Why laser printers?

[ClickHere2Surf.com]

Last summer I researched a lot for a high volume printer for the DVD labels for the software I sell, I looked at lasers thinking they cost less in ink (I always thought that was the advantage of lasers) but found that in you buy the manufacturer's cartridges the cost per page is double that of ink jet.

That leaves all other laser printer's disadvantages I knew about:
-Terrible print quality (even a $10 000 color laser can't even come close to a $100 inkjet's quality)
-Slow (today's $100 inkjets easily beat even a $1000 black and white laser for speed)
-More maintenance

The one and only advantage I can come up with for laser is water proof prints.

So, why do companies use laser printers if the only advantage is water proof prints? I doubt any company needs that.

I also think maybe the more expensive lasers might end up costing less than inkjet in ink/toner, but with today's inkijet generic prints you can print 2000 pages for $10 of ink.

So, what in the world is the poiunt of laser printers and how did they ever survive with all those disadvantages?

I'm well aware that just a few years ago it was the other way around, but inkjet technology has advanced to the point were I simply don't understand how laser printers are still surviving.

[3fingersalute]

Where did you get your data for you research? Lasers are much cheaper on a per page basis, and while the FPO (first page out), is faster a lot of times on an inkjet, lasers for the most part are far faster than any inkjet (unless you maybe run the inkjet in draft mode, but that's not even a fair comparison).

As far as quality, print a page of text on an inkjet, and then the same page on a laser. Do you really think the inkjet is better in print quality?

And as far as more maintenance, most HP's aren't rated for a service kit until over the 120K mark - most inkjets are pitched out long before reaching that mark.

[TechZ]

wow, 3fs is right, youre info is either really,really, outdated, or you've been misinformed.

Today, laser FPO speeds are rapidly dropping, no one can beat them for sheer speed and TCO.

You want sharp, crisp, vivid text, get a laser, anyday.

Color lasers have seriously dropped in price and are reasonably good, epson & Hp have a decent range.

Even then I do agree, that a PHOTO inkjet would very nicely beat a color laser.

[ilovetheusers]

I also think maybe the more expensive lasers might end up costing less than inkjet in ink/toner, but with today's inkijet generic prints you can print 2000 pages for $10 of ink.

Where are you getting that from? Where have you found $10 ink cartridges? Mine cost $25-$50 each and don't last anywhere near 2000 pages.

[3fingersalute]

Where are you getting that from? Where have you found $10 ink cartridges? Mine cost $25-$50 each and don't last anywhere near 2000 pages.

Unless you're using refills/generics, and doing printer repairs for over 10 years now, I can tell you - they usually cause considerable headaches by leaking, and produce poor quality.

[DonJ]

Even a cheap laser printer will give you excellent quality printouts.

Even the best inkjet will run on you.

[kato2274]

Even the best inkjet will run on you.

yep that's the Big Big factor IMO when you are talking about distributing anything commercially whether that be a brochure, CD label, ad etc.

that last thing you want is for the ink to run on your pretty CD label, when a user carries it out to their car in the rain.....makes you look unprofessional and cheap.

[ShadowWynd]

In practice, a laser cartridge costs about $100, and if mostly printing text (no heavy graphics usage), it is not uncommon to get over 2000 sheets out of a cartridge - a cost per page of about $0.05. I have clients that have completely forgot about their lasers needing new cartridges because the thing has handled about 50 pages per week for two years without even a peep (using the original cartridge). Inkjets, on the other hand - I was doing good to get 250 pages of text out of a $35 cartridge - approximately $0.15 per page.

Every inkjet I have seen has problems with smudging. Handling the paper on some of them could make it unreadable. I have seen a single drop of water dissolve a considerable amount of the ink on a page - it depends on the brand of ink, though - but every inkjet I have seen will smudge. This is a big problem in a business setting. Do you print labels or envelopes in the inkjet printer? If the mail gets slightly damp - your mail may not be delivered. Do you hand a client a proposal, and in the time in takes to discuss it have the thing become illegible because his hands are sweating?

