Find the Best Colour Laser Printer

A colour laser printer will be an excellent addition to a business of any size. Whether for internal distribution amongst employees or for marketing purposes, printing in colour is a definitive need for the modern business that is looking to make a lasting impression with its documentation.

Available in both single and multifunctional models, colour laser printers are economical, fast and accurate, making them ideal for high volume colour printing needs. Investing in a colour laser printer today will mean lower long term printing costs, when compared to printing alternatives such as inkjet printers, that are more suited for high quality image printing.

Note that most printers and photocopiers today will have some sort of wireless capability, and wireless colour laser printers are able to connect to local networks and mobile devices.

Choosing a colour printer doesn’t have to be complicated, and the following information will help you keep things simple by going through the advantages and disadvantages of colour laser printing, as well as when it is or is not better than colour inkjet printing.

The most expensive printers are the large format ones, capable of producing big scale architectural blueprints and designs, graphic displays, and other illustrations at up to 3.2 m width. A3 printers that are able to output colour are also significantly more expensive than regular A4 colour printers.

The laser colour printers for general office use can also be relatively expensive, depending on their functionalities like scanning, fax and copying capabilities all in a wireless machine with multiple trays and cassettes for different paper sizes.

The inkjet printers that connect to a single personal computer are the budget option that people choose for home use. They are not suitable for office use due to their limited capabilities and work load restrictions.

Most printer suppliers on the market offer a printer leasing option, instead of buying it outright. This should also be taken into account when considering the cost of your next printer investment. 

There are a variety of advantages when it comes to using a laser printer and depending on your printing needs, a colour laser printer will be an exceptional choice for your business. The best indicators for what makes a printer great are its printing quality, cost per page (CPP), speed and supplementary capabilities.

A colour laser printer is a great solution for businesses that are looking to have coloured graphics, tables, diagrams and drawings included in their documentation. Whether as a part of their letterheads, annual reports, invoices and similar means of physical communication, colour laser printers are effective at printing high quality graphics.

Laser colour printers can print images that require a high ink coverage per page and fine tonal gradients with many colours but the results will be adequate at best. Printing high quality photographs and other graphically complex images that have a high colour density will require a good inkjet printer.

If you need to print standard text, both inkjet and laser printing technologies are great at producing accurate and high quality typographies. If, however, you need to print smaller sized text then laser printing solutions begin to show their superiority in sharpness.

The initial cost of a laser copier will generally be higher than that of an inkjet printer, both for the machine itself and for the printer toner. However, laser printers have a higher toner yield due to a more efficient toner use, this results in a lower CPP and long term costs.

The cost of a laser printer, in the short term will inevitably be higher than an inkjet printer and businesses that print less than 1,000 pages a year will find an inkjet printer to be a more suitable investment. However, a colour laser printer will be beneficial for businesses that need to print high volumes of documents of more than 2,000 pages a year. 

Colour laser printers are faster and quieter than other printers. This is due to the fact that laser printers tend to have fewer moving parts and how toner is applied to the paper. Speed and noise can be important details for companies that need to print documents with many pages but maintain an environment with respectable audio levels.

In terms of the number of pages per minute (PPM), low to mid range inkjet printers may be able to print at 10-30 PPM while high range inkjet printers can handle up to 70 PPM. Low range colour laser printers can print between 20-40 PPM while the fastest laser printers can handle 100 PPM.

Note that, unless specified otherwise, PPM refers to standard A4 pages. Outputting larger pages with an A3 printer will take more time.

There are various improvements to a colour laser printer’s hardware that can drastically improve it’s PPM. They are typically included in 4-in-1 printers, otherwise known as multifunction printers and include automatic loading trays, duplex printing, and faster printer processors.

Colour laser printers are ideal for the majority of businesses that need to print high volumes of non-complex colour documentation. However, there are, depending on the model, certain disadvantages to using a colour laser printer. This is largely dependant on any budgetary constraints and the specific needs of the business as most issues are not present in more expensive models.

The floor size of colour laser printers may be an issue for businesses that can only afford low to mid-range machines as they may take up more space than what is available, this is a particular problem for multifunctional machines that need to accommodate several features. Moreover, colour laser printers are no where as good as colour inkjet printers at printing high quality complex imagery such as photographs.

Toner can be expensive for colour laser printers, especially if its used occasionally. The CPP to print will only be less than other printers if you end up printing fewer than 2,000 pages a year. Businesses that need to print more than 2,000 pages a year will benefit from laser printer’s low costs in the long term.

Ultimately, the printer that you should choose for your business should match your printing needs, budget and realistic usage. Choosing the right printer for you can be difficult, particularly if you have a wide array of printing needs. The table below should be able to assist you narrow down which type of colour printer would work best for your office.

If you find yourself with needs that match both colour inkjet printers and colour laser printers then it may be worth considering investing in both machines. If your business requires you to both print high volumes of documentation with text and graphics and high quality images then both an inkjet and laser colour printer will be most suitable for you.

Learn more about how a colour laser printer can improve your business by completing a quote request form today. Our dedicated sales personnel will connect you with qualified suppliers of colour laser printers that match your exact needs, for free.