What is it about a laser printer that makes it such an uncontested favorite over the inkjet printers in the minds of so many computer users? Is it the way the printed ink won't run when exposed to moisture? The quiet? Maybe it's the speed?
Maybe it's all of these reasons to a certain extent but it's probably really all about the printer toner cartridge. It's the technology that makes the laser printer work that also delivers the benefits listed here – speed, lack of smearing, fast setting of print. And it's a very cost effective tool, too.
Laser printing uses the rapid movement of a laser beam, working with static electricity, heat, and your printer toner cartridge, to very quickly fuse the printed word onto paper. Since the laser beam moves so much more quickly than a bunch of tiny ink-laden nozzles can shoot out microscopic droplets of color, laser printing is much faster than inkjet printing. The heat from the process fuses the dry ink into the fibers of the paper, eliminating smearing, feathering, and smudging.
The “ink” used in this process is actually a very fine, dry, powder (toner) stored in your printer toner cartridge. The laser printing process uses only a very small amount of this inexpensive toner at a time. For this reason, a toner cartridge doesn't need replacing very often at all and might even last for years.
The process of laser printing is much quieter, too, than the inkjet process and laser printers are designed in much more streamlined style than their wet-ink counterparts. For these aesthetic reasons, many offices choose laser technology over inkjet technologies for the bulk of their printing needs.
True, the initial investment in a laser printer will probably set you back further than the purchase of an inkjet printer would but no wise businessperson would consider initial cost alone. Once the value of speed, quality, and inexpensive supplies are factored into the equation, why wouldn't your laser printer be your favorite?
