Lifewire
Overall Findings
Great for both monochrome and color printing.
Great for photo printing.
Subject to ink clogs, and regular purges waste ink.
Lifewire
Supports many paper types.
Excels at monochrome printing.
Some are capable of decent color printing, but that isnt a strong point.
Extremely fast printing speeds.
We found that both printers offer lowerper-page coststhan traditional inkjets, and both do well in high-volume printing environments.
Good monochrome printing and text reproduction from high DPI models.
Excellent photo printing, especially from models that have more than four ink tanks.
Supports a wide variety of paper sizes and types.
Time to first print can be a little long, but fast once they get going.
Excellent monochrome printing with crisp text reproduction.
Good color printing in models that support it.
Not the best at printing photos.
Supports limited sizes and types of paper.
Laser printers arent as good at printing photos, either.
Cost per print tends to be low, but depends on the model.
Ink is less likely to dry out than in traditional inkjets, but purging does waste ink.
Toner cartridges are very expensive.
Cost per print is low, because toner cartridges have high yields.
Requires very little maintenance.
Toner doesnt dry out.
Printheads and ink tubes can clog, requiring additional maintenance.
Printheads require periodic cleaning, which wastes ink.
Requires very little, if any, ongoing maintenance.
You dont need to print to keep the printheads from drying out.
Tend to last longer than inkjets.
Ink tank printers require the same punch in of ongoing maintenance as traditional inkjets, like regularlycleaning the printheads.
The tubes that feed the printheads can also clog, which requires additional maintenance.
Final Verdict: What Kind of Printing Do You Need?
Ink tank and laser printers are well-suited to high-volume printing environments, but they address slightly different needs.
FAQ
EcoTank printers are specific models that Epson produces.
An inkjet uses cartridges full of ink to create images, similarly to a tank printer.
Laser printers use a laser-charged drum that attracts ink in the pattern of the image you’re printing.
Then, the printer transfers that ink to the paper and sets it with heat.
