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Printers are crucial components of offices all over the globe. When they were introduced, selecting an office printer wasn’t all that difficult. But now, with so many different types of printers – like laser, inkjet, LED, and multifunction models – many business owners struggle to find the right fit for their needs. If you’re unsure whether to select an office laser printer or an inkjet model, this guide will provide the answer.

What Is an Office Laser Printer?

We’ll begin with a look at what exactly an office laser printer is and how it works.

Laser printers, as the name suggests, are printers with lasers – highly concentrated beams of light – which effectively “draw” the letters and shapes to be printed on the paper in the form of static electricity. Then, toner – a type of dry, powdered ink – sticks onto the parts of the paper where that static charge has been applied, forming the final image.

It’s quite a complicated procedure, but it works incredibly well, producing reliable, detailed, and consistent results.

The Benefits of an Office Laser Printer

There are many advantages to using an office laser printer, including:

Speedy Printing

Office laser printers are workhorses. Incredibly productive and lightning-quick, they can print lots of pages per minute. This is ideal for office or business use in general, as many offices need to print multiple documents as quickly as possible.

Clear, Consistent Output

Laser printers aren’t merely speedy, they’re consistent, too. Every page they print tends to be crisp, clear, and detailed, with minimal risk of any smudges, smears, splatters, or inconsistencies in the output. This isn’t always true of inkjet models, which can produce inconsistent prints when they’re low on ink.

Aimed at Business Users

Home laser printers exist, but a lot of these printers are designed with business users in mind. That’s shown by their incredible speeds, built-in computers, advanced technology, and key features like double-sided printing and strong data security.

Cheap to Use

In terms of up-front costs, an office laser printer is usually more expensive than an equivalent inkjet. However, in the long-term, it’s typically cheap to use a laser model, as toner tends to last a lot longer, so you haven’t got to replace it as often. Plus, these models tend to be more durable and longer-lasting.

The Downsides of an Office Laser Printer

Laser printers aren’t perfect. Here are a couple of issues with them.

Bigger and Bulkier, in General

This isn’t true in all cases, but more often than not, laser printers tend to be bigger and heavier than inkjets. This is mainly due to all the components inside. So, if you’re short on office space, you’ll have to take this into account.

Fewer Printing Options Compared to Inkjets

Another downside of an office laser printer is that it’s mainly aimed at printing standard paper documents. It can’t cope with the likes of glossy photo paper or any kind of heat-sensitive materials, giving you fewer printing options compared to a typical inkjet.

What Is an Office Inkjet Printer?

Moving on, let’s see what office inkjet printers are all about.

Inkjet printers live up to their name. They work by essentially spraying a jet of ink onto the paper via lots of little nozzles. The ink comes from cartridges, which are infamous for running out and needing to be replaced or topped up quite regularly, particularly in busy office environments.

These printers are also known for working with different types of printing materials, like photo paper, opening new opportunities for the user.

The Benefits of an Inkjet Printer

There are plenty of pros to using an inkjet printer, like:

Cheaper to Buy

As mentioned earlier, inkjets typically have smaller price tags compared to laser models. However, it’s important to remember that the cost of all that ink will add up, so don’t make the mistake of assuming that an inkjet is the most cost-effective option for every office.

Excellent for Images and Photos

If you want to print black-and-white documents, an office laser printer may be the way to go. But, for colorful prints, like images and photographs, inkjets are superior. They’re great at working with and blending colors to produce vivid, bright, and attractive output.

Lighter and Smaller

On the whole, inkjet printers tend to be lighter and more compact than their laser counterparts. They’ll take up less space in your office and are easier to move about if needed. This makes them a fine fit for smaller offices or home offices, in particular.

The Downsides of an Inkjet Printer

Next, let’s see some of the cons:

Ink Runs Out Fast

As touched on above, inkjet printer ink tends to run out quite quickly, especially in office environments where dozens or even hundreds of documents are printed daily. That means you have to worry about the costs of replacing or refilling the cartridges, along with the time and effort involved in the process.

Prone to Smears, Smudges, and Fading

Because inkjet ink is water-based, and inkjet printing is classed as “wet printing,” there’s a greater risk of prints getting smudged or smeared this way. What’s more, inkjet prints may also fade and lose some of their vivacity over time.

Not as Quick as Lasers

Compared to the average office laser printer, inkjet models simply don’t print as fast. The latest models certainly print more rapidly than those that came before, but they still don’t have the same high PPM (pages per minute) print speeds of top-end laser devices.

Summing Up: Is an Office Laser Printer or Inkjet Printer Right for You?

Clearly, there are great aspects of both types of printer – laser and inkjet – and there’s no singular answer to the question of “Which one is best?”

It all depends on your business needs. Some offices will naturally prefer the speedy convenience and long-term reliability of an office laser printer. Others will favor the more compact and versatile inkjet, with its lower up-front costs.

To make the right call, it’s important to assess your business’ printing demands. You may also benefit from expert advice from a trusted source like Stargel Office Solutions. For years, we’ve helped businesses in Houston with their office equipment, and we’d be happy to help you too. Contact us today to learn more.