Whether you print hundreds of pages each month or just a few projects
here and there, you need a reliable printer. But not all printers are
created equal. This helpful guide from our sponsor, Epson, will tell you how to choose the one that's right for you.Right now, there are two basic types of printers for the regular consumer, the laser printer and the inkjet printer. But did you know that there's a newer, revolutionary way of printing that could save you a significant amount of cash in the long run?
Read on to find out.
Laser printers
Laser printers use technology similar to photocopiers. A rotating drum creates the image with static electricity that attracts the toner. This toner is then quickly baked into the page using hot fusers.For black text on plain paper, laser printers are a good choice. They print faster than inkjet printers and they render small, fine text better. Although the initial cost of laser printers is a bit higher than comparable inkjet printers, toner replacements, in the long run, are cheaper than inkjet cartridges.
If you print tons of mostly monochrome text, then a monochrome laser printer is the way to go.
Inkjet printers
Inkjet printers draw pages by forcing liquid ink through microscopic nozzles. For all around, multi-use color printing, inkjet printers are the way to go since they could render photos better than laser printers.Consumer inkjet printer units are also cheaper than laser printers and they usually come with starter cartridges to get you printing right away. The downside is that replacement inkjet cartridges are more expensive than their laser toner counterparts so their operation costs may add up more in time. Inkjet printers are also slower than laser printers.
For home multi-purpose printing, be it text, photos or labels, inkjet printers are the preferred choice.
EcoTank Printers
Now, how about an inkjet printer that will let you refill its high capacity tank yourself, saying goodbye to those expensive ink cartridge replacements?Epson's new line of revolutionary EcoTank SuperTank printers will let you do exactly that!
With yields of up to 11,000 black and white pages or 8,500 in color out of the box, Epson's EcoTank printers forego the use of the traditional inkjet cartridges by using their own user refillable high capacity tanks. Compared to the mere 500 black and 450 color pages you get from even the high capacity inkjet cartridges, this is an extremely significant improvement.
Replacement EcoTank ink sets are much, much cheaper too. A complete EcoTank set will set you back about $58 with yields of up to 6,500 pages. A complete color inkjet set for a comparable non-EcoTank printer will cost about $150 and that will only yield up to 2,300 pages. That's a whopping 80 percent savings compared to traditional inkjet cartridges.
The initial cost of the Epson's EcoTank line of printers may be a bit steeper than conventional inkjet printers but they more than make up for it in the long run. Epson estimates that with the initial ink that comes with EcoTank printers, an average user won't need replacement ink for two years!
Epson's EcoTank lineup currently has two home all-in-one models (ET-2500 and the ET-2555 with an added 1.44" LCD screen), two for business printing (ET-4500 and the ET-4550) and one for high volume, heavy duty business printing (WF-R4640).
