Is a color laser printer right for you?

Ink jet and laser printers have long dominated the printing marketplace but which is right for your color photo printer needs?

The answer to this question depends on what your usage needs are. If you are printing primarily text or invoices requiring only a black and white or gray scale quality graphics then the answer is obviously no, but if you need a printer for doing professional quality printing then there is probably no real alternative to a high end color laser printer.

Selecting a color laser printer can be daunting. The sheer number of printer manufacturers in today’s market means that you have a wide variety to choose from. However this also presents an extremely competitive marketplace for vendors so prices are constantly dropping (although not at the rate we have seen in the past).
Currently HP, Canon, Dell, and others offer color laser printers of entry level quality for below US $250.00 with prices ranging up into the several thousand dollar price range for high end models.

We recommend purchasing a printer from a major manufacturer with a solid performance history. You do not want to shell out hundreds of your hard earned dollars on a printer only to have it become a paper weight due to an inability to find replacement toner cartridges or spare parts.

Pros and cons for Color laser printers:

Pros – Fast, inexpensive per page costs, more durable then ink jets, prints on standard and speciality paper.

Cons – Higher initial expense than ink jet printers, Laser printers tend to be larger and more bulky, Replacement toner cartridges are more costly. Adequate photo capability but not as high quality as some top of the line ink jets using photo paper.

When making your purchasing decision keep the following in mind:

What will I mainly be doing with this printer?

What features are indispensable? Duplex (Front and back) printing can be incredibly handy but can have a tremendous impact on the price of the printer.

Is wired or wireless network connectivity critical for your needs? Remember, if you don’t have a true network ready printer you will have to leave the host computer powered on if you have other computers in your home or office that you wish to share the printer with, whereas a network printer can be connected to your router or placed on the network via built in wireless modem without the need to purchase a separate print server.

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