Laser Or Inkjet?

[Firefoxx]

Inkjets need good paper for any kind of sharp printing. However, when you do use good paper, they far far surpass the output of the best color laser. A color laser can only print good graphics and passable photos, but they can't produce stuff that can be mistaken for an actual photograph, no matter what paper you use. An inkjet can produce crisp text on good paper, but again it won't be mistaken for a laser's crisp output on plain paper. It depends on what you want to print. You basically have no choice.

Typically a budget printer will come with low-capacity toner/ink (this applies to both lasers and inkjets). You usually need to use some of that toner/ink to "prime" the printer during it's first power on, which means even less is actually usable. The "full capacity" ink/toner of budget printers also usually don't have much ink/toner, so expect to change it often. You buy cheap, you pay in the long run.

The Acculaser 1100 is on the lower end of the color laser scheme. Don't expect a lot from it, just as you should not expect a lot from a very cheap inkjet. Keep in mind that the typical cheap color laser (with Oki being an exception) uses a carousel system, which means that the toners are in a sort of wheel which rotates for each round of printing (4 toners meaning 4 passes, and 4 rotations for each color print). This is why the cheap color lasers have abyssmally slow color printing times. Color lasers also typically have more consumables (fuser unit, toners, drum, imager, etc) than monochrome, and the consumables are more expensive. Keep that in mind.

[Clipped]

i mainly need good pictures on 'plain' paper...im willing to go up to 25000 baht for a good laser, but comparing lasers that are above the budget range is kinda tough...more than likely i'll go with the xerox 6120..with either the epson 1100 or cannon lbp 5000.

the cannon lbp5000 and the hp 2600 are both single pass lasers.

but if anyone has suggestions for a higher level color laser that is not a multifunction unit, shoot em out.

most these budget lasers are coming with full toners, as i have checked , but being in thailand i wouldnt be surprised if they have been replaced by half tanks .

TIT

Edited January 8, 2007 by Clipped

[simcity]

i use to have a inkjets epson , the problem i found is neary everytime i want to use it ( not so often ) i have to clean the head and i was using a large amount of time , plus cost of ink !

after 1 year i went to buy a laser ! fast reliable and here when i need too !

but only doing normal office work with it !

[monty]

The Epson comes with low capacity toner cartridges (rated at 1500 prints only) but this is stated quite clearly in the promotion papers and manuals!

Try to check on Samsung color printers as well, have heard some good things about them!

[Firefoxx]

Head clogging used to be a very big problem for inkjets, but currently it's not that big a deal anymore. As long as you're not going to leave the printer in storage for a year or two, you won't have head clogging problems with modern inkjets. Using refill ink also contributes to this problem, but if you use refills, chances are you're using the printer quite often.

When buying a color laser, you need to check the color print quality very carefully, as it can vary by quite a lot between different brands and models. Some come with a glossy finish and others matte, choose whichever one you like. Single pass is the way to go, since less moving parts means less things to break (believe me, I've serviced big carousel type color lasers, and they're a bee-atch to service/maintain).

A large part of the color laser's cost is in the consumables. Keep that firmly in mind when deciding how much to spend on what model.