Comparison of Different Brands of Laser Printers | Small Business

By Steve Lander

There are a number of different manufacturers of laser printers, but in many aspects, all laser printers are very similar. They all use heat to melt a solid toner colorant onto a page that is fed one sheet at a time, and most produce very crisp output at relatively fast speeds. However, underlying these basic similarities are some significant differences between the manufacturers’ approaches to building laser printers.

Laser or LED

1. Not every laser printer is actually a laser printer. They all use light to create a page image on a drum that attracts and deposits toner, but some use a laser and a series of mirrors to create that light, while others use an array of very small light emitting diodes. LED printers, like those made by Okidata, Dell and Brother, are often less expensive, quieter and smaller. Printers that use a moving laser beam, like those from Hewlett-Packard and Canon, can theoretically produce crisper output with higher resolution, although the differences are slight in many cases.

Cartridge Types

1. One of the biggest influences on how much a printer costs to run is the type of cartridge it uses. Most HP black-and-white laser printers use a cartridge that combines the toner supply and the imaging drum. Other printers, like those made by Brother, have separate toner cartridges and drums. Printers with separate cartridges usually have lower-cost toner cartridges, but also require periodic separate replacement of the imaging drum. Reusing the drum through a number of toner cartridge changes can lower overall costs.

Duty Cycles

1. One of the key differences between laser printer manufacturers is in how much use they design their printers to withstand. Most major printer manufacturers make lower-end printers designed for single users and small workgroups; these can handle a few thousand pages per month. Some companies, like HP, also make printers designed for much heavier use. For example, Brother’s HL-6180DWT desktop printer can handle a duty cycle of up to 100,000 pages per month, while HP’s desktop-sized LaserJet Enterprise 600 can print up to 225,000.

Toner Levels

1. One major difference between brands is whether or not the printer ships with completely filled toner cartridges. Some printers ship with “starter” cartridges that may only be half full. While the cost of a cartridge may not be significant relative to a high-speed black-and-white printer, refilling some personal-use color laser printers can cost as much or more than the actual printer. While some manufacturers, like Brother, are likely to include starter cartridges in the box most of the time, others do it with some cartridges but not with others. When comparing the cost of printers from two manufacturers, make sure to add in the cost of a premature cartridge replacement for the unit with starter cartridges.

References

• HP: HP Color Printing vs. Okidata
• The Spill: Explanation of an Imaging Drum
• Brother: HL-6180DWT

Writer Bio

Steve Lander has been a writer since 1996, with experience in the fields of financial services, real estate and technology. His work has appeared in trade publications such as the “Minnesota Real Estate Journal” and “Minnesota Multi-Housing Association Advocate.” Lander holds a Bachelor of Arts in political science from Columbia University.

Inkjet Printer vs Laser Printer – Difference and Comparison

Types of Printers

Types of inkjet printers

There are two types of inkjet printing: continuous (CIJ) and drop-on demand (DOD). CIJ is used for commercial purposes, such as marking packaging. Most consumer printers use either thermal DOD, in which the ink is heated in the cartridge, or piezoelectric DOD, which uses pressure. Piezoelectric DOD is more expensive, but can print at higher speeds.

Types of laser printers

Laser printers are categorized according to their use case: personal, office, workgroup or production printers. The most commonly used laser printers only print in black and white. They are available as small, personal printers, as office printers (which are larger and print faster), as workgroup printers (which are designed to be free-standing printers that are shared by many computers on a network), and production printers, which are designed to run continuously and can print 75,000 sheets a day. Color laser printers are also available, but they are significantly more expensive. A range of production laser printers produced by Xerox also offer Highlight Color, which provide the ability to print black and one other color.

Printing mechanism

Inkjet printers spray liquid ink onto paper through microscopic nozzles, while laser printers use fine powder, called toner, and a heated fuser.

Cost

Budget inkjet printers cost around $55, while budget laser printers, which are only capable of printing in black and white, cost around $125. The cost-per-page of printing using an inkjet printer is 25c for color pages, or 8-10c for black and white. The cost per page for a laser printer is also roughly the same at 8-10c for black and white printing. More expensive laser printers have a lower cost per page, but may have additional costs when compared to inkjets, such as the need for a new fuser cartridge.

