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Whether it is for your corporate facility or home office, if you are dealing with a large number of documents, you will need an unauthorised printer. The two main types are laser and inkjet. When buying or renting a new printer, you need to evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of each type to understand which type is more suitable for your workflow. Before comparing the best multifunction printers, you should consider the following points.

Inkjet printers are a popular choice for people working in a home office environment. They print by feeding paper into a series of rollers and ejecting ink drops onto the paper to present complete images or text clusters. Most inkjet printers use ink cartridges sold in black, yellow, magenta, and cyan. These color mixtures can create any color needed for the print job. Some printers may require additional color ink cartridges to provide you with more choices. 

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The quality of the image depends on the dots per inch (dpi) that the printer can produce. The resolution of most laser printers is between 1,200 and 2,400 dpi. Low-end printers and usually dedicated to text-based documents, with a resolution of 300 to 600 dpi. If your business needs high-quality images, you should buy a printer with a high dpi. If you only need text documents, you can choose a printer with a lower dpi.

Tip: To calculate the cost per page of a printer, divide its ink cartridge price by its expected number of pages.

The difference between laser printers and inkjet printers is that they use toner to create images instead of ink cartridges. Laser printers aim laser beams at rotating photosensitive instruments, which flash onto the page. This generates electric charges corresponding to the black, white, or colored areas that appear in the image. Essentially, the laser beam etches the pattern onto the photoreceptor coded with toner, and when the paper passes through the printer, the toner is transferred by charge.

Most laser printers have a resolution of 600 dpi or higher. Because of the fast printing speed, high efficiency, and long service life of the toner, laser printers are large-volume machines. This is very helpful for companies that want to print a large number of documents in a short period of time. However, since toner cartridges are very expensive, it is important to calculate the cost per page to ensure that you get value for money from the printer. 

Because of their differences in printing methods, materials, and speeds, you need to evaluate your printing needs to determine which type of printer is best for your business. Although both types can create high-quality images and documents, you need to evaluate the company's print output based on the expected performance of the printer. The following are the most important factors to consider when buying a printer, as well as a comparison of inkjet printers and laser printers in each category.

You need to determine the importance of document printing speed, especially when you need a workplace printer that is frequently used by multiple employees.

Mika Kujapelto, CEO and founder of LaptopUnboxed, said: “If you often need to print paper quickly on time-sensitive issues, getting a printer with fast printing speed is crucial.” “Printing multiple copies is also possible for your business. It’s vital because it saves time and money waiting for a large number of prints."

Laser printers are designed for fast printing, with 15 to 100 pages per minute, depending on the document (images tend to take longer than text documents). Inkjet printers have a long process and can print about 16 pages per minute. If you need to receive long or complex documents immediately, you may prefer to invest in a laser printer. If printing speed is more important than image quality, inkjet printers are a more feasible solution.

FYI: Small businesses and sole proprietorships can usually use inkjet printers. However, the scalability of laser printers is much better, thanks to its excellent printing speed.

The print quality of most images or documents will depend on the quality of the printer itself.

Eden Chang, the founder of WeInvoice, said: "Business owners should also pay attention to the dpi of the relevant printer...this usually determines the quality of the printer." "The higher the printer's dpi, the clearer, clearer, and [more] detail."

Both laser printers and inkjet printers can print clear, legible and easy-to-read text and bright color palettes. Of course, whether it is an inkjet printer or a laser printer, the image quality of cheap printers will be lower than that of more expensive printers. With this in mind, inkjet printers tend to produce higher-resolution color images than laser printers.

"Laser printers usually have a higher dpi than inkjet printers, although you have to browse the laser printer category to find the printer with the highest dpi in that range," Chang said. "However, inkjet printers are also suitable for printing color images, and their cost is much [lower] than laser printers."

If your business needs to print more image-based documents than text documents, inkjet printers may be your best choice for making high-resolution photos with deep tones. For businesses that primarily print text-based documents, laser printers are ideal for improving efficiency.  

In addition to how quickly you need to print documents, you also need to evaluate how much your business needs to print at a time. Laser printers are very popular as office tools because they can print many documents in a short period of time. For small businesses and home offices that do not need to print a large number of documents at once, inkjet printers can easily meet their printing needs.

When evaluating the print volume of a business, remember to calculate the cost per page to keep the budget in mind. You should also understand the printer's monthly duty cycle, which is the number of pages that can be printed in a month without internal damage. Exceeding this output will cause the printer to malfunction more frequently and cause it to be replaced as soon as possible.

The number of pages is how many pages can be printed with one ink or toner cartridge. One factor in the final print volume of the printer is the type of documents that your business prints regularly. Compared with standard text pages, documents with large color images have lower page usage.

Most ink cartridges can print 135 to 1,000 pages, while laser printer toner cartridges can print 2,000 to 10,000 pages. The number of pages that these ink cartridges can print also depends on the printer type and manufacturer. Companies that need to print a large number of documents should consider using laser printers, and inkjet printers are sufficient for companies with low print volumes.

FYI: According to the printing needs of your business, page yield is an important factor in how much ink or toner you will spend. The higher print volume per cartridge means that you will not have to change ink or toner frequently.

The upfront cost of inkjet printers is often lower than that of laser printers. While this may make them more attractive to your budget, you must evaluate the long-term value of the printer-that is, the cost per page-in order to choose better financial options. In other words, in the long run, printers with higher upfront costs than competitors may be a cheaper option, depending on their usage estimates and ink cartridge prices.

A common fear faced by business owners when buying printers is that employees will spend more time repairing them rather than using them. Although both types of printers have internal mechanisms that you need to monitor, laser printers also have photosensitive drums, which must be carefully maintained to extend the life of the printer. The amount of maintenance a printer needs depends on its monthly duty cycle. No matter what type of printer your business buys, you need to make sure to clean it regularly, replace ink cartridges as needed, and do not exceed its monthly duty cycle. [Read the most common copier and printer problems, the most common copier and printer problems and their solutions. ]

The type of printer you should choose depends of course on your business needs. To determine which is best for you, consider each point:

When choosing a printer, keep in mind these characteristics of each type of printer and your business needs. Whether you want to print thousands of Word documents or a piece of art, the printer you choose is important-make the right choice for your business.