Printers

They both put ink on paper so what’s the difference between a laser printer and an inkjet printer?

Laser printers use lasers to ionize the paper and then fix toner to the paper. Inkjets apply ink to the paper using thermal heaters to create tiny bubbles that cause a large increase in pressure, propelling a droplet of ink on to the paper.

Inkjets are the all-rounders of the printing world. They’re often smaller and can print photos. They’re also cheaper to buy if you want scanning and copying as well.

On average lasers print faster than inkjets. This greater speed – plus the sharper black and white text they produce – mean lasers suit people who do heaps of printing. But they’re often available only for black and white printing … and can be more expensive to buy if you want copying and scanning.

Compare all the printers we've tested.

Scanning: Multifunctions generally incorporate a flatbed scanner. With the built-in scanner you can capture photos and documents, and save them to your computer. Slide-scanning is a rare option on some printers that allows you to scan 35mm slides. Most models come with optical character recognition (OCR) software, which allows text to be scanned in and saved as a file that can be worked on in a word processor. With all flatbed scanners, depth of field can be a problem. Most models scan clearly only when the item is pressed hard up against the glass plate – tricky when copying a book.

Copying: It’s the combination of a scanner and printer that allows a multifunction to act as a copier. You may find the speed frustrating if you’re used to a standard photocopier. Also, the cost per page will be a lot higher.

Faxing: A few multifunction printers have a faxing function, but it isn’t common.

Colour or mono: Most inkjet printers can print colour, while only about half of lasers can.

Resolution: This is measured in dots per inch (dpi). Quality can be limited by low resolution, (but high resolution doesn’t guarantee good results).

Network setup: WiFi-compatible models require a network key to be entered. As printers don’t have keyboards, this process can take patience.

Tray size: Most home printers hold 150 to 250 A4 sheets. If you want to print in larger quantities or a different size make sure the printer has a suitable tray.

Paper: To get the best from an inkjet, it needs high-quality paper. Not so with lasers, most can produce superb text on cheap photocopy paper.

Ink cartridges: Tri-colour cartridges, which combine cyan, magenta and yellow inks in one cartridge, are becoming more common. A problem is some printers won’t print at all if any of the colours are empty. This results in you throwing out cartridges that still have ink left. For the best value, look for high capacity or extra-large cartridges. EcoTank cartridges are an economical choice as you can manually refill them from a bottle of ink.

Auto-duplexing: The automatic feeding of a printed page back into the printer so the other side can also be printed.

Other media: Consider whether you want to print on self-adhesive labels, transparencies, DVDs or even fridge magnets.

Fax: Faxing is still a common feature on most multifunction printers, though they are more popular on inkjets than lasers.

Ease of use: Typical problems include outdated firmware, flimsy paper trays and installation issues.

Software: Printer software should be easy to use. The “driver” is the part that 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 drivers are sometimes available to download online.

The most common connection types are:

• WiFi – lets you connect your printer to your home WiFi network. This allows you to then wirelessly print from any device connected to that network.
• Ethernet port – lets you connect the printer directly to a PC or a router via an ethernet cable.
• USB port – these are usually on the front of the printer and allow for printing from thumb flash drives, the easiest type of access, and it means the printer doesn’t need to be connected to a network. Some printers use PictBridge, which allows some digital cameras to print directly through the USB port.
• Memory cards – some printers have memory card slots that accept SD (Secure Digital), MS (Memory Stick) or CF (Compact Flash) cards, which are commonly used in digital cameras.

Cloud Print allows you to print on any printer you’re connected to through your Google account.

This means you can print something (documents, photos, or whatever) from your phone on a printer across town or even on the other side of the world. But although you can connect any printer to Cloud Print it's always better to have one that’s set up to do so.

Each manufacturer has its own setting-up system for the service but none are complicated and often they just require you to register the Cloud-ready printer.

If you don't have a Cloud-ready printer you can follow these steps:

• Install and run the Google Chrome browser. Then enable the Google Cloud Print connector in Google Chrome by following the steps below.
• Log in to your user account on the Windows, Mac, or Linux computer.
• Open Google Chrome.
• Click the Chrome menu on the browser toolbar.
• Select Settings.
• Click the Show advanced settings link.
• Scroll down to the “Google Cloud Print” section. Click on Sign in to Google Cloud Print.
• In the window that appears, sign in with your Google account.
• Select the printers you want to connect, and then click Add printer(s).
• You'll see a confirmation that Cloud Print has been enabled. Click Manage your printers to learn more.