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The game is coming from Take-Two Interactive’s Private Division publishing label and Wētā Workshop, the creative studio known for their work on The Lord of the Rings film trilogy. The duo had considered launching Tales of the Shire this fall, but now it is coming next year on the PC via Steam, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S and Netflix Games.
It’s a cozy game that invites you to fulfill your dreams of living the idyllic countryside life of the Shire. You can spend your days full of jovial meals with Hobbit friends, foraging for tasty morsels, and decorating your home. The announcement was made on Hobbit Day, September 22, which is celebrated as the birthdays of the characters Bilbo and Frodo Baggins. This title is the kind of game that gives mental peace to gamers and it’s increasingly popular as a category.
The Green Dragon in Bywater.
The companies also showed off a 90-minute preview that gives you a flavor for the quiet life of a Hobbit in J.R.R Tolkien’s Middle-earth. Normally, The Lord of the Rings games and shows — including Amazon’s The Rings of Power Season Two — let you feast on serious combat with orcs and trolls. But this game has none of that — just the peaceful life of fishing, gathering, cooking and eating.
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You can create your unique Hobbit avatar, choosing from a variety of very Hobbit-specific features to express yourself – including foot-hair styles and personality ‘moods’ that bring your character to life. Then you set out to make your home in sleepy Bywater and enjoy the simple pleasures of life in the Shire.
“Wētā Workshop has been trusted with J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth universe for more than 25 years, and over that time we have built up a deep understanding of the lore and a real love of Middle-earth that flows through our creative work across screen, collectibles and now, our cozy sims games,” said Richard Taylor, Co-founder and CEO at Wētā Workshop, in a statement. “Tales of the Shire allows us to inspire our talents in an entirely new medium and, ultimately, create this game for people just like us – fans of The Lord of the Rings. This is a beautiful way that players who are looking for a quieter, more peaceful time can discover this in a less explored corner of this universe.”
Fishing with Noakes in Tales of the Shire.
This small, growing community is home to a humorous cast of residents, who will request your aid in placing Bywater on the Shire’s map as an official village. To accomplish this goal, you will grow and nurture relationships with other characters. For most Hobbits, the best way to build bonds with others is through the comforts of a warm meal.
Much like in real life, cooking requires proper preparation, careful attention, and a “dash of this or that” for the perfect feast. Chop up home grown vegetables, sauté foraged mushrooms, perhaps add a tart pickle or a dollop of sweet jam to balance the dish. Every meal has various steps to complete to earn multiple stars, all in an effort to present a dish that satisfies and delights your guests.
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As a newly established Hobbit, you’ll have access to the essentials — a bedroom, a lounge, and your pantry and kitchen to prepare meals for expected and unexpected guests. From these humble beginnings, you’ll soon be able to expand your space and supplies — fishing, foraging, gardening, and trading with your neighbors.
This will quickly enable you to establish a well-stocked pantry and upgraded tools for harvesting and cooking. The shops of Bywater are bustling with many vendors who are willing to sell you all kinds of ingredients, as well as decorative items for your Hobbit home.
You can meet humorous and interesting characters like Old Noakes, a cantankerous master angler. Not only can he give you tips on improving your own fishing skills, and help unlock secret fishing spots, he trades his daily catches. Nora and Fosco Burrows’ shop is stocked to the brim with adornments for your home as well as other charming items to fill out your wardrobe. There are many other Hobbits awaiting you in Bywater, so be sure to meet and invite them over for a second breakfast.
Good morning Mr. NPC.
If you are not feeling up to the bustle of the market, wander through the fields and the forests to scavenge for seasonal items. Collect some juicy berries for a fresh summer tart or mushrooms to add to a harvest pie. Butterflies often flutter by and when closely followed can guide you to new discoveries. Beyond the rounded opening of your Hobbit home, a short venture reveals a bounty – your very own garden. This fully customizable area allows you to place multiple plots.
