Inkjet or laser? (Photo: © Serghei Starus/123RF.com)
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23 October 2019
Industry 4.0: Laser or inkjet printer? This question always arises when buying a printer, as both printing technologies have advantages and disadvantages. Furthermore, laser printers no longer always offer the lowest cost per page.
The offers sound tempting: Cheap inkjet printers are often sold for under 50 euros these days. However, the supposed bargain often turns out to be a costly trap when new ink cartridges have to be bought after just a few hundred prints – at the price of a new printer.
Therefore, it's worth determining your requirements as precisely as possible in advance: Do you primarily want to print text or high-resolution photos? What special features or interfaces does the device need? And, most importantly, how many prints do you need per month?
Businesses need an inkjet printer if they prioritize color printing and a low purchase price . However, buyers of inkjet printers should keep this rule in mind: cheap printers are expensive in the long run. While you save money on the initial purchase, the cost per page is significantly higher due to expensive ink cartridges. Therefore, inexpensive inkjet printers are only worthwhile for businesses with low print volumes . The printing costs are particularly noticeable with photos, as inkjet printers always require photo or specialty paper for optimal quality.
Laser printers, on the other hand, deliver good print quality even on standard copy paper . Inkjet printers that use multi-color cartridges become an additional cost trap: These cartridges contain several colors simultaneously. In practice, however, all colors are never used equally. If just one color runs out, the printer refuses to print and insists on an ink cartridge replacement – regardless of how full the other color tanks are. Therefore, printers with "single-ink technology" are preferable: These use a separate cartridge for each color, which can be replaced individually.
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While these printers are somewhat more expensive to purchase, the price per page is lower. However, if businesses print more than 2.000 pages per month, a laser printer is often the better choice: These devices are designed for significantly higher print volumes. Even when many pages need to be printed in a short time, laser printers have the edge. Especially with color pages and photos, they are sometimes twice as fast as inkjet printers.
Very good page costs can now be achieved with inkjet printers that use refillable ink tanks . These are called "MegaTank" by Canon, for example, and "EcoTank" by Epson. Refilling these tanks is up to 90 percent cheaper than buying original ink cartridges. This often results in page costs even lower than those of a laser printer – especially when you factor in all the wear parts of the device.
HP takes a unique approach with its "Instant Ink" subscription service : Savings of up to 70 percent compared to original HP cartridges are possible if you can accurately estimate your monthly printing volume. Third-party manufacturers offer further savings potential with their own ink or toner mixes. These are up to 80 percent cheaper than original manufacturer products, although you sometimes have to compromise on durability and quality.
If businesses want to print images in true photo quality, there's no way around a dedicated photo printer that uses inkjet technology. Besides higher resolution, these devices offer detailed and true-to-life colors because they use up to twelve different ink tanks. In contrast, inexpensive office inkjet printers often only use three colors plus a black cartridge.
However, these specialized photo devices are only of limited use as office printers: Since photo ink doesn't contain pigments, using plain copy paper usually results in color bleeding. To overcome this problem, some manufacturers offer pigmented black ink that allows text to be printed on regular paper.
Especially for small businesses, so-called "all-in-one" devices are often worthwhile . These can not only print, but also scan, copy, or fax. Many manufacturers offer these compact all-rounders in both inkjet and laser versions. The advantages are obvious: Because only one set of ink cartridges or toner needs to be purchased, they are cheaper to maintain than several individual components.
In addition, less space is required, and the purchase price is lower than for several individual devices. Very affordable multifunction printers are available starting at around €60 (inkjet) or €120 (laser). However, combining up to four devices into one unit also has its disadvantages: If the device needs to be repaired, the company will no longer be able to print, scan, copy, or fax. Therefore, an "on-site replacement guarantee" should be taken out when purchasing, which some specialist retailers offer for an additional fee.
Paper weight: The heavier the paper, the more professional the impression. For a letter, 80 gsm copy paper is sufficient; for important matters, you should use letterhead weighing 100 or even 120 gsm.
Paper for laser printers: The paper should not warp due to the heat generated by the printer, otherwise a paper jam may occur. Especially with color laser printers, the paper passes through several printing stations and comes into contact with fuser rollers that reach temperatures of 200 degrees Celsius. Take care with coated papers: These must be explicitly approved for laser printing – otherwise, the printer will heat the coating so much that it can peel off and damage the device.
Paper for inkjet printers: Inkjet printers sometimes automatically reduce the resolution when using plain paper. This is because plain paper absorbs the ink more readily than specially coated photo paper. If the paper is too thin or of poor quality, the colors may bleed or even bleed through to the other side. Especially when printing high-resolution photos, you should use coated specialty paper to achieve the best possible quality.
Paper samples: Some paper manufacturers offer sample packs containing two to three sheets of different papers with varying weights and coatings. These are well-suited for experimenting to achieve optimal results in black and white and color printing.
Resolution: A printer's resolution indicates the number of dots per inch (dpi) that the device can reproduce. The higher the resolution, the more detailed and higher quality the prints. For office printers, 1.200 x 1.200 dpi is sufficient, while photo printers should be able to reproduce at least 2.400 x 1.200 dpi.
dpi: Images and text consist of individual pixels, the number of which determines the print quality. The maximum resolution of printers is given in "dots per inch" (dpi), where one inch is exactly 2,54 centimeters. The higher the dpi a printer can display, the better.
Multi-color cartridges: Printers with multi-color cartridges have three chambers for the primary colors cyan, magenta, and yellow in a single ink tank. The printer mixes all other colors from these primary colors. Brightness is adjusted by adding black ink.
Single-ink: In printers with single-ink technology, each color has its own tank that can be replaced individually. This ensures that the contents of each ink tank can always be completely used up.
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