You’re in the market for a new printer for your home computer. As you’re standing in the printer aisle at the store, you are faced with an important decision to make. Are you better off buying a laser printer or an inkjet printer? That’s only the start of the questions you’ll need to answer.
There are questions such as which work better and faster? What kind of paper will you need to buy? How long will each last? Which is more cost efficient in the long run for your needs? Now, can you see why you should think about these things now instead of in the store?
The quality of inkjet and laser printers isn’t that far apart nowadays. One argument for an inkjet is that they are still cheaper cost wise but laser printers are becoming affordable for the average household too. An argument for a laser printer is the quality of text.
Well, inkjets have now improved in quality so much that small businesses are using one without worrying that their documents will look cheap. Here are some misunderstood myths about inkjet printers and some facts about them.
- Myth: Laser printers perform better than inkjets – Fact: Maybe this was true a few years back when inkjets smeared easily, were incredibly slow, and soaked into normal paper, but not anymore. Inkjet printers improved to the point that households are more than happy with their quality. Inkjet photo printers are now the new leader in high-quality color photos, easily beating out laser printers based on consumer opinions. Of course, if you own a business or print a lot of documents over the long term, laser printers are much better for these tasks and a better choice.
- Myth: You should only use the manufacturer's paper – Fact: Many people make this mistake because that is what the manufacturer tells you do. The only reason they tell you to buy their paper is so that they can make more money off of you. You’ll find that printer companies employ third-party paper companies to produce paper with their brand on it. There is absolutely nothing different with this paper compared to any other company’s paper.
- Myth: You won’t always save money buying cheap – Fact: Here is a little secret of the trade. There is a reason why you’ll find an inkjet printer for only $50. That’s because the ink cartridges you need for it cost $25 apiece. Now, let’s say you perform a good number of print jobs this year and need to replace those cartridges three or four times. You’ve already spent twice as much money on those than you originally did on the printer. Be sure that a printer’s low price refers to the cost of the cartridges, as well. After you've chosen a printer which works for your needs, check out the price of its cartridges and compare that to the price of a similar printer's cartridges.
- Myth: It’s cheap so it must be bad – Fact: Just because something doesn’t cost a lot of money, doesn’t mean that it can’t work up to par. You’ll find printers available that sell for less than $100 which will meet all of your printing needs quite fine. You’re going to see an increase in your spending cost with the amount of added features you want on your printer. If you are looking for better color quality of faster printer speeds, then expect to pay a little more. Don’t forget to do your homework and analyze your printer needs. You will have no trouble finding a low-cost printer which work’s for you.
- Myth: Refilled ink cartridges are bad – Fact: While this may have been true only a few years ago, technology has improved so much that more people refill their old cartridges than buy new ones. It used to be only the small specialty shops did this for you, now major retailers are offering this service for you.