Want to place a daybed in your garden? Perhaps you’d like to create a summer table setting? The space is yours to create! Your garden offers a personal touch to your Hobbit life, and here you can grow a variety of fruits, vegetables, spices, and other harvestable ingredients. Just be sure to take proper care by watering and checking on them daily.
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“The Lord of the Rings is an extraordinary world, beloved by hundreds of millions, and people have been clamoring for a game to bring the community, fellowship, and warmth of the Shire to life,” said Eric Correll, head of marketing at Private Division, in a statement. “In Tales of the Shire, Wētā Workshop has created the countryside village of Bywater like no one else could do, and we can’t wait for gamers to unwind, relax, and explore.”
Tales of the Shire: A The Lord of the Rings Game is possible due to Middle-earth Enterprises having licensed the literary works of The Lord of the Rings series and providing Wētā Workshop Game Studio with the creative license.
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Apple introduced some major lineup, but nothing stands out as much as the new battery removal process for the base iPhone 16. Doing away with the usual pull tabs, Apple is using an adhesive that debonds in response to a low electrical current. It only takes about a minute and a half for it to come unstuck, per Apple’s . A teardown by shows the process in action, and it sure looks easier than ever. iFixit tech Shahram Mokhtari said, “I’m not sure we’ve ever had a battery removal process go so cleanly and smoothly.”
Only the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus have the new adhesive, and they’ve earned a 7/10 on iFixit’s repairability scale. “Apple definitely seems to be leveling up on repairability,” Mokhtari, adding Apple has “landed another repairability win” with this year’s base iPhones thanks to the new battery removal procedure.
This week we saw the arrival of new Snap Spectacles, and based on what’s been announced they sound like beefy AR glasses that inch closer than ever to our expectations based on sci-fi depictions of the tech. But while they might be in the running for the best smart glasses, man, do they look goofy.
They look like those massive 3D glasses you wear at the cinema, and definitely not something I’d like to be seen wearing in public. That’s a sharp contrast to the Ray-Ban and Meta collaboration smart glasses, which have utterly triumphed in the fashion department. Those ooze cool – right down to their slick charging case – and all summer they were my shades of choice even when powered off, largely because of their aesthetics.
Based on design alone, I know which glasses I’d rather wear day-to-day, and even though the Snap Spectacles are clearly more feature-packed, a large part of me would still rather slip on the Meta Ray-Bans smart glasses.
Because in our wearable tech era, fashion is at least as important as function.
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Who wants to wear these day-to-day? (Image credit: Snap)
Fashion is more than design
I want to make a quick distinction between a design feature and tech being fashionable.
In the smart glasses world, a design feature is something like electro-chromic dimming lenses – lenses that you can make clearer or more shaded at the push of a button via electrical stimulation. This is a design feature I’ve tested in specs like the Chamelo glasses, which helps make the smart glasses wearable in a variety of weather conditions – a feature lacking in the Meta Ray-Ban smart glasses which are permanently shaded, meaning I can only use them about a quarter of the year here in the UK.
Fashion, on the other hand, doesn’t need to offer a benefit that’s anything more substantial than looking good, a factor such as the frame shape or color. Smart glasses brands like Lucyd and Ray-Ban have shown a clear understanding of this aspect of design, boasting a selection of frame shapes that are otherwise functionally identical to each other. Letting you customize your experience with no sacrifices to the tech capabilities.
Sometimes fashion and design features are intertwined. Look at smart rings. Their biggest design feature – reducing clutter by removing the smartwatch or fitness tracker’s usual screen – offers functional differences between it and other health wearables. At the same time, it enables a different design profile that supports people who prefer a more minimalist aesthetic or want to wear a classic dumb watch without losing out on wellness tracking – or needing to wear two watches (something that looks super weird, and you know it).
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Even without being linked to function, however, fashion cannot and should not be dismissed.
