Thinking about switching from an inkjet to a laser printer? This move could actually save you quite a lot on ink (about five times as much, in fact!), and with colour laser printers now becoming increasingly affordable, there's been no better time to make the change!
Last year was a good year for home laser printers. In fact, inkjets may no longer the sole preferred choice for non-professional print solutions. After all, a multifunction inkjet will cost you the same price as a laser printer, but the cost of printing per page will be three times more expensive!
Laser models print two to three times faster than inkjets (over 15 pages per minute compared to 6 ppm). They do so very quietly and the ink doesn't bleed or run as the prints come out dry. When the cartridges are empty, an inkjet stops printing, but a laser can be tricked into finishing a job if you shake the the toner vigorously!
Inkjet vs Laser: Price watch
Some of you may be surprised to hear that laser printers have really come down in price. What's more, even if an inkjet and a laser carry the same price tag, the laser will be a cheaper option in the long run. An inkjet is supplied with cartridges that can print anything from 50 to 500 pages, whereas the laser's toner can churn out 1,000 pages straight away, and some will even last for 3,000 or 4,000 pages. Time for a spot of maths: check how much your replacement cartridges would cost for a thousand pages (price of a cartridge in pence, divided by the ISO lifespan, multiplied by a thousand), then multiply that figure by three and add it to the price of the inkjet printer. Then compare it with a laser printer to get the real picture!
Options
However, comparing the two technologies isn't that simple. On the one hand, an all-in-one colour inkjet can print, scan, copy and sometimes even fax, while a monochrome laser printer generally just prints (sometimes in colour). The services and functions available in the two types of model are very different, and inkjets still have the upper hand in some areas.
Things are changing though. New features have invited themselves onto laser printers, as you'll discover in our reviews. Network connectivity with Ethernet and wireless is now available on some models, and one of them even features colour printing at the same price as black and white. This is quite a bold step, because if colour lasers come down in price, it's hard to see a future for monochrome models.
Laser models print two to three times faster than inkjets (over 15 pages per minute compared to 6 ppm). They do so very quietly and the ink doesn't bleed or run as the prints come out dry. When the cartridges are empty, an inkjet stops printing, but a laser can be tricked into finishing a job if you shake the the toner vigorously!
Inkjet vs Laser: Price watch
Some of you may be surprised to hear that laser printers have really come down in price. What's more, even if an inkjet and a laser carry the same price tag, the laser will be a cheaper option in the long run. An inkjet is supplied with cartridges that can print anything from 50 to 500 pages, whereas the laser's toner can churn out 1,000 pages straight away, and some will even last for 3,000 or 4,000 pages. Time for a spot of maths: check how much your replacement cartridges would cost for a thousand pages (price of a cartridge in pence, divided by the ISO lifespan, multiplied by a thousand), then multiply that figure by three and add it to the price of the inkjet printer. Then compare it with a laser printer to get the real picture!
Options
However, comparing the two technologies isn't that simple. On the one hand, an all-in-one colour inkjet can print, scan, copy and sometimes even fax, while a monochrome laser printer generally just prints (sometimes in colour). The services and functions available in the two types of model are very different, and inkjets still have the upper hand in some areas.
Things are changing though. New features have invited themselves onto laser printers, as you'll discover in our reviews. Network connectivity with Ethernet and wireless is now available on some models, and one of them even features colour printing at the same price as black and white. This is quite a bold step, because if colour lasers come down in price, it's hard to see a future for monochrome models.
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