[Discuss] Low end color laser printers

[Dan Ritter]

On Mon, Jun 25, 2012 at 02:55:25PM -0400, Shirley Márquez Dúlcey wrote:
> I'd summarize the advantages and disadvantages as follows:
> 
> Inkjet:
> Pros: low capital cost, good all-around printing, excellent photo
> printing on special paper, energy efficiency
> Cons: high supplies cost (especially for low-end printers), text
> quality doesn't match laser, some models quite slow, printouts can
> run (Epson ink is more water-resistant but their printers have had
> other problems)
> 
> Laser:
> Pros: moderate capital cost, high printing speed, excellent text and
> business graphics, output is waterproof
> Cons: so-so photo printing, energy use, air quality issues (ozone
> and particulates)
> 
> Dye sub:
> Pros: best photo printing
> Cons: supply cost is fixed per page, thus poor for jobs that don't
> cover the entire page with dye. So-so text. Full-page models are
> expensive. Most are one-trick ponies for photo printing; most users
> will also need another printer for other purposes.

Service Bureau (including, say, CostCo, Snapfish, Shutterfly...):
Pros: huge availability of media sizes, no capital cost at all;
no electrical usage, never runs out of consumables, doesn't dry
out.
Cons: slightly more expensive per page than owning your own.
Delayed gratification. Probably not a good idea for risque
photos. Pickup for free or small delivery charge.



-dsr-