Laser printer vs Inkjet

For normal use who bothers any more with ink jets -- the cost of inks is getting bonkersly high.

(For A3+ / A2 etc for high quality photo printing -- different issue)

I am still using the original Toner cartridge that cane with a MFP-M28 Laser printer that came with the device when I bought it around 18 months ago. I don't do a huge amount of printing but I tried today (last time I used the printer was approx 5 montha ago). --Ist time no probs.

With an inkjet I'm sure the cartriges would have dried out or things not working properly. I like the M28 ==only black and white but can scan in colour so to send colour copies to people not a problem.

Really small footprint and reasonably fast printer too.

Not sure why so many still use ink jets when lasers are so much better, cheapedr and don't waste "consummables".

Cheers
jimbo

I would assume a lot would come down to costs of color toner cartridges. I've owned a black and whit laser printer for almost 25 years. My printing ink costs have been historically cheap for these. But I've never invested in a color.

For me personally, I've had my current multi-function inkjet for about 2-3years. At the time, the mutifunction lasers were much more expensive. And I happen to have one of the Epson Eco-tank models that allow you to just buy bottles of ink and pour them in. It's been super economical as well. I've yet to have had to buy ink. The 1 downside is still that I set a reminder to print a color page off about 1 time per month to just ensure that the ink heads don't dry out and then require a head cleaning job to run.

The only reason I use 2 printers, a LaserJet and an OfficeJet [upscale from DeskJet], is about the OJ being color and LJ being black only. I've looked at color LJs but most affordable one used 4 toner cartridges for 3 colors and 1 black, replacing all 4 usually listed for more cost than the printer did. I made some decent money several years ago printer online student manuals for a few that wanted the book in their hands instead of on a screen, LJ was perfect for that and much cheaper than OJ/DJ at the time.

I got a funny printer story for you.

Most of my printing is read and throw away stuff. One of my worst peeves has always been the cost of ink for inkjets and the fact that one empty cartridge prevents one from printing in black. I do all my printing in black only.

Several years ago I was at the home of a dentist friend who had closed his practice 3 years earlier. Sitting on his patio was a huge box of every kind of computer related stuff imaginable that his business had accumulated over many years. He told me to take what I wanted as it was all going into the trash. Being the nerd that I am, I spent about an hour untangling and sorting a rat's nest of what seemed liked hundred of cables and cords. At the very bottom of the box was an old HP Laserjet (black only)he had used daily in his business since 2005 so it had seen a lot of printing in its day.

I brought that sucker home and it fired right up. I printed on the old cartridge for almost a year and have changed the cartridge only once since. It looks like hell but has continued to never miss a beat. Cartridges are $25. Best dumpster find ever.

In the meantime, my husband has replaced his inkjet printer 3 times since due to malfunction and goes into a tirade about twice a year when he has to spend $80 on cartridges for a printer he bought for $79. I had networked my secondary inkjet printer so now he prints to it and guess who has to spend $80 for cartridges because of his junk printing...ME! On second thought, I guess this isn't a FUNNY printer story. I refuse to give him access to my laserjet. He might wear it out.

You can always cheat when it comes to ink cartridge. I am using generic color cartridges from Amazon for my Epson ink jet printer for the past 8 years or so. Of course the quality is not the same but I am not printing photos anyway. The price is less than a quarter of the original ink sets. I have a stash in my drawer. :)

I agree with the above. I have a Brother colour laser printer which has been faultless since 2015. I have replaced the toner cartridges twice in that time. There is one thing which inkjets do a lot better, and that is colour printing - I could get some really good colour prints on the right paper when I was still using inkjets. The laser colours are recognisable, but not nearly as saturated as the inkjet.
When I first retired (in 2006), I found the inkjet I was using then was constantly drying out due to not printing often enough, and I hated having to use the incredibly expensive ink just to clean the thing.

I doubt that Carly Fiorina (HP CEO in the early oughties) was responsible, but I believe that the trend towards tiny inkjet cartridges was at its worst on her watch.

Some of the desktop inkjet printer makers now offer ink tank printers, with much lower ink costs. (I don't own one.) They aren't supposed to be quite as good for photo printing as the best cartridge types, but close.

For me it is a case of space, functionality, and convenience. The footprint of my all-in-one ink jet is small. The printer will do color, two sided- printing, scanning, envelopes, photos, print of DVD/CD's, and has a rear feeder where I can stick a page that already has printing on one side and reuse that sheet for draft work (a paper saver). Ink cartridges from eBay or Amazon are much cheaper than OEM and I do not notice the difference.

The only thing missing is auto-feed for scanning.

The initial purchase plus operating cost over 5 years for an ink-jet will be higher than for a LJ but the convenience wins hand down for our current needs. Will reexamine needs in a few years if/when the printer reaches end of life.

Everyone is referring to how inkjets are more space-saving than laserjets. Just for info this Hp1020 dumpster find of mine is 9.53 x 14.57 x 8.23 inches. That HP managed to make a laserjet this small, albeit black only, back in 2005 is amazing. Monochromatic laserjets are even smaller now but I bet they won't live as long.

glasskuter said:

Everyone is referring to how inkjets are more space-saving than laserjets. Just for info this Hp1020 dumpster find of mine is 9.53 x 14.57 x 8.23 inches. That HP managed to make a laserjet this small, albeit black only, back in 2005 is amazing. Monochromatic laserjets are even smaller now but I bet they won't live as long.

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HP MFP M28 Laser jet has a very small footprint -- it's possibly taller than a typical inkjet but width of whole box is just wider than an A4 sheet of paper and the hopper can hold quite a load of paper too.

These days if I need A4 / A3+ / A2 size photo printing I just send to a lab and get the job professionally done -- Email the photo to lab and it's back by post (DHL etc) within a day or too. I've a small USB canon printer if I need to do 4 X 6's or 7 X 5's - which I rarely do these days. I love photography with pro kit so when I get a pic I really want to print then I have the job printed professionally -- and it's great when framed and on your walls.

For invoicing clients for gigs done and submitting timesheets these days its all done via email or by clients bespoke apps . I print to a pdf for my own use and just save. I don't know how the tax authorities work in your jurisdiction but these are accepted by mine as valid for tax purposes so no probs on that score either.

I used to do loads of printing -- with better and larger screens and fast Internet - it's amazing how much one can cut down on unnecessary printing --"saves the planet too" !!!!.


Cheers
jimbo

jimbo45 said:

These days if I need A4 / A3+ / A2 size photo printing I just send to a lab and get the job professionally done -- Email the photo to lab and i

Click to expand...

there's plenty of self-service photo printers in places like Walmart. No need to wait. 5 minutes tops.

I have a color laser printer and an inkjet printer. In the past year all I printed were a few UPS labels on the laser printer. After 4 years of use, my laser printer is still on its introductory toner cartridges, and they aren't even 50% used. I'm self-employed, work from home, and essentially work paperless.

badrobot said:

there's plenty of self-service photo printers in places like Walmart. No need to wait. 5 minutes tops.

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That's OK if you have those ---- here in Is. no such luxury !!!

Cheers
jimbo

I do a lot of "photo quality" printing for CD jewel case inserts for my recording studio clients (I also have a CD production facility). I had considered a Laser printer the last time I replaced my printer but photo quality Lasers were out of my price range. I tried a (business model) Epson and Canon and went with a HP OfficeJet Pro 8720. Its fast and photo quality printing.

If it wasn't for my (current) needs I would go with a Laser.

If it wasn't for my (current) needs I would go with a Laser.

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Unfortunately our 'needs' frequently exceed our bank balance.

HP Instant Ink, best ever deal! My neighbour has had her Ink jet printer for 3 years now and has never bought any more cartridges.
Maths part £70 for printer/scanner, so far 3 lots of black and colour carts £0.00, 15 free prints per month, 10 extra prints £1.00 and rolls over to following months as well.
With her low usage she's never had to pay!
You have to be careful... test prints and diagnostic printouts do count!!!

I didn't mention earlier but a couple months ago a client's wife had died and I was given her iMac 21" and an HP LaserJet 1022 along with a NIB $90 toner cartridge. It's a very nice simple printer. Only downside is the LJ is USB only, may have to get a $30 Ethernet to USB Print Server to connect to Router.

I have a Brother HL-L2340DW Laser and a HP Officejet Pro 6830 printer. The only time I use the HP is if I need color or I need to do a scan. When the day comes that the Brother dies, I'm going to replace it with a Brother Laser printer with a scanner. Walmart has one for $250.00 that is very tempting but I don't need three printers.

I have had both and like both but currently I use an Inkjet and I enjoy it and my ink lasts a very long time.

Winuser said:

I have a Brother HL-L2340DW Laser and a HP Officejet Pro 6830 printer. The only time I use the HP is if I need color or I need to do a scan. When the day comes that the Brother dies, I'm going to replace it with a Brother Laser printer with a scanner. Walmart has one for $250.00 that is very tempting but I don't need three printers.

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I have a Brother HL-L2390DW that includes a flatbed scanner and works great. It's currently only $190 at Walmart and Amazon.