Choose a laser printer if you mostly print black text, print a lot, or print so rarely that ink would dry out. Choose an inkjet for photos, crafts and everyday color. If you print color every week, an ink tank inkjet lowers the running cost. The chooser and cost calculator below settle it for your own printing.
Fuses dry toner powder onto paper with heat and pressure
-
Black text
Good; can feather slightly on plain paper
Very sharp and consistent
Laser
Color documents
Good, vivid
Good, slightly flatter
Even
Photos
Best, especially with photo inks and glossy paper
Fair on plain paper; no glossy inkjet paper
Inkjet
Price to buy
Usually lower
Usually higher
Inkjet
Cost per page
Higher with cartridges; low with ink tanks
Usually lower, especially for black
Laser
Sitting unused for weeks
Nozzles can dry and clog
Toner does not dry out
Laser
Volume and speed
Fine for light use
Built for steady volume
Laser
Paper and media
Wide range, including glossy photo paper
Plain and laser-rated media only
Inkjet
Typical faults
Clogs, banding, misalignment
Streaks, repeating marks, smudging, ghosting
Even
Which type of printer suits you?
Recommended
A black-and-white laser printer
For black text, a mono laser is hard to beat. Text is sharp, it handles volume, and toner does not dry out between jobs, so a printer that sits for a month still prints first time.
What to do
Compare models by the ISO toner yield on the spec sheet, not by the price of the printer.
Check whether the drum is separate from the toner. A separate drum is a second part you will replace later.
Use the cost-per-page calculator on this page with the numbers from the spec sheets.
You need color but print with long gaps. Toner is a dry powder, so it does not clog nozzles while the printer sits. Color laser is weaker at photos, but fine for documents, charts and school work.
What to do
Expect four toner cartridges and possibly a drum or belt to replace over time.
Compare the ISO color yield as well as the black yield.
If photos matter, keep a print shop or photo kiosk in mind for the occasional photo.
For light, mixed printing with some color or the odd photo, an inkjet is the simple choice. The trade-off is ink cost per page and nozzles that can dry out if the printer sits for weeks.
What to do
Print something small every week to keep ink moving. The maintenance strip on this site uses very little ink.
Turn it off with its own power button, not at the wall, so the head is capped (Epson, Canon and HP manuals all say this).
Compare the ISO yield of the cartridges, not just their price.
You print regularly, with color. Ink tank printers are inkjets with large built-in ink tanks, mostly refilled from bottles, which usually lowers the cost per page for regular use. They still need regular printing to keep the nozzles healthy.
What to do
Budget for a higher printer price and lower ink cost.
Print at least weekly. Long idle spells are still the main risk for any inkjet.
Run the calculator with the bottle price and the ISO yield from the spec sheet.
Regular photo printing is where inkjet clearly wins. Photo models add extra inks, such as photo cyan and photo magenta, for smoother skin tones and gradients, and they take glossy photo paper that laser printers cannot use.
What to do
Look for a model with dedicated photo inks if gradients and skin tones matter.
Print on the paper type you select in the driver; it changes how much ink is used.
Check the light inks with our photo printer light-ink test.
An inkjet printer moves a print head back and forth across the page and fires microscopic drops of liquid ink from rows of nozzles. There are two main ways to fire a drop.
Thermal inkjet heats a tiny resistor so that a bubble of vapor forms and pushes a drop out of the nozzle. HP and Canon (Bubble Jet) use thermal designs.[1][2]
Piezo inkjet uses a crystal that flexes when a voltage is applied, squeezing the drop out without heat. Epson’s Micro Piezo and PrecisionCore heads work this way.[3][4]
Either way, the nozzles are tiny and the ink is liquid. That is why inkjets produce smooth color and fine photo detail, and also why they can clog when ink dries in the nozzles.
How does a laser printer work?
A laser printer builds the page on a rotating, light-sensitive drum, then melts it onto the paper.[5][6][7]
Charge: the surface of the drum is given an even electric charge.
Expose: a laser (or, in LED printers, a row of LEDs) changes the charge wherever the page should be dark. A laser beam sweeps across the drum; an LED printer uses a fixed row of LEDs instead.[8][9]
Develop: toner powder sticks to those areas of the drum.
Transfer: the toner image moves from the drum onto the paper.
Fuse: heated rollers melt the toner into the paper. HP gives 210°C (410°F) as the fusing temperature for one of its color lasers.[10]
Because the drum and rollers turn once for every short stretch of paper, a fault on one of them leaves a mark that repeats at a fixed distance down the page. You can measure that gap to find the part with our repeat-defect ruler.
