# Best printers - Laser vs. inkjet vs. led



## Calidecks (Nov 19, 2011)

Which is the better printer. All around print quality, best color, speed, and cost


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## KennMacMoragh (Sep 16, 2008)

No complaints with my brother 9460 cdn


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## tedanderson (May 19, 2010)

Considering the low-low price of an inkjet these days, you can't beat it.


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## The Coastal Craftsman (Jun 29, 2009)

yeah i would say big office loads of print outs laser but typical contractors office ink jet all the way.


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## Chris Johnson (Apr 19, 2007)

I think most people have the 5 in 1 ink jets for under $150 and when they run out of ink...throw em out and buy another. HP usually has some on special or being discontinued.


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## hdavis (Feb 14, 2012)

I don't think there is a simple answer to this one. HP, Epson, Brother, Canon all make some good ones, but from there you have to do some research. If you need it to do photos or large formats or archival ink, that makes a difference.

Personally, I'd pick ink jet for the typical situation. I've used Epson for a long time, just because I don't want ink that runs when it gets wet. The down side to that is it's expensive ink.

Chris' suggestion is a viable approach - I've done this as well.


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## RobertCDF (Aug 18, 2005)

I have a full size copier in my office but before that I used laser, nothing beats laser. 

I went to a full size machine so I could print, scan, and copy 11x17, as well as make handout books, etc. Mine will fold and staple 11x17 sheets into a nice 8.5x11 book. I open the pdf, select print, set it to food and staple and before you know it there is a book on the floor.


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## flashheatingand (May 3, 2008)

Ink jets are cheap and all, but it is quite frustrating to have to stop everything because due to an empty Magenta cartridge. I like laser printers, you get an ample heads up, and only have to change out the cartridge in about a year and a half.


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## hdavis (Feb 14, 2012)

RobertCDF said:


> nothing beats laser.


Dye sublimation printers do, but you have to do a high volume to make them pay.


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## RobertCDF (Aug 18, 2005)

hdavis said:


> Dye sublimation printers do, but you have to do a high volume to make them pay.


Well ya, but if you're buying one of those you're running a print shop, not a contacting company...


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## Bearded Wonder (Jan 21, 2011)

Laser all the way. Ink jet's are just a mechanism to sell ink, and a rip off. 

Just got a laser after the ink jet crapped out (and after keeping the local Staples in business buying ink for it) and it's tremendous.


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## The Coastal Craftsman (Jun 29, 2009)

Not sure where you guys buy your ink. It cost me $10 with free shipping to change out every cartridge in my canon printer. Think my printer was $200 I normally go through 4-5 sets of cartridges a year so I'm not a big user of the printer but def cheaper than buying 4-5 printers a year.


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## Inner10 (Mar 12, 2009)

Ink jets are useless.


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## Chris Johnson (Apr 19, 2007)

Inner10 said:


> Ink jets are useless.


This is true, just very cheap upfront cost.

I use ink jet at home for the kids, Staples employee encouraged me to pay 19.99 for a 2 year warranty...then whispered to return it around 18 months for a full refund since the paper is jamming...it's been 6 months, I'll keep you posted...oh ya and it came with a free Kuerig coffee maker

Look online for deals, we have Kijiji in Canada as a buy, trade and sell website, it's owed by eBay but no fees to list or sell. I got a Ricoh 3600 colour photocopier, fax, scanner, printer that was 4 years old from the local CAA office (AAA for my friends in the south), list brand new on this thing was $ 18,000.00...I paid $ 500.00...still using the toner cartridges that came with it. Needed one service call, cost me $ 234.00. So the deals are out there if you look.


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## Calidecks (Nov 19, 2011)

I want one with dual trays for different kinds of paper, one with my letterhead and one with regular paper.

Remember, I have a wife that's a school teacher, so she prints in multiples of 30. Plus I have 2 teenagers.

I want to narrow it down to one good printer. At the moment my home has 4 printers and that's rediculous.

Thanks to all


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## Calidecks (Nov 19, 2011)

What about LED printers anyone have any knowledge on these? I've seen them at costco.


