Inkjet vs. Laser Printers: How to Choose One for Your Home

01In short

Inkjet printers spray tiny drops of liquid ink onto the paper. Laser printers use a fine powder called toner, which is fused onto the paper with heat. As a broad rule, inkjets suit households that print color and photos now and then, while laser printers suit households that print a lot of text and want sharp pages quickly. The right choice depends on what, and how much, you print. This comparison sets out the criteria so you can decide for yourself.

GuideRanger doesn’t sell printers or accept payment from printer makers, and this article doesn’t recommend a brand or model.

02How each type works

Inkjet: a print head moves across the page and places microscopic droplets of ink. Most home inkjets use separate cartridges or refillable tanks for black and for colors. Because the ink is liquid, inkjets are good at smooth color blends, which is why they are popular for photos.

Laser: the printer uses a laser or LED light to draw the page as an electrical charge on a drum. Toner powder sticks to the charged areas, transfers to the paper and is fused on by a heated roller, called the fuser. Laser printers are available as black-and-white (monochrome) or color models.

03The comparison, criterion by criterion

Print quality

• Text: both types produce crisp text. Laser printers are known for consistently sharp black text on plain paper.
• Color and photos: inkjets generally handle photos and smooth color better, especially on photo paper. Color laser printers are good for charts and documents, but photo printing isn’t usually their strength.

Running costs

What a printer costs to buy and what it costs to run are different things. To compare running costs fairly, look at:

• The page yield the manufacturer publishes for each cartridge or toner: roughly how many pages it is expected to print.
• The price of replacement supplies at the time you buy.
• How you print. Divide the supply price by its page yield for a rough cost per page, then think about how many pages you print each month.

Inkjets with refillable ink tanks and laser printers with high-yield toner are often chosen by people who print more, because of their running costs. Check current figures for the specific models you are considering, as they change.

Speed and volume

Laser printers are generally quicker for multi-page text documents and are designed for steadier, higher volumes. Inkjets are fine for occasional jobs and lighter use.

Upkeep and idle time

• Inkjet: if an inkjet sits unused for a long time, its nozzles can dry out or clog, and cleaning cycles use some ink. Printing a page now and then helps.
• Laser: toner is a dry powder that doesn’t dry out, so a laser printer that sits unused for weeks will usually print normally when you return to it. The fuser gets hot during printing, so let it cool before reaching inside to clear a jam.

Size, features and energy

Compare the physical size, whether it scans and copies (an “all-in-one”), wireless printing, automatic two-sided printing and the paper sizes you need. The official ENERGY STAR product pages include office equipment such as printers, which can help if energy use matters to you.

04Which one fits your household?

• You print color, photos and school projects now and then: an inkjet is usually the more natural fit.
• You print lots of text, such as forms, reports and tickets: a monochrome laser printer is worth a close look.
• You print a lot of both: compare a color laser with an ink-tank inkjet using the running-cost criteria above.
• You print very rarely: consider how a long idle period suits each type, and whether a printing service elsewhere would cover occasional needs.

05Setting up and disposing responsibly

Whichever you choose, our first-time printer setup guide and our guide to connecting a printer to Wi-Fi take you from the box to the first page. When an old printer reaches the end of its life, the US EPA’s electronics donation and recycling page explains options for responsible disposal, and many manufacturers run return programs for used cartridges.

06The short version

Inkjets use liquid ink and shine at color and photos; laser printers use toner and shine at fast, sharp text. Decide on what and how much you print, compare published page yields and supply prices rather than just the purchase price, and check the features you need.