Laser printers and inkjets prints each have their pros and cons. But which is right for you?

Since the lockdowns, millions of people find themselves setting up home offices, sales of both laser and inkjet printers have skyrocketed. But which is the wiser purchase? Well, that depends.

Home printers aren’t, in the scheme of things, particularly high-cost pieces of technology. But one thing to keep in mind is that a printer is far more than a one-off payment: you’re also committing to spending more on cartridges or toner to replenish its ink supply. With that in mind, choosing a printer is something that should be an informed decision.

In this article, we dive into the differences between inkjet and laser printers, their respective pros and cons, and how they compare in terms of price, speed, space and print quality.

Once you’ve read this article, we suggest you take a look at our pick of the top printer deals this month, and our best printer and best budget printer guides. Then, head to where to buy printer ink online. Remember to check out our guide to the best printer paper too.

A laser printer works by using a powdered substance known as toner, rather than liquid ink, to produce its prints. The laser creates an electrostatic charge that transfers the toner to the paper, which is then fixed in place on the paper’s surface with an application of heat.

Read our laser printer reviews:

Inkjet printers work with liquid ink, dispensed onto the page via a series of micro-nozzles in the print head. You can get both monochrome and colour inkjet printers, although since inkjets are so often bought for photo printing, you'll find very few of the former on the market, and being honest, are hard to justify purchasing.

Read our inkjet printer reviews:

This is a tough question to answer definitively, so we’ll address it following a few different criteria.

This is nice and simple: for documents and texts, laser printers are best; for photos, inkjets printers are best. Yes, there are colour laser printers on the market that are more adept at quality photo printing, but they’re also usually very expensive, costing anywhere between £200 and £400.

Laser printers are the faster of the two printers – and by some way. They’re typically able to produce hundreds of printouts in a matter of minutes, which makes them suited for office tasks and paper admin.

As we’ve laid out, inkjet printers are noticeably cheaper than laser printers in terms of upfront cost – but they will likely cost more in the long run. Inkjet printers get through their ink far more speedily, and annoyingly, need to use it up during cleaning cycles.

Laser printers are much bigger than inkjets, and out of necessity, are made with metal parts that are plastic in inkjets. Because of this, they’re not just bulky but heavy, and although you’ll find compact options out there like the Brother LT-6500 and Lexmark Imprimante Laser B2236dw, they’re much harder to stow away than inkjets and will take up more space on your desk.

The below widgets will show some of the cheapest prices for printers we've tried and tested. We've listed the RRP so you can see if they are currently on sale.

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