Wearables need to look good (Image credit: Future)
Work good, look better
In other areas of tech, it’s understandable why fashionable perks could be dismissed as unnecessary. My PC’s RAM sticks won’t run faster because they glow with RGB lighting, a gold-plated iPhone is still just an iPhone. But wearables – smart accessories that replace our classic choice of jewelry – are more than just how useful they are.
Our fashion is an extension of who we are, it’s a way for us to outwardly express ourselves, putting a stamp on our visual identity. So even if the smart accessory offers a useful benefit to our health, fitness, or safety, why should that gadget expect us to compromise our identity for it?
Part of this is being in the early stages of smart glasses and wearables in general. There’s only so much style variation you can account for if the gadget has to cram in a lot of tech, or you’re not expecting to sell many (every variant adds complexity and cost).
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That said, I think it’s equally important for wearables makers to devote effort to ensuring something is fashionable as well as functional and useful. This means introducing variants so we can find a design that matches our vibe or making a singular product’s design look fantastic rather than chunky and dopey.
Because just like it doesn’t matter if a clothing item is from a designer brand if you don’t like the style, it doesn’t matter how great a wearable is if you think it looks ugly. If we don’t like how it looks, we’re not going to wear it often – and how useful is a smart wearable really if it sits in your drawer all day?
A high-altitude balloon launched by the US Army Pacific in the Philippines in 2022 as part of an exercise to strengthen cooperation between the two nations
The US military is planning to launch balloons that are capable of providing high-altitude surveillance. It comes after the nation scrambled fighter jets to shoot down a Chinese balloon as it drifted through North American airspace last year.
Modern balloons can use artificial intelligence to predict and ride wind currents while operating at altitudes around 18 kilometres, or even higher, in Earth’s stratosphere for commercial and military purposes. Those heights make them hard to…
The best color laser printers are a great investment that can save you time and money compared to cartridge-based inkjet printers. Laser printers use toner, which lasts a long time, delivering a low cost per page for monochrome documents and incredibly fast color prints. The best color laser printers offer high-quality prints and reliability that help keep your home office or small business productive.
If you need to scan documents for record-keeping and photo capture or want the convenience of a color copier, an all-in-one color laser printer is an essential tool for your small business or personal use. For a small added cost, you get expanded capabilities. That’s why we include several all-in-one models from the best printer brands.
Digital Trends has been reviewing printers for 20 years and testing them to determine which ones offer the best quality and fastest speeds. We check the long-term value of each printer, so you’ll know in advance if a low-cost printer is truly affordable or if it has outrageous toner costs.
Printers are complex machines that require a good understanding of the technology to make a solid recommendation. Our hands-on reviews help you make informed decisions by highlighting compatibility concerns and how well advertised features actually work.
There are several key factors to consider when choosing a color laser printer. Purchase price matters, but long-term costs can add up quickly. Review the entire list to find the perfect printer.
Print quality and color fidelity
If you’re choosing color, you need more than a hard copy — you want your document to look great. You still need razor-sharp text, but it’s essential for colors to match what you see on-screen and in photos without banding or streaks.
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Speed and economy
A laser printer should be fast and efficient with low running costs. Otherwise, you should choose a more versatile and lower-cost inkjet printer.
Special features
All-in-one printers include scan, copy, and sometimes fax functions, filling multiple roles in your office. Many printers offer duplex printing (double-sided), an automatic document feeder (ADF), multiple paper trays, Wi-Fi connectivity, and walk-up printing. These details could be critically important when making a purchase decision.
Why you should buy this: It’s a modern, eco-friendly color laser printer with great speed and quality.
Who’s it for: Home offices and small businesses that need to print documents quickly.
Why we picked the HP Color LaserJet Pro 4301fdw:
With blistering fast print and scan speeds, the HP Color LaserJet Pro 4301fdw makes short work of challenging jobs. It prints 35 pages per minute (ppm) for monochrome and color documents and scans with its ADF at 31 ppm.
