At first glance it looks as though the inkjet is by far the lowest cost printer, however when you factor in the cost of ink it turns out that the laser wins hands down. Most ink cartridges result in a higher cost per page figure when compared to laser toner. Cheaper models typically use a cartridge with less ink than those for more expensive inkjets, thus the more expensive models are cheaper in the long run. Others use a 3-in-1 cartridge that requires users to replace the entire cartridge even when only one color is empty.

When evaluating your printer purchase, it is important to evaluate the number of users, how the device will be used, desired print speed, need for color, cost of the printer vs. cost of the supplies and the warranty. Color laser printers have come way down in price, but they still cost more than inkjet printers. Inkjet printers do a superior job with photographic images. Laser printers do better with text. Both can do an excellent job with non-photographic graphics. But right now there are some laser printers that print black for under $100.00. There are color laser 3 in1 printers for around $400.00 so if you do more than 50 pages per day these might be a good bet.

It may be fun but printing color photos can be very expensive for instance many times you can get only 8 or 10 full-page photos. If the cartridge costs 30 to $40.00 that means it costs 3 to 4 dollars per page. It pays to try refills or compatible cartridges because you can usually cut you costs by 50 to 75 %. It's important to realize that a typical inkjet printer may put out 200 pages per cartridge doing text printing. The laser may put out 2500 to 8000 pages or more. While the initial cost of the toner cartridges may be more in the long run they The cost per page is far less.

What it all boils down to is if you're the kind of person who prints something once a week a cheap inkjet is probably the best for you. But if you print daily or have a business or home business you probably should take a serious look at lasers.

In the last 15 years I've seen printers go from printing clearly visible dots to inexpensive printers that can print lab quality photos. While the printers are cheaply made the print quality is truly amazing. So no matter what you choose you can buy for hundreds what would have cost you thousands 10 years ago.