Left: an inkjet head fires drops of cyan, magenta, yellow and black ink straight onto the page. Right: a laser printer’s drum picks up toner powder, which is transferred to the page and fused with heat.
Which prints better: text, color or photos?
Black text is where laser printers shine. Toner sits on the surface of the paper, so letters stay crisp even at small sizes, and the result is the same on page one and page five hundred. Inkjet text is good too, though on cheap plain paper liquid ink can spread slightly into the fibers.
Color documents such as charts, slides and school projects look good on both. Inkjets tend to look more vivid; color lasers look a little flatter but are consistent and quick.
Photos are the inkjet’s home ground. Photo models add extra inks to smooth out skin tones and skies: Canon’s PIXMA PRO-200S uses eight dye inks including photo cyan and photo magenta, and Epson’s SureColor P700 uses ten pigment inks.[11][12] They also print on glossy photo paper. Laser printers should not use glossy inkjet photo paper: HP and Brother both warn against it, because it is not made for the fuser’s heat.[13][14]
Usually per page, not to buy. The trap is comparing cartridge prices. A cheap ink cartridge that prints a few hundred pages can cost far more per page than an expensive toner cartridge that prints thousands.
The fair way to compare is cost per page: the price of the supply divided by its page yield. Use the yield measured to the ISO/IEC standards, which makers such as HP publish for their supplies: ISO/IEC 24711 for inkjet cartridges,[15] ISO/IEC 19752 for black toner[16] and ISO/IEC 19798 for color toner.[17] These yields come from printing a standard set of test pages until the supply runs out.[18] HP itself describes them as a starting point for comparing cartridges, not a prediction of what you will get, because your own pages may use more or less ink.[19]
Two more costs are easy to miss. Many laser printers have a separate drum that wears out and must be replaced. And an inkjet that clogs after sitting idle can burn through ink on cleaning cycles. Enter real numbers below to see the full picture.
Cost-per-page calculator
Enter the numbers from each printer’s spec sheet or supplies page. Use the ISO yield, which is measured with standard test pages, and the price you would actually pay. Nothing is pre-filled because prices change. Everything is calculated in your browser.
Result
Printer A
Printer B
Black page
-
-
Color page
-
-
Supplies per month
-
-
Supplies per year
-
-
Printer + 3 years of supplies
-
-
Fill in both printers to compare them.
This is an estimate. A color page usually uses some black too, so the calculator counts a color page as one page of black supplies plus one page of color supplies. ISO yields come from standard test pages; heavier pages, such as photos, use more.
What about ink tank printers?
Ink tank printers are inkjets with large built-in ink reservoirs instead of small cartridges. Epson’s EcoTank, Canon’s MegaTank and HP’s Smart Tank are refilled from bottles of ink.[20][21][22] Brother’s INKvestment Tank is different: high-capacity cartridges feed an internal reservoir, and there are no bottles.[23] They cost more to buy and usually much less per page, which makes them a strong choice if you print color every week.
They are still inkjets, though. The nozzles need regular use, and the same clog, banding and alignment problems apply. Our maintenance strip and weekly reminder were built for exactly this kind of printer.
What happens if you don’t print for weeks?
This is the question that decides it for many people. An idle inkjet can dry out: ink thickens in the nozzles and the next print comes out streaky, faded or blank. Epson advises printing at least one color test page a week to keep ink flowing.[24] Epson, Canon and HP all say to switch off with the printer’s own power button, which caps the print head, rather than cutting power at the wall.[25][26][27] Brother inkjets clean their heads automatically from time to time, but only while plugged in.[28] Canon notes that even a capped head can dry out if the printer goes unused for a long time.[29]
A laser printer has no nozzles to dry. HP’s own comparison says toner does not dry out over time,[30] so a laser printer that sits for weeks normally prints the first page cleanly. Toner is not immortal, though: Brother advises unpacking a cartridge only when you install it,[31] and Xerox lists a 24-month shelf life for one of its models.[32] If you print a few pages a month or less, that alone is a good reason to choose laser.
Already have an inkjet that clogged after a break? Start with the nozzle check reader, then the cleaning-cycle advisor, which shows each maker’s limit on how many cleanings to run.
Speed, size, noise and paper
Speed: laser printers are built for steady, multi-page jobs. HP, which sells both types, puts typical laser speeds at 20 to 40 pages per minute against 5 to 15 for inkjets.[33] Older lasers needed the fuser to stay warm; Canon’s on-demand fixing heats only when a job arrives.[34]
Size: entry-level inkjets are usually smaller and lighter. Laser printers are boxier, and color lasers in particular are large because they hold four toner cartridges.
