Imaging Devices

Printers: Inkjet vs. Laser, And More

5/7/2013 6:41:30 PM

So much for the paperless home office; the Ratings include more recommended models in more categories than ever. Here are some pointers on finding the best performing, most cost-effective printer:

Black and white is faster and cheaper.

If you print mostly text, a black-and-white all-in-one-which also copies and scans documents will usually save you time and money. Most black-and-white lasers churned out 12 or more pages of excellent text for roughly 2 to 4 cents per page. But only one color inkjet, the Lexmark Office Edge Pro 4000, could do that. The other color inkjets typically churned out 6 to 0 pages of very good text per minute, often for more than 4 cents per page. Black-and-white regular laser printers were similarly speedier than color lasers at printing black text, but there was little difference in text quality or cost per page.

 
The Lexmark Office Edge Pro 4000

The Lexmark Office Edge Pro 4000

Lasers ace text and color graphics.

Color lasers print higher quality black text and color graphics than inkjets. And they do so without sacrificing speed or economy. But they don’t print especially good photos on high-quality paper.

For photos, flexibility has its price

Regular inkjets are far more versatile than snapshot printers. They can print photos in a wide variety of sizes, plus text and other content, and some can be connected to a home network. Snapshot printers are faster and produce 4x6s for just 25 cents (for inkjets, they cost about 50 cents)

Mobile printing: there’s an app for that.

Nearly all the inkjet all-in-ones can print form a tablet or smart phone via a home wireless network, using the printer maker’s app from either Apple’s App Store or Google’s Play Store. This feature isn’t as common for other types of printers, but some do offer it. Some all-in-ones and regular models can print a photo or document you e-mail directly to them from any device.

Ratings: All tested models in performance order

Overview

Consider price and operating cost. A low-priced model could be expensive in the long run if it’s not very frugal with paper and ink. The copying function of an all-in-one is fine for casual use. Most are very good for scanning.

For printing, copying, and scanning in color

A2: Lexmark $250

A6: HP $230

A7: Brother $150

 
A. All-in-one Inkjets best if you need to print photos and documents in color as well as copy or scan

A. All-in-one Inkjets: best if you need to print photos and documents in color as well as copy or scan

 
A1. Canon Pixmal MG8220

A1. Canon Pixmal MG8220

A2 and A6 are fast and economical to use. A2 has a 1.8-inch LCD; A6 has a large, 3.8-inch LCD. A7 is low-priced and economical to use, but has a 1.9-inch LCD.

 
A6. HP OfficeJet pro 8600 plus

A6. HP Officejet pro 8600 plus

 
A. All-in-one Inkjets continued

A. All-in-one Inkjets continued

For printing, copying, and scanning in black and white.

C5: Brother $200 CR Best Buy

C9: Brother $160 CR Best Buy

 
C. All-in-one black-and-white lasers: best if you need to print and copy in black-and-white.

C. All-in-one black-and-white lasers: best if you need to print and copy in black-and-white.

Both are low-priced, print more than 14 pages of excellent text per minute, and have excellent scanning and copying C5 has a built-in fax.

 
C5. Brother MFC-7360N

C5. Brother MFC-7360N

For printing text cheaply and quickly

F7: Brother $150

F8: Samsung $70 CR Best Buy

 
E. Regular color lasers & F. Regular black-and-white lasers

E. Regular color lasers & F. Regular black-and-white lasers

 
F7. Brother HL-2270DW

F7. Brother HL-2270DW

Both are low-priced. F7 is very economical to use.

For printing color photos including enlargements.

D1: Epson $150 CR Best Buy

D3: HP $100 CR Best Buy

 
D. Regular Inkjets best if you need to print high-quality photos

D. Regular Inkjets: best if you need to print high-quality photos

D1 prints very good photos and text, and has excellent speed. D3 has a low-price and is very economical to use. It also has excellent text speed.

 
D1. Epson workforce Pro WP-4010

D1. Epson workforce Pro WP-4010

For printing color documents

B1: Dell $450

E2: Lexmark $200

 
B. All-in-one color laser: best if you need to print lots of color documetns and also copy or scan

B. All-in-one color laser: best if you need to print lots of color documetns and also copy or scan

B1 can print at least 13 pages of excellent text (black-and-white or color) per minute, produces excellent graphics, and can scan, copy, and fax. But it’s expensive and costly to operate. E2 prints at least 11 pages of excellent text (black-and-white or color) per minute, produces excellent graphics, and is economical to use for a color laser.

 
B1. Dell 2155cn

B1. Dell 2155cn

For printing snapshots

The Epson PictureMate Show PM300, $300, and Epson PictureMate Charm PM225, $200, which are not in the Ratings, print 4x6s inexpensively in less than 1 minute. Both are recommended.

The Epson PictureMate Show PM300

The Epson PictureMate Show PM300

5 ways to save on your inkjet

Inkjet printers are more costly to use than black-and-white laser models. That’s mainly due to the cost of ink cartridges, which can easily run two or three times a printer’s purchase price over the printer’s life. Here are five ways to reduce the cost of ink:

Recycle cartridges.

Office chains Office Depot, OfficeMax, and Staples each offer $2 in store credit for each ink (or laser toner) cartridge you drop off, up to 10 per month. To qualify, you must join their rewards clubs and the cartridge must be for a brand that they accept.

Use draft mode

In tests we conducted of five major-brand printers, using a lower-quality draft mode (some brands call it “fast” or “quick print”) to print non-photographic content cut ink usage by half and increased print speed by as much as 100 percent. Print quality was worse. But on most models the quality of black text was still acceptable. Switching to draft mode made the printers noisier, and on many models it can take a few steps to perform, but if you print many text documents, or long ones, it might be worth trying.

Don’t always heed the warnings.

A low-ink warning doesn’t always mean you must replace an ink cartridge immediately. In some cases you can print up to 20 percent more after it appears. In doing so, though, make sure to follow any relevant advice in the printer’s user manual

Print fewer pages.

You can save considerable ink (and paper) by printing multiple pages on each sheet, with each page being reduced in size. Many printers have this feature. It is especially useful when printing long documents, such as manuals or PowerPoint presentations.

Avoid needless pages.

Before printing maps or other Web content, preview them to avoid blank pages or unwanted ads. Or use a free, advertising-supported program called GreenPrint (printgreener.com) to help you skip pages with little or no content.

 

 

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