This is a search where the honest answer is narrower than the question. Plenty of lasers advertise two paper inputs. Almost all of them mean one tray and a slot that holds a single sheet, and the people searching for two trays are usually trying to stop swapping paper.
How we picked
We read the paper handling section of each manufacturer specification page and counted only inputs with a stated capacity of more than one sheet. A manual feed slot rated at one sheet is not a second tray and is not counted here, no matter how the marketing copy describes it.
We also noted the maximum capacity with optional trays, because a second tray bought later is a legitimate route to the same outcome and it is the cheaper one if you are not sure you need it yet.
What counts as a second tray
| Printer | Main tray | Second source | Maximum with options |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brother HL-L6210DW | 520 sheets | 100-sheet multi-purpose tray | 1,660 sheets |
| Brother HL-L5210DW | 250 sheets | 100-sheet multi-purpose tray | 1,390 sheets |
| Brother MFC-L2820DW | 250 sheets | Manual feed slot, 1 sheet | Not published |
| Brother HL-L2460DW | 250 sheets | Manual feed slot, 1 sheet | Not published |
Capacities as published on each model's Brother USA specification page. Brother also publishes a higher headline standard capacity for the HL-L6210DW than its two listed trays account for, so read the tray specification rather than the headline number before assuming a third tray is included.
The pattern is consistent across the household range: one tray, one slot. The second real tray arrives with the business models, and it arrives alongside a much cheaper cartridge, which is why this page ends up recommending a bigger printer than the question implies.
Why people want a second tray
- Letterhead. Keeping headed paper loaded in one tray and plain paper in the other is the single most common reason, and a one-sheet slot technically solves it while making every letter a two-step job.
- Two sizes. Letter in one, legal or A5 in the other, without reconfiguring the tray guides each time.
- Labels and card. A multi-purpose tray handles heavier stock without disturbing the main tray, and holds a hundred of them.
- Not reloading. A 520-sheet tray is a ream at a time. In an office that prints daily this is the feature, not the second stock.
The part nobody mentions: the cartridge comes too
Stepping up to a two-tray Brother also steps you from the TN830 cartridge family to the TN920 family, and that is a much bigger financial event than the tray.
| Cartridge | Printer | Rated yield | Price we read | Per page |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brother TN830XL high-yield toner cartridge | HL-L2460DW and the household range | 3,000 pages | $98.29 | ~3.3¢ |
| Brother TN920XXL super high-yield toner cartridge | HL-L5210DW | 11,000 pages | $204.29 | ~1.9¢ |
| Brother TN920UXXL ultra high-yield toner cartridge | HL-L6210DW | 18,000 pages | $241.49 | ~1.3¢ |
Our arithmetic on Brother’s published yields and the prices we read on 29 September 2026. The method in full.
At 500 pages a month, three years of toner is $590 on the household cartridge against $241 on the ultra-high-yield one. The second tray, at that volume, is effectively free.
Adding a tray later
Both business models are expandable — Brother publishes a maximum of 1,390 sheets for the HL-L5210DW and 1,660 for the HL-L6210DW with optional trays. If you are unsure whether you need a second stock loaded, buying the base machine and adding a tray when the annoyance becomes real is the cheaper order of operations.
Neither of these is an all-in-one. If you need a scanner as well, the MFC-L2820DW has the feeder and the fax but only the one tray — the small-office comparison sets the two paths against each other.