Paper: inkjets handle a wider range of media, from glossy photo paper to card. Laser printers need paper and labels rated for laser use.
Heat and power: a laser draws far more power while printing than while waiting. Lexmark lists 850 W printing and 1.9 W asleep for one of its laser all-in-ones.[35] ENERGY STAR rates laser and LED printers by their typical weekly electricity use, which is the fairer number to compare.[36]
How do inkjet and laser printers fail, and how do you test each?
We look at printer faults all day, and the two types fail in completely different ways. Knowing which kind you have is the first question in every troubleshooter on this site.
Faint copies of earlier text: ghosting or drum refresh. Ghost and drum test.
Toner rubs off: fusing or paper type. Laser checker.
Inkjet or laser for home, office, students and photographers
Who
Usually the better fit
Why
Occasional home printing
Mono or color laser
No drying out between rare jobs
Families and students
Ink tank inkjet
Regular color at a low cost per page
Home office, mostly documents
Mono laser
Sharp text, volume, low cost per page
Photographers and crafters
Photo inkjet
Photo inks and glossy or specialty media
Small office, mixed color
Color laser
Fast, consistent color documents
How to choose, in one minute
Count roughly how many pages you print in a month, and how many are color.
Think about the longest gap between print jobs. Weeks of silence favor laser.
If photos matter, choose an inkjet. If they don’t, laser is the safe default.
Shortlist two printers and put their ISO yields and supply prices into the calculator above.
Once it arrives, print a test page and keep the sheet as a reference for later.
Questions people ask
Is a laser or inkjet printer better for home use?
It depends on what and how often you print. For mostly black documents, or if you print rarely, a laser printer is usually the better fit because toner does not dry out. For photos, crafts and regular color printing, an inkjet (or an ink tank inkjet) is the better fit.
Is laser cheaper than inkjet?
A laser printer usually costs more to buy and less per page, especially for black text. Ink tank inkjets can be cheap per page too. The only reliable comparison is cost per page from the ISO yields on each spec sheet, which the calculator on this page works out for you.
Do laser printers dry out like inkjets?
No. Toner is a dry powder and there are no nozzles to clog, so a laser printer that sits unused for weeks normally prints first time. Inkjets can dry out: Epson advises printing a color test page at least once a week, and makers say to switch off with the power button so the head is capped.
Can a laser printer print photos?
A color laser can print pictures on plain paper, but it cannot match a photo inkjet for smooth gradients and skin tones, and it cannot use glossy inkjet photo paper, which is not designed for the heat of a laser fuser.
What is an ink tank printer?
An inkjet with large built-in ink tanks instead of small cartridges. Epson EcoTank, Canon MegaTank and HP Smart Tank refill from bottles; Brother INKvestment Tank uses high-capacity cartridges that feed an internal reservoir. They cost more to buy and usually less per page, but they are still inkjets and need regular use.
How do I tell if my printer is inkjet or laser?
Check what you replace when it runs out. Ink comes in small cartridges or bottles of liquid. Toner comes in larger, heavier cartridges of powder, often with a separate drum. Laser and LED printers also need a few seconds to warm up the fuser before the first page.
Sources
Each numbered claim above links here. Maker pages describe their own technology; we cite them for how it works, not as independent reviews. Last checked 2026-10-13.
[1]Inkjet Printers (Canon)In Canon's thermal (Bubble Jet) method, a heater forms a bubble in the ink, and the bubble pushes ink out through the nozzle.
[3]PrecisionCore | Epson Australia (Epson)In Epson's PrecisionCore heads, a piezo crystal flexes when voltage is applied, and that movement pumps ink out of each nozzle. No heating element is used.
[4]Innovative Technologies | Micro Piezo Technology | Epson Europe (Epson)Epson's Micro Piezo heads use piezo crystals that pulse in response to electrical signals. Epson says that because the head uses no heat, its printers can work with a wider range of inks.
[5]Laser Printers and MFPs (Canon)Canon's sequence: the photosensitive drum is charged with static first, and laser light exposes it with the image. The charge dissipates only where the page will print, and toner is developed onto that image. Static then transfers the toner to the paper, and heat and pressure fix it.
