A printer converts digital files to physical documents. Sounds easy enough until it doesn’t work.
What kinds of printer exist?
- Inkjet ( Mostly for color printing )
- Laser B/W ( Black and gray printing only )
- Laser Color ( Prints in color but uses laser technology )
How do they compare?
Inkjet
The good stuff
- Best color quality.
- No warm up time. It starts printing faster than a laser if its been sitting unused for a while.
- No fan.
- No heat.
- Initial cost is low.
The bad stuff
- In the long run it costs more per page than a b/w laser due to ink capacity and cartridge cost.
- Slower printing than laser.
- If an inkjet is allowed to sit unused for more than a week, there is a risk that the print heads will clog and no cleaning cycle can fix it. This may require replacement of the ink cartridges or the entire printer in some cases.
Laser B/W
The good stuff
- Faster printing speed than inkjet.
- Costs per page are less than inkjet.
- Can sit for months or years and still work.
The bad stuff
- No color – black and gray scale.
- The toner cartridge and drum are expensive but last a long time.
- Fan noise, heat, and blowing air.
- If allowed to sit unused for a period of time, requires warm-up before printing.
Laser Color
The good stuff
- Prints in color using laser technology.
- Faster printing than an inkjet while still being able to print color.
The bad stuff
- Initial printer cost is high.
- Operational cost is much more expensive than ink or laser.
- Color quality is not as good as inkjet.
- Multiple toner cartridges are required at significant expense.
- Fan noise, heat, and blowing air.
- May require warm up time before printing if unused for a while.
- Initial power up and initialization may take a long time.
What type of printer do we recommend?
Use an inkjet if:
- You need to print in color at low volumes, such as a few pages a day.
- You are willing to run a print job at least once a week to keep the inkjets clean, wet, and “charged”. Set your calendar.
- You need instant printing – no warm up time allowed.
- You are patient as the pages are being printed.
Use a laser B/W if:
- You do not need to print in color – ever.
- You need to print many pages a day, fast.
- You are okay with noise, blowing air, and heat. It’s not as bad as it was.
- You are okay with a warm up time after it’s been sitting for a while.
Use a laser color if:
- You need to print a lot of pages quickly, in color, but it doesn’t have to be photo-quality color.
- You are okay with noise, blowing air, and heat.
- You are okay with a warm up time after it’s been sitting for a while.
- You are okay with higher operating costs.
- You are okay with longer power up times.
Ink and Toner Tips
- Always run your inkjet printer at least once a week or the ink will dry out inside the printer. We mark our calendars as a reminder. You will save a ton of ink doing this or even the printer itself. If you use it every day or every few days, it’s not a problem.
- Never open a ink cartridge box or bag until you are ready to use it. Keep it sealed until needed.
- Don’t order a ton of ink at one time. If the printer fails and requires replacement, chances are the replacement printer will use different ink and you’ll be stuck with unusable cartridges.
- Most of the time laser printers are remarkably hassle free unless they break. They may complain that you need to replace the drum at some point. I typically ignore it until the print quality degrades.
