If you print a lot of text documents in your household or home office, then a mono laser printer (which uses just one toner cartridge to produce black and white prints) may be your best option – as opposed to an inkjet, which tends to be better for reproducing photos. Here are our top three recommended models.

Canon imageClass LBP151dw

A low-cost monochrome laser printer, the compact Canon imageClass LBP151dw (pictured above) is small enough to fit on most desks, with measurements of just 9.4 x 15.7 x 13.2 inches.

This model offers high printing speed for its price and reproduces text at above-average quality. It includes a 250-sheet main paper tray and a one-sheet multipurpose feeder, as well as an automatic duplexer for double-sided printing. Connectivity is via USB, Ethernet or WiFi.

Brother HL-L5200DW

The Brother HL-L5200DW is a super-fast mono laser printer, boasting a speed of 42 pages per minute for text-only documents. The quality of text reproduction is also above par for a printer in this price range.

A key plus point of this model is that it's designed for fairly heavy-duty use, and as such has very reliable paper handling performance. Other benefits include a range of connectivity options (WiFi, WiFi Direct, Ethernet or USB) and relatively low running costs.

Samsung Multifunction ProXpress M4070FR

A higher-end (and hence more costly) multifunction printer (MFP), the Samsung Multifunction ProXpress M4070FR can scan, copy, fax and email – as well as printing at a decent speed. Its multipurpose 250-sheet capacity tray allows for a range of paper feed options, while double-sided (duplex) printing is augmented by a duplexing automatic document feeder (ADF).

Its print output quality is not the best we've seen for a mono printer of this type, but if bulk printing black and white documents is your main priority, and you're keen to combine a variety of functions in a single machine, then this is a solid choice for a home office setting.