[6]How LaserJet Printers Work: The Science Behind Crisp, Fast Printing | HP New Zealand (HP)HP: the laser removes charge from parts of the drum to form a latent image, and charged toner is attracted to the drum. A second electrical charge moves the toner onto the paper. Heat and pressure in the fuser then melt the toner's plastic particles into the paper fibres.
[7]How does a laser printer work? | Brother UK (Brother)Brother: the printer beams the image data onto a photosensitive drum. Static electricity then puts powdered toner on the paper in the right pattern, and heated rollers fuse it in place with heat and pressure.
[8]Our Brand | About OKI Australia | OKI Data (OKI)OKI says a laser printer's beam sweeps back and forth across the drum, while an LED printer uses a row of fixed LEDs that expose a whole line at once. OKI also says its LED print heads have no moving parts. This is maker marketing.
[10]HP Color LaserJet 2605, 2605dn, 2605dtn User Guide (HP)HP's Color LaserJet 2605 guide says the printer fuses at 210°C (410°F) and warns that paper made for inkjet printers may damage it. The temperature is specific to that model.
[13]HP LaserJet P1007/P1008/P1505/P1505n User Guide (HP)HP LaserJet guides say not to use inkjet transparencies, labels, photo paper or glossy paper, or any coated paper not built to withstand the fuser's heat. They should only be used with media rated for LaserJet printers.
[17]HP Printer: LaserJet Page Yields (HP)HP's declared yields for colour laser cartridges use ISO/IEC 19798. In that test, a standard set of five mixed text-and-graphics pages is printed continuously until the cartridge reaches end of life.
[18]HP Printer: How HP measures inkjet page yields (HP)In the ISO/IEC 24711 test, a standard set of five letter-size test pages is printed continuously until the cartridge reaches end of life.
[19]HP Printer: How HP measures inkjet page yields (HP)HP says ISO page yields are a starting point for comparing cartridges, not a prediction of how many pages you will actually get. Real results depend on what you print.
[27]HP ENVY 6000 All-in-One series User Guide (HP)HP's ENVY 6000 user guide says to always turn the printer off with the Power button to keep the cartridges from drying out.
[28]One or more of my colors are not printing (blank). | Brother (Brother)Brother inkjets clean their print heads automatically from time to time, but only while plugged in. Unplugged for long periods, they skip these cleanings and ink can dry in the head. Brother recommends powering down with the Power On/Off button instead.
[29]Canon : PIXMA Manuals : G3000 series : Keeping Print Quality High (Canon)Canon says a print head can dry out or clog if the printer goes unused for a long time, even when capped, much like a capped felt pen. It recommends using the printer at least once a month.
[31]Toner cartridge (Brother HL-5340D/HL-5350DN/HL-5370DW User's Guide) (Brother)Brother says to unpack a toner cartridge only just before installing it, because toner life gets shorter if it sits unpacked for a long time. It also warns that light can damage an unpacked drum unit.
[32]Shelf Life Information (Xerox KB0091541, Phaser 7500) (Xerox)For one model, the Xerox Phaser 7500, Xerox lists a 24-month shelf life for toner cartridges and 15 months for the imaging drum. These figures are model-specific.
[33]Laser Printer vs Inkjet: How to Choose the Right Printer | HP Official Site (HP)HP's guide (written by a maker that sells both types) says lasers often print 20-40 ppm versus 5-15 ppm for inkjets. In HP's account, inkjets are better at colour and photos and cost less upfront but more to run. It says lasers produce crisp text, cost more initially, and have toner that lasts longer, and that inkjet ink can dry out when the printer sits unused.
[34]Laser Printers and MFPs (Canon)Canon says older fixing rollers heated slowly and had to stay warm while idle. Its on-demand fixing heats only when a job arrives, which cuts the time before printing starts from several minutes to several seconds and lowers standby energy use.
[35]Lexmark MX722ade (Lexmark)Lexmark lists these average power figures for the MX722ade laser MFP: 850 W printing, 42 W ready, 1.9 W sleep, 0.2 W hibernate. Its ENERGY STAR TEC is 1.06 kWh per week. These apply to that model only.
[36]ENERGY STAR Program Requirements for Imaging Equipment, Version 3.2 Final Specification (U.S. EPA (ENERGY STAR))Under ENERGY STAR Imaging Equipment v3.2 (in effect since 18 Nov 2021), standard-size electrophotographic (laser/LED) printers and MFDs are rated by Typical Electricity Consumption (TEC, kWh over a set period). Ordinary inkjets are rated by the Operational Mode (OM) method, which measures power in watts in each state. As a result, laser and inkjet ENERGY STAR figures can't be compared directly.