"Laser printing" is a much more mature technology than inkjets - it is essentially a photocopier with a different input. Since that is the case, I have seen far fewer mechanical failures in the lasers I maintain than on the inkjets.

I will give the points to inkjet when it comes to photo-quality work, but only if you are comparing consumer models. By the time you get up to the "professional" color lasers - they take the cake every time - no fuzzing, extremely crisp photo-quality prints that don't smudge or run - in a fraction of the time it takes an inkjet to do a full picture in "enhanced photo quality mode".

[3fingersalute]

I looked at lasers thinking they cost less in ink

Also, LaserJets don't use ink, they use toner, which is why you don't get the smudging (as mentioned above).

Me personally, if I was selling a software, I'd never dream of putting labels produced by an inkjet on them, it would just look too amatuerish. Also, if the ink doesn't dry up enough, or becomes wet, and the cd is put into a drive, the ink goes everywhere from the drive spinnig it, creating quite a nasty looking mess of a label.

[ClickHere2Surf.com]

Where did you get your data for you research? Lasers are much cheaper on a per page basis, and while the FPO (first page out), is faster a lot of times on an inkjet, lasers for the most part are far faster than any inkjet (unless you maybe run the inkjet in draft mode, but that's not even a fair comparison).

As far as quality, print a page of text on an inkjet, and then the same page on a laser. Do you really think the inkjet is better in print quality?

And as far as more maintenance, most HP's aren't rated for a service kit until over the 120K mark - most inkjets are pitched out long before reaching that mark.

HP inkjets, unlike all other inkjets, use pigment black ink, which results in the same "laser quality" text as laser does. I agree that lexmark, canon and epson all have terrible text print quality, but HP's inkjets to make text that's just like from a laser, even on draft the text quality is very good, but I need to use at least the 2nd lowest quality for it to look like a laser print, but the drafts are still very sharp and readable (I just got an epson CD printer, and it's draft is a total joke, black comes out as a very faint gray!).

But when I was talking about print quality, I meant for photos, I have print samples of photos printed on $10 000+ HP lasers and they dont even look as good as prints from a $100 inkjet.

Today, laser FPO speeds are rapidly dropping, no one can beat them for sheer speed and TCO.

I wasnt talking about FPO, even once started, many inkjets can beat lasers, my HP business inkjet prints full color pages at 20 pages per minute, or 3 seconds per page, no laser in its price range could get anywhere near that speed even in black and white. I must though I am dissapointed at the FPO of my business inkjet printer (but thats the one and only minor issue I have), when I print for the first time in the day (or few hours, never checked), it runs a 10-20 second cleaning cycle, so even though it takes 2-3 seconds to print the page, it takes a while before it starts.

[quote]Where are you getting that from? Where have you found $10 ink cartridges? Mine cost $25-$50 each and don't last anywhere near 2000 pages.[quote]

I refill my cartridges myself.

Unless you're using refills/generics, and doing printer repairs for over 10 years now, I can tell you - they usually cause considerable headaches by leaking, and produce poor quality.

You must be using an epson or canon, I hate those printers, I've always refilled my HP, get the exact same quality as original, and never had a problem.

Even a cheap laser printer will give you excellent quality printouts.

Even the best inkjet will run on you.

When I refer to quality I mean color photos, not text, yes text looks perfect from a laser, but photos from a laser look like colored sand paper.

yep that's the Big Big factor IMO when you are talking about distributing anything commercially whether that be a brochure, CD label, ad etc.

that last thing you want is for the ink to run on your pretty CD label, when a user carries it out to their car in the rain.....makes you look unprofessional and cheap.

As I said that was an advantage I recognized of lasers but some inkjet inks claim to be water proof, some papers also make non water proof inks water proof and I have tested and prooved this, my inkjet prints normally wash out to a blank page under water, but with some papers, the ink does not run at all, but I agree if you want water proof prints then laser is the best choice.

Inkjets, on the other hand - I was doing good to get 250 pages of text out of a $35 cartridge - approximately $0.15 per page.

