Inkjet or Laser
As a technology professional I’m often asked my opinion about which is best … Inkjet or Laser …
and the answer is “it depends”. Personally and intuitively I don’t even have to think about the choice.
It's a Laser Printer... Especially if one compares the costs. However, the “depends” part is this …
if you are mostly printing photos, the only real choice for high photo like quality is an inkjet printer.
If you are in the market to buy or replace a printer for modest volume printing, and you are a budget stickler,
you might want to look at the ROI and compare the overall cost of printing with a Color laser printer vs.
a Color inkjet printer over a 3-year period (the useful life of a printer).
Although inkjet printers are initially much less expensive, laser printers offer a much better value over time
because their toner cartridges are only slightly more expensive, and last between three and 10 times longer.
Most small business owners often look to low-cost inkjet printers to solve their printing problems, not
taking time to thoroughly compare printers and costs!
Given that the inkjet printers often are very cheap (many can be bought for less than $50) this seems to make
sense at first. But this cost-savings strategy often is short sighted and results in false savings!
Inkjet Cost Myth
Inkjet printers, although very inexpensive to purchase, often have a very high cost per page for cartridge
supplies. It’s not uncommon for inkjet cost per page analyses to work out to be $0.25 to more than a $1
per page.
Be sure to consider all of the costs when you attempt to compare printers!
For a relatively low volume of 50 to 100 pages a month, the supply costs aren’t too bad! But, if you
decide or need to print 200 to 500 pages a month, the cost becomes pretty high!
Consider that $0.25 X 200 pages = $50, supply costs must be factored in as you compare printers.
But what if you really only need some occasional color? You’re still better off using a black-and-white
laser printer for your regular printing, and sparingly using an inkjet printer for occasional color printing or
near-photo quality printing!
Laser Printer Cost Advantages
An entry-level black-and-white laser printer can be bought these days as low as $89. At these prices the
typical cost per page is around $0.03 including the printer cost! ($89 divided by 3000 sheets = $0.0296 per page)
When you compare printers, this is substantially less expensive than using an inkjet printer for a moderate volume
at $0.25 per page.
And if you want to print color on a laser printer it’s still much less expensive.
Consider that an entry level business Color Laser printer like the well respected OKI 5150n can be bought
for less than $250. If one uses the same cost comparison method, the cost is less than $0.16 per page.
($231 street price divided by 1500 sheets = $0.154 per page).
The savings become even greater when the costs of the printer and subsequent high capacity replacement toner
cartridges are used and factored in over a 3 year period. (the considered useful life of a laser printer!)
The use of high capacity toner cartidges can lower the costs even more! ($231 divided by 5000 sheets = $0.046 per page)
Be sure to consider all of these issues when you start to compare printers.
Technical things to look for when choosing a printer!
As one might guess from their technical differences, inkjet and laser printers cover a wide range of capabilities
and cost. Laser printers typically use a laser to produce an electrically charged image on a drum, roll it through
some toner and then fuse the toner to the paper by using heat (just like a copier machine). Inkjet printers,
spray ink directly onto paper which then must dry. Both types of printers have their appropriate use, but one
can draw enough conclusions to effectively compare the two technologies.
When comparing printers, consider the following :
Cost Per Page
Roughly, the cost of the toner or ink divided by the number of pages provided before replacement of the
cartridge is required!
Total Cost
Some printers require users to regularly replace print heads, fuser drums and so forth. Others include
these with each toner or ink cartridge.
Include these items when comparing cost per page figures.
Speed
Expressed in pages per minute (ppm). Relevant for higher use printers, or long documents (at 3 ppm, a
typical low-cost inkjet speed, a 30-page document would take about 10-15 minutes to print). Note
that most inkjet printers have several speed and quality settings so compare these features appropriately.
Memory
Printers with low memory (or no memory as is common in inkjet printers) may have trouble printing
pages with lots of graphics, or be slower when printing multiple pages. Many inkjet printers DO NOT
HAVE BUILT IN MEMORY and depend on the computer to provide printing memory, thus resulting
in slower printing. Most Laser printers usually have built in memory to efficiently handle high speed printing tasks!
Duty Cycle
Represents the number of pages a printer can handle per month without breaking down.
20,000 pages per month is considered business quality printing!
