Inkjet vs Laser | The age-old debate

Choosing between inkjet and laser is something which puzzles us all when getting that new printer to replace the ancient device that’s been cramping our style for so long. We could go into the nitty-gritty details of their concept of operation and the different variants of both but we can all agree that it will take us nowhere.

For those of you who do not know which is which, inkjet printers are those small printers you used to find in every household which make that weird dragging sound while they gradually push out printed media. Laser printers are different in many ways. They’re usually larger and sound like they’re going to spout out a good cup of espresso when starting up (they usually don’t) and then spit out a warm printed paper. So now that you know, which should you choose?

Conventional inkjet printers are designed to print photos and the occasional document here and there. They can print crisp images on photo media and decent looking documents, they’re cheap to buy, do not occupy too much desk space and are becoming pretty stylish. Moreover, most inkjet printers print in colour so there’s no need to spend hours on the net looking for black and white images to include in your assignment. Looks good so far! There is a draw-back however, their consumables tend to be quite expensive and therefore they would not be ideal for high volume printing.

Laser printers are more expensive to buy and are mainly recommended for printing documents. Printing photos with these devices will not render proper results unless you’re into the shiny and discoloured effect. That being said a proper colour laser printer is excellent for printing brochures and colourful illustrations and would dish these out faster than any inkjet. Furthermore, consumables for laser printers tend to have larger yields and therefore render lower cost of ownership. If colour printing is not your speed, laser printers also come in black and white only versions.

So there we have it, both technologies have their uses and applications so keep it in mind when buying your new printer and *just for the sake of it* we would love it if you choose Canon or OKI ?.