5 Key Features of the Best Small Office Printers

Compact printers can pack a powerful punch

When you’re a small business owner, you need to be sure that every piece of equipment you buy is worth the investment—and that’s especially true for large technology purchases like printers. If you’re working with a tight budget or limited square footage, you’ll have additional challenges finding the right model for your workplace, as commercial printers can be both costly and bulky. The good news is that there are plenty of options suited for smaller offices if you know what you’re looking for. With that in mind, let’s dive into the key features of the best small office printers on the market.

5 features to prioritize in small office printers

1. Print quality

When you’re managing a small office, quality counts—it represents your professionalism and the image you put forward to customers. If your customer-facing documents have low resolution or are difficult to read, it can send the wrong message.

The simplest indicator of print quality is dots per inch (dpi), which defines the resolution of any printed image. There’s just one problem: print resolution is several magnitudes higher than the resolution you’ll see on a computer monitor—so a 1080p high-def background that looks great on screen will fail to impress on paper. The small office printer you get must hit the dpi benchmarks that reflect your business needs:

• 300 dpi is ideal for general-purpose printing like plain text files or simple PDF documents.

• 600 dpi presents a measurable boost in visual sharpness, suitable for custom graphics and images.

• 1200 dpi is a high-end print resolution that renders crisp details in images and photographs.

As these numbers suggest, the needs for print quality vary by industry; an accounting business that works with computer documents won’t have the same demands as a photography studio. Evaluate your own resolution requirements to get an idea of the range that works best for your business.

2. Compact size

The best small office printers don’t need to take up much space, especially if you’re running a digital-first business with limited printing demands. Instead of taking up limited space with a heavy duty printer that does more than you need, look for sleek, compact models that can sit on desks or conference tables without becoming an obstacle to productivity.

If you want to scale down even further—and don’t mind sacrificing built-in paper storage—you can purchase compact and travel printers that fit into a desk drawer. Travel printers are particularly useful for teams that work from laptops or frequently travel. Most include a suite of connectivity options, such as WiFi, Bluetooth and Airplay, so you don’t have to worry about physical network connections. When you need to print a last-minute document while attending an off-site client meeting, these small printers can have a big impact.

3. Speed

Next to quality, perhaps the most important consideration is printer speed—especially for small businesses that need to present marketing materials or customer contracts. Printers have a fairly broad range, but simple personal models might handle between 20 to 60 pages per minute (ppm). High-volume and commercial units tend to increase the scope from 50 to 100 ppm.

Unfortunately, one challenge of printer speed is balancing it with other features on this list, particularly quality. It simply takes much longer for any printer to generate a 1200 dpi image than a 300 dpi document. Some models will let you get around this with adjustable settings so you can adjust the resolution and speed to suit the task, but that capability often comes at a premium.

4. Multifunction capabilities

One way to offset the cost of small office printers is to buy one that does everything at once. Multifunction units incorporate multiple devices to create the best small office all-in-one printer for your needs, including:

• Scanning: Multifunction printers often include scanner capabilities so you can digitize documents just as easily as printing them. Smaller models may include a retractable document feeder tray that can be shut away when you’re finished.

• Photocopying: If you’re going to scan something with your printer, why not make copies as well? Photocopying features are ideal when you need to duplicate records instead of coordinating an additional printing task across two devices.

• Faxing: Many businesses still utilize fax technology for a number of reasons. Not only is fax technology more standardized than online transmissions, faxes can’t be intercepted like emails or text messages. That makes them essential for privacy-centric small businesses, particularly in the healthcare and legal industries.

• Wireless support: Because small office printer-copier-scanner models are designed for convenience, they tend to include many connectivity options. Along with a standard ethernet port, these models usually support WiFi, Bluetooth and Airplay for quick print jobs from compatible devices. Even better, some printers will upload documents directly online so you can access them from the cloud platform of your choice without having to take extra steps.

5. Cost efficiency

It’s a hard truth that printers eat into most office budgets because they have upfront and long-term costs. Once the printer is installed, you’ll still be replacing cartridges or toner and conducting periodic maintenance for its entire lifespan. Yet with so many people using printers around the world, there are lots of ways to reduce costs:

• Become energy efficient: The best small office printers include several energy-efficiency measures, from sleep mode to automatic dual-sided printing. Meanwhile, office electronics manufacturers who utilize rating programs like Energy Star often see reductions in energy waste.

• Prioritize volume: If you’re a small business that’s constantly printing everything, you might benefit from heavy duty or large-capacity models that handle large print jobs more efficiently.

• Ink monitoring: Pay attention to printers that split up color ink across multiple cartridges. That way you can replace the colors you’re using the most instead of throwing out inks you haven’t actually used.

Walmart Business can help find the best small office printer for you

When you’re investing in office electronics, it’s crucial to pick the right model at the right price. Walmart Business can help you with your search. We offer a wide selection of printer models and accessories so you can find the best fit for your business.

If you already have a Walmart Business account, you can upgrade to a Walmart Business+ membership and gain free shipping access,¹ free delivery from stores on orders over $35² and 2% rewards back on purchases over $250.³ You may even save over $500 a year.⁴ Learn more here.

¹ Excludes most Marketplace items, freight and certain location surcharges.

² Restrictions apply. 

³ Rewards can only be used toward future purchases on Walmart Business. Additional terms apply.

⁴ Savings based on 1 free $35+ delivery order vs. $9.95 fee and 1 free shipping order under $35 vs. $6.99 fee biweekly, plus 2% Walmart Business Rewards on monthly order >$250 (average value of $400).