Printing Speed

Laser printing is undoubtedly the fastest option for black and white printing, with budget, low-end laser printers able to produce 20 pages per minute. Most budget inkjet printers print 6 pages per minute.

Print Quality

For normal print sizes, black and white print quality is similar for both laser and inkjet printers. However, lasers are better at printing smaller fonts. Inkjets provide superior color printing with subtle color gradation, while laser printers can lead to color banding.

Color vs. Black and White Options

The most common laser printers only print in black and white. Color laser printers exist, but they are bulky and expensive, and not usually suitable for use at home or in a small office.

Features

Modern inkjet printers can use up to 9 color cartridges to create accurate photographic images. Inkjet printing can be used on a wider range of papers, including high gloss photo paper, vinyls and self adhesive papers, as well as super heavy paper. However, the ink is not waterproof.

Laser printers sometimes come with other office features built in, such as scanning and faxing. Their input trays can hold as many as 3800 sheets of paper, compared to a typical inkjet printer, which can hold 150 sheets. They also often come with networking facilities to connect directly to the computer network.

Popularity

Inkjet printers are more common for home use, as they are typically smaller, cheaper and can print both color and black and white. They are also preferable for people who want digital camera prints. Laser printers are often found in offices that need to print high-quality documents quickly.

Maintenance

Inkjet ink cartridges need frequent cleaning, although most printers do this automatically. This accounts for the majority of ink usage, rather than the printing itself. Laser printers are more susceptible to paper jams, and need more maintenance than inkjet printers.

How to Choose a Printer: A Buying Guide

Look for these features

When buying a printer, consider the features you want:

• All-in-one printers include additional functionality like scanning and photocopying, which can come in handy from time to time.
• Most new printers today offer Wi-Fi connectivity, but Mac or iPhone users should choose printers that are compatible with Apple’s AirPrint because that makes it very easy to use the wireless capabilities of the device, including printing and scanning wirelessly without needing to install any additional software or apps.
• People who plan to print a lot of photos may want to buy a printer with a memory card slot.
• If you care about being able to print on both sides of the paper, choose a printer that supports automatic duplexing.

Choosing between laser and inkjet

Laser printers are great for:

• higher volumes of printing, because they can print more pages per toner cartridge refill.
• text-heavy printing. Text, especially smaller fonts, appear sharp and clear with laser printers.
• faster printing speed
• going for long periods of time without printing. With inkjet printers, the ink cartridge can dry up over a few months. Laser printers do not have this problem because they use toners which do not dry out.

Inkjet printers are great for:

• printing photos
• printing graphics-heavy documents, especially color graphics
• people who do not want to spend a lot of money upfront for their printer

References

• Laser vs. inkjet printers: which is better? – PC World
• The Difference Between Inkjet and Laser Photo Paper – PhotoPaperDirect.com
• Printer buying guide – Staples
• Types of laser printers
• Wikipedia:Inkjet printing

inkjet or laser? What are the differences? Which is better?

To choose a printer, you need to decide what and how often you plan to print . Some models are more suitable for the office, others for the home. There are printers that are designed to print text but not images. And there are models with which it is convenient to print photos, but not multi-page reports and articles.

All the features of laser and inkjet printers described below can be taken into account when choosing an MFP (multifunction devices). They work on the same principle.

Print speed

For office workers who are used to printing dozens or even hundreds of pages daily, the main difference between a laser printer and an inkjet printer is speed. Models of the first type print an average of 18-20 pages per minute, the second – about 7-8 pages. When it comes to color images, the print speed of both devices is about the same – 5 pages per minute.

For inkjet printers, this indicator directly depends on the intensity of the load: the more sheets you need to print, the lower the speed. When printing for a long time, the machine starts to work intermittently. The fact is that the printer has to periodically eject a small amount of ink into a special tray to get rid of air bubbles and clean the nozzles. That is why you should not focus on the maximum performance indicated by sellers and manufacturers of inkjet machines. Most likely, by the third or fourth minute of printing, the speed of the device will decrease by 1.5-2 times.

