Here at 305Computers.com, we often find ourselves being consulted about the pros and cons of various computing technologies within the scope of the business world. Quite often we’re proposed questions regarding the benefits and downsides of one platform over another.
In this case, the question being answered is whether laser printers or inkjet printers is the better choice when concerning a small scale business.
Let’s go into the requirements shall we?
In Regards to Small Businesses
In the scope of a smaller business of five to ten computers, there are three important areas that must be effectively covered by the chosen printer to be clearly superior to the other.
These categories are as follows.
- Price per unit
- Price of ink or toner
- Printing speed
In terms of comparison between a large and small scale business, you can imagine our current imaginary company as having the same level of printing requirements as a smaller office within a department. On slow days this could mean as little as a dozen sheets of paper are printed out.
On the busier side of the week? There could be as many as several hundred documents printed in the span of several hours.
From this we can conclude that regardless of what the average operational of printing to be done is, we’ll be comparing printers working at their highest expected capacity.
Inkjet Printers
Pros
- Cheaper initial purchasing price compared to laser printers.
- Superior color blending concerning colored images.
- Doesn’t require warming up prior to printing.
- Is able to print on a large variety of paper types and sizes.
- Smaller than laser printers and space efficient.
Cons
- Ink cartridges only last for several hundred pages worth of printing and are expensive to purchase.
- Cartridges have a tendency to dry out.
- Printing speed is significantly slower than laser printers.
- Are not designed for high volume printing which can cause wear and tear.
Laser Printers
Pros
- Laser printers print much faster than inkjet printers and are designed for high volume printing.
- Laser printing do not create ink blotches on paper and are more suitable for printing typed documents.
- It is cheaper in the long run to utilize a laser printer when printing low graphic documents.
- Toner is also cheaper than ink considering a cartridge can print thousands of documents before running dry.
Cons
- Does not do well in printing complex images.
- Most laser printers are larger than inkjet printers and can become an issue in a small office setting.
- Per unit, a laser printer often costs more than an inkjet printer.
- Laser printers do not boast the ability to print on a wide variety of paper types.
Conclusion
In a small business setting where images are printed rarely when compared to documentation, the laser printer is the clear winner in this contest. While inkjet printers may be cheaper to purchase initially, in the long run laser printers are more cost efficient.
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