Inkjet printers and laser printers are the two basic choices for general consumers who are shopping for a printer. With Inkjet printers, ink is sprayed onto paper to create a digital image; with laser printers, a laser beam is scanned across photoreceptors to produce digital images.

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However, both types of printers have their own pros and cons, and you should decide which one to buy by weighing them down according to the features and functionality that you need. Below is an introduction, along with the pros and cons of each printer, which will help make your decision a bit easier.

Inkjet Printers

If you simply be printing basic black & white and color documents, then a basic Inkjet document printer is a good choice. If you intend to print up to 8 x 10-inch high quality photos, then an Inkjet photo printer is the best choice. You can even buy an All-in-One Inkjet printer if you want to more than just printing documents and/or photos.

Pros

• Most Inkjet printers can fit in tight spaces due their relatively small size.
• Overall, the initial cost of buying an Inkjet printer is lower than when buying a laser printer, and replacing Inkjet printers is also cheaper and easier.
• The price of ink cartridges has become really cheap in the past couple of years.
• In an Inkjet printer, ink cartridges can be replaced quite easily and quickly. – Amazing printing results with great contrasts, virtually no pixilation and vivid colors can be produced by Inkjet printers.

Cons

• The cost of printing each page from an Inkjet printer tends to be higher because ink is not efficiently used by these printers.
• An Inkjet printer can take more time to print a document with many pages.
• It is not easy to clean an Inkjet printer, and it can get messy.

Laser Printers

The cheaper basic Laser printers generally are just black & white, while the ones that can print color documents tend to be a bit more costly. Similarly, All-in-One versions of Laser prints also come with just black & white, or with color printing functionality, and their prices vary accordingly.

Pros

• Laser printers use toner more efficiently, as a result of which the cost of printing each page is reduced, especially when using Gestetner toners.
• Documents, even if they are larger with multiple pages, can be printed quicker with Laser printers.
• Unlike ink, toners do not stain and so it becomes easier to clean a Laser printer, without any mess.

Cons

• It is true that the cost of toners can be higher; however, it is still possible to save money if you buy toner cartridges from Gestetner.
• Despite the fact that the size of laser printers has slightly shrunk in the past couple of years they still tend to be bulky.
• Laser printers do not operate quietly and make quite the noise while printing a document.
• When it comes to printing color documents or printers, the cost of printing through a Laser printer can be higher.

Conclusion

Ultimately, choosing between an Inkjet or Laser printer will come down to that one pro or con that weighs down one type of printer over the other, as far as your preference goes. Depending on your needs and priorities, therefore, you can choose the right type of printer accordingly, keeping all of the above in mind.

This article was writen by Romeo Demes, a freelance graphic designer and passionate writer who is currently writing for artonery.com.