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Inkjet printer versus Laser printer
Find out which of the two is better for home-office business.
Team CI | Jul 04, 2008
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If yor are one of those who own a small business and intend to buy a printer, there's an important point to be remembered: before you pick your brand and model, you have to decide which printer technology should you go for, that is, decide whether you should buy a laser printer or an inkjet printer. We'd help you analyze the pros and cons of each, but prior to that, let’s understand a few basics:

Key difference
The key difference between the two printers- namely, inkjet and laser- is the type of ink that they use. Inkjet printers use liquid ink and laser printers use powdered ink.

Price range
The price of laser printer ranges from Rs 6,699 (HP-LaserJet P1007) to Rs 4,73,200 (Xerox-Phaser 7760).

The price of inkjet printer ranges from Rs 1,200 (Canon-Pixma iP1300) to Rs 39,999 (Epson-Stylus Photo R1900).

When it comes to a face-off between the two, their differences could be explained under a few key parameters:

Cost
The cost of most inkjet printers is lesser than most laser printers. However, it’s the maintenance and running cost of inket printer that gives laser printer an edge. This would be better understood by comparing a laser printer’s cost of ownership against inkjet printer’s cost of ownership:

Inkjet printer’s cost of ownership: Let’s take Canon Pixma iP1300, which costs around 1,995. The cost of a cartridge is around Rs 1,275. It prints, on an average, 200 pages. If you print seven pages a day, it works out to 2,555 pages for the year. In a year, you will have to change the cartridge 12 times, the cost of which would be Rs 15,300. Total cost of ownership for a year works out to around Rs 16,575 (15,300+1995).

Laser printer’s cost of ownership: Let’s take HP Colour LaserJet 1600, which costs around Rs 17,338. The cost of a cartridge is around Rs 4,990. It prints, on an average, 2,500 pages. If you print seven pages a day, it works out to 2,555 pages per year. But since the cartridge supports printing around 2,500 pages, you’d only have to change the cartridge at the end of the year. Since the first cartridge is in-built, the total cost of ownership for a year is the price of the printer itself: Rs 17,338.

Take the comparison for a period of two years or longer than that and you’d see how costly inkjet could be. So, we can safely say, even though you shell out extra for laser printer, the annual cost of ownership was almost the same for both inkjet and laser printer.

To make a smart choice, estimate the number of pages/volume you would be printing and calculate how many times you’d be required to change the cartridge. If you have a huge number of pages to be printed, go for laser printer. But if your printing requirement is minimal, an inkjet printer is a good choice.

And obviously, if your budget is low, you are left with no option but to go for inkjet printer. But, do bear in mind the maintenance costs, and, more importantly, the general rule of thumb: the lesser the cost of the printer, the more expensive its running cost is.

Also Read: Super six: Best small-office laser printers
              
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