Sublimation Technology: Difference Between Inkjet and Laser Printers

2017年1月17日星期二

Difference Between Inkjet and Laser Printers

Inkjet and laser printers represent two very different approaches to document printing; generally, inkjet technology is better for most small office applications whereas laser models excel at medium- to high-volume printing needs.

Speed

Although some overlap exists between the slowest laser printers and the fastest inkjets, the laser printer is inherently faster as it prints a whole page at a time, whereas inkjet models print every character individually,albeit rapidly. Print speeds vary depending on the sophistication of the printer mode and whether the output is black-and-white or color. Desktop inkjet models run between about six to 20 pages per minute in black–and–white mode and four to 16 pages per minute in color. Laser printers for small to medium-sized office use print 12 to 45 pages per minute. Large-scale laser printers, designed for very high output, print at speeds up to 110 pages per minute with some models capable of more than 3 million pages per month.

Supplies

Inkjet printers use snap-in ink cartridges. Typically, the printer takes one black ink cartridge and one each of cyan, magenta and yellow. Laser printers use toner cartridges, which are typically larger and produce more printed pages than an ink cartridge can. Although most inkjet printers print in color, some laser models print only in black-and-white. Color laser printers use black, cyan, yellow and magenta toner cartridges.

Types and Formats

Both laser and inkjet printers come in a wide range of sizes and formats. Most familiar are the desktop models for home and office. Larger-format inkjet printers are capable of producing posters and large wall maps. The technology used in laser printers restricts the size of the output to the width of the drum, so they handle common paper sizes such as 8-1/2 x 11, legal size and envelopes.