Your business’s printer can represent a significant investment in your company. Printers rated for commercial use can sometimes cost tens of thousands of dollars, so it’s important to ensure that you’re selecting one that will best fit your needs and provide your business with important benefits. Most business printers are either inkjet or laser printers. This article will provide you with more information about the benefits of using an inkjet business printer for a business in Anchorage, AK.
Lower Upfront Cost
An inkjet printer can save you a significant sum of money when comparing it to similar laser printer models. Because many small businesses don’t have a lot of startup capital, opting for a cheaper business printer can allow you to reallocate more of those funds to other essentials for your business. Inkjet printers can be just as reliable as laser printers and produce professional-quality prints (we’ll discuss the quality of prints more in a moment), but at a much lower upfront cost for your business.
Lower Cartridge Costs
When buying a printer, it’s important to consider not only the upfront costs but the long-term costs of ownership as well. One of the main costs you’ll have to face over the long term is paying for printing supplies. Inkjet printers use, as the name implies, ink; laser printers, on the other hand, use toner. Toner differs from ink in that it is not a liquid. It’s a powdered pigment that’s essentially burned onto the paper using the laser inside a laser printer.
Ink cartridges will typically cost less than new toner cartridges, which can help keep the long-term cost of your business printer lower. This is especially true if you don’t do much printing since ink cartridges tend to be smaller than toner cartridges. So, an inkjet printer will likely be the best option if your small business is on a budget (as most small businesses are).
Balance between Images and Text
The main perk of a laser printer is that it can provide extremely crisp prints of text. Because most businesses primarily print text documents, this can be highly beneficial. However, it’s not likely that your company will only ever print text. If you ever need to print images that look like a professional quality printer, you would need to take your digital files to a professional printer for printing.
Inkjet printers, however, provide a better balance between the quality of the images and the text that they can produce. While it’s true that the text documents printed by an inkjet printer won’t be quite as crisp as those printed by a laser printer, the quality is still high enough to look professional. But the biggest benefit will be the quality of the images that you print. Inkjets produce far superior prints for image-based documents, so if you ever need to print brochures, flyers, or other image-heavy materials, you’ll be very glad you opted for an inkjet printer.
Versatility in Print Materials
Generally speaking, inkjet printers are better equipped to handle a wide variety of print materials. This includes labels and commercial paper stocks to corrugated boxes and envelopes. If you frequently need to print on something besides your basic office paper, an inkjet makes it much easier to produce these printouts for unique applications. Laser printers are typically not engineered for these kinds of applications. Even though they may have settings for certain abnormal print jobs, like labels and envelopes, it often requires significant adjusting of the printer (and possibly several test runs) to get the print job to turn out right.
Startup Time
While laser printers are able to turn out more pages per minute than inkjet printers, the inkjet does have one aspect of speed on its side—its startup time. Because laser printers require heat to apply the toner to the paper, they can take a bit of time to power up and get warm enough to start printing. Inkjet printers don’t have this problem. Once you’ve turned on the printer, it should be ready to start printing quickly.
The speedy startup time can be extremely beneficial if you’re in a hurry to get a document printed for a client to sign or need to put a letter in the mail before the next postal pickup. While it might seem minor on its own, those few minutes saved every time you turn your printer on can add up over time.
More Compact and Lightweight
Finally, inkjet printers tend to be more compact and lightweight than their laser counterparts. This can make them much more conducive to use in smaller spaces. Many small businesses often operate out of very tight quarters, especially when they’re just getting started. The last thing you want is for a bulky office printer to take up a chunk of that precious square footage. This is just one more reason that an inkjet is often a better option for small businesses and startups.
Find the Right Printer for Your Business
If your business is in the market for business printers in Anchorage, AK, contact Arctic Office Products today. We can help you to weigh the pros and cons of inkjets and laser printers to find the right option for your company. Once you know