This article first appeared on NW-OS.com
Picking a printer in 2025? Laser and inkjet printers dominate, but they’re built for different vibes. Here’s the quick rundown on how they stack up, NW-OS style.
Inkjet Printers: Vibrant, Versatile, Pricey to Run
Inkjets spray tiny ink droplets onto paper, making them champs for color prints. Think photos, flyers, or art projects—HP’s OfficeJet Pro 9125e or Epson’s EcoTank ET-2850 deliver rich, glossy output. They’re cheaper upfront, often $100-$300, and compact for home use. Most handle Wi-Fi, AirPrint, and duplex printing.
Downside? Ink cartridges bleed your wallet dry—$50-$100 for a set, lasting a few hundred pages. Third-party inks help, but some brands (cough, HP) lock you out with proprietary firmware changes. Users gripe about ink costs eating their budget. Great for low-volume, high-quality prints, but not for churning out reams of text.
Laser Printers: Fast, Efficient, Text Titans
Lasers use toner and heat to fuse crisp text onto paper, perfect for offices. Brother’s HL-L2350DW or HP’s LaserJet Pro MFP 4101fdw blaze through 30-40 ppm, with razor-sharp docs. Toner’s pricier upfront ($70-$150), but lasts thousands of pages, dropping cost-per-page to pennies. They’re bulkier, starting at $350-$1000, but low-maintenance for heavy workloads.
Catch? Color lasers are spendy, and photo quality lags behind inkjets. If you’re printing spreadsheets or contracts, lasers rule. If you need gallery-worthy prints, look elsewhere.
The Math
- Inkjet: Best for home, photos, low volume. Expect $0.10-$0.20 per color page.
- Laser: Ideal for offices, text, high volume. Around $0.02-$0.05 per page (mono).
More gear talk? Check us out at nw-os.com. Or give us a call today! 503-707-3006