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## Inner10 (Mar 12, 2009)

Californiadecks said:


> What about LED printers anyone have any knowledge on these? I've seen them at costco.


LED and Laser are damn near the same, but you will begin to see far less laser and more LED since they are more energy efficient and cheaper to manufacture.


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## Inner10 (Mar 12, 2009)

I woudn't go crazy for a home office printer but I'd probably get something in the 700-1200 dollar range like an MF9220 or MF8580.


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## TNTRenovate (Aug 19, 2010)

I switched from ink to laser when I started remodeling. One of the biggest factor was page printed on ink jets cannot get wet! What a mess! Also laser was a bigger upfront investment, but in the long run much cheaper per print and copy.

I had a cdn color model and loved it. I printed all kinds of marketing materials on it. After three years it started dumping a line of black toner on everything. I spent $600 replacing parts and still had the issue. Print head, rollers, the works. Finally got a new one, black and white, and am okay with having Staples or FedEx print my marketing materials. I also found printforless.com who now prints all my marketing materials.


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## hdavis (Feb 14, 2012)

Californiadecks said:


> What about LED printers anyone have any knowledge on these? I've seen them at costco.


I've only seen one, and it had so so print quality.


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## hdavis (Feb 14, 2012)

Californiadecks said:


> I want one with dual trays for different kinds of paper, one with my letterhead and one with regular paper.
> 
> Remember, I have a wife that's a school teacher, so she prints in multiples of 30. Plus I have 2 teenagers.
> 
> ...


What's your realistic price range?
Photo quality print?
8.5X11 only, or do you need larger format?
No run if it gets wet, or you don't care?
Do you really need dual trays, or is this a nicety?

I have a laser workgroup class printer that holds 3000 sheets in 3 trays, double sided, legal, stapling, all that. I forget how many thousand it cost new, maybe $3500 or so. I used to need that kind of print power, but not any more. It's pretty easy to spend $$$$$ on a printer.


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## hdavis (Feb 14, 2012)

ClaytonR said:


> Laser all the way. Ink jet's are just a mechanism to sell ink, and a rip off.


For anyone worrying about about ink costs, buying the wrong ink jet printer can be very expensive in the long run. Ink costs are usually hard to find, but if you get your hands on a W. B. Mason office supply catalog, and look at the ink jet cartridges, they'll list an approximate number of print pages for the cartridge. My recollection is one of Brother's was the champ for cheapest per page ink (outside of workgroup class printers). But not all of their cartridges are that cheap.

The other thing you can do is buy a printer that can be converted to bulk fill. A couple of quick links, but not endorsements:

http://www.inksupply.com/funnelfill.cfm
http://lifehacker.com/5310563/turn-your-printer-into-a-self+filling-inkjet
http://www.inksupply.com/cobra.cfm

Some photographers do a lot of photo printing. The absolute best information I've found on bulk supply is on some of those sites (sorry, don't have a link). They demand perfection from their printers and the ink, and they don't want to pay more than they have to, so they do come up with the best combinations.


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## Tinstaafl (Jan 6, 2008)

I used to service all three kinds, and I've always favored the LED. Lower power consumption and initial price than lasers, prints much faster than inkjets, and "waterproof" without resorting to archival inks. 

Depending on your typical usage, often you can run an LED printer until the toner runs out and replace it for a lower total cost than buying inkjet cartridges over the same period of time.


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## TNTRenovate (Aug 19, 2010)

KennMacMoragh said:


> No complaints with my brother 9460 cdn





Tinstaafl said:


> I used to service all three kinds, and I've always favored the LED. Lower power consumption and initial price than lasers, prints much faster than inkjets, and "waterproof" without resorting to archival inks.
> 
> Depending on your typical usage, often you can run an LED printer until the toner runs out and replace it for a lower total cost than buying inkjet cartridges over the same period of time.


How does it compare to laser pricing?


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## hdavis (Feb 14, 2012)

Were these LED printers the OKI ones?


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## CarpenterSFO (Dec 12, 2012)

Teacher plus 2 teenagers here, too. Proposals, class handouts, essays and lab reports. Speed and reliability are required.

We've had an HP laser for 10 years. It's been great.


