Color Printing, Inkjet vs. Laser
Thinking of purchasing a color printer? Your first step is to decide which is best suited for your needs, Inkjet or Laser. In this article we will start with the evolution of inkjet and laser printing, review the top color printers, and break down which is best for business and home users. We will discuss the costs associated with each printer we review and recommend which is best for price conscious consumers and which is best for consumers with no spending limit.
In 1976 the first Inkjet printer was developed, however it took until the late 80’s for this product to take off amongst consumers. Since those days, Inkjet printing technology has changed rapidly and today few homes or businesses are without at least one inkjet printer. No longer are you limited to only black and white printing, today you have what is known as the four-color process printing where cyan, magenta, yellow, and black work together to print photos and graphics. Also popular now is the six-color printing process which adds orange and green or light cyan (photo cyan) and light magenta (photo magenta) depending on the manufacturer.
In today’s market you have a wide array of inkjet printers to choose from, Deskjet, Wide Format, Business Inkjet, Photo Printer, Multifunction, Officejet, All-in-One, to name a few. You also have many different name Brands to choose from. Going into a retail store and determining which printer is right for you can be an overwhelming experience. Before you panic, relax, today’s inkjet printers start cheap, and even the best are very affordable. In choosing which brand is best for you, this is a personal choice; however we can’t talk about inkjet printers without mentioning HP (Hewlett-Packard).
Back in 1988 HP introduced its first Deskjet Printer, which was so popular it launched the company into the stratosphere, where today you can be anywhere in the world and know the name HP. Since that time, HP has been the leader in the Printer industry, leading the way in inkjet and LaserJet technology.
With that said lets get back to the topic at hand and determine which inkjet printer may be right for you. Though there are many models to choose from, if you are a home consumer with the most basic needs, in other words have minimal printing needs or perhaps only print photos, your best solution is a Deskjet or Photo Printer. My pick for best Deskjet is the HP Deskjet 3940 Color Inkjet Printer, this is fast, reliable, easy to use, and will print vibrant photos as well. If your primary needs are to print photos, then two printers are at the top of my list; the HP Deskjet 5940 Photo Printer, and the Epson Stylus Photo R220. Both will produce vibrant color photos, at fast speeds. Epson along with HP has become one of the most innovative brands within the printing industry, and their inkjet printers are among the best available. The Epson Stylus Photo R220 unlike the HP Deskjet 5940, utilizes the 6-color printing process, which optimizes the graphics and photos being printed, providing a superior finish. Also important, Epson inkjets are less expensive then HP’s, and in today’s market consumers have the choice to purchase Compatible Epson Inkjets, or generic inkjets, which are even less expensive and print equal to original Epson ink cartridges. Some online sellers distribute Epson Compatible inkjets for as low as $5.00.
When buying a printer consumers should always take into consideration the cost of ink, because often that is where the expense to buying a printer lies. For example, today a consumer can get a printer for practically nothing from such brands as Dell or Lexmark, Dell being the most preferred; however the big misconception is that this is a good deal. The reality is that Dell ink is very expensive, and consumers can only purchase Dell ink from Dell themselves. Dell does not sell their cartridges to retailers or resellers, and anyone who is selling Dell cartridges are only selling remanufactured Dell cartridges. Remanufactured Dell cartridges are also expensive, and depending on where you purchase them from, may give you inferior results then that of the original Dell cartridges.
If you are a home consumer with larger printer needs, then an Officejet or a Multifunction printer will best suite you. My picks for these consumers starting with the least expensive is the Epson Stylus CX3810, Brother MFC-3340cn, HP Officejet 7210, and an Epson Stylus RX620. The Epson Stylus CX3810 is the newest model of all my picks, it is a Multifunction printer that prints, copies, and scans, and if you so choose, produces excellent photos. Part of a new bread of printers introduced by Epson, this model is very affordable, sells for less than $100, and using Epson Compatible Ink, will keep your ink costs way down. The Brother MFC-3340cn is an All-in-One, meaning it prints, copies, scans, and faxes. Though Brother is widely known for their fax machines, this All-in-One model performs all the duties possibly needed from home, is affordable, and if using Brother Compatible Ink, your ink purchases will be lower then any other printer brand. The HP Officejet 7210 is also an All-in-One printer; however this printer is faster, more efficient, and more productive than the Brother. It is also more expensive and your ink costs will be high, but depending on your needs, may be the right fit for you. Also to consider when buying an HP is that their support far supersedes that of any competitor, if a problem ever does come up, and they rarely do, then HP will be their to help you sort through the problems, that is if you can’t troubleshoot yourself with their easy to use troubleshooting software. The Epson Stylus RX620 prints, copies, and scans, and has been given a high rating by CNET news which is a very trustworthy reviewer of all technology supplies. This printer is easy to use, efficient, and when buying Epson Compatible Ink will keep your purchases minimal.
