Printers: Laser Vs InkJet

[Tribble]

Hmmm Laser Printers Vs InkJet Printers.

All I know is that laser printers print faster, but from what I can 'see' is that InkJet printers can print out in a higher resolution (4800 x 2400) but what I am not sure about, is if it is an enhanced print where you need expensive paper to reach this resolution and can only print small images (postcard size) at this resolution.

Could someone help me, by telling me what type of printer would be the best way to go at printing out high resolution prints in say A4 size paper between Laser and InkJet printers, and maybe even a good list of some top printers?

Regards

P.S what other comparison should be thought about between printing on either a Laser/InkJet Printer?

[EzyStvy]

Go to places like pcworld.com and look in their review section.

Great InkJet printers start at 50 bucks.
Good Color LaserJets start at 500 bucks.

[glc]

It all depends what you are printing and how much. Lasers are more economical (after the purchase) because supplies (toner) are cheaper than ink. Print quality is pretty much the same these days, but if you are using a *color* laser to do photos, the prints will not be glossy like with inkjets - it will be more of a matte finish. Lasers also have the advantage of not requiring special paper to print high resolution photos - as long as it's decent quality paper it will look good (something like 24lb 100 white paper is fine).

I generally recommend an inkjet for home use and a laser for business use, if I have to generalize. The more you print, the more a laser makes more sense.

[RayH]

Color laser printers are practically free. The color toner can get pricey.

[Panama Red]

Adding to glc's comments, his reasoning is exactly why I originally had an inkjet printer at home. But I found that most of our printing was being done black and white and the constant 'head cleaning' that the printer would do automatically depleted the color supply too. When I saw a Samsung Laser Printer on sale at Best Buy for $80 after $100 rebate, I snapped it up. With both the inket and the laser available it gives us options. One cautionary note on the Lasers. Don't know if all manufacturers do this but the Samsung came with a toner cartidge that was good for 1000 copies. When you buy a new cartridge, it is good for 3000 copies.

[Mesaeus]

Inkjet printers are cheaper as far as initial outlay is concerned. All the rest are disadvantages in comparison to lasers. I'm not kidding, did you know brand inkt for an inkjet costs more per volume than champagne ? Currently the mogul Hp-Compaq fusion is only really being kept afloat by the profits of the printer division, so you can take a guess at just how much those profits are. Up until recently, the only payable lasers were mono so you had to take an inktjet for color. Nowadays the prices of color lasers keep falling. They're not really low enough yet, but they're starting to be a serious option.

Oh and has anyone taken a look at the build quality of modern inkjets ? Seems like they're making them of carton or recycled paper. Sheesh. I especially hate Lexmark budget printers.

[Panama Red]

Originally Posted by Mesaeus I especially hate Lexmark budget printers.

Speaking of Lexmark - They pull a neat trick. You get the printer free often times with a complete system purchase. The when you set it up you find that it only comes with a color cartridge! The black one is $35 or more So most folks will just print with the color not knowing that to make black it has to use equal parts of all the colors and run out the color cartridge that much faster! Now you get to buy the color one too - for $40 or more! What a ripoff!

[Mesaeus]

Except that these days you usally don't get any full cartridges anymore when you buy a new printer, just some 1/4 or less filled ones. Why did they change this ? Because more and more people bought a new printer each time the old one ran out of ink, since even that was cheaper than buying full cartridges from the robber gangs that call themselves printer manufacturers. Only providing a color cartridge is basically the same trick. I haven't bought a printer since my NEC P20 24 pins dot matrix printer, which I bought in 1993. I don't use it anymore, if I have to print something (doesn't seem to happen too often), I'll use my sister's printer.

[rebert]

its better to buy laser than inkjet for all-purpose printing needs.
home users usually print a lot of black and white docs. even if you dont print heavily, lasers are a huge investment. from my experince i would definitely go for laser if my printing is not very light.
BUT, if you must have a photo printer, then Epsons (inkjet) are a better choice.

final word is that you could get a decent laser for $200 bucks from ebay.

[Hi Ho]

Oh and has anyone taken a look at the build quality of modern inkjets ? Seems like they're making them of carton or recycled paper. Sheesh.

That's yet another reason that I'm a fan of Cannon printers. Many of their models have metal (yes, real metal ) on them. Plus they print excellent pictures. Better than most other brands. The ink cartridges are cheaper, last longer, and the printers don't cost too much to begin with.

[kram 2.0]

Hehe - corporate planning . I'd say this - if you're going to be predominantly printing B&W, go with laser printing. If you're going to be printing photos and colors and stuff, go Inkjet. Although laser printer cartridges tend to cost a lot, it lasts longer than many imagine - depending on how much toner stuff is inside, of course. The other can be said for inkjet. This may be because I've been printing with Epson printers and their inks last such a small amount of time. But they print amazingly.

Hope that helps,
kram

[colecifer]

I had a lexmark budget printer, i didn't like it at all. It printed arlight for documents, just slow. The real flaw though was it could only hold 1 ink cartridge at a time. So you would of course just buy a color one in case you needed it because if you kept one cartridge out and just swapped for whatever they would dry out. I have a cheap Hp inkjet scanner/copier/printer. I have been very satisfied with this thing. I think it was $90 at walmart. It scans very nicely and it even prints decent quality pictures on paper. I don't think i would really benefit from a laser printer myself becuase i got this printer for christmas last year and i'm still on the ink cartridges that came with it.

Mesaeus' comment about ink costing more than champagne reminded me of something. Its a little off topic, but if you price bottled water by the drum like crude oil. Water is more expensive per barrel than oil.

[el_novato]

Office Max had a special on the Konica Minolta...$100 after instant $80 off. I couldn't pass the deal up! It is a bit noisy, but considering it prints faster than the HP Laserjets we have at work, it's not a bad tradeoff. It's the 1350W by the way.

e.n.