The cartridges from my business inkjet make 1700 color copies or 3000-4000 black and white copies with a $10-15 cartridge, which is why I chose this one over laser.

Do you print labels or envelopes in the inkjet printer? If the mail gets slightly damp - your mail may not be delivered

I used to, I now have a thermal label printer for that, and 4 printers in total on my pc (HP photo lab quality all-in-one, HP business inkjet, Brother thermal label roll printer, Epson CD printer).

I will give the points to inkjet when it comes to photo-quality work, but only if you are comparing consumer models. By the time you get up to the "professional" color lasers - they take the cake every time - no fuzzing, extremely crisp photo-quality prints that don't smudge or run - in a fraction of the time it takes an inkjet to do a full picture in "enhanced photo quality mode".

What is professional to you? I have color photo samples right here of a $10 000 HP color laserjet and the quality isn't better than my inkjet, it's close, but not as good.

Me personally, if I was selling a software, I'd never dream of putting labels produced by an inkjet on them, it would just look too amatuerish. Also, if the ink doesn't dry up enough, or becomes wet, and the cd is put into a drive, the ink goes everywhere from the drive spinnig it, creating quite a nasty looking mess of a label.

The case label itself is covered by a plastic sleeve, and ink spinning off a cd? You're kidding right? Even fresh out of the printer it wouldn't do that, let alone days or weeks after it's been printed.

[3fingersalute]

The case label itself is covered by a plastic sleeve, and ink spinning off a cd? You're kidding right? Even fresh out of the printer it wouldn't do that, let alone days or weeks after it's been printed.

Not kidding at all - I've seen many cd's with a blurred label because the ink ran from being put in a drive when it was wet.

As far as everything else, as long as your happy with an inkjet, I guess that's all that really matters then!

[TechZ]

Good Luck to you! hope the new printer works as good as advertised. If youre happy and youre clients are happy, then its good news all around

[ClickHere2Surf.com]

Not kidding at all - I've seen many cd's with a blurred label because the ink ran from being put in a drive when it was wet.

You mean wet with water added on top? Then of course the ink will get off, but I could run the prints from my HP on glossy labels under water and the ink is totally unaffected, the same can't be said of my new epson though, but that may be the CDs.

[arch0nmyc0n]

I see most people have already questioned your source for your information so I'll try not to do that... but we have an old colour laser at work and it beats the hell outta any inkjet I've ever seen... at my other job we have a Xerox laser and it's hella faster than an average inkjet... maybe you should check yer paper quality, cheap paper can cause stuff not to come out right with different printers... our canon colour laser only uses canon specified paper and some of the prints are mind blowing... plus it's also skill of the user too... the woman who does all the copying with the laser always gets better prints than if I try to do it myself... and the cost per page I believe is about 24 cents a sheet of 8.5 x 11... and we have an older model, the newer models are like 14 cents a sheet... When it comes down to it I firmly believe laser is cheaper... and the only way I could see an inkjet do 2000 pages is if it was like 1% coverage on uber draft quality... that's just my 2 cents...

[ClickHere2Surf.com]

Beats the hell out of inkjet in what aspect? speed? quality (yea right)?

My HP inkjet does a full color page in 3 seconds, sure that's on draft but it's still a very good print quality (unlike with epsons and canons). The laser prints I got are from HP so I think they would use good paper to show off their printers, and in the samples I got there were some from inkjets and lasers, and even the non-photo quality inkjets beat the $10 000+ color laser in terms of print quality, let alone the photo quality ones, nothing can be that, there simply can't be a better print quality that the human eye can see (4800 dpi with each dot being one of 73 million colors on the best HP).

And 24 cents a page!?! You call that cheap? I can print a 100% covered color page for less than 5 cents (perhaps less than 1 cent, I'm saying 5 to be sure), but that's with refills, but even if you refill lasers, the toner still costs a fortune so you'll never get as cheap as refilling an inkjet.

And the business inkjet I have is a business model with huge cartridges, HP says the cartridge yeild is "1,750 *Based on 5% coverage (yield may vary based on printer model)".