Color documents look great and photos come out nice even on plain paper. A USB port allows walk-up printing via a thumb drive, making the LaserJet Pro 4301fdw an excellent all-in-one printer for home and office.
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HP Color LaserJet Pro 4301fdw
Best all-in-one color laser printer
Canon imageClass MF654cdw product shot on white background.
Alan Truly / Digital Trends
Canon imageClass MF654Cdw
Best budget color laser printer
Pros
Bargain price
Great print quality
Fast performance
Good photo quality
Media tray for easy envelope printing
Cons
No duplex scanning
High color toner cost
Why you should buy this: It’s the best budget-friendly option for home offices.
Who it’s for: Home offices that want an affordable and dependable color laser printer.
Why we picked the Canon imageClass MF654Cdw
If all you need is a printer that’s fast, reliable, and has great quality at an affordable price, Canon’s imageClass MF654Cdw offers great value. On sale, it can be found as low as $300, a great bargain for a color laser printer with great color graphics quality. With a slight tweak to settings, you can set photos to print at 1200 dots-per-inch, resulting in good plain paper pictures.
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At 22 pages-per-minute, it’s not the fastest color laser printer, but it works well for standard-size documents. The 5-inch color touchscreen and USB-A port on the front makes walk-up printing simple.
Canon imageClass MF654Cdw
Best budget color laser printer
Alan Truly / Digital Trends
HP Color LaserJet Pro 4201dw
Best deal on a color laser printer
Pros
Lightning-fast print speeds
Good print quality
Two paper trays
Easy setup and use
Reliable operation
Cons
Fixed-angle, monochrome display
Color cost per page is just OK
Why you should buy this: It’s a great bargain on an excellent HP color laser printer.
Who it’s for: Anyone upgrading to a faster color laser printer.
Why we picked the HP Color LaserJet Pro 4201dw:
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A top-of-the-line HP color laser printer usually costs a lot more than this. The list price is $570 but HP has an introductory sale that prices the Color LaserJet Pro 4201dw like a budget model.
The HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP 4201dw outputs the first page in a speedy nine seconds and has sustained print speeds of up to 35 ppm. That matches the pace of our top pick and triples the color document speed of most inkjet printers. Yet, photo quality is great for a laser printer.
A clever dial makes controlling the Color LaserJet Pro 4201dw easy. It also features a USB-A port on the top so you can plug in a thumb drive for easy walk-up printing.
Automatic two-sided printing saves paper on long documents and high-yield toner cartridges cut the cost per page to 2 cents for black and 12 cents for color prints. Setup is quick and easy with the HP Smart mobile app, or you can connect the LaserJet Pro MFP 4201dw directly to a Windows PC or Mac.
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HP Color LaserJet Pro 4201dw
Best deal on a color laser printer
Alan Truly / Digital Trends
Brother HL-L3295CDW
Best color laser printer for low-cost toner
Pros
Excellent color document print quality
Fast prints on long documents
Low toner cost with super high-yield cartridges
Includes over 1,000 pages worth of toner
Walk-up USB port for quick printing
Low noise
Cons
Screen is hard to see when seated
Touchscreen use is awkward
Paper curls
Why you should buy this: It’s a color laser printer that supports XXL toner cartridges.
Who it’s for: Offices that print in color frequently and need to minimize the cost per page.
Why we picked the Brother HL-L3295CDW:
The Brother HL-L3295CDW is a great choice for high-volume printing. It’s an affordable color laser printer with surprisingly low-cost toner. One of its standout features is the affordable XXL toner cartridges. Cost per page is as low as 2 cents for monochrome and 10 cents per page for color documents.
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In terms of performance, the printer delivers crisp, high-quality prints at a speed of 31 pages per minute. It also features wireless connectivity, allowing for convenient printing from mobile devices and computers. This flexibility makes it perfect for small offices or home workspaces where multiple users need to print documents.
