Inkjet versus laser printers

Hi guys, are you using a Laser Printer or a Inkjet Printer at home/office?
Thinking which one to get during the IT show 2013?

Here’s the lowdown on the face-off which will help you decide on your next printer purchase at the IT SHOW 2013 In a nutshell: Inkjet printing creates a digital image by dropping spots of ink onto paper; laser printers produce digital images by scanning a laser beam across photoreceptors. So which is better? It depends. We've weighed out some pros and cons of inkjet vs. laser printers below to help you figure out which is best built for use in your home. Thanks to easy availability and low startup costs, most households today use inkjet printers for their everyday printing. But laser printers — even color models — are now becoming available at prices and sizes suitable for a home or small office. To figure out if you should make the jump to laser, you need to analyze your printer usage.

How laser technology works

Laser printers work in a dramatically different manner than inkjet printers. A laser projects the image of a document onto the printing drum, which is electrically charged. This image is then sprayed with dry ink, or toner, which sticks to the charged areas. The drum is then rolled onto paper and the ink is fused to the paper by a heat source. This printing process differs dramatically from inkjets because the entire document is loaded into the printer, rather than in a continuous stream, as is the case with inkjets. This difference makes the laser printer ideal for entirely different printing needs than the inkjet.

Illustration: Laser Technology

 Xerox developed the industry’s first laser printer in 1977, offering a lower cost, reliable, and high print quality printer. Today, laser technology is a sophisticated printing technology, providing fast printing, quality finishing and easy operation advantages.

Illustration: S-LED Printer

)Both LED and Laser are Page Printing, utilising similar technology – electrophotography. LED printers are also known as laser-class printers. Building on the LED technology, Fuji Xerox developed the new S-LED print head technology that keeps the advantages of conventional LED's mechanical reliability and compact design while improving print quality and reliability.

Comparison of laser versus Inkjet printer

The following research had been conducted using Fuji Xerox laser printer in comparison to a generic inkjet printer. The brand Fuji Xerox, has been chosen to conduct the comparison as it was voted on HardwareZone as the Best LED Printer Brand 2013 - Readers Choice, and Best SOHO Multi-Function Printer (Editors Choice) DocuPrint M355 df.

Here’s the breakdown of the pros and cons of the comparison between a laser printer and a inkjet printer

Comparison Chart: Specifications

Round 1 : Laser Printer tops the comparison chart for printing large volume at very fast speed

The argument for laser or inkjet printers boils down to the volume you plan on printing, and the content. Most printing jobs in the home, such as photos and school projects are more suited to the inkjet process. But once the volume is increased enough, the printing costs outweigh the upfront operating cost of a laser printer. This is why laser jet printers tend to be found in office environments that call for a printer that can quickly manage a large volume of printing jobs quickly. For printing jobs requiring a high level of detail such as photo reproduction and art prints, professional grade inkjet printers are available.

By taking a few minutes to assess your printing needs you can save yourself plenty of headaches, printing disasters and maybe even a few dollars. Most importantly, the right printer will make your time and effort, reach its greatest potential.

Round 2 : Laser Printer Triumph over inkjet for total cost of ownership with higher savings

In the comparison chart below, we see the total cost of ownership from the machine price, to the cost on supplies (ink and paper), and the warranty period. We have picked Fuji Xerox laser printers to do a comparison calculation versus a generic inkjet printer.

Comparison Chart 1: Total Cost of Ownership

 *Warranty period of 4 years – 2-year standard (labour+parts) + 2-year limited (parts only) warranty including replacement of drum cartridge”.

Comparison Chart 2: Total Cost of Ownership

*Warranty period of 4 years – 2-year standard (labour+parts) + 2-year limited (parts only) warranty including replacement of drum cartridge”.

Summing up the charts, you will see savings of over 60%, even with low scale of printing of only 50 pages a month over a period of 3 years. The savings increases with the volume of printing as seen in chart 2 of over 36,000 pages in 3 years. All these savings simply by using a laser printer.

Why purchase Fuji Xerox Printers?

Awards won by Fuji Xerox

Latest Awards - 2013

o Best LED Printer Brand 2013 – Readers Choice

o Best SOHO Multi-Function Printer (Editor’s Choice) – DocuPrint M355df.

Previous Awards

o Top in “A3/ A4 Colour Single-function and A4 Colour Flatbed Multi-function Printers Sales” in Singapore (Source: IDC 1H 2012 Tracker, Gartner, “Quarterly Statistics: Printers, Copiers and MFPs. All Regions, All Countries, 1H12 Update”)

o Won Editor’s Choice “Best SOHO Mono Laser/ LED MFP” in HWM+HardwareZone.com Tech Awards 2012 for model DocuPrint M205 fw

o Won “Best Value Multifunction Award” in HWM Mult-Test Singapore for model DocuPrint CM205 fw.

New range of multifunction laser printers (M255 z and M355 df)

 The Fuji Xerox DocuPrint M255 z S-LED (Self-Scanning Light Emitting Diode) compact desktop multifunction printer combines high performance and efficiency, with wireless networking and automatic duplex as standard. An ideal mix of exceptional print quality and low cost of ownership, the DocuPrint M255 z are designed with your business productivity in mind.

Quick Facts:  Print Up to 30ppm  Print, Copy, Scan, Fax  Resolution up to 1200 x 1200 dpi  Automatic Standard Duplex Print  Connectivity (USB 2.0/Gigabit Ethernet), Optional WiFi  2-5 User Group DocuPrint M355 df

The Fuji Xerox DocuPrint M355 df delivers brilliant performance for any small or medium sized business, combining speed, efficiency and excellent networking capabilities in one compact multifunction unit.

With the features of a large enterprise machine yet at a price you can afford, the DocuPrint M355 df is the ideal choice for busy work groups.

Quick Facts:

 Print up to 35 ppm  Print, Copy, Scan, Fax

 Resolution up to 1200 x 1200 dpi (print)  Automatic Standard Duplex Print  Connectivity (USB 2.0/Gigabit Ethernet), Optional WiFi  5-15 User Group