The Differences Between Laser and Inkjet Printers

When your household or business is about to buy a new printer, you will need to choose between a laser printer or a inkjet printer. Your choice of printer will primarily be based on your requirements, your budgetary constraints, and space limitations. An inkjet printer is usually ideal for home users who have limited text and photo printing needs. A laser printer is best suited for larger office environments that require higher-volume and higher-quality printing outputs. The differences are generally categorized into a few broad segments: speed, quality, and cost. It is essential to understand the differences between a laser printer and inkjet printer before you invest.

Differences in Speed

A laser printer is light years ahead of an inkjet printer when it comes to differences in speed. Users who require large volumes of printing will prefer a laser printer. Laser printers are more suited for general office use than inkjet printers. The least expensive laser printer can print around 10 to 15 pages a minute. Inkjet printers are usually rated on the speed of a draft or quick printing mode, which is usually only suitable for proofreading purposes. Inkjet printer speeds drop off noticeably when high quality black text and letter-sized quality photos are printed.

Differences in Quality & Color

A laser printer produces better quality text with a higher resolution than an inkjet printer. High resolution also helps laser printers create more precise fonts and graphics. However, the cost-effective inkjet printers are usually recommended for inexpensive color printing. An inkjet printer can print high quality text, large photo prints, graphics, banners, and greeting cards at less than half the price of a color laser printer. But a laser printer is capable of producing quality prints on all types of paper where an inkjet printer requires inkjet paper to produce quality color prints without bleeding or fuzziness.

Differences in Cost

The cost can have two sub-categories – initial cost and operating cost. An inkjet printer has a low initial cost but a higher maintenance cost, while a laser printer has a high initial cost and low maintenance cost. Laser printers are a better option for long-term office use because they are designed to handle higher volumes and have a higher capacity of ink or toner. An inkjet printer cartridge needs to be replaced often, especially if you print a considerable and consistent amount. The toner cartridges of laser printers are more expensive than ink cartridges, but rarely need replacing. The output of a laser printer is quality even on cheap paper, but an inkjet printer requires special inkjet paper for quality output and further depends on the grade and type of paper used. You will need to decide if you want to speed more initially or in the long-term.

Laser printers are definitely a better buy when the requirements are high quality, high speed, high volume, low operating cost, and no budgetary constraints. Inkjet printers have a low initial purchasing cost, but the operating cost may exceed your budget. With all this in mind, it is advisable to calculate the total cost of ownership before purchasing a printer. When choosing your next printer, consider these differences between inkjet printers and laser printers before buying.

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Victoria Perez ink jet printer With a singular focus on shopping, Shopping.com offers shoppers easy-to-use search tools, engaging content and time saving navigation, along with millions of unbiased product and merchant reviews from the Epinions community, all in one place.