HWM+HardwareZone.com Tech Awards 2016: Editor's Choice - Part 2

Best SOHO Color Laser/LED MFP

Best SOHO Color Laser/LED MFP

For business users who care more about document print quality and print speed and don't give two hoots to other features, a laser or LED printer is still the way to go. In fact, in many cases, the print quality and print speed from an entry-level laser printer are still better than those of a high-end inkjet printer. For this category, we took it upon us to suss out the best sub-S$600 laser or LED multi-function printer for small office or home office use that was launched in 2015.

Nominees:

• Canon Imageclass MF628Cw
• Fuji Xerox DocuPrint CM225 fw

And the winner is…

The Fuji Xerox DocuPrint CM225 fw is a PCL5e/6 and PostScript 3-compatible printer with a 18ppm print speed claim (both mono and color), additional copy, scan, and fax functions, and Wi-Fi support, including the ability to work with Apple's AirPrint and Google's Cloud Print for wireless and over-the-web printing. Versus the Canon MF628Cw, it's slightly more compact and has a bigger touchscreen control panel (4.3-inch vs. 3.5-inch); however, the MF628Cw has a roomier 50-sheet ADF (15 sheets for the CM225 fw). Unfortunately, both printers lack a duplexer, and neither sports a single-pass scanning ADF.

When put to the test, we got print speeds of between 16.6 and 18.2ppm for the CM225 fw, very close to Fuji Xerox's claims. This is also faster than what we recorded for the Canon MF628Cw, which is about 13.8ppm. While print quality for both were very good, the CM225 fw exhibited slightly better color accuracy. These print quality and speed advantages, coupled with an attractive price, are the main reasons that contributed to the CM225 fw's win in this category.

For more details on how we selected our winners, check out the full reviews and articles listed at the References section at the end.