Printing Costs

Although laser printers may have a higher price tag, keep in mind that the purchase price is just the beginning of the overall cost of your printer. Ongoing cost is measured in cost per page - a figure measured in cents.

Ink jet printers cost more to maintain, and that's because of consumables, the paper and ink you use for printing. Cost per page for an ink jet printer can hit a dollar and even more. Laser printers offer the lowest cost per page - usually only a couple of cents per page.

Both ink jet and laser printers have ink or toner cartridges that must be replaced when depleted. They vary a lot among printer models in both price and rated pages, so choosing the right printer can save you a lot of money in the long run. With laser printers, you're dealing with a toner / drum cartridge that will need to be replaced every 5 000 to 10 000 pages. With ink jet printers, you'll replace some configuration of ink tanks. Some ink jet printers use a four color cartridge that includes black, some keep the black cartridge separate from the color cartridges, and others keep all colors separated.

If you plan to print a lot of text documents but choose an ink jet printer over a laser for its color capability, look for one with a separate black ink tank. Then you won't have to replace multi-color cartridges before the color ink is gone. Some color printer vendors have foreseen this need and offer a high-capacity black ink cartridge. Also you can buy the ink and fill the tanks yourself.