Printers Have Gone Stylish

This story appears in the January 2012 issue of Entrepreneur. Subscribe »

Before you even begin thinking about the best font to pair with that white paper or brochure, there's another style choice to make on the printing front. Spurred by--of course--Apple's good-looking wares, manufacturers of business printers have become serious about designing top-quality printers, label-makers and photo-imaging tools that enhance (or, at least, fit in with) office décor. Here, three printers that please the eye.

1. Dymo LabelWriter 450
Duo label printer ($210)
The 450 prints, we would guess, pretty much any label you could possibly need, for envelopes, file folders, name badges--heck, even canning jars. Unfortunately, Dymo is not shy about charging for this sort of flexibility; that $210 price tag is no printing error. But there's no denying its good looks and great functionality.

2. HP Envy 110
e-All-In-One printer ($250)
Essentially no bigger than a copy of the Yellow Pages (remember those?), HP's Envy 110 packs 30 pages-per-minute capacity and an iPhone-like control panel into an elegant black and bronze enclosure. (Yes, it's a far cry from the blah beige printers of old.) It takes practice to get the Envy to work as it should, but once you do, your print jobs will be styling.

3. Polaroid GL10
Instant Mobile Printer ($170)
Surprisingly handy as a portable collateral maker, the 15-oz. GL10 coughs up great-looking 3-by-4-inch prints from most any Bluetooth-enabled mobile phone or camera. The downside: The printer uses throwback self-printing photo stock that costs $20 for a pack of 30 sheets. As usual, cool doesn't come cheap.