A printer is an easy technology to shop for. You don’t need to be fluent in techno-babble to understand printer specifications, and there are generally fewer specs to consider than when shopping for computers. But there’s one key technology difference that you need to know.
When you’re buying a new printer for home use or office use, you’ll have to choose between an inkjet printer and a laser printer. This is the first and most important decision you’ll make when choosing a printer.
What’s the difference between an inkjet printer and a laser printer? And which printer is best for you? Let’s compare the two.
What’s the difference between an inkjet printer and a laser printer?
An inkjet printer uses ink to print documents, while a laser printer uses a laser to print documents. Pretty simple.The different printing processes affect each printer’s speed, functions, and image quality. Let’s go into a bit more detail.
HOW DOES AN INKJET PRINTER WORK?
An inkjet printer uses ink cartridges.Here’s how it gets the ink onto paper:
- The printer processes an image or document from a device.
- Small nozzles (jets) are positioned throughout the printer to spray ink droplets onto a sheet of paper as it passes by. Hundreds of nozzles release thousands of ink droplets.
- To release an ink droplet, the nozzle is heated by electricity. The heat causes the ink to expand in a bubble, and it expands through the nozzle until it squirts onto the paper.
- When the ink bubble collapses, a vacuum draws more ink into the nozzle from the ink cartridge, ready to release the next droplet.
- It takes many droplets to form a single character.
HOW DOES A LASER PRINTER WORK?
Although it’s called a laser printer, static electricity is the main phenomenon that occurs to get those images and text on the page. Remember, when it comes to static electricity, opposites attract; only positive charges and negative charges stick to each other.Negative can’t attach to negative, and positive can’t attach to positive (try playing with the ends of two magnets if you don’t believe it).
A laser printer cleverly manipulates static electricity to attach toner to a sheet of paper. Laser toner is a powdered ink that’s more grain-like than regular ink.
Here’s how a laser printer works:
- The printer processes an image or document from a device. Then it uses high-voltage circuits to give electrical charges to some of its components.
- The “photoreceptor drum” is a revolving drum with a positive electric charge.
- A laser beams against a mirror. The mirror reflects the laser onto the photoreceptor drum.
- While the laser is beaming, the mirror moves to " draw” out the image on the photoreceptor drum.
- Wherever the laser hits the photoreceptor drum, the positive charge is replaced by a negative charge. The mirror has sketched a negatively-charged shape onto a positively charged canvas.
- Toner is released onto the drum. The toner is positively charged, and it sticks only to the negatively charged parts of the drum that have been outlined by the laser. The toner essentially “colors within the lines.”
- A sheet of paper is rolled through the printer. The paper is given a powerful negative charge.
- As the paper passes the drum, the paper’s negative charge pulls grains of toner from the drum onto the sheet of paper. The toner grains sit on the surface of the paper.
- The paper’s electric charge is removed. Then it passes through hot rollers that use heat and pressure to fuse the toner grains into the paper.
What uses are best for an inkjet printer?
You should get an inkjet printer to print high-quality color images.Inkjet printers have better tonal variety, and they’re better at blending colors. Inkjets can also print on various paper types, including glossy paper. Laser printers can’t print on any paper type that’s sensitive to heat.
Inkjet printers don’t print as quickly as laser printers do, and their paper trays can’t hold as much paper.
Inkjet cartridges are also more expensive, although certain programs like HP Instant Ink can help reduce costs.
For those reasons, inkjet printers are a better option if you print less frequently or only a few pages at a time.
What uses are best for a laser printer?
You should get a laser printer if you print high volumes of black and white documents.Laser printers can print much faster than inkjet printers can. Most are equipped with high-capacity paper trays to print more pages at a given time. They’re also built to handle the printing of thousands of pages per month without succumbing to wear and tear.
Laser printers don’t print color photos as well as inkjet printers do. They can print basic photos for everyday use, but they’re not built to print gallery-quality photos. For that reason, they’re not optimal for photographers or designers.
Laser printers are larger and heavier than inkjet printers, which makes them difficult to fit in a home office (although some models come in a more compact size). But they’re very well suited for office use due to their high printing capacity.
