Colour laser printers compared to inkjet printers?

[Brian]

I'd be interested in knowing if colour laser printers are dropping
rapidly in price.
Are they cheaper t run compared to ink jet printers?
Are there any disadvantages compared to inkjet printers?
Are colour laser printers very good at printing photos?

I have been using a black and white laser printer for a few years and
it seems cheap to run compared to using my ink jet printer for
printing text, but this could be different for a colour laser rinter
if the coloured toner is expensive.

Regards Brian

 

[Tony]

Brian
Firstly colour lasers are droppping in price and in generally have extremely
high quality. They print faster than inkjets.
Cost of ownership is in nearly all cases lower for lasers than inkjets both
monochrome and colour, the issue is how much prinitng you will be doing because
of the relatively high initial cost of a colour laser, if you are not going to
print all that much then obviously an inkjet may be better. So you need to do
your sums. Any good dealer should give you costs of running either type of
printer. Disadvantages of lasers is high initial cost, high cost of consumables
even though they will print dramatically more copies than an inkjet cartridge,
average cost of a full set of toners for a colour laser (4 in all) is about
$700 to $1000 NZ dollars (just checked on the net) depending on the model you
buy but you should get up to 5,000 pages for that. Drums ($750 for 15-17,000
pages), fusers and transfer belts ($450 for 15-20,000 pages). Lasers are
generally more reliable, but warm up relatively slowly (some models, check if
this is important to you), they are also built to last for many years. So all
together there will be some big purchases through the life of the printer but
overall cost of ownership is lower than inkjets. Photo quality is something I
am not competent to advise on but I will say I am constantly impressed at how
well they print photos, most will print on card (up to 230 gsm or better), they
cannot print on inkjet photo paper, the coating will probably melt on the fuser
and result in a need to replace the fuser. However high quality laser card is
available at a reasonable price. I suggest you look at a flat bed type of
printer rather than a carousel type because they warm up faster, can print
banners and are much less likely to have paper jams if you want to print
labels. Label and business card printing is fraught with problems on all
non-flatbed printers whether laser or inkjet. Most lasers will print first
class business cards. I have found OKI and HP colour lasers to have high
reliability and quality (I have heard that Epson make good colour lasers but I
have no personal experience), there are some makes that I would not recommend.
Talk to someone else about photo quality comparisons, that is a highly
specialised area and your expectations have a lot to do with it. I believe that
print permanence is excellent on lasers.
Tony

 

[measekite]

Brian
Firstly colour lasers are droppping in price and in generally have extremely
high quality. They print faster than inkjets.
Cost of ownership is in nearly all cases lower for lasers than inkjets both
monochrome and colour, the issue is how much prinitng you will be doing because
of the relatively high initial cost of a colour laser, if you are not going to
print all that much then obviously an inkjet may be better. So you need to do
your sums. Any good dealer

You do not need a dealer when you have Google and Ask Jeeves

should give you costs of running either type of
printer. Disadvantages of lasers is high initial cost, high cost of consumables
even though they will print dramatically more copies than an inkjet cartridge,
average cost of a full set of toners for a colour laser (4 in all) is about
$700 to $1000 NZ dollars (just checked on the net) depending on the model you
buy but you should get up to 5,000 pages for that. Drums ($750 for 15-17,000
pages), fusers and transfer belts ($450 for 15-20,000 pages). Lasers are
generally more reliable, but warm up relatively slowly (some models, check if
this is important to you), they are also built to last for many years. So all
together there will be some big purchases through the life of the printer but
overall cost of ownership is lower than inkjets. Photo quality is something
********************************************************************************8

I am not competent

**********************************************************************************

You are right!

to advise on but I will say I am constantly impressed at how
well they print photos, most will print on card (up to 230 gsm or better), they
cannot print on inkjet photo paper, the coating will probably melt on the fuser
and result in a need to replace the fuser. However high quality laser card is
available at a reasonable price. I suggest you look at a flat bed type of
printer rather than a carousel type because they warm up faster, can print
banners and are much less likely to have paper jams if you want to print
labels. Label and business card printing is fraught with problems on all
non-flatbed printers whether laser or inkjet. Most lasers will print first
class business cards. I have found OKI and HP colour lasers to have high
reliability and quality (I have heard that Epson make good colour lasers but I
have no personal experience), there are some makes that I would not recommend.
Talk to someone else about photo quality comparisons,

They do not have the striking vibrance of an inkjet; especially a dye
based inkjet

 

[Tony]

Brian
Just to clarify.
You can do all sorts of research on the web and that is a great place to start,
but if you go to a dealer you will see the actual printer, get them to give you
some examples of the quality, even take a photograph that they can print for
you to use as a benchmark. You can also ask questions that are not necessarily
covered by reviews. If you are going to spend this sort of money any good
dealer will give you time and the opportunity to print your own photographs as
a test.
Colour vibrance is subjective, you know what quality you need and you will get
the best chance of judging the quality by seeing the actual output from any
printer you wish to consider.
Good luck
Tony

 

[Brian]

