Buying guide

Color or Monochrome: Which Office Printer Should You Buy?

By JR Copier

Professional standing beside a large office multifunction copier

Color output can make proposals, listings and marketing pieces look more professional, but it costs more per page than black and white. The right choice depends on how much of your printing truly benefits from color.

Look at what you actually print

Review a typical month. Invoices, forms, contracts and internal reports rarely need color. Real-estate flyers, presentations, menus and marketing materials usually do. If color makes up a small share of your pages, a monochrome workhorse plus an occasional color device — or outsourcing marketing pieces — may be cheaper.

If your current device is a color model, its counter screen will usually show color and black-and-white pages separately, which gives you a real ratio instead of a guess. If it is monochrome, estimate how many pages you currently send to an outside print shop or print on a small inkjet, since that work would likely move to a new color device.

Understand running costs

Color pages use four toners instead of one, so their cost per page is higher. Many color MFPs let administrators restrict color by user or department, which helps control costs without giving up the capability. Compare costs using your own volume, as explained in our total cost of ownership guide.

Color usage also tends to grow once it is available. Staff who never printed in color may start doing so for convenience, so set sensible defaults from the start, such as printing in black and white unless color is chosen, and review usage reports after the first few months.

Speed and paper size

High-volume black-and-white devices such as 70–90 ppm monochrome systems are built for long print runs, while color systems span desktop to production class. If you need 11×17 output in color, narrow your search to A3 color models — the equipment catalog can be filtered by type and speed.

Consider print quality expectations as well. Office color devices handle charts, logos and photos well for everyday business use, but heavy card stock, glossy media or large photo-rich runs may call for a specific model or an outside printer. Bring a few sample files to any demonstration and print them on the devices you are comparing.

A quick decision guide

Use these questions to settle it. If most answers are yes, a color device is likely worth it; if most are no, monochrome is probably the better fit.

  • Do customers see the documents you print?
  • Is color more than a small share of pages?
  • Do you need to restrict color by user?
  • Is ledger-size color output required?
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