This isn’t the best choice for printing photos, but charts and color documents look great. The Brother HL-L3295CDW also boasts a compact design, automatic two-sided printing, and a 250-sheet paper capacity. Overall, the Brother HL-L3295CDW is an excellent choice for those seeking a reliable, affordable color laser printer with low-cost toner.
Brother HL-L3295CDW
Best color laser printer for low-cost toner
Canon
Canon imageClass MF753cdw
Best laser printer for photos
Pros
Superfast print and scan speeds
Good print quality
Two paper trays
Easy setup and use
Reliable operation
Cons
Color cost per page is just OK
No borderless printing
Why you should buy this: Great color print quality in a multifunctional printer.
Who it’s for: Photographers and small businesses who needs to print or copy color documents and photos quickly.
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Why we picked the Canon imageClass MF753Cdw:
Laser printers are known to be fast and rugged, and the Canon imageClass MF753Cdw fits this description well. This printer is built for speed and durability, blasting through big jobs at up to 35 pages-per-minute. Picture quality is surprisingly nice for a laser printer, with accurate colors and minimal grain. The imageClass MF753Cdw is hard to beat for an office that needs to make or reproduce color documents that feature graphics and photos.
Canon’s imageClass MF753Cdw matches the fastest color lasers and offers full-duplex printing, copying, and one-pass duplex scanning from its 50-sheet document feeder. If your business outgrows the 250-sheet paper tray, you can add a 550-sheet cassette to expand capacity.
The only downside to the imageClass MF753Cdw is the somewhat high cost of color toner, a common issue with color laser printers.
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Canon imageClass MF753cdw
Best laser printer for photos
Brother MFC‐L8905CDW appears on a white background.
Brother
Brother MFC‐L8905CDW
Best all-in-one scalable laser printer for offices
Pros
Fast print speeds
Duplexing supported
Economical operating costs
Cons
Large size takes up space
Why you should buy this: It delivers fast printing speeds and long-lasting supplies at affordable operating costs.
Who it’s for: Small and medium-sized businesses.
Why we picked the Brother MFC‐L8905CDW :
The Brother MFC‐L8905CDW features ultra-high yield toner cartridges that supply up to 9,000 monochrome pages and 8,000 color pages, so you rarely need to interrupt a busy workday. An optional 500 sheet paper tray expands the onboard capacity of 250 sheets in the main tray and 50 sheets in the multi-purpose tray.
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Print speeds of up to 33 ppm make short work of long documents and extra copies. This sturdy business printer offers duplex for fax, scan, copy, and print functions and can connect to any device with Wi-Fi, Ethernet, or USB. A USB port allows walk-up operation with a thumb drive, while an NFC reader limits access to authorized personnel.
The Brother MFC‐L8905CDW has a recommended duty cycle of 4,000 pages per month but it can handle printing up to 60,000 pages in a month. For such a rugged printer, Brother didn’t skimp on convenience features. The seven-inch color touchscreen can be customized with up to 64 shortcuts to speed up frequent operations.
Brother MFC‐L8905CDW
Best all-in-one scalable laser printer for offices
HP
HP Color LaserJet Enterprise MFP M480f
Best color laser printer for medium-sized businesses
Pros
Compact size with loaded features
Solid security features
Smartphone app support
Cons
Higher than average cost-per-page print costs
Why you should buy this: It’s a speedy all-in-one printer that’s designed for printing and digital document archiving with intuitive support for cloud storage.
Who it’s for: Small businesses that need a speedy color laser printer.
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Why we picked the HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M480f:
Workgroups and businesses that don’t have much office space to spare to house a large printer will appreciate HP’s Color LaserJet Pro MFP M480f. The MFP M480f adds multifunctional features that will help with your office’s document needs, including a built-in flatbed scanner, automatic document feeder, and duplexing capabilities. The M480f is a well-rounded multifunction printer that can still output up to 29 ppm in black and white or color.