Brian
Firstly colour lasers are droppping in price and in generally have extremely
high quality. They print faster than inkjets.
Cost of ownership is in nearly all cases lower for lasers than inkjets both
monochrome and colour, the issue is how much prinitng you will be doing because
of the relatively high initial cost of a colour laser, if you are not going to
print all that much then obviously an inkjet may be better. So you need to do
your sums. Any good dealer should give you costs of running either type of
printer. Disadvantages of lasers is high initial cost, high cost of consumables
even though they will print dramatically more copies than an inkjet cartridge,
average cost of a full set of toners for a colour laser (4 in all) is about
$700 to $1000 NZ dollars (just checked on the net) depending on the model you
buy but you should get up to 5,000 pages for that. Drums ($750 for 15-17,000
pages), fusers and transfer belts ($450 for 15-20,000 pages). Lasers are
generally more reliable, but warm up relatively slowly (some models, check if
this is important to you), they are also built to last for many years. So all
together there will be some big purchases through the life of the printer but
overall cost of ownership is lower than inkjets. Photo quality is something I
am not competent to advise on but I will say I am constantly impressed at how
well they print photos, most will print on card (up to 230 gsm or better), they
cannot print on inkjet photo paper, the coating will probably melt on the fuser
and result in a need to replace the fuser. However high quality laser card is
available at a reasonable price. I suggest you look at a flat bed type of
printer rather than a carousel type because they warm up faster, can print
banners and are much less likely to have paper jams if you want to print
labels. Label and business card printing is fraught with problems on all
non-flatbed printers whether laser or inkjet. Most lasers will print first
class business cards. I have found OKI and HP colour lasers to have high
reliability and quality (I have heard that Epson make good colour lasers but I
have no personal experience), there are some makes that I would not recommend.
Talk to someone else about photo quality comparisons, that is a highly
specialised area and your expectations have a lot to do with it. I believe that
print permanence is excellent on lasers.
Tony

Thanks Tony for taking the time to inform me on the pros and cons of
colour lasers.
If the price continues to drop then maybe one day they will replace
inkjet printers.

Regards Brian

 

[Brian]

Brian
Just to clarify.
You can do all sorts of research on the web and that is a great place to start,
but if you go to a dealer you will see the actual printer, get them to give you
some examples of the quality, even take a photograph that they can print for
you to use as a benchmark. You can also ask questions that are not necessarily
covered by reviews. If you are going to spend this sort of money any good
dealer will give you time and the opportunity to print your own photographs as
a test.
Colour vibrance is subjective, you know what quality you need and you will get
the best chance of judging the quality by seeing the actual output from any
printer you wish to consider.
Good luck
Tony

Thanks Tony and others for your reply.
I did some research a year or so ago and there were not many colour
laser printers about at the time. At the moment the cost is a big
factor in buying one.
I find the newsgroups useful as no one is trying to push me into
buying a colour laser printer like some dealers do these days and I
usually get honest feedback.
I guess the question on my mind is should I get an injet printer or
wait a while to buy a colour laser printer.
I have a lot of digital photos from my camera waiting to be printed.

Regards Brian

 

[me]

Thanks Tony and others for your reply.
I did some research a year or so ago and there were not many colour
laser printers about at the time. At the moment the cost is a big
factor in buying one.
I find the newsgroups useful as no one is trying to push me into
buying a colour laser printer like some dealers do these days and I
usually get honest feedback.
I guess the question on my mind is should I get an injet printer or
wait a while to buy a colour laser printer.
I have a lot of digital photos from my camera waiting to be printed.

When considering the cost you need to consider not only the initial
purchase price but the ongoing costs and what level of output you are
going to be doing. I have two colour lasers both churning out between
2-3,000 pages a month, doing that with inkjets wouldn't be too practical
(and would be rather expensive!)

 

[thoss]

I guess the question on my mind is
should I get an injet printer or wait a while to buy a colour laser
printer. I have a lot of digital photos from my camera waiting to be
printed.

A friend who is a noted photographer has now given up on his inkjet and
does all his printing on a laser, with excellent results.

The more you print the more the economics swing in favour of laser. And
think - no jets to clog up.

 

[measekite]

A friend who is a noted photographer has now given up on his inkjet and
does all his printing on a laser, with excellent results.

The more you print the more the economics swing in favour of laser. And
think - no jets to clog up.

Then why are many pro shops who cater to professional photographers are
doing a lot of work on dye sublimation printers and not injets or lasers?

 

[Stanley Krute]

Hi Brian

A lot depends on what you find acceptable for print quality.
Somewhat subjective.

For my own tastes, I've yet to see an affordable-by-normal-folks
color laser printer whose prints match the latest Epson/Canon/HP
highest-quality dye and pigment printers.

When judging costs for printing photos on a laser, don't use the
company-supplied figures for toner usage. They are typically
figured at 5% coverage numbers.

The least expensive way to get prints made of your digital photos
is to go to a Wal-Mart/Costco/whatever with a CD or memory
card, and have the prints done there. Or use one of the online
print services.

-- stan

 

[me]

A friend who is a noted photographer has now given up on his inkjet and
does all his printing on a laser, with excellent results.

The more you print the more the economics swing in favour of laser. And
think - no jets to clog up.

The Xerox solid ink machines have something similar to the jets of the
ink jet. Having done about 40,000 pages on one it has needed to go
through its declogging routine about half a dozen times.