Ink or laser: How to find the right printer
Ink or laser, it says when buying a new printer. Numerous factors play a role here, such as the price of a new printer cartridge and the purchase price of the printer. If you are still considering whether you should buy an inkjet printer or a laser beam printer, we will give you some tips for your decision here.
The advantages and disadvantages of inkjet printers
- Size: Inkjet printers are usually smaller than the laser beam models and are therefore better suited to be placed on the desk.
- Speed: Compared to the laser model, an inkjet printer takes longer to print a page. If you want to output many pages with images or large-scale prints, you will save a lot of time with the laser beam printer.
- Durability: Unless you use the printer regularly, the ink cartridges dry up.
- Purchase price: Even if the prices of laser beam printers continue to decrease, the inkjet printer is often even cheaper to buy.
- Price for printer cartridges: The purchase price for inkjet printers is lower, but the ink costs significantly more. In the test by Stiftung Warentest, however, an inkjet printer with the cheapest printing prices surprised. Otherwise, simply use foreign ink.
- Conclusion: An inkjet printer is worthwhile if you print little but consistently and are not dependent on time. We have the best inkjet printers for you in the price comparison.
Laser printer: is it worth buying?
- Size: Since the laser printer toner itself is already about 25 cm wide, the laser beam printer takes up a lot of space.
- Speed: In offices you will find almost only laser beam printers because the printing speed is very fast. With many sites, you can also benefit from this at home.
- Durability: Laser printer toners rarely dry out.
- Purchase price: Laser printers are now available from 30 euros. Good models cost at least 120 euros.
- Printer cartridge price: Compared to ink, buying toner is easy. In the Stiftung Warentest test, they were almost always cheaper.
- Conclusion: If you print a lot and have space for the device, you can quickly put your content on paper with a laser beam printer. If you are still looking for the right model, we have put together the most popular laser printers with price and test reports.
No matter which printer you choose in the end: You can save up to 80% when you buy the printer cartridge in these shops. In another article, we have summarized everything you need to know about the newest and best multifunction printers. You can also find out everything you need to know about printers and scanners on our category page.