Printer Types

If you are in need of a printer and are like many consumers, you may not know which type of printer is best for your needs, an inkjet or a laser printer. To decide which is best, you need to first determine what you will be primarily printing and how often you will be using the printer.

Photo Printing

While there are color laser jet printers on the market, for high quality photo printing, inkjet is the best choice for photo printing. Inkjet printers will give you the clearest picture and highest resolution. If you are using your printer primarily for photo printing, then a high quality inkjet printer is your best bet.

Office/Heavy Use

If you are using your printer in an office setting and printing fairly many pages per day, then your best choice would be a laser printer. While there are color laser printers, which work great from graphics used on business presentations, many offices only print black and white copies and don’t have a need for color printing. Based on what you are printing on a daily basis, you can decide if a color laser printer is necessary. Laser printers also print a lot faster than inkjet, so for those that want their printing to be fast and/or have heavy printing needs, then a laser printer is the way to go.

Color Printing

Color printing can be done with both a laser printer and an inkjet. Again, depending on how much you are printing and what quality you are looking for, you will need to decide which printer option to choose since both options will offer color printing. Laser printers will offer greater speed and are better for heavy use, while inkjet is good for lighter use and photo quality prints. If you are printing pamphlets or media, inkjet may be the best option.

Inkjet

Inkjet printers are fairly inexpensive depending on the brand, as well as the bells and whistles included. If you are comparing the cost between a laser printer and an inkjet printer, then an inkjet printer is the less expensive option in almost all cases. That being said, buyer beware. If you have heavy printing needs, then you will not want to go with an inkjet printer even though the initial cost is less. It will end up costing more in ink and in maintenance costs in the long run. Most inkjet printers are not made to handle constant, heavy printing day in and day out. You may also have issues with consistency and quality if you are printing a lot with your inkjet printer.

Laser Printer

While laser printers are often more expensive than inkjet printers, for those that need to print often, the cost will be made up in no time. Also because laser printers print fast, it makes them more convenient when you need jobs printed quickly and efficiently. Laser printers also provide highly detailed and clear print for smaller fonts and details.

Remember, the key to deciding which type of printer to choose will depend mainly on how often you are using the printer and what type of documents you are printing. Typically businesses will purchase laser printers and those that are printing for home use will choose an inkjet printer.
If you are in the market for a laser printer or an inkjet printer, then contact Lasertek of Pittsburgh. Lasertek can also assist with printer replacement and/or printer repair. The experts at Lasertek can also assist you with deciding which printer will best fit your needs.