One of the most reliable printers you can buy is a laser printer. They have less moving parts compared to inkjet (meaning more reliable), and for many models there is in-home printer service available should it bust – even if it’s out of warranty.

Inkjet printers can be had on the cheap new, but as anyone knows it’s cartridges that burn a hole in the wallet faster than anything else.

Example: You buy a new inkjet printer for $50, but then find out it comes with a "starter" cartridge. So you have to shell out some cash for a cartridge. And you’ll probably have to buy another one (or two) within a year’s time. That $50 printer can easily cost you over $100 before the year is out – and that’s not even including the cost of paper.

If you’re fed up with the ridiculous cost of the cartridges, maybe now is the time to switch over to laser.

I will say up front that there are three major disadvantages of laser printing:

1. Physically larger.

Laser printers need to be larger because they run hot on the inside and need to cool down. And the only way to do this effectively is to have a larger box.

2. May not be good for your health.

It is known that some (repeat: some, not all) laser printers do emit ultrafine particles. If you are using the printer in a room that is not well ventilated, it can pose a health risk.

Workaround: Use a wireless laser printer. More on that in a moment.

3. Toner can be expensive.

It is not uncommon to see a laser toner cartridge sell new for between $50 to $100. However bear in mind it takes a lot longer to wear out a toner compared to an inkjet cartridge.

How much does a laser printer cost?

Prices vary, but the average range for a personal laser printer is between $100 and $300.

All major printer manufacturers have laser models available. You will immediately notice they look, act and operate differently compared to the inkjet line – usually to the better on all three counts.

The first thing to take into consideration with a laser printer is the cost of replacement toner. You can search NewEgg or your preferred retailer of choice to see how much the toner will cost you. And yes it does vary significantly depending on make/model of printer.

A few words on refurbished toner

Using refurb/remanufactured toner is far more likely to work properly compared to "re-inking" inkjet cartridges. Most of the time the refurb will work well.

But not without drawbacks.

The things to note about refurb toner are:

• You will not get the same number of pages printed as you would with new toner.
• The imaging drum can potentially get damaged from using refurb (and that’s not cheap to fix).
• The refurb toner might leak.

I’m not saying to not buy refurb toner. What I am saying is know what you’re buying. Some people use refurb toner and never have a problem with it. Others say it’s not worth the hassle and that minor issues happen. And a small percentage have disastrous situations with them.

If you decide to go with refurb toner, know the risks.

Advantages of laser printing

Print more

With inkjet you constantly have to worry about ink and how much of it you have left. With laser you can just keep on printing and simply not worry about it for a good long time.

Print even more

Many affordable laser printers can print as much as 10,000 pages in a month. Some under the $200 range even have a maximum duty cycle of 20,000 pages a month.

Most home users get nowhere near that amount of printing in a month, but if you’re the "power printer" type of user, laser is definitely the way to go.

Choice of monochrome-only or color

Some people couldn’t care less about color printing. Monochrome, as in black, gets you more printed pages and the toner replacement is usually cheaper.

Wireless options available

The brother HL-2170W (NewEgg listing) is an example of how affordable wireless laser printing can be. Even at its low price point it still has a "warm-up" time of less than 10 seconds and connects on wireless b or g. It also has a built-in Ethernet port as well.

If you’ve got the space and are ready to ditch inkjet for good, go laser.