| General Category > General Discussion |
| Laser vs Inkjet? |
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| KalessinDB:
It's time to finally start printing my own covers rather than relying on a print shop. I plan on doing about 200 once I get my grubby little hands on Shadowfox's NES case. So I hear a lot of you guys (who certainly have experience) are suggesting a high-end inkjet rather than a color laser? Is there a reason (other than the cost of toner) I should know about? I always assumed a laser would get better colors. Also, recommendations of printers please. I have no problem spending a couple hundred. Scanner/Copier not necessary, though not a downside if it's included. I would however like it to be network connected directly (wired or wireless -- though I feel damn near every printer is network connected at this point), and would prefer it to support Google Cloud Print because of my Chromebook and Android devices. Thanks for your help. |
| TDIRunner:
I think most people will agree that some laser printers will look better than ink jet, but the cost will be significantly more. Ink jet will give you the best quality for your dollar. My Cannon MG5420 works great and prints excellent quality covers. It also has a good scanner. I don't get many complaints on my scans. The scanner has a small dead zone around the edges as all seem to do for some reason, but I get around that with a home made edge guard. It think it runs about $100. It also has wireless printing. Meaning that anything with a wireless internet connection can print to the printer. |
| wiggy:
A good inkjet print will be better than any laser print, period. Laser is good for medium volume production, and as a result of it's increased print speed over inkjet, it gives up some quality. Inkjet is the slowest process of the bunch, but NOTHING can beat its quality. If you really want to see what inkjet is capable of, google "Giclée". And at the opposite end of the spectrum, you have offset printing, which is the fastest by far, but the absolute lowest quality (it's not a process that any of us can/will employ, but I just wanted to toss it out there to help better exemplify the quality-to-speed ratio of each). We have a $15K Konica digital press (laser printer) and I can still get equally good if not better prints from a $400 inkjet (and the paper options are far more plentiful). If you're doing 200 or so covers, go inkjet. If you wanna do 500+ at once, then laser would be the way to go IMO. The common misconception seems to be that laser printers produce better quality prints since they tend to be more expensive on average than inkjet. You're not paying for quality. You're paying for efficiency and the tech required to make it happen. |
| KalessinDB:
Interesting. You were one of the ones I was specifically targeting with this thread, wiggy. Any suggestions of brands/models? Couple hundred bucks (call it... $250 shipped or less?), either something I can get in person from Best Buy (or I guess Walmart/Target -- no Fry's near me) or online from Newegg or what have you. |
| Dr.Agon:
dammit, i wish i could show photographic proof of my belief that laser is superior to inkjet, but i tossed out the "old" prints when i re-printed, oh well... laser FTW! |
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