need affordable, reliable multi-function performance in a compact and easy-to-use desktop device,” according to HP.

The printer comes with Ethernet and dual-band Wi-Fi connectivity options, the latter of which has the ability to automatically reconnect when a connection is lost.

Other features include a 50-sheet auto document feeder, a 4.3-inch touchscreen display, HP Wolf Pro Security, a 250-sheet input tray, a 100-sheet output tray and remote printing with the HP app.

Epson WorkForce Pro ST-C5500

Epson’s WorkForce Pro ST-C5500 Supertank color multi-function printer is part of a new series introduced last fall by the company for “cost-conscious” businesses.

It relies on Epson’s PrecisionCore Heat-Free technology, which enables high-speed and high-performance printing while consuming less power and requiring less maintenance. The technology also enables savings up to 80 percent on replacement ink bottles versus laser toner cartridges.

Equipped with copy, scan and fax capabilities, the ST-C5500 can print as many as 25 pages per minute for a recommended monthly page volume of 3,300 pages.

Other features include a 4.3-inch color touchscreen, support for PCL and PostScript 3, a paper capacity of 500 sheets with two front trays, a read feed for special media, Wi-Fi Direct 7 and Ethernet connectivity options, and easy ways to print from mobile devices.

Konica Minolta bizhub C4051i

Konica Minolta’s bizhub C4051i color multi-function printer is a part of a new series recently introduced by the company that is designed for “ease of use in the modern workplace.”

The company said the printer also comes with enhanced security capabilities, including advanced firmware and a new Authentication Attack Detection function that blocks authorized attempts to access the device using brute force attacks. It also comes with the option to use BitDefender’s security software to prevent the spread of malware to other devices.

Equipped with copy, scan and fax capabilities, the bizhub C4051i can print up to 42 pages per minute with high-resolution color for a recommended monthly page volume of 6,500 pages. The printer’s “lightning-fast responses and top-notch performance” are enabled by a quad-core CPU, 5 GB of memory and a 256 GB SSD, which can be updated to 1 TB.

Other features include a dual-scan document feeder with the ability to scan up to 90 originals per minute, a maximum paper capacity of 1,600 sheets, a user-friendly touchscreen that includes access to a web browser, and Wi-Fi and Ethernet connectivity options.

Xerox VersaLink C625

Xerox’s VersaLink C625 is an A4 color multi-function printer that is built for small teams and uses machine learning to “recognize common tasks and suggest more efficient processes, eliminating programming steps and saving valuable time,” according to the company.

The device is capable of printing up to 52 pages per minute and up to 20,000 pages per month with letter-sized paper. It has a standard paper capacity of 650 sheets, but it can support a maximum of 2,850 sheets with four additional trays.

Equipped with copy, scan and fax capabilities, the printer’s other features include built-in security, the ability to easily connect and print from any device, optional Wi-Fi connectivity and a catalog of apps that cover everything from cloud connectivity to vertical solutions.

Brother Workhorse MFC-L9670CDN

The Brother Workhorse MFC-L9670CDN is a multi-function device for midsize to large workgroups featuring low-cost output, advanced security and scalable paper handling.

The device offers simplex and duplex printing up to 42 pages per minute in color or B/W. It has 9,000-page black and 6,500-page color toner cartridges, and a 620-sheet paper capacity that expands up to 2,700 sheets.

The device’s 100-page capacity auto document feeder allows scanning at up to 104 images per minute. For connectivity, there is a built-in Gigabit Ethernet interface with a dual-band (2.4GHz / 5GHz) wireless module.

Canon Color imageCLASS X MF1538C

The Canon Color imageCLASS X MF1538C is an enterprise-class multi-function color laser printer that prints up to 40 pages per minute in color at a resolution of up to 600x600 dpi.

It is rated at a print volume of 2,000 to 4,000 pages per month, and includes print features such as secure print, secure watermark, header/footer, page layout, two-sided printing, mixed paper sizes and orientation, and toner reduction. It can copy to legal size with a resolution of 600x600 dpi.

The Canon Color imageCLASS X MF1538C also scans up to 100 sheets via its automatic document feeder using 15.5-pound to 47.3-pound paper.

Sharp BP-C545WD

The Sharp BP-C545WD A4 color multi-function printer targets small- and medium-sized businesses, commercial printing environments, legal firms and educational institutions.

The device offers print speeds of up to 45 pages per minute and features a capacitive buttonless 7-inch touchscreen with simplified easy modes. An optional internal finisher is available.

Security features include a standard system integrity check at startup, firmware attack prevention, allowlisting, and optional antivirus protection powered by Bitdefender.

Lexmark CX963se

The Lexmark CX963se A3 color multi-function printer prints at up to 55 letter-sized pages per minute in color and black and white, with a print resolution in both modes of up to 1200x1200 dpi. Functions are controlled via its 10-inch color touch screen.

The device also copies at up to 55 letter-sized copies per minutes and, with its 300-page automatic document feeder, scans up to 120 pages per minute in single-side and dual-side modes.

The laser cartridge allows printing of up to 46,900 color pages or 47,700 black and white pages. The Lexmark CX963se has a recommended monthly page volume of 7,000 to 50,000 pages.