What printer requires the less ink?


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When you buy a printer, everything is happiness, you can print from photos on special photographic paper, documents and whatever you can think of. However, after giving it a good use you start worrying that the levels of ink going down fairly quickly.



The fact that you wonder what printer requires less ink is something natural, since buying new cartridges is an important expense. We are going to save you the search for the ideal printer through this analysis, covering the characteristics of an economic printer in terms of the ink it uses. Let’s jump right in.

Which one is better, a cartridge printer or a laser printer?

Without a doubt, inkjet printers use much more ink per sheet than those that use laser technology. This makes the cost per printed sheet higher using ink in contrast to laser printers, which can print from 400 to 500 sheets of text without running out of “chalk”.

That being the case, why do people keep buying printers with ink cartridges? The answer is simple, a printer with ink cartridges is very cheap, so much so that sometimes investing in new cartridges can be the same investment as buying a new printer. In that case it can be assumed that an ink cartridge printer is very cheap, and the cartridges are very expensive. Now you know how printer manufacturing companies benefit from this business model.

What economic ink printer is the right for me?

Now, while ink cartridge printers are cheaper to start with and more expensive to replenish supplies, laser printers require a hefty investment, but yield about 5 ink cartridge printers worth of supplies. This doesn’t mean that a laser printer is the ideal one for you, it all depends on the use you will give to it. We are going to help you identify the best printer for you based on the following scenarios:

I only print occasionally

If you’re one of those people who prints news, events of interest, an image you saw on a social network and the occasional text that you found interesting, an ink cartridge printer is the perfect investment for you. The ink can last you a decent amount of time, it’s a cheap buy and by the time the cartridges are empty it will be a while.

I print daily as part of my work or studies

In the event that you are a student, you are looking for a job and printing requirements for different jobs or you have a business where you have to print documents for others, it will be ideal for you to buy a laser printer. Yes, it is a significant investment, but you will save a lot of money in the long run.

I want to print my photographs

In this case, the laser printer may disappoint you a bit, since printing with ink cartridges is much more precise. If you are going to print photos on photographic paper and you want the best possible quality, you should choose printers with ink cartridges.

I don’t have much money to buy an expensive printer

If you need to put out a fire and get out of an emergency, you can buy an inkjet printer, but always keep in mind that it will be expensive to maintain.

Advantages of buying a laser printer

Now that you know the scenarios, you might think laser printers are evil. We are going to show you the advantages of a laser printer over a conventional ink one:

Laser printers do not use cartridges, they use toner that is a lot cheaper compared to the number of prints that can be made.

  • Toners can be recharged without problems.
  • Laser printers are very precise and fast.
  • They have an excellent ratio of up to 500 impressions of sheets with text per toner.
  • It is cheaper to have a laser printer in the long run.

Advantages of a printer with ink cartridges compared to an ink printer

What printer requires the less ink
Refill systems makes it more convenient to save a few bucks

Cartridge printers also have their advantages, which makes people continue to buy them despite the fact that laser printers have better ink economy:

  • They are very cheap.
  • They have relatively good life expectancy if they are not used too much.
  • Print quality can be set and controlled.
  • Printing on photographic paper gives you better results.
  • Maintenance of these printers is easy.

How to save ink with a cartridge printer?

These little tricks can make a big difference in saving ink:

  • In the print settings look for the option “Print only in black”. Activating it will save color ink. The black ink cartridge is cheaper than the color one. If this option is not ticked, the blacks your printer normally prints is a combination of the 3 other colors, besides the black. This option forces the printer to just printing back (which is cheaper than color cartridges).
  • Use fonts that don’t consume as much ink. This may seem surprising, but if you use certain font types such as Century, Garamond and Ecofont you may be able to extend the ink life in your cartridges considerably.
  • Read from the screen: Some people want to print every interesting note they see on the Internet, even emails. This would be fine if content they need to print will be relevant or important enough for having printed out, but with an ink cartridge printer that is not advisable otherwise.
  • Your printer may have an ink saving mode, activating it together with the other tips that we gave you will make the ink cartridges last much longer.

What printer requires less ink?

Sometimes it is not a matter of knowing what printer uses less ink, but what printer suits your needs. We gave you enough food for thought for when you want to buy that printer and are unsure about which one to get.

Putting in practice these simple tricks will make your ink cartridge printer use less ink, but at the end of the day, it will always be the laser printer the one that uses less ink. Which one would you choose?


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