Is a color laser printer worth it?

[alkemyst]

You know when you consider how many pages you get from each cartridge vs ink in my case they are actually cheaper and I have 4 of them in my printer.

Laser is always cheaper from a consumable stand point than ink.

 

[ZaneNBK]

I highly recommend the Epson WP-4530 All-in-one color inkjet. It's extremely versatile and has printing costs comparable to laser. See the review here: http://www.pcworld.idg.com.au/review/epson/workforce_pro_4530/407422/

It's pricing is off though as it's going by MSRP. You can get the standard cartridges from Amazon for ~$34 (black, 2400 pages) and ~$23x3 (color, 1200 pages).

That works out to $0.014 per black page and $0.058 per color page.

Print quality and speed is fast, though not as fast as laser.

Some nice features:

• 250 sheet paper tray
• built in wifi
• double-sided printing and scanning
• manual feed

It's $190 on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Epson-WorkForc.../dp/B005IIR8HM

I've had mine for a year or two now and it's been great. I don't print a lot but my wife prints a ton. The only real issue we've run into is that for some reason it doesn't like to copy onto card stock, it says there's no paper. I can scan and then immediately print onto that same card stock with no problem though. *shrug* It's also quite big.

I haven't run into typical inkjet issues that I've seen with other printers: no smearing, no warping of the paper

This replaced our previous color inkjet (Canon MP830) + b&w laser printer (Brother HL-2170W).

 

[dstevod]

The toner cartridges that comes with the printer are starter cartridges, so the real price of the printer is Printer + a full set of New Cartridges. Usually they cost more than the printer..

Yup, generally true.

Although Dell tend to include standard carts with their new laser printers, which makes a massive difference. I've had a few of their printers now and all have shipped with standard carts.

S

 

[Vinwiesel]

I've not encountered one that takes that long anymore. Often times if an inkjet hasn't been used in a while it automatically flushes the heads which takes far longer than any laser startup.

This is my experience as well. The color laser I got on black friday for about $100 is easily as fast to first page as any inkjet I've owned. Nevermind all the time wasted trying to get the inkjet unclogged and printing properly. I also love the fact that lasers don't smudge or stain your fingers.

On the other hand, a cheap color laser can jam up like nobody's business. I mean, Jamie-Lee-Curtis without her yogurt style. I switched to a different paper and it hasn't jammed since though.

 

[infoiltrator]

For occasional color printing, the price of color cartridges is probably irrelevant.
Starter cartridges should print 100s of pages.
And black and white toner is (in past experience) far cheaper than inkjet ink.

Traditionally Dell has had inexpensive printer prices and high ink/toner prices.

For the original question:
a) print color once a month on inkjet
b)go with a laser printer with reasonably priced toner, long lasting drum
up front cost, once paid, should mean years of printing.

http://printers.toptenreviews.com/laser/

 

[Zap]

I'm also on the laser printer bandwagon. I don't think I've "needed" to print something in color for around 6 years. The occasional photo can be cheaply printed at Target/Walmart/etc. on actual photo paper for pretty cheap. Occasional coupons put them at around 10¢ per normal 4"x6", but even regular price is pretty cheap and competitive with the cost of photo paper + ink + cost of printer for home printing.

My laser printer is a cheap B&W model. First page comes out about as fast as I remember my inkjet doing. Multiple pages are super quick, as fast as it can feed. Can go months without printing, then first page comes out perfect.

Not perfect is that it may be prematurely wearing out (cheap $50 Samsung consumer model I've had for a few years). The paper pickup is getting a bit finicky, so I can't load it up with more than a couple dozen sheets or it won't lift up. TBH I've had similar issues with inkjet printers as well.

 

[Doomer]

1st copy out speed is a deal breaker for me when it comes to low end color lasers. Single pass printers are still too pricey.

 

[PliotronX]

1st copy out speed is a deal breaker for me when it comes to low end color lasers. Single pass printers are still too pricey.

If you print more than one piece of paper a laser is an order of magnitude faster. Even low end lasers start up in between 14 to 25 seconds. The final product is spit out faster than any inkjet in HQ mode. Speed is actually the lasers domain as they do not slow down with more populated sheets nor higher DPI.

 

[Murloc]

If you print more than one piece of paper a laser is an order of magnitude faster. Even low end lasers start up in between 14 to 25 seconds. The final product is spit out faster than any inkjet in HQ mode. Speed is actually the lasers domain as they do not slow down with more populated sheets nor higher DPI.

yeah but the average home user has to print out a 1-2 pages and that's it.

 

[PliotronX]

yeah but the average home user has to print out a 1-2 pages and that's it.

IME inkjets don't print instantaneously either. The average home user is not considering cost nor quality; printing one page is the most expensive way to run an inkjet and printing them in HQ makes them slower than laser printers even including startup. If you are more informed than the average home user, inkjets are repugnant.

 

[dstevod]

Laser, laser, laser, laser, laser......

I reckon laser's the way to go! Inkjets feel like such a con in comparison.

S

 

[ZippZ]

In the past to save money, I had 2 printers. 1 cheap brother/samsung B&W laser printer, and a high quality inkjet for color. The B&W allowed me to print lots of documents for homework, brochures, and flyers cheaply using toner refills. The inkjet was used for the occasional photo's or graphics to include in my reports. This worked very well for me at the time.

Then I had money saved up so I bought a brother color laser printer, which was pretty cheap. I've used it for thousands of pages for my work and club activities. I love duplex printing and the speed of the printer. The negative is color printing on brother printers is poor across the lineup.

Now I'm looking to upgrade again so getting the HP M451 printer. Great photo quality which I'll use for my graphics design hobby now. However the toner and printer are more expensive than the brother.

Figure out exactly what you need, then figure out the best printer for your needs.

 

[infoiltrator]

Please read customer reviews on HP printers.
HP has built printer that will not print if one cartridge is empty, and "stop working" after six months or so for replacement.
I do not know if such "tricks" apply to laser printers.

Information came from researching an HP Office Jet printer on sale. Ads claimed it was an Inkjet offering the low cost of laser printing. hah.

http://printers.toptenreviews.com/laser/xerox-colorqube-review.html

this (above) is rated "best home color laser printer" on several sites

 

[ZippZ]

Please read customer reviews on HP printers.
HP has built printer that will not print if one cartridge is empty, and "stop working" after six months or so for replacement.
I do not know if such "tricks" apply to laser printers.

Information came from researching an HP Office Jet printer on sale. Ads claimed it was an Inkjet offering the low cost of laser printing. hah.

http://printers.toptenreviews.com/laser/xerox-colorqube-review.html

this (above) is rated "best home color laser printer" on several sites

Thats more of a workgroup printer, way to expensive for what I need at $700 with a duplexer. I have an older model at work at those xerox printers are fast and cheap to run. Good, but not great color graphics quality though.