Updated 02 Nov 2009

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Introduction

Our tests of inkjet and laser printers brings you a range of speed, quality and price options to choose from.

We explain the difference between the main types of printer, tell you what to look for when buying, and present test results for 9 colour laser and 6 inkjet printers. (See also our separate test report for 48 multifunction printers.)

Plus, you can use our running cost calculator to compare the annual running costs of the printers we have tested, personalised to your usage.

Models we tested

Inkjet printers

Colour laser printers

Which type of printer?

The first decision to make is what kind of printer you need. There are a variety of options: inkjets; colour and mono lasers; compact photo printers; and multifunction printers which also scan and copy.

INKJET PRINTER

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Good choice for colour photos, text and graphics

Price range: $50 to $750

Pros: The best overall choice for printing a variety of file types. Excellent quality text, graphics and photos. Accept a variety of paper types and other media. Many can print photos directly from a digital camera.

Cons: Running costs are generally higher than lasers. Economy varies between inkjets, and depends on the size and cost of the cartridge being used.

Quality is usually compromised by speed. In other words, increasing the quality extends the print time. Most inkjets take between 10 and 30 seconds to print a page of text. Images are much slower. At standard or best resolution, an inkjet is doing well to print a picture in under three minutes. The worst offenders can take up to 30 minutes.

Paper makes a huge difference to inkjets, so don't be disappointed if pages printed on "photocopy" paper aren't up to scratch. On high-quality paper, the results will be far more impressive.

See the Test results and Recommendations for more information on inkjet printers.

LASER PRINTER

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Good choice for low-cost text and graphics

Price range: $100+ for mono lasers; $350+ for colour lasers

Pros: The best choice if you print a lot of text. No trade-off between quality and speed. Print very quickly, regardless of the quality settings. Paper quality is not important.

Mono lasers are designed to print black text quickly, cheaply, and at high quality. They'll print a page in about six seconds. Running costs are low (3-6c per page of text), as black toner is less costly than ink.

Colour lasers are quick to print and cheap to run. A page of text costs about 4c. A colour graphic or colour photo is around 20-40c. Purchase prices have fallen steadily. Quality for colour graphics is improving.

Cons: Photo quality is generally poorer than inkjets. A top-performing inkjet printer, set to highest resolution and using special paper, will achieve better results.

See the Test results and recommendations for more information on colour laser printers.

MULTIFUNCTION PRINTER

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Good choice for text, photos, and other functions

Price range: $50 to $1200

Pros: Combines printing, scanning, and copying in one unit. Usually cheaper than the individual components. Most will print photos without a computer. Good quality printing for text, graphics and photos.

Cons: Often more expensive to buy than inkjets. Often more expensive to run than lasers. Can't scan negatives or slides. If something goes wrong, the entire unit has to be repaired.

See our report on multifunction printers for buying advice and test results.

COMPACT PHOTO PRINTER

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Dedicated 6x4 inch photo printing

Price range: $200 to $500

Pros: All can direct print so you don't need a computer. Some can run off a battery for portability.

Cons: Can't print on A4, or handle text or graphics. Photo quality, print speed, running costs and price aren't necessarily better than a stand-alone inkjet printer.

See our report on compact photo printers for test results and a checklist of features to look for.

 

Checklist

If you're thinking about buying a new printer, here's what to consider.

Resolution

This is measured in dots per inch (dpi). Quality can be limited by low resolution, but high resolution does not guarantee good results.

Ease of use

Typical problems include manuals which are not comprehensive enough, software which is difficult or overly complicated to install, weak paper-out trays and cartridges which cannot be replaced unless the printer believes it has run out of ink.

Software

Printer software should be easy to use. The "driver" is the part which lets the printer interact with your word processor, picture viewer and so on. Many printers aren't supplied with up-to-date drivers. But improved or updated drivers will usually be available to download from the internet.

Supplied accessories

Many printers are not supplied with a computer connection cable. The power cable is always supplied, but you may have to buy a USB or parallel port cable separately.

Bonus software may be supplied, such as Adobe Acrobat, calendar programs and image editors. But these are unlikely to be fully featured versions.

Energy consumption

If you left your inkjet printer on standby but did nothing with it for a year, the electricity used would cost between $2 and $13 for the year. Mono laser printers are more expensive: between $5 and $54 a year. Inkjet printers use power even when they're switched off but still plugged into the mains - from 20c to $10 a year.

Direct photo printing (DPP)

Many inkjets  have the ability to print images directly from a digital camera. There are two main methods. In the first, the digital camera is connected to the printer via a cable, usually USB. The camera is used to tell the printer what pictures to print. Obviously the two devices need to speak the same language. The standard interface for this is called PictBridge.

Alternatively, the printer may be able to print directly from a memory card. These printers usually have a small LCD screen so you can view the contents of the card and adjust the settings, prior to printing.

Envelopes

The regular size is handled well by inkjets and lasers. C4 size envelopes (big enough for A4 contents), however, are too wide for many printers.

Banners

These require special paper - A4 sheets joined together along a perforated edge. 

CD label printing

A few inkjets print directly onto a paper-backed CD. Don't try it on the bare plastic - this results in a big inky mess! For occasional use, it's a handy function. For volume printing most people prefer to use A4 sheets of CD label transfers. After printing, you simply peel these off and apply to the back of a CD.

The right media

To get the very best from an inkjet, you need to supply it with high-quality paper. Not so with lasers, which can produce superb text on cheap photocopy paper. Running costs for laser printers are generally far lower, as toner is much cheaper than ink.

Other media

You may also be able to print on A3, self-adhesive paper, transparencies, and even fridge magnets.