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## Tinstaafl (Jan 6, 2008)

TNTSERVICES said:


> How does it compare to laser pricing?


You mean LED vs laser? Apples to apples, LED is definitely cheaper.


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## Calidecks (Nov 19, 2011)

hdavis said:


> Were these LED printers the OKI ones?


Yes, they are the ones I saw


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## Calidecks (Nov 19, 2011)

Here's the printer I am seriously looking at 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...pf_rd_t=3201&pf_rd_p=1280661682&pf_rd_i=typ01


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## Inner10 (Mar 12, 2009)

Californiadecks said:


> Here's the printer I am seriously looking at
> 
> http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...pf_rd_t=3201&pf_rd_p=1280661682&pf_rd_i=typ01


Do you need color?

Decent unit. :thumbsup:


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## RobertCDF (Aug 18, 2005)

Stick with color, people love full color proposals. 

No need to copy or scan?


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## Solar Control (Jan 27, 2009)

We use an HP 5100 Laserjet for 11" x 17" drawings and a Brother 5450DN for everything else. We used to use a Canon i9900 (inkjet) for drawings but the cost of ink was ridiculous in comparison to the 5100.

For larger projects we send the drawings out to get printed at 30" x 40" for takeoffs. Guys do not like using these larger prints on site as they're too unwieldy. We're not at a site long enough to justify setting up a desk, etc.

We don't print marketing materials, etc. and try to email as many documents as possible.

At home we don't have a printer so if the kids want something printed for school we have to make a trip to the office.


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## tedanderson (May 19, 2010)

As mentioned earlier, I have a bulk ink system for my inkjet printer also. 

It gives me 5 times the output of standard cartridges. Even though the external tanks can be refilled for about $5 a color, you could throw away the system and buy a new one every time the ink runs out and still be ahead of the game.

But even if you don't go with bulk ink, here are a few more things to consider:

1. Inkjet printers used to be VERY expensive. So feeling "ripped off" for the price of cartridges is just a matter of perspective. They figured that you would buy the ink anyway so in order to be competitive, they started selling their units for $50.

2. New inkjet printers come with "sample" cartridges which only gives you a small number of prints to get started. But when you buy the next set of new cartridges they go much much further.

3. It's the cost of doing business. If my average gig is $5000, $60 for a set of inkjet cartridges is a bargain not to mention the convenience of being able to print at home or from the office and not having to go out to a print shop.


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## Solar Control (Jan 27, 2009)

Ted, what does your system look like? Back in the 90's and early 2000s these things looked like an accident waiting to happen. I imagine things have progressed substantially in ten years.

We initially looked at the bulk ink sets to modify a standard size inkjet printer into a strictly grayscale printer. We then looked at a Piezography system for an Epson 10000 we had but never ended up investing in it.


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## Leo G (May 12, 2005)

Got an Epson recently and it's a very nice 4 in 1 printer, wireless. The ink is a bit spendy if you decide to buy it locally, but I found a deal on the net and it's basically $1 a cartridge. Had 4 stars for a review with over 300 people responding. Biggest complaint was a cartridge here and there didn't get noticed by the printer.

Hell, at a $1 a cartridge you throw that one away and put in another.


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## RobertCDF (Aug 18, 2005)

Once you go big you can't go back.


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## The Coastal Craftsman (Jun 29, 2009)

RobertCDF said:


> Once you go big you can't go back.


Them things are beasts. Our family business has one of them things. Same one as below. Whats crazy is my $200 printer blows it away for photo print quality and by a lot as well


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## Calidecks (Nov 19, 2011)

Inner10 said:


> Do you need color? Decent unit. :thumbsup:


 Yes color is important. Wife's a 3rd grade teacher, I Suppose color is important to the over grown rug rats. Plus my company logo is two colors.


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## Solar Control (Jan 27, 2009)

This HP LaserJet Pro 200 Color gets great reviews at Amazon. $200


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## Calidecks (Nov 19, 2011)

Solar Control said:


> This HP LaserJet Pro 200 Color gets great reviews at Amazon. $200


Thanks for the heads up, but I'm looking for a multifunction machine


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