I had a beloved HP LaserJet 3390 that lasted me almost 20 years. It recently broke. How? A tiny plastic piece snapped off on the bottom of the printer, which resulted in an error that made the printer think that there was a paper jam. The piece was probably worth about 50 cents.
When I investigated how to fix it myself, I found that I’d have to spend about 6-8 hours to take apart the whole printer, glue the piece back, and put it all together. Chances are the piece would break again. So the whole thing went into the trash (don’t worry, I sent it to Staples for recycling, but chances are most of it will end up in a landfill).
I remember laser printers from the 1990s were quite literally made like tanks. They were indestructible. Yes, they were expensive, but they would easily outlast you.
Sure enough, the printer I bought was made in China, likely one of the first ones HP made in China after China got permanent MFN. There was still enough quality control back then that a China-made printer could last 20 years. Look at modern printers and you’re lucky if one will last 5 years.
I ended up replacing this printer with the #1 pick on my list below, which was made in Vietnam. I don’t expect this one to last for 20 years, but at least with printers made in Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines, and other places, we’ll get a little more competition back into the industry as opposed to a few years ago when all printers were made in China, especially if smart people in those countries start taking over parts of the supply chain.
The good news is that there are a lot of other brands to support, including some of the best as chosen by Wirecutter and Consumer Reports.



The Best Laser Printers Not Made in China
Color Laser Printers (All in One)
1. Brother MFC-L3780CDW – Best All in One Color Laser Printer
PC Magazine named the Brother MFC-L3780CDW as its best color all-in-one printer, Wirecutter named it as the “best upgrade pick”, PC Magazine named it the “best mainstream color laser”, and Consumer Reports named it to its top 5 for all-in-one printers. That’s pretty good.
It prints at 31 pages per minute, lightning fast for a color laser printer, and features duplex printing, scanning, and copying.
It’s made in Vietnam, and is rated high for reliability, text quality, easy of use, and owner satisfaction. You can get it at Amazon or directly from Brother.
Like I said, this is the one I ended up getting for myself (I bought mine at Staples, which was also able to recycle my old HP printer and give me a discount for recycling old toner).
2. HP Color Laserjet Pro MFP 3301sdw – #2 All in One Color Laser Printer

Wirecutter cites this as their #1 pick. It’s also made in Vietnam. The reason I don’t put it as #1 is because of HP’s draconian policy towards toner. They lock out any toner that’s not HP branded, which means that replacing the black toner and all colors literally ends up costing more than the printer itself.
In fairness to HP, most knock-off toner comes from China and some of it does end up resulting in spells all over the printer or even damage. And, HP’s official toner is largely made in Vietnam.
Still, monopolizing toner replacement is a recipe for disaster. As much as I decry China’s cheating by stealing IP and massive anti-competitive subsidies from the communist government, the reality is that globalization is a good thing when responsible countries and companies produce high-quality competitive products. Without this kind of competition HP will simply continue to ratchet its prices higher (Brother also makes its OEM toner out of Vietnam and is much cheaper).
If you’re confused by HP’s naming conventions, you’re not alone. A model number ending in “sdw” indicates that it has a stapler, duplex (double-sided) printing, and wireless connectivity. A model number ending in “fdw” has the same, except it has fax capabilities (whatever that is! :P)
Black and White Laser Printers (All in One)
1. Best All in One Black and White Laser Printer
Consumer Reports gives their #1 pick here to Brother again, specifically the MFC-L5915DW. It’s also made in Vietnam. More rave reviews on the ease of setup, speed, and being the best performance for the money.
Wirecutter gives its nod to the lower priced MFC-L2900DW. They’re all essentially the same, just with different bells and whistles. All of these are made in Vietnam.
Color Laser Printers (Standalone)
If you need just a printer without a scanner or a copy machine, Consumer Reports again gives the nod to Brother’s HL-L3295CDW. It’s essentially the same as the all-in-one above, just without the scanning, faxing, and other bells and whistles. It’s also made in Vietnam.
Black and White Laser Printers (Standalone)
I was glad to see Canon making the cut. Their ImageCLASS LBF247dw is ranked by Consumer Reports as the best standalone black and white printer—by a lot (they score it 85/100). It’s also made in Vietnam. It’s super-fast with 42 pages per minute (with the first print coming in under 5 seconds).
PC Magazine gives the nod to the similar imageCLASS MF455dw, made in the Philippines.
If you’re looking to save a little money, WireCutter suggests Brother’s HL-L2460dw as their affordable pick, at under $150. It’s made in Vietnam.
Conclusion
Clearly the 2008 tariffs have had an effect in diversifying printer manufacturing outside of China. Yes, it’s likely that some of those Vietnamese companies are just sub-contractors or shell companies run by China. And it’s probably that most of the parts are made in China, but these countries get to put the “made in” stamp on the product because the final assembly happened there. But it’s a start.
Do you know of any other great laser printers worthy of mention here? Let us know in the comments.
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