The difference between a laser printer and an inkjet printer is that it doesn’t need a break. The laser printer can print 100 pages in a row without stopping for a second. If the performance of the device is very important, and you plan to print dozens of pages at a time, give preference to a laser printer.

Color printing

Which color printer is better, laser or inkjet? The answer to this question, again, depends on what you plan to print.

To make the right choice, it is important to understand the difference between color inkjet printing and laser printing. Inkjet cartridges are installed with liquid paint of different shades. When printing color images, the device applies drops to paper under high pressure, mixing ink in the right proportions. This technology allows you to select tones as accurately as possible: a standard set of 6 color cartridges is enough to get about 16 million shades. Due to this, the quality of color printing on inkjet printers is very high.

Laser printers use toner instead of paint, which has a consistency similar to powder. The device applies it to a special drum using a laser, then prints it on paper, heats it up to a high temperature and literally fuses it to the sheet. Toner, unlike liquid paint, does not mix well. Because of this, the quality of color images when printed on a laser printer is mediocre. This is especially noticeable when printing photos. In addition, using a laser printer, it is not always possible to print multiple copies of a color document so that they are completely identical.

You also need to take into account the resolution of the printer – an indicator on which the contrast and clarity of the image depend. The lower it is, the more noticeable the graininess of the picture, which means the worse the print quality. With equal cost of devices, the resolution of a laser and inkjet printer can vary greatly and averages 600×600 dots per inch (DPI) for the first and 2400×9600 for the second. For texts and graphics, a small resolution is enough, but this option is not suitable for printing complex images, and even more so photographs.

If you plan to print color graphics, charts, text, and simple drawings in which hue is not an important issue, a laser printer is a good choice. If you want to print photos, only inkjet will do.

Ease of use

Most inkjet printers have a tray capacity of 50 to 100 sheets maximum, and laser printers an average of 150. That is why laser printers are more commonly used in offices: they can print several large reports without adding paper. However, if you plan to print only a few pages at a time, this advantage does not matter to you.

Inkjet printers have a feature that is important to consider: if the device is not used for a long time, the ink can dry out and damage the print head. One solution to the problem is to buy a model with a built-in nozzle cleaning function. The cleaning procedure takes only a couple of minutes and avoids costly repairs with the replacement of spare parts.

The cartridge refilling process deserves special attention. Inkjet printers are much more convenient in this regard: if necessary, the owner of the device can replenish the supply of ink himself, without seeking help from specialists. Refilling the cartridge with toner is much more difficult, and there is a risk of spilling some of the powder. Cleaning up spilled toner is not an easy task, especially if it gets on carpet or clothing. That is why owners of laser printers most often have to order refilling cartridges from professionals.

Economical

For many customers, the biggest difference between a laser printer and an inkjet printer is price. With equal print quality, models of the first type are 2-3 times more expensive. A simple laser printer with monochrome printing and a resolution of 1200×1200 dpi will cost the same as an inkjet type device with color printing and a resolution of 9600×2400 dpi.

However, when answering the question of which printer is more economical, laser or inkjet, you need to consider not only the price, but also the cost of maintenance. And in this matter, the laser printer is leading by a wide margin. The fact is that the resource of cartridges for laser models is about 1500-1600 pages, and for inkjet models – an average of 100-500 pages. At the same time, the cost of one inkjet cartridge is often 2/3 of the price of a new model. In addition, you need to consider the cost of repairing an inkjet printer in case it has not been used for a long time, and the ink has had time to dry. Owners of laser devices do not have such problems.

The conclusion is unequivocal: the price of laser printers is higher, but printing on them is cheaper.

How to choose

Inkjet or laser printer: which is better for you? Let’s recap.

Choose an inkjet printer if:

• You want to print photos, flyers or color drawings.
• High quality printing is important to you, but you are not ready to buy an expensive laser printer.
• You plan to print regularly, but not too much.

You should choose a laser printer if:

• You plan to frequently print text documents with a minimum number of graphic elements.
• Fast printing is important to you.
• You type often and a lot. In this case, a laser printer will be significantly cheaper to maintain than an inkjet.
• There is a risk that the printer will sometimes stand idle for a long time. Cartridges of laser models do not deteriorate, even if they are not used for several months.