This speedy but compact number has built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth Low-Energy, and mobile printing is supported across a number of devices and platforms. The big limiting factor on this printer is its small 250-sheet paper input tray, though larger offices with bigger print jobs can upgrade to the optional 550-sheet tray. Duplexing is supported to help save paper and the environment. A front-facing USB port makes it easy to print from a storage drive. The printer can print from or scan to a variety of cloud providers, making it easy for digital document archiving. Businesses on a limited print budget can invest in high-yield toner cartridges for a lower per-page print cost.
HP Color LaserJet Enterprise MFP M480f
Best color laser printer for medium-sized businesses
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Photo by Tracey Truly / Digital Trends
Brother MFC-L3780 CDW
Best color laser printer for shared offices
Pros
Fast, reliable printing at 31 ppm
Quick, high-resolution scanner
Duplex printing and scanning
Includes over 1,000 pages in toner
Easy setup
Cons
iPhone and iPad app is surprisingly slow
Photo-quality isn’t great
It’s a heavy printer that requires lots of space
Why you should buy this: It’s a sturdy all-in-one with guest access and security features.
Who it’s for: Small businesses that need easy access without losing control.
Why we picked the Brother MFC-L3780 CDW:
The Brother MFC-L3780CDW is a reliable multifunction color laser printer that’s ideal for small businesses in shared spaces. Walk-up printing is simple with the USB thumb drive port, and an NFC card reader controls access to the printer to ensure confidentiality and manage printing costs.
It offers fast print speeds reaching 31 pages per minute on long documents. High-volume isn’t a problem thanks to it’s sturdy design. Its 250-sheet main tray can be expanded to 500 sheets with an optional accessory tray.
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The 3.5-inch color touchscreen makes it user-friendly and setup is quick via the mobile app. Overall, the Brother MFC-L3780CDW combines reliability, multifunctionality, and security, making it a great choice for any small business or home office.
Color laser printers versus inkjet printers: what’s best?
Laser printers are better for text documents, as they produce crisp text even at small font sizes. Over time, they are also cheaper to run than cartridge-based inkjets. However, laser printers require a larger initial investment. If you don’t print very often, a cheap inkjet printer could make more sense and it may take a long time before its higher operational costs catch up to the higher initial cost of a laser printer. For smaller print jobs, the faster pages-per-minute rate of a laser printer also won’t be much of an advantage.
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If you’re looking to save money in the long term and need to print pictures, check out inkjet solutions that rely on tanks for ink rather than cartridges. Since the tanks are refillable with bottled ink, tank printers cost much less than color toner for laser printers. Not only will tanks be better for the environment through less waste, but they will save you money for larger print jobs. That’s why tank printers rank highly on our list of the best inkjet printers.
Laser printers are still more durable, reducing maintenance costs if you print at high volume. Lasers generally offer faster printing speeds, saving time on large print jobs. That’s why businesses often choose laser printers. Some inkjet printers, like the Epson EcoTank Pro ET-5850 are nearly as fast as lasers.
Beyond print quality, inkjet photo printers can also handle a wider variety of paper types and sizes compared to laser printers. Some very large inkjets are available that can print posters and banners. A color laser printer will handle inline photos and graphics in documents just fine. Most modern color laser printers, especially those made for small offices, will be able to handle standard sizes and types of print jobs, from standard documents to labels and card stock.
While color laser printers have gotten much better at handling photographs, if you’re looking to make detailed, color-accurate photographic prints to hang on your wall, display in a gallery, or sell to customers, a high-end inkjet photo printers is still the way to go (or simply outsource the work to a photo lab).
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Do color laser printers come with Wi-Fi or AirPrint support?
Yes. As with inkjet printers, wireless connectivity has become standard on color laser printers. That means you can use Apple AirPrint for your iPhone and iPad with nearly any printer, and Android’s print service is equally adept at connecting. There are more details about mobile use below.
