Inkjet vs Laser: How to Choose the Right Printer

The cheapest printer is rarely the cheapest to run. Understand the trade-offs before ink costs ambush you.

How they differ

Inkjet printers spray liquid ink and excel at colour and photos, with low upfront prices. Laser printers fuse toner powder to the page, producing crisp text fast and cheaply per page, and their consumables do not dry out.

The right choice depends far more on what and how much you print than on the sticker price.

The real cost is consumables

A cheap inkjet can cost more over its life than a pricier laser once you factor in ink. If you print occasionally and want colour photos, inkjet — ideally a refillable ink-tank model — makes sense. If you print lots of documents, a mono laser is dramatically cheaper per page and more reliable.

Always check the price and yield of the cartridges before buying the printer, not after.

Features worth paying for

Duplex (double-sided) printing saves paper, wireless printing saves cables, and an automatic document feeder saves sanity if you scan multi-page documents. An all-in-one adds a scanner and copier in one footprint.

For a home office, a wireless duplex laser or ink-tank all-in-one hits the best balance of cost and convenience.

The bottom line

Match the technology to your output: ink-tank inkjet for colour and photos, mono laser for high-volume text. Judge printers by running cost, not purchase price — that is where the money really goes.