Now that we have gone over Color Inkjet printers, we are now ready to move on to Color LaserJet printers. Though LaserJet printers have been around for some time, Color LaserJet Printers are still a relatively new product, and again has been made popular and most importantly, affordable, by HP’s innovative engineers. It is without question that when looking to buy a Color LaserJet that HP will be the single most dominant brand to focus on. Unlike the inkjet printer, most top brands like Canon, Brother, Epson, Xerox, Lexmark, have yet to become a force within the Color LaserJet market. Because of this I will mostly be recommending HP Color LaserJet printers.
First we can review HP Color LaserJet’s for home users. When Color LaserJet’s first came on the market they were thousands upon thousands of dollars, however today, HP has brought us affordable Color LaserJet’s like the 1600, due out shortly for less then $300. Because this product is not readily available and therefore difficult to comment on, I will start with the HP Color LaserJet 2600n. This printer is easily available through any distributor and goes for around $400. More expensive then your color inkjet printers, but the HP LaserJet 2600n will yield far more pages with much higher resolution. For example, most inkjets print between 400 and 800 pages, while LaserJet toners print between 2,000 upwards to 13,000 pages. This is a significant difference, and depending on your printing needs, may be something to consider for your home use.
Second we can review HP Color LaserJet’s for business users. Depending on your needs, two printers which stand out are the HP Color LaserJet 2840 and the HP Color LaserJet 5550n. The HP Color LaserJet 2840 usually goes for around $1,000 and is an All-in-One printer which can print, copy, scan and fax. It prints fast, high quality pages, and was given the prestigious Editors Choice award by CNET news. Compact in size, it is easy to use and very business friendly. The HP Color LaserJet 5550n is a far more advanced printer, suggested for people with larger needs. This printer generally goes for around $3,550; it is one of the fastest Color LaserJet Printers. Also, built in wireless networking allows the user to share the printer without the hassle of tangling cables. The built in XHTML printing allows you to print from Bluetooth enabled devices. It also features wide-format printing, which is often needed for those companies doing in-house marketing. If that wasn’t enough, the toners used for this printer yield between 12,000 and 13,000 pages.
If by some chance you are a consumer that has some kind of vendetta against HP, don’t panic, there are other highly recommended Color LaserJet printers available for you. Leading the way in competition is the Brother MFC-9420CN and the Xerox Phaser 6350DP. The Brother MFC-9420CN is the more affordable of the two, usually priced at around $800; this is a fast Multifunction printer that prints copies, scans, and faxes. The toner used for this printer has a high page yield of 6 to 10 thousand; this is a great fit for small businesses. The Xerox Phaser 6350DP is one of Xerox’s new releases, usually priced at around $1,799, it was awarded product of the year in 2005 by CRN, a highly respected technology review company. This model prints extremely fast and with high resolution. This is not a Multifunction printer and therefore does not have many functions like many of the LaserJet’s, but if speed and quality are your main concerns then this will fit your needs.
In conclusion, the printer industry is a billion dollar market, there are many brands to choose from and each brand offers an array of different printers. Going into a store and choosing the right color printer for your needs can be an overwhelming experience. The first step is to decide whether you want an inkjet printer or a LaserJet printer. The second step is to research the printer, read reviews, get referrals from trusted peers, but don’t rely solely on sales people or marketing material. And thirdly, take into consideration the cost of buying ink for your inkjet printer or toner for your LaserJet printer. An important note to remember is that printer manufacturers make little or no money on their printers; they make money on the disposable supplies needed for that printer. So try staying away from the Dells of the world, because they may give you the printer for free, but how much will it cost you in the end. If you are looking to save money, then Epson and Brother Printers are inexpensive, and it is easy to find Epson Compatible Ink and Brother Compatible Ink which are very cheap and work equal to original ink. If you are okay with spending more on a printer, then HP may be the right brand for you, their printers are extremely reliable and if a problem arises their support is unmatched by any other brand. As long as you stay informed about the consumer market, your shopping experience should remain pleasurable.
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