Inkjet printers and laser printers are the two basic choices for general consumers who are shopping for a printer. With Inkjet printers, ink is sprayed onto paper to create a digital image; with laser printers, a laser beam is scanned across photoreceptors to produce digital images.
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However, both types of printers have their own pros and cons, and you should decide which one to buy by weighing them down according to the features and functionality that you need. Below is an introduction, along with the pros and cons of each printer, which will help make your decision a bit easier.
Inkjet Printers
If you simply be printing basic black & white and color documents, then a basic Inkjet document printer is a good choice. If you intend to print up to 8 x 10-inch high quality photos, then an Inkjet photo printer is the best choice. You can even buy an All-in-One Inkjet printer if you want to more than just printing documents and/or photos.
Pros
- Most Inkjet printers can fit in tight spaces due their relatively small size.
- Overall, the initial cost of buying an Inkjet printer is lower than when buying a laser printer, and replacing Inkjet printers is also cheaper and easier.
- The price of ink cartridges has become really cheap in the past couple of years.
- In an Inkjet printer, ink cartridges can be replaced quite easily and quickly. – Amazing printing results with great contrasts, virtually no pixilation and vivid colors can be produced by Inkjet printers.
Cons
- The cost of printing each page from an Inkjet printer tends to be higher because ink is not efficiently used by these printers.
- An Inkjet printer can take more time to print a document with many pages.
- It is not easy to clean an Inkjet printer, and it can get messy.
Laser Printers
The cheaper basic Laser printers generally are just black & white, while the ones that can print color documents tend to be a bit more costly. Similarly, All-in-One versions of Laser prints also come with just black & white, or with color printing functionality, and their prices vary accordingly.
Pros
- Laser printers use toner more efficiently, as a result of which the cost of printing each page is reduced, especially when using Gestetner toners.
- Documents, even if they are larger with multiple pages, can be printed quicker with Laser printers.
- Unlike ink, toners do not stain and so it becomes easier to clean a Laser printer, without any mess.
Cons
- It is true that the cost of toners can be higher; however, it is still possible to save money if you buy toner cartridges from Gestetner.
- Despite the fact that the size of laser printers has slightly shrunk in the past couple of years they still tend to be bulky.
- Laser printers do not operate quietly and make quite the noise while printing a document.
- When it comes to printing color documents or printers, the cost of printing through a Laser printer can be higher.
Conclusion
Ultimately, choosing between an Inkjet or Laser printer will come down to that one pro or con that weighs down one type of printer over the other, as far as your preference goes. Depending on your needs and priorities, therefore, you can choose the right type of printer accordingly, keeping all of the above in mind.
This article was writen by Romeo Demes, a freelance graphic designer and passionate writer who is currently writing for artonery.com.
Inkjet vs Laser Printer - Which One Should I Buy?,
Stephan
Oct 15. 2013
In my opinion. i will choose the laser one cause is really fast with good quality image, the inkjet one is still good but some time the color is not like on screen and some time it makes papers stuck.
Thanks for your information.
Catherine
May 01. 2014
Sometimes when you print color on inkjet printers, the paper gets wrinkly because it’s wet with the ink. It looks less professional than a laserjet printer. A laserjet printer is a good investment for businesses who want their documents to look high quality. Thank you for sharing!
Archie
Jun 19. 2014
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Dave
Jan 28. 2015
I remember when laser printers were really expensive, but now it seems like they may actually start really competing with Inkjets for home use.
I’d love to have a laser printer someday.
Neil Walker
Nov 18. 2017
I still remember my first inkjet printer – an old HP 500. You had to leave the pages dry for a few minutes after printing because the ink was so damp! There’s another major benefit for businesses in choosing between inkjet and laser printers – the cost of consumables is way less when you work out the average cost-per-page over a given year.
Epson Technical Support Canada
Jun 24. 2018
the inkjet printer and the laser both are totally different. the inkjet printer uses liquid ink which is cheap enough. and for the laser printer polymer powder are used which is comparatively costly. there are other advantages and disadvantages are shown properly but we should be clear enough about the features before buying any printer.
printer in error state
Aug 29. 2018
Inkjet and laser both are the good and very supportive printer. Inkjet printers work by propelling droplets of ink onto the paper. The ink is released from small movable cartridges and if it is a color inkjet printer there will commonly be a black cartridge and three separate colored cartridges.
Zennat Sana
May 16. 2020
The way explain the topic is really great. Thanks for sharing this.