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Buying a new printer, ink-jet or laser?


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My colour printer has just packed in and would cost as much to repair as to buy a new one.

 

Can any of you dishy experts please tell me the difference between ink-jet and laser and which would be the best.  It's so complicated to try to go through all the different sites.

For example what do you use with a laser one instead of the ink cartridges and is it more costly ?

 

Many thanks.

Dumb blond.   [:)]

 

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What do you use it for?  IMO if you want to use a printer for top quality photos then you might be best sticking with ink/bubble jet and putting up with the cost.

If you print a lot but are less concerned about picture quality, then I'd buy laser ever time as they are far cheaper to run. 

One of each in a perfect world.

 

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I'm with coops, lasers have come down in price enormously and even colour ones can be got for well under £200. The price premium over an ink jet will be recovered in the cost of the consumables.

I'll never buy another inkjet.

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Oh come on, even tongue in cheek a scurrilous thing to suggest, do you work in 'elf & safety [:'(]

Yes, like any dust it's not going to be good to breath it in, but there is no credible evidence that it is carcinogenic, or even harmful in any significant way at normal consumer exposure levels (which varies from printer to printer anyway), and frankly, the absolutely miniscule amount a home user might actually be exposed to is probably too small to even measure. You'd probably inhale 100x more in diesel particulates and other air borne debris walking down your local town's main street than you ever could or would from a laser printer. You would obviously be exposed to more if you chose to refill a cartridge however having tried that on a practical, not health basis, I would advise against it.

Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS): http://www.hp.com/hpinfo/globalcitizenship/environment/productdata/pdf/lj_c4149a_us_eng_v5.pdf

Scientific study: http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=21924331

To put a practical face on it at work we have a conference room which also houses 5 different laser printers and copiers which I am responsible for maintaining. It is subject to nothing more than normal weekly housekeeping and cleaning procedures yet inbetween there is never any overt sign of toner dust on surfaces which, if they were routinely releasing to atmosphere as suggested, you most certainly would. Remember too that there are few industries more highly regulated in 'elf and safety terms than the offshore oil business !

Whatever criteria you use in deciding on which type of printer to buy please do not use non existent health risks as an influence.

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Don't know how what I wrote comes across as sale pitch krusty [blink]

Is that who you work for Théière ?

I agree that knowledge is good of course but this was not factual and if you're going to make such a potentially worrying statement then you really have to at least back it up with whatever evidence you have to support it.

The point is that there is no more risk from toner than from 100's if not 1000's of other things we all do or are exposed to on a daily basis so, short of suggesting that people turn into latter day Howard Hughes wannabes, there is (was) little point in mentioning it and certainly none whatsoever in worrying about it [:)]

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The price of the ink cartridges is an important issue to consider .

My last printer can't remember the mark, seemed to drink it and they were expensive to replace. I have a canon now ( about 60€ from Amazon, and the ink goes further and the cartridges are cheaper and widely stocked.

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[quote user="AnOther"]Is that who you work for Théière ?


[/quote]

My O/H worked fro them right up until the re-shuffle but I know they are involved on a lot rigs in the north sea.

I remember the old toner cartridge info from years back as you say times and risk change, BBQ 'ing food gives of more carcinogens.

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To get back to the original question, laser printers have toner cartridges (like photocopiers) rather than ink cartridges.

Toner cartridges are expensive - probably about 3-4 times the cost of ink cartridges (sometimes more) but typically last for 5,000-10,000 pages, so overall are much cheaper. Sometimes - particularly in the case of inexpensive colour laser printers - the cost of replacement cartridges is even higher than the cost of the printer. That sounds daft, but they are usually sold with low-capacity cartridges so the replacements will last longer than those originally supplied with the machine (the same applies to many inkjets too, incidentally).

Print quality from mono and colour laser printers is usually pretty good; a cheap colour laser will be as good as a cheap inkjet, but if you want photo-quality colour prints then you have to go for a high-end inkjet. Laser printers are also much quicker than inkjets.

Some laser toners are simple and cheap to refill yourself (e.g. Samsung); others, like HP, can be done but are much more difficult. I'm not sure I should mention that after the comments about carcinogenic dust. They can only be refilled two or three times before quality drops off though. Compatible (non-original) toners can be found for more popular printers which offer a cost saving, though just like inkjet cartridges the quality of compatibles is variable. The other consumable is the drum, though some printers combine this with the toner. But, unless you have a very expensive printer, by the time the drum needs replacing it's probably a better bet to replace the whole thing. Cheap lasers, like cheap inkjets, are throw-away items.

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[quote user="pachapapa"]

If you are still undecided I have moved up to a multi function; you can have my old Lexmark, needs ink cartridges, works on XP Vista.

And a couple of scanners as well but they only work on XP.

I live near Parthenay.

[/quote]

Sorry, Pachapa I missed your post earlier on with your kind offer.  The one I've got/had is a multifunction, Epson.  I must have had it for about five or six years and I will go for a multifunction again, very practical.  I'll have a look tomorrow and will probably get an ink jet with the individual cartridges again for each colour, supposed to be more economical than the one cartridge for all.

You mean on your above post that you can't get generic cartridges for all makes?

Edit: There are quite a few for different makes here http://www.inkworldwide.co.uk/

 

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They are definitely more economical with separate ink cartridges, look for a small circuit chip on the front of the ink cartridges as that is used to force you to buy OEM cartridges. I.E. Canon and Epson etc.

You can buy via the internet and other companies little electronic chip re-setters to sort that out so you can swop the cartridges and chips over to carry on using other cheaper cartridges.  I buy mine from here not incredible quick service so I buy plenty and at their prices who wouldn't

EDIT a lot cheaper than your link by 2/3rds

 

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Just a small point on this which will apply mainly to holiday homes, but if a bubble jet printer is left usused for a while (weeks rather tahn days) especially in hot areas, the cartridge dries up. I had this problem and switched to a laser printer which performs consistently.

Andy

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[quote user="Andyphilpott"]

Just a small point on this which will apply mainly to holiday homes, but if a bubble jet printer is left usused for a while (weeks rather tahn days) especially in hot areas, the cartridge dries up. I had this problem and switched to a laser printer which performs consistently.

Andy

[/quote]8 months in hospital and my Canon performed perfectly on my return.  I've had this problem with Lexmark and Epson but never with Canon in spite of the fact that their refils are cheaper.

As with AnO the software talks rubbish though - long after the cartridges are supposedly empty they are still going strong.

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I have the same problem with HP Inkjet printers. I think its because none of them actually measure the quantity of ink they just guess on the amount of printing you have done. I just ignore the messages and wait till it actually runs out of ink. My HP 1640 Officejet has done very well on cartridges, we have had it 2 years and replaced both cartridges only once, not bad considering the amount of printing Mrs 'Q' does of documents to proof read or PowerPoint presentations she creates plus me printing all the guests bills. It's also wireless so it sits in one part of the house (strangely next to Mrs 'Q') and anyone can print to it including guests with their own PC. Having been 'in the business' HP, Lexmark and Cannon are the most common printers to be found in corporates. For really important applications where printer reliability is a premium they normally choose HP but then they print in a day what most of us print in a year and its always laser but your talking serious money (6 to 7 hundred quid).
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I bought a Brother laser in 2005. Despite loads of use and my wife printing her 600 page book out many times, the toner has refused to run out. Well that was what I thought! It told me the other day that I needed a new toner, but at less than €50, I cannot complain at 5 years use. It is also happy to use any old paper and does not need expensive inkjet paper.

I am looking forward to the next 5 years use.

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[quote user="Christine Animal"]

Well I got a little Canon ink-jet, Pixma MP 560.  It's supposed to be good for photos.

It is now in the place of the other one, but I haven't had time to set it up yet!  [:D]  Will have a go tomorrow.

 

[/quote]

I have the Pixma MP 600 and it's pretty good at photos's, the ink cartridges have chips on the front so you'll need to source some replacement ink cartridges already posted a link on this thread.

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