#Color laser printer vs inkjet how to#
#Color laser printer vs inkjet pro#

The Truth About Discount Inkjet Cartridges.Do This Instead of Printing (you'll save time and money).

#Color laser printer vs inkjet how to#

Here's How to Save Money on Printing Costs.Are Discount Toner Cartridges a Bargain?.Will Discount Inkjet Cartridges Void Your Printer Warranty?.Which Printer is Best: Inkjet, Laser or All-In-One?.Will Discount Inkjet Cartridges Save You Money?.You’ll save money by not buying filing cabinets, folders, labels, and hours of time as well. Who wants to run to the office store to scan a document, make a few photocopies or send a fax? The price difference is minor, and the joy of digitizing all your paper clutter is immense. So what about a single-function printer version an all-in-one? As I said, the decision to buy an all-in-one version of a given printer model is really a no-brainer. If you manage temperature and humidity in your home or office, these problems will most likely not be an issue. But in high humidity, pages printed on a laser can stick together. Laser toner is powder, so it fares well in a dry place. Ink can dry up in dry, hot climates, and print heads may clog if the printer is not used on a regular basis. If you live in a very dry area, or you print only on rare occasions, an inkjet may not be a good choice. Printing color documents or high-quality photos: go inkjetĪ few caveats, though.Low volume printing, upfront cost a major factor: go inkjet.Lots of black and occasional, mid-quality color: go color laser.Fast printing of black text and greyscale images: go monochrome laser.In my article HP Playing Dirty Tricks? I tell the story of my HP printer suddenly telling me that all of my inkjet cartridges appeared to be 'damaged,' and how I found a solution. Some printer vendors unfairly try to prevent you from buying third-party or refilled inkjet cartridges. And whether you go with laser or inkjet, always look for high capacity cartridges available because that will drive cost per page even lower. See my article Should You Buy Discount Inkjet Cartridges? for my recommendations on suppliers for discount ink cartridges. It’s hard to compare cost-per-page in the remanufactured market because prices vary a lot from one recycler to another, and so does the amount of ink or toner supplied. The price gap between toner and ink narrows when you look at remanufactured cartridges, which can cost 25% to 70% less than OEM cartridges. So over time, your cost for inkjet printing will almost twice as much as laser. But this $110 Brother TN-850 Black Toner Cartridge prints 8,000 pages (about 1.3 cent/page). The color cartridges cost $35 each and yield 1600 pages (2.2 cents/page).

#Color laser printer vs inkjet pro#

(I've noted that printer prices have risen during the pandemic, and this trend may continue as more people work and study from home.) Don’t Forget To Factor in Supply CostsĪn HP-branded black inkjet cartridge for an HP OfficeJet Pro 9025 All-in-One Printer costs avout $45 and yields about 2000 printed pages (about 2.2 cents/page). As you can see, the difference in upfront cost is not that great, but it’s easily made up in the long-term costs of supplies and maintenance. Consumer-grade color laser printers run between $250 and $350 the fastest inkjet printers are in the $200 to $300 range. A low-end inkjet printer may cost under $60 on sale. That brings us to cost, both upfront and over the printer’s entire lifecycle. Glossy photo paper is designed for ink color laser prints don’t look as good as inkjet even on the expensive, glossy paper. Inkjet printers also lay down primary colors only, but they bleed and blend just enough to produce more natural-looking colors. In nature, liquids blend together to form new colors they do not just trick the eye by juxtapositioning dots of primary colors, as color laser printers do. On the other hand, some bleeding is desirable when printing high-quality color images, like family photos.

Color lasers are an option, but tend to be rather pricey. If you print a lot, if speed is important to you, and you don't need color capability, a monochrome laser printer may be your best choice. Laser technology is inherently faster than inkjet, and a laser toner cartridge prints ten times more pages than an inkjet cartridge. High-volume print jobs are handled better by laser printers. There’s no “bleeding” as there can be with ink. It uses heat to fuse tiny dots of black toner to paper, creating a crisp and fade-resistant image of an all-black document or greyscale picture. Laser technology is ideal for black text or graphics. But it's not the right choice for every one. An all-in-one printer seems to be the de facto standard for all but the tightest budgets these days. So you're in the market for a new printer.