Whether you choose an inkjet printer or a laser printer, it’s up to you!

Inkjet or laser printer – which is better? — 1a.ee

Photo: freepik.com

Although all documentation is currently available online, there are still situations where printouts are needed. Therefore, printers are still available on the market. True, the technical capabilities of printers have changed a lot compared to the past.

If you need to print documents or photos, which printer should you choose? We can compare two options – inkjet printer and laser printer. Let’s talk about the features of both devices. Read more.

How compact do you need a printer?

Before you buy a printer, be sure to consider where you want to put it and how much space you have for the device. If space is limited, it’s worth noting that inkjet printers are usually smaller than laser printers. However, laser printers are also available in different sizes. Therefore, before buying, it is recommended that you familiarize yourself with the dimensions of a particular printer and calculate whether it will fit in the planned place.

Pros and cons

If we compare the specifications of both printers, then the laser printer will have better performance. That is why the prices of laser printers are higher. Comparing inkjet and laser printers, we will talk about the pros and cons of both devices.

Inkjet printer:

• More compact – easier to place on your desktop with other devices.
• Cheaper – If print quality isn’t that important, get an affordable printer.
• Slower – prints in black and color almost half as fast as a laser printer.
• Lower Quality – The print quality is lower than that of a laser printer. This is especially noticeable when printing photos and other graphics.

Laser Printer:

• Larger – Depending on the technology, laser printers tend to be larger.
• More expensive – Because the price is related to quality, higher quality laser printers cost more than inkjet printers.
• Faster – Prints up to twice as fast in black and color as inkjet printers.
• Best quality – The technology used allows you to print quality prints.

Technology is different

As you can see from the names of printers, printers work with different technologies. Inkjet printers use ink while laser printers use carbon black. In both cases, the printer is “refueled” by replacing the cartridges.

Ink cartridges tend to run out quickly, are quite expensive, and can even dry out if left unused for long periods of time. Therefore, keep in mind that if the printer is not used for a long time, it is worth shaking the ink cartridges from time to time.

Carbon black cartridges last longer, carbon black is better than ink, and therefore print quality is better.

Photo: freepik.com

Market selection

When buying a new device, be sure to compare different models. The range of laser printers on the printer market is much larger than inkjet printers. Why? Because printers are primarily used by companies where both quality and speed are important, most manufacturers are investing in laser printers.

Inkjet printers are purchased more for home use. However, since the demand for them is not so great, there are fewer different models produced. You can definitely find inkjet printers from major manufacturers such as HP, Canon, and Epson.

Photo printing

As mentioned earlier, various documents and photographs today are most often stored in digital form. However, if you still want to print your fondest memories as a tangible photo and put them in an album or frame, you don’t always need to use developing services.

Modern laser printers are powerful enough to print high quality photos on photo paper. The quality is certainly not as good as an industrial printer, but the convenience and cost savings usually outweigh this. In addition to the cat5 cable, some printers also have the ability to connect to a smartphone, from where you can conveniently send images to print directly.

Print quality

When it comes to image print quality, dpi (dot per inch) or the number of pixels per inch plays a role here. The higher this value, the denser the arrangement of pixels and the better the quality of graphics printing.

High quality graphics are generally considered to have a pixel density of at least 300 dpi. In this case, the printed graphics are sharp enough that the pixels are indistinguishable to the normal eye. Therefore, if print quality is important to you, you should definitely pay attention to dpi.

Print speed

We’ve already talked briefly about print speed, but it’s worth reiterating that print speeds are very different between inkjet and laser printers. If you are buying a printer for home use and are printing multiple pages, an inkjet printer will be enough for you. However, if you want to print in large quantities, a laser printer is definitely a more practical choice.

In comparison, an inkjet printer has a print speed of about 37 pages per minute, while a laser printer has a print speed of about 70 pages per minute. The difference in speed is almost twofold.

Inkjet printer or laser printer – price?

As is the case with other appliances, printers are available in various price categories.