HP Color LaserJet Pro M255dw vs Brother HL-L3240CDW
By Seb Clark, Editor, UniDoc Solutions·Updated
The Brother, unless your office is standardised on HP. Cheaper toner, no cartridge lock-in, and it's the faster printer.
Side by side
| HP Color LaserJet Pro M255dw | Brother HL-L3240CDW | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | £280-£360 | £277.12 |
| Speed | 21 ppm | 26 ppm |
| Brand | HP | Brother |
| itemDimensions | Height 3.8188976339 Inches, Length 6.0629921198 Inches, Weight 32.628414776 pounds, Width 6.4960629855 Inches | Height 9.4094488093 inches, Length 15.7086614013 inches, Weight 33.510263824 Pounds, Width 15.7086614013 inches |
| PartNumber | 7KW64A#BGJ | HLL3240CDWZU1 |
| Model | 7KW64A#BGJ | HLL3240CDWZU1 |
| Key points |
|
|
| Best for | Mid-range home/small-office colour. Used/refurb units are excellent value. | Small offices that print colour daily — much faster than the L3220 line. |
Which should you buy?
Two of the best-selling small-office colour lasers in the UK at broadly the same price. The M255dw is a genuinely good printer — sharp output, HP's excellent Smart app, quiet — but it lives in HP's ecosystem: 207A toner at £75–£85 per colour with 1,250-page yields, and a poor experience with compatibles. The HL-L3240CDW is faster (26 vs 21 ppm), takes TN-248 toner where a full compatible set is about £50, and Brother's firmware leaves third-party cartridges alone.
Pick the HP if you already manage a fleet of HP printers, need HP Wolf security features, or simply prefer HP's software. For a standalone small-office colour laser bought on running cost, it's the Brother.