I remember the days of inkjet. Small but expensive cartridges, constant cleaning of printer to get acceptable quality print, speeds of 2 pages per minute etc… one of the best things i’ve ever bought has been my laser printer which i got last May…
The Stats
In the last 10 months or so i’ve printed 623 pages. Roughly about 15 pages per week which is pretty much exactly what i’d guesstimated last April. At the time i worked out (based on those stats), the laser printer would have paid for itself within 12 months. That’s turned out to be right.
I was working on the basis that a new inkjet printer would cost about €50. However to replace the ink with official brand name cartridges would cost well over €100 a year. So that would be at least €150 for a new inkjet printer with ink to last you for a year. I got my laser printer last year for €166 and the toner is still 40% full.
The Perks
Apart from a laser printer being the smarter buy, you also get the benefit of faster print times. My laser printer can churn out 13 pages per minute in black and white or about 5 in colour. Laser -v- Inkjet is like broadband -v- dialup when it comes to speed.
Print quality is also far superior and it’s consistent. If you have a high end inkjet printer for printing photos or something then obviously a laser printer can’t compete but for the vast majority of day to day stuff, laser is the way to go and the print quality on my laser is better than anything i’ve ever gotten with an inkjet printer.
Cheap Toner
I have 4 toner cartridges. 3 colour and 1 black. Just like most inkjet printer. The downside to toner over ink is the cost. It would cost me over €100 if i were to buy 4 new toner cartridges. However there are alternatives…
Ebay is your friend when it comes to toner. I’ll be refilling cartridges myself and hopefully saving a small fortune in doing so. The thing is, the cartridges that come with any laser printer when you get it usually have less capacity than ‘normal’ cartridges. But so far, my colour cartridges are holding out great. All of them are at 66% capacity which means if i keep printing at my current rate, they’ll last another 20 months.
My black toner has just dipped below the 40% mark and there is a reason for that. I tend to print a lot of stuff in black and white because (a) it’s faster (b) i deliberately only want to have to buy toner for 1 cartridge at a time rather than 4.
No regrets
Since i got my laser printer last year, printing has almost become enjoyable. My laser printer is wireless so it’s stuck in a corner and out of the way. If i want something printed on any device… be it desktop, laptop or mobile, it means i can print from anywhere in the house if i want and i like having that option.
The speed, the reliability, print quality… it’s how printing should be which is why i recommend you get a laser printer. Thank me later 🙂