For scanning, maintenance, and other specific features, you will need to install the manufacturer’s mobile app from Apple’s App Store or Google Play. The mobile app will often provide more options for quality, input tray, and paper size and type.
How often will I have to buy toner?
This depends on how much you print. Toner cartridges can often print more than a thousand pages before you need replacements. You can replace individual colors, so you won’t have to buy a full set of four each time. For light home use, you could easily go a year or more without replacing toner. For office use, the replacement interval will be shorter, but toner could still last a few months.
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Some color laser printers accept high-capacity toner cartridges that last two to three times longer than standard cartridges. Check the specifications of your printer for exact details of the page yield.
How can I save money on toner?
The first step is to print efficiently; that is, double-check your page layout settings and make sure everything is correct before you hit that print button. You can also save money by preventing wasted color toner by setting a black and white printer as the default.
When it is time to reorder, you can save money by buying third-party toner cartridges. However, buying third-party toner likely isn’t recommended by your printer’s manufacturer, but so long as you make sure it’s compatible with your printer, it should work just fine. However, some printers, like the HP model above, look for a toner that uses a special chip identifying it as original equipment. HP warns that while some other cartridges may work today, they may not in the future.
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Can I buy a color laser printer with built-in fax?
Yes. Many all-in-one laser printers can scan, copy, and fax documents. If you’re doing a lot of faxing, copying, or scanning, be sure to choose a printer with an automatic document feeder (ADF), and if you want to do double-sided scans and double-sided prints, a model that has a duplex ADF and duplex printing will be best. Double-sided prints can also help save money if cost is a concern. Note that not all all-in-ones — also called multifunction printers — have fax modems, so be sure to check the specs before you buy. If you need a multifunction printer, be sure to check out our best picks for all-in-one printers.
How do you test color printers?
To find the best color laser printers, we factor in criteria such as speed, price, maintenance costs, and any unique features that help them one-up the competition.
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Our selections are based on our long- and short-term testing; experience with earlier models; familiarity with the company’s technologies; consultation with industry experts, fellow journalists, and users; online forums; lab results; and other third-party reviews. We look across the board — not just at our own experiences — to find consensus on what we think are the best-performing printers you can currently buy. We also look at list pricing to determine if a product is worth the cost. We will even recommend printers that aren’t new, provided the features are still best-in-class.
The printer market evolves constantly, with manufacturers either introducing better models with new features or basic upgrades. So, you can expect our picks to change as well. But don’t worry — the models you see here will be with you for some time, and if we anticipate better models on the horizon, we will state that upfront to help you decide whether you should buy now or wait.
Which is the best color laser printer for home use?
When searching for a color laser printer for home use, you probably don’t want a 100-pound beast meant to survive the rigors of a shared work environment.
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A compact, budget-friendly color laser might be ideal. Printing photos is a common use for home printers and some models have acceptable quality even on plain paper.
Is a laser printer good for color?
The first laser printers were monochrome, but the best printer brands make color laser printers so you have the option of creating a more eye-catching document.
However, some handle photos better than others. Typically, more expensive color laser printers include color correction software, alignment options, and image adjustment controls to optimize for better picture and graphics performance.
Laser printers will continue to be manufactured for the foreseeable future. However, there are some concerns about their environmental impact.
Epson, for example, is phasing out laser printers worldwide by 2026, citing the significant energy required to generate enough heat to fuse toner onto paper.
You can use paper labeled as compatible with laser printers, but color laser printers work well with multipurpose and even inexpensive recycled paper. Standard sizes and weights are fine and some laser printers can handle heavy card stock and unusual paper sizes. Check the manufacturer specifications if you need to print on paper that is thicker or larger than normal.
Since laser toner fuses to the paper, the only other restriction is that the paper can withstand high heat. That means inkjet paper might not be compatible with a laser printer. While most inkjet printers require expensive coated paper to get the best results, even a low-cost color laser can print nice color graphics and acceptable photos.