Be aware that manufacturers can and do manipulate these numbers! For example, the number of pages
per toner or ink cartridge is typically provided assuming 5% coverage. This means that ink only covers
5% of the page. While this may be true for a text-only letter, a full page photo or mixed text and graphics
will have far higher coverage, providing only a fraction of the expected number of pages (by comparison,
an entire page of black would be 100% coverage).
Printer Hints
Inkjet Printer “Warts”
Contrary to what many people might think, the main drawback to inkjets is high cost.
Except for low-use situations inkjets printers typically result in a higher cost of ownership over the
long term. Most ink cartridges result in a higher cost per page when compared to laser toner. Cheaper
models typically use a cartridge with less ink than those in more expensive inkjets, thus the more expensive
models are cheaper in the long run. Others use a 3-in-1 cartridge that requires an owner to replace the
entire cartridge even when only one color is empty. Some models require special paper for quality color
output. Inkjets also provide lower print speeds than laser printers. Many are not suited to print multiple
copies of one page. Ink will tend to smear when wet, and also can fade over time, leading to the introduction
of printers using higher cost "archival" ink. Finally, the insult to the injury, many inkjet printers cannot be shared
on a network.
Inkjet Printer “Distinctions”
Inkjet printers dominate the low cost entry category. For a simple, occasionally-used printer at home an
inkjet is a good printing solution. Photo quality is typically excellent (superior to many laser printers), and
usually improves with more expensive models or higher quality paper. The other area where ink is common
is for large-format printers such as plotters which use large rolls of paper or vinyl.
Laser Printer “Warts”
While laser toner costs more, it usually lasts much, much longer than ink. Some manufacturers include
only toner so their cartridges appear cheaper, but then the user must replace other parts after every few
toner cartridges which usually evens out the cost (HP printers often include imaging drums in each cartridge).
These toner-only units can be messy to install. Laser printers are generally not often good at printing high
quality photos.
Laser Printer “Distinctions”
Laser printers are cheaper to operate over the long term. Much less expensive. A penny difference in
cost-per-page results in $250 savings per year assuming only 100 pages printed per day, 5 days per week,
50 weeks per year. Toner does not absorb into paper like ink, providing a consistently crisp image.
Lasers usually have faster processors and more memory, suitable for printing graphics, photos, or large
documents. Laser printers usually provide three to five times faster printing speeds than even higher-end
inkjets. To handle this, they typically provide high capacity input and output trays, often being able to
accommodate a full ream of paper or more (several reams for the higher end printers) and often multiple
trays for different types of paper. Some include collators and staplers. Almost all laser printers are networkable.
Solid-Ink Printers
Solid-ink printers are not truly laser printers yet provide laser like quality, in color. They tend to offer
better color consistency than laser or inkjets, with little variation caused by changes in temperature, humidity,
or type of paper. The output, however, can cause jams in office copiers and some scanners with automatic
document feeders, because the ink on the pages doesn't slide smoothly over glass flatbeds.
The calculations:
Use this worksheet as an example to help you to estimate estimate the number of pages you plan to print
per month. (e.g., 100 pages per month = 5 per day) to calculate what the printer will truly cost over time.
|
|
Inkjet Printer |
|
Laser Printer |
|
|
HP DeskJet 5650 |
|
HP LaserJet 1012c |
Printer Retail Cost |
|
$130 |
|
$200 |
Toner (black) |
|
$20 |
|
$60 |
Toner (color) |
|
$25 |
|
N/A |
Total Toner Cost |
|
$45 |
|
$60 |
Output Pages Per Toner Set |
|
400 |
|
2200 |
Toner Cost per Page |
|
0.11 |
|
0.03 |
Toner Cost per Year
(~100 pages/month
or 5 pages/day) |
|
$132
(1200 x 0.11
= 132.00) |
|
$36
(1200 x 0.03
= 36.00) |
1st-Year Cost
(printer + toner) |
|
$265
($132 + 3 toner sets
@ $45 = $265) |
|
$236
[$200 + $36 (½ cartridge) = $236] |
2nd-Year Cost |
|
$132 |
|
$36 |
3rd-Year Cost |
|
$132 |
|
$36 |
3-YEAR TOTAL COST |
|
$529 |
|
$308 |
|
|
|
|
|
Other Points to Consider:
