Laser or Ink Jet

[d.breeze]

Hello

 

It's time to put my printer into retirement, but it's been in service so long I have no idea what the current printer market is like. I've always had ink jet as it seems the obvious choice for domestic users but I am considering laser this time around as all it really gets used for is office based tasks so it might be worth while. But I'm not sure. So, is it worth buying a laser printer for your average domestic user perfomring mainly admin tasks?

 

I need a scanner/printer combo. Scanner is only used for receipts/documents doesn't need to be fantastic. Mainly print invoices/quotes and other documents and plans. Often print colour maps. I would like a colour printer but it definitely doesn't need to be photo quality ot anything like that.

 

So, is it worth it? Do any of you have any recommendations? I'm not really looking to spend a futune, so less than £100 ideally.

 

Thanks

[Gerry]

Hello

So, is it worth it? Do any of you have any recommendations? I'm not really looking to spend a futune, so less than £100 ideally.

 

Thanks

You can buy an inkjet or laser printer for that sort of money but you need to consider the cost of replacement cartridges/ toner.

Most printer manufacturers sell printers at a loss, they make the money from the consumables.

Cheers

Gerry

[Dj Dunc]

Get yerself a colour laser. Ive had the toner in my mono one since 2001 and it only now ten years later needs replacing, wheras my inkjet needs its cartridges replacing every few months. (with similar levels of usage)

[d.breeze]

Get yerself a colour laser. Ive had the toner in my mono one since 2001 and it only now ten years later needs replacing, wheras my inkjet needs its cartridges replacing every few months. (with similar levels of usage)

 

That's good to know.

 

Gerry's point about consumables is a good one. It irritates me how much it costs to buy cartridges these days. I remember when you could replace black and 3 colours for £9.99!

[Simon Lewis]

So, is it worth it? Do any of you have any recommendations?

 

Get a copy of Computer Shopper, Which? or similar magazine when they run tests on laser printers / multifunction devices. They not only identify the ones that can give good quality print at a suitable speed, but also work out the price per page, whether you get a full toner cartridge from new, cost of consumables, ability to have multiple trays / duplex printing etc., whether the drum has to be changed each time the toner is changed (= expensive) and even whether it can print envelopes without crumpling them.

[ImagineerTom]

All "consumer level" printers (inkjet or laser) are subsidized and so come with (relatively) expensive ink/toner replacement. You're better looking at the cost of the consumables and using that to decide which printer - for example if you're going with an ink jet then go on to flebay and look at the continuous ink kits for printers (a faf to set up but once they're in, completely hassle free) and choose an appropriate printer to fit one of the kits that way your per-page cost is pennies. For laser go researching "compatible" toner supplies and find the cheapest supplier, buy lots from him in one go, then buy the appropriate printer to take those consumables - in our case we use Samsung CLP300 official toners = £270 (CMYK) or honest jim's clone toner = £35 (complete CMYK set). In either situation though stock up on the consumables NOW as they deliberately change the cartridge design from model to model so that you eventually have to buy a new printer because there's no longer any carts that fit.

 

The choice between inkjet & laser is slightly harder

 

Injet = better for printing photographs and using "special" papers but slower to print and best at doing one or two pages. Cheeper

 

Laser= FAST (30ppm full colour edge to edge A3 printing on our recoh), not so hot on photo-prints, temperamental about paper, effectively waterproof print, great for multi-page jobs.

 

 

[pritch]

Unless you've got a specific reason to get inkjet, I'd say go with laser. One thing that nobody's mentioned is what happens if you don't use it for a while - while the head may get blocked on an inkjet, that won't happen with a laser.

 

Also, if you are sending something to a prospective client and it happens to get wet, laser print won't run.

[paulears]

I don't think you can really answer this - I have both, and to be honest, need both. The colour laser is quick, good quality, and even with a full set of CMYK toner cartridges costing nearly £100, it's still good. I print a lot, and although I can't claim ten years, I get 9-12 months worth. But that doesn't mean anything as I don't count how many prints I do. Why do I need the ink jet? Simply because the laser cannot handle thick photo paper. If have got some laser photo paper, but it's thin, and expensive, compared to the normal stuff. I've also got an A3 inkjet, which is really good (Epson 1400). Worn out, in the shed, are another HP and Lexmark which died a death after just a year or so. Inkjet wise - I do like the 6 cartridge Epsons (I used to have an A4 one too, which got used to print CD/DVDs, but the R300 got replaced with the A3 when the ink ran out!)

 

You need to work out what you're going to print out, then make a choice from that. Some of the printer manufacturers are getting a little clever with ink cartridges and toner cartridges that are designed to prevent refilling or replacing with an unbranded product.

[timtheenchanteruk]

Im going colour laser shortly, I end up spending on ink, even if its not run out, blocked heads etc, at the moment, Im running my printer B/W to use up the last of the black ink I have, most of my stuff is B/W but like to have colour avaliable when I want it, somthing it just isnt at the moment.

 

I weighed up the photo print, but, TBH, unless I want A4 prints (havnt looked into the cost of these form a shop, the likes of snapfish or the machine in my local photoshop does better photo prints than my printer, and it costs me no more, taking into account the paper/ink costs etc, and the number of sheets lost when the printer throws a wobbler in the middle of a sheet.

[d.breeze]

Some very helpful Insights. I think I may have to go down the laser route. Time to research different makes/models.

 

Cheers everyone

[KevinE]

I have 2 Brother laser printers because you can refill the cartridges with toner (until the drum is worn out).

 

Some makes of laser printer have chips in the cartridge that won't let you refill them easily.

[Russ83]

I'd also recommend the laser route. Here are a few observations from what I have used at home/work:

 

Epson AcuLasers:

C1900 - These worked very well with minimal faults and ended service at about 200,000 pages.

C2600 - Several of these had clutch failures after about 50,000 pages which puts them beyond economic repair if warranty had expired.

C9100 - Very large and heavy piece of junk, requires weekly maintenance.

 

Brothers:

MFC 8220 - Got my parents one of these six years ago, now on it's second drum unit and 5th toner, never gives any hassle.

MFC 9840CDW - I use this as my printer at home, the duplex is very handy for posters etc but slows the printing down a lot. The wireless network scan, fax and printing works really well.

HL4040CN/4050CDN - These are our latest printers at work to replace the Epson's. Really easy to replace parts and I don't think we've had a failure out of 15 printers averaging 50,000 pages each.

 

HP LaserJet 5550 - Used in our technology computer room, minimal maintenance and good A3 printer with duplex built in. Toners are huge but cost a fortune!!

 

The Brother's do take a little time to print the first page from standby but fine once warmed up.

The Epson's have a better colour contrast when printing photos when put side-by-side with a Brother. The Borther's are still good though.

Don't go for honest jim's clone toner if you want to get maximum life out of your printer. We tried using clone/refilled units in one of our Epson's and the printer failed after the 3rd set of copy toners. It also voids your manufacturers warranty if you do not use their genuine replacements which meant that printer went in the bin after about 15,000 pages!

[dbuckley]

if you're going with an ink jet then go on to flebay and look at the continuous ink kits for printers (a faf to set up but once they're in, completely hassle free) and choose an appropriate printer to fit one of the kits that way your per-page cost is pennies.

My multifuction machine (Brother MFC something or other) is fitted with these tanks and it juts rocks. Ink cost next to nothing. Choose a printer (like most Brothers, even the cheapest MFC) which have tanks beneath a flap, as on the HPs and the like you need to do dodgy plumbing to the actual moving head to make them work.

 

I've also got a (mono) laser, and an A3 inkjet, and each has its use, and all get used.

[paulears]

The worst bit is the chips in the toner carts. I've got a black and white Samsung laser that just sits around now because I bought a non-samsung cartridge (about £40) and it won't work. So I did a bit of research and found a re-filler kit with small replacement pcb. Still won't work, so to find out if it's the actual printer will cost me another £50 quid for a genuine Samsung - so I've actually spent more on trying to get it working than it cost!

[Rory O]

if you're going with an ink jet then go on to flebay and look at the continuous ink kits for printers (a faf to set up but once they're in, completely hassle free) and choose an appropriate printer to fit one of the kits that way your per-page cost is pennies.

My multifuction machine (Brother MFC something or other) is fitted with these tanks and it juts rocks. Ink cost next to nothing. Choose a printer (like most Brothers, even the cheapest MFC) which have tanks beneath a flap, as on the HPs and the like you need to do dodgy plumbing to the actual moving head to make them work.

 

I've also got a (mono) laser, and an A3 inkjet, and each has its use, and all get used.

 

 

+1 to the Brother printers, I recently purchased a MFC-J415W to replace a dead Lexmark and it has been great. On top of that the compatible ink prices are so low it makes printing incredibly cheap.

 

Rory