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Since color laser printers work with ordinary paper, that lowers the cost per page a bit. That said, you can find glossy paper for laser printers, but it’s not as common.
How can I prevent banding in color laser photo prints?
While inkjet printers can blend ink droplets for a wide range of colors, the waxy toner of a laser printer offers a limited palette of colors. The result is banding in regions of similar colors with subtle gradations.
For example, photos with large swaths of blue sky are difficult for color laser printers. The easiest way to prevent banding is to select a different photo. However, that’s not always possible.
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If your heart is set on a particular picture, there’s a way to reduce banding with a little photo editing. Load the image into a photo editor and apply a little noise with a filter or effect. It might take some trial and error, but it’s usually possible to reduce banding without making the picture too noisy.
If you find our top picks aren’t the right fit for your specific needs, there are other color laser and other printer types that are worth checking out. If you’d like a top-rated printer that can match the quality of the best scanners, or you simply just need a more affordable model, be sure to take a look at some of the all-around best printers on the market.
The Galaxy S24 FE is expected to be revealed in the near future, and a new leak has just detailed the price that consumers in the US will likely pay for the upcoming phone. This is not the first time that pricing details have surfaced about Samsung’s next Fan Edition device. Back on September 12, leaked information surfaced on what the Galaxy S24 FE would cost in Europe. In that report, it was noted that the 128GB model of the phone would have a starting cost of €749.
It was also mentioned that last year’s Galaxy S23 FE in the 128GB model had a cost of €699. This makes this year’s version of the Fan Edition phone about €50 more expensive. While that report did mention pricing details for the phone, nothing about the US price tag was given. However, it was possible to draw conclusions based on the exchange rate if you desired to do so.
But that’s no longer necessary because the US pricing for the phone has leaked, and it supports the earlier leak in that the price is going to be higher this year.
Leak says Samsung’s Galaxy S24 FE will have a $649 starting price in the US
According to the latest leak, US pricing for the Galaxy S24 FE will start at $649. This will be for the 128GB model. This is $50 more than the Galaxy S23 FE cost in the US last year. So it seems that the Europe pricing leak may have been correct. Additionally, the leak (which comes from Smartprix) says that the 256GB model will be $709. So consumers will have two choices here just like last year.
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While $50 doesn’t seem like a lot, it might be just enough to turn some consumers off. Pushing them instead to one of Samsung’s flagship Galaxy S devices. Especially if they’re able to get any of them during a sale. Samsung also increased the pricing of its Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Galaxy Z Flip 6 this year compared to the previous year’s models. So perhaps a price increase with the upcoming Fan Edition phone was to be expected.
Samsung may be launching the phone on September 26
The pricing hasn’t been confirmed but multiple leaks supporting these new prices would suggest they’re probably accurate. As for when the phone will launch, it seems that it may be this week. At least in some regions.
A leak from September 20 notes that Samsung indirectly mentioned the launch date for the Galaxy S24 FE in Vietnam, which is supposed to be September 26. This may also be the launch date for the phone globally, although it’s unclear right now if that will be the case.
The emotional 2011 indie game To the Moon will soon be playable on Xbox Series X/S and PS5. Developer Freebird Games and publisher Serenity Forge announced this week that ports for the consoles will arrive on October 8 for $10. At the same time, they released a new installment in the series — a short called Just a To the Moon Series Beach Episode that offers one of the series’ endings. It’s available now on .
To the Moon is a time travel adventure that follows two doctors who have developed a way to help dying patients fulfill their greatest dreams by taking them back in time within their minds. The patient at the heart of the story is an elderly man named Johnny, whose final wish is to go to the moon. The game, which originally launched for PC, has become beloved over the years and eventually and .
Freebird Games followed it up with another episode called Finding Paradise, which focuses on a different patient, and the time-travel murder mystery, Imposter Factory. There’s also a heartfelt short called A Bird Story. They’re all tear-jerkers. The developer has described the latest, Beach Episode, as “half of an ending” to the series.
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