I need a new printer.Aside from the initial cost what are some pros & cons of color laser printers vs ink-jet?

Answer 1

Home use and printing pictures - definitely inkjet printer. Plus refills are cheap.

Office use - go with laser. Fast. Some models very fast :) OEM cartridges are very expensive but there is a cheap solution - color laser refill kits http://fillserv.com/tonerrefillkits.php
Plus I print labels with it and one thing for sure laser printout kind of waterproof. I recommend Konica Minolta 2400W - you can get it in Fry's for $250 and toner refills only $45 per color http://fillserv.com/cic/product.php?product=Konica+Minolta+magicolor+2400+%2F+2500+Toner+Refill+Kit

Answer 2

Colour laser cartridges are a lot more expensive than inkjet, but don't clog the way some inkjet cartridges do. They're also much larger and therefore, take up more space. Many of them also require replacement of certain parts, such as fixer units (which seal the toner on the paper making it permanent) on a regular basis which is also an expensive proposition.

Because colour lasers are so much more expensive, if something does go wrong with it, you're more likely to get it repaired which can mean having to ship it back to the manufacturer or call in service.

Because inkjets are cheaper, most people who do experience problems with them are more likely to just buy another while the first is repaired or toss the first entirely.

If you purchase a laser printer or an inkjet, make sure your local office supply carries the cartridges for it. At some point you will run out of toner (probably at a very crucial moment) and you'll need to know you can just run out and grab another one.

We had a dreadful Tektronix model and NO ONE local carried the cartridges...if we ran out, the printer was out of commission until a shipment of cartridges came in.

We now have an HP 4650 and Staples seems to have the toner when we need it.

Are far as picture quality, you're never going to get better than a laser printer, though some inkjets do have remarkably good imaging ability. Personally I have the HP Deskjet 9300 at home and one at the office as well as a backup for our colour laser printer. The image quality is good enough for scientific presentations and in photo mode, it can compete fairly well with a laser printer. I haven't had any major problems with the jets clogging after weeks of the printer being idle though I did have to run the cleaning cycle once or twice to clear them. Many if not all inkjets have the same problem.

And no matter which you get, you're likely to be outsourced to some third world country if you ever call their help lines.

Answer 3

INK - runs when it gets wet, Laser does not

Laser - The machine runs very hot. You can burn it out if you run too many at a time. Some manufactures don't care if you wreck your color laser printer.. I recommend that you pause after every 25 sheets. Let the machine cool down. Inkjets run COLD.

INK - This is more expensive per sheet, so in a long run, laser might be better. I think that I would get a Color laser that accepts separate toner modules for each of the three colors. Some brands have a unified cartridge, which means that you WASTE the toner of the colors that have not gone empty. But if you are not doing long print runs (ever), then pick Inkjet.

Oh, look at the price of ink, if you are considering an inkjet. Canon ink is much cheaper, so it is less costly to operate. CHECK IT OUT. But Canon printers will also PAUSE for you to change cartridges in the middle of printing. When you replace the cartridge, it continues printing just fine. You can't even see where it paused.

Good luck

Answer 4

Color laser aren't good enough to be compared with ink jet in the matter of printing quality and depth. For example, photo printing. Ink jet printer has more abilities to mix its ink before drop it into the paper, while laser are "able" to do that but it doesn't exactly mix the ink but by reducing it's quantity.

Answer 5

well the pro of the printer its the bets u can but the cons is the ink can cost u more then u paid for the printer in the long run in goes for $ 37 - $ 50 a peice i have two ink and it cost me $ 60 for bot i have a color and a black ink in my printer and i paid $ 70 for the printer so see it cost me almost twice for the ink i replace my ink once a year so it cost me more to have in then the printer it self hop this helps and god bless

Answer 6

Depending on what you need it for. Color laser printers (CLPs) are becoming affordable, but they get you with all the supplies. But they also get you with the ink-jet prices. Ink-jet is more expensive when compared per paper. CLPs are fast, high quality, and usually don't give you annoying problems as do ink-jets...ie, dirty nozzles, printer head problems, alignment issues, etc.

CLPs are complicated and take some time getting used to. You need to pay attention to what your printer is trying to tell you. My motto is: "Your printer will treat you the same way you treat it."

Do the research, compare costs of different manufacturer's consumeables. Be advised CLPs don't only use toner. There are also other consumables (depending on model) opc drums, high volume toners, fuser rolls, transfer belts, etc. They also get you with extreme costs for accesories, ie duplex units & add-on drawers (get these on e-bay).

At our office we have slashed costs by using after-market toner refillers and by resetting internal counters on many consumable components. NEVER buy toner or CLP supplies from brick and mortar retailers - way overpriced (your paying for their storage costs). Froogle the supplies you need - ebay is a very good source and usually a good starting point, most online retailers run auctions.

We also buy paper, card stock, labels, etc in bulk and usually from online retailers or local wholesalers.

If your going to be printing many types of high volume materials go laser, if your going to print the occasional brochure stay with ink-jets.

Now-a-days you can find good CLPs for under $500 - KonicaMinolta and Okidata are very good companies with in-country help centers. Stay away from HP and Epson CLPs.

Answer 7

Like all printers you pay less for the printer than for the set of toners. I know that the HP colors cost about 400, the toners total about 450 (Magenta, Cyan, Yellow and black). Let that be your decision maker.

Answer 8

money is a big issue! Color is expensive!