Whether a laser or inkjet printer is better for you used to depend on how heavily you use your printer and your budget. Toner and ink based devices each have advantages and disadvantages. However, ink printers may be on the edge of retaking the field, both in terms of speed, quality and cost per copy.
Until recently, Laser Printers ruled the office environment, they cost more upfront but their ease of use and ability to run lots of copies made them the first choice. But now a new generation of ink jet printer is starting to emerge, matching (and in many cases) exceeding the speed and color quality while coming in at a lower cost per copy than laser.
Epson and HP have the first models of these machine on the market now, and they are getting rave reviews!
This technology, while still emerging, will put the quality and speed of traditional laser printers into the hands of everyone at a fraction of the hardware and supply cost. The biggest reasons for the change is the print head no longer moves back and forth over the page. These new machines have a massive print head the width of the paper, so the ink is instantly transported to the page! they have also replaced the small ink cartridges with much larger ones (in some cases good for 5000+ copies). Paper trays have also increased to 500 sheet capacity, (or more).
With ball park estimates running almost half the cost per copy vs a traditional office laser printer, the savings begin almost as soon as you turn your new printer on. These new “wonder printers” start around $550, with the counterpart laser printers at the same speeds begin at around $900.
One last bonus: the energy output required to run these machines drops to around 50% of what a laser printer needs. No more fuser roller, heat generating etc.
A youtube Demo of the HP Model can be seen below.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYKSx9aWalA
Take a look for yourself at what the next generation color printer will look like. And as always, if you need more information come down and see us at the store.
