Which printer is best for home and office - inkjet or laser

The office equipment market is constantly growing. New types of printers are appearing, so the user can choose the right technique. Based on printing technology, there are two types of devices: inkjet and laser. The scope is the main difference. To determine which is better: a color laser printer or an inkjet, you need to clearly formulate the tasks. Each technology has both strengths and weaknesses.

Two different printing principles

First, it is determined for what purpose the printer will be used. The options are as follows:

• home printing (print documents, newspapers and so on);
• for work in the office;
• under photo printing;
• educational goals (essays, term papers, laboratory).

Now let's consider which device will better cope with these tasks.

How laser printers work

For the most part, toner is the coloring material in this technique. Due to the positive charge of the latter, the laser is able to highlight the areas where the image will potentially be located. A feature of this method is that highly detailed images are printed.

There is an alternative - the toner has a negative charge. In such printers, the laser illuminates those areas in which, on the contrary, it will not “work”. This is done in order to fill the image most uniformly.

The printing process is reduced to several stages:

1. The toner melts when exposed to a heating part.
2. The molten powder sticks to paper.
3. Using a scraper, excess toner is removed from the drum.
4. To obtain a charge, the drum undergoes electrostatic treatment.
5. The mirror system displays an image on the drum.
6. It moves along the magnetic shaft, and at this time a picture is applied on it with toner.
7. The drum imprints the image on paper.
8. The sheet passes through the stove, which is required to fix the image.

How inkjet printers work

In the design of such a technique, special nozzles are provided through which ink forming an image is supplied to the paper. The nozzles themselves are quite thin, along with the thickness of the hair, and they are located on the head of the printer, next to the tank with liquid ink. Manufacturers of office equipment make a different number of nozzles (on average, from 16 to 64).

There are two methods for ejecting ink droplets:

1. Piezoelectric. The basis of the technology is as follows - the piezoelectric element is deformed under the influence of an electric field. Each nozzle has a flat membrane made of a piezocrystal. An electrical impulse leads to deformation of the membrane, resulting in pressure and an ink drop ejected from the nozzle.
2. Gas bubble method. Here, fast heating to a boiling point is effective. At this time, steam forms, pushing a small portion of ink. For this method to work, each nozzle must be equipped with a microscopic heating element.

Inkjet vs Laser: Pros and Cons

Compare the main parameters of office equipment to determine which printer is better to buy: inkjet or laser. Each option has both strengths and weaknesses.

Price

According to this criterion, there is not much difference between the devices. Everything is individual and depends on the brand and characteristics of the printer.However, laser is more expensive compared to inkjet. The only thing is that in the latter cartridges with a small working resource are installed, so they will have to be replaced more often. And this entails additional costs.

Another thing to consider is inkjet printers require high quality paper. For prints of a photograph or document, so that the image is clear and high-quality, you need the appropriate paper, and this is a recurring cost.

Important! The laser is less demanding - you can load ordinary office sheets into it.

Print quality

There is practically no obvious difference in the quality of the finished images. The inkjet printer is ideal for printing text, photos, banners, labels, cards and more, in high resolution and good quality. In the case of laser technology, it copes worse with printing photos. The fact is that toner falls worse on the surface of the paper, which makes the picture less juicy and saturated. That is, the laser printer has worse color rendering. But, in contrast to this, he has an important advantage - the finished images have good resistance to light and moisture. In addition, the laser is the optimal technology for printing a large number of documents at high speed.

Print speed

If you choose by this criterion, it is better to give preference to a laser printer. Even if the office equipment class is average, it easily prints 15 sheets in one minute. The "inkjet" in this regard is weaker, since it takes into account additional factors for work: the mode, the required resolution of the document, and the print volume. For example, if a photo is printed at the maximum resolution, an inkjet printer will take longer than a laser printer. In favor of laser technology, we indicate that it copes with large volumes.

Consumables and refill cartridges

The average price of a cartridge for an inkjet device is 500 - 600 rubles, the volume of ink is 13 ml. It is not necessary to buy a new cartridge every time, you can refuel the old one. Only print quality will decrease slightly. Inkjet printers must not be left idle for a long time, otherwise the ink will dry out. If the print head dries, then this can cause damage to the equipment. To avoid such an unpleasant situation, it is enough to print one color image once a week.

The new laser device cartridge has a price of 200 rubles. The price of toner for refueling the old one is similar. There is one caveat: toner is a toxic substance, therefore it is necessary to work with it observing safety measures. At a minimum, protective gloves will be required and, preferably, the room in which the change is made is well ventilated.

Important! The advantage of powdery ink is that it does not dry, so such a printer may be inoperative for a long time.

Environmental friendliness

There is an unpleasant odor when using the laser printer. The fact is that toner, baking on paper, emits harmful substances. If documents are not printed so often, then there is nothing wrong with that. When productive work, for example, in the office, you need to ventilate the room.

If the technique is chosen for the home, where the student or student needs to print a lot, it is better to choose an inkjet device. Its ink is environmentally friendly.

Important! They present harm only if they are drunk. Therefore, it is recommended to hide them in places inaccessible to children.

Which printer is better to buy: inkjet or laser

If you choose a multifunctional technique that can print various documents, from texts to photos, it is better to stay on an inkjet printer. Its price is affordable and its print quality is high.It allows you to print high-resolution photographs that convey a wide range of colors. If the print volume is small, then the service will be inexpensive. In addition, it is a compact technique that does not take up much free space.

Laser devices are optimal for printing text documents, and on a large scale. Such printers work quickly and silently. In terms of photo printing, lasers lose to inkjets, because the toner is not able to print colors as much as liquid ink does. In terms of service, this office equipment is more expensive, therefore, relevant for large offices.

And yet, which is better, a laser or LED printer? There is no exact answer. It is necessary to determine the print quality, volumes and financial investments. Only in the aggregate of these criteria will it be possible to find out the cost of one print.