Which printer do I buy for home, inkjet or laser?

Advantages and disadvantages

Once we know what they consist of, it is important to be clear about their advantages and disadvantages in order to make the best purchase decision, assessing all aspects, both negative and negative points. positives. The advantages can be related to other types of printers or simply be general, something for which this type of printer stands out, as well as its drawbacks.

Advantages

Disadvantages

What is an ink printer

Ink printers are the most popular due to their low price in the simplest versions, since with them we can print in color, black and white, scan and photocopy. There are many of the models that we usually see in supermarkets, hypermarkets, electronics stores and other establishments, along with lasers.

Inkjet printers are devices that work by spraying ink onto paper. They do this by ejecting ink drops of different sizes onto the paper. Through inkjet technology, the print head does not touch the paper, but the ink is ejected through the nozzles that are on it. To do this, they have a print head with several nozzles that are responsible for printing by irradiating the ink on top of the paper. They use at least two cartridges with liquid, one for black ink and one for color (with the primary colors cyan, yellow and magenta).

When choosing them, you must take into account values ​​such as pages per minute (PPM) and the maximum resolution in dots per inch (DPI). The higher these values ​​are, the better its quality and performance in prints. You also have to assess the relationship between quality, price and other factors such as additional features included or the brand.

Currently, there are also ink tank printers, which have deposits instead of cartridges to lower the cost per copy, although they are larger and more expensive than the previous ones, so they are not the most recommended for home users and neither are they They are just as popular as the other models.

Advantages and disadvantages

These are the most frequent printers in many homes, although the use of the others is growing more and more, so you know if this is your best purchase option or if you compensate for the previous ones, we are going to tell you what are the advantages of these taking into account different aspects, as well as the disadvantages that stand out and that you should assess when making your final decision.

Advantages

Disadvantages

Which one to choose

Making a decision is not easy because there are currently several models of each of the different printers, for This is an aspect to take into account when making the final assessment, however, we are going to help you by showing you the different circumstances in which you may find yourself so that you know which is the most appropriate solution in each of them. It is not the same if you are a student who does not print much, but does it frequently, if you work at home and need to make many copies, or if you are a person who usually requires the printer once every 3 months. If the circumstances are different, so are the solutions.

Therefore, taking into account the strengths and weaknesses of each of the mentioned teams, we will tell you which one is the most suitable for you, although you must take into account all the aspects so that you obtain a customized solution of your needs.

According to its price and my budget

This is an aspect that depends a lot on the model of printer that we acquire and our specific needs, however, to prints that can be in color or in white and black, inkjet printers usually have a lower initial cost. In the long run, if you can afford it, offset the laser. If you are only going to make copies in black and white, it is worth it in all cases to resort to the monochrome laser.

If we look at the price of cartridges and toners, the decision is more complicated. The cartridges are cheaper because they require less outlay initially, while toners are more expensive in principle, they offer higher yields and give you a lower cost per copy. If you look at it, in the long run this last option is the best, except if you do a lot of color copies.

However, keep in mind that there are currently compatible and refillable cartridge models that, if you choose them well, can offer you good performance for your price/performance ratio. If you have a low initial budget, you may have to opt for the inkjet ones that offer you better quality at the best possible price, if this is higher, you may value the possibility of opting for the others.

If I need a lot of printing

A key point here is that laser printers can handle high workloads, whereas inkjet printers can't handle as much workload if this is very high. If you are going to use the printer a lot to make a large number of copies, lasers are cheaper in the medium-long term. Although its initial cost may be higher, the price per copy is cheaper, so it pays off with more use. In addition, since they offer a better relationship in terms of speed, quality and price, they are the most suitable for people who usually make many copies. On the other hand, they tend to print faster, so you'll have what you need sooner.

In addition, the long-term performance of ink printers is lower, as they require more maintenance in case of high use. However, the same thing happens if its use is too punctual. In any case, the laser models win.

If I need few impressions

If we talk about the opposite case, in which you don't need many impressions, the answer depends. When it comes to few prints, but enough for the printer to be used regularly, the ink costs may compensate you. However, if you use it at specific times, or you usually have long periods of time with it stopped, lasers are better.

This is because lasers tend to work properly even if they are not used for a long time, while inkjets, despite being initially cheaper, can cause problems if they are not used frequently since they they can dry out the heads and cause the cartridges or the printer itself to not work. Therefore, when making your decision you have to make a general assessment of this. If you're not sure and can afford it, lasers may be better, unless you want to print photos.

Depending on its speed

Although it depends on the specific model, lasers are usually much faster when it comes to making copies, especially in their monochrome models, so if you usually need many copies with frequently or occasionally and the speed of printing is a determining factor, you will surely prefer them. If you value your time this is your best option.

If you can't afford them, it's important to take into account the impressions per minute (PPM) that the models you have in mind can make when making an assessment. Currently, they have improved and each time we can find faster models that offer good results in their work, so opting for these may not be a problem for you either.

Depending on the type of printing

If you are going to want to print color or photographs with your printer, you may be more interested in inkjet, while if you are going to do many prints, the laser type. If you are going to use it to make black and white copies, or that is the greatest use you give to your printer, it would be best to buy monochrome laser printers because they have a very affordable price and stand out for their speed. In this case, if you are going to make a color copy very occasionally, you can always resort to a copy shop.

The final decision is complicated and you should only make it based on your needs and what you prefer. If you have a good budget and you usually do a lot of printing, lasers would be the most suitable if you want to get good results and not worry. On the other hand, if you have a lower initial budget, are a student or want to print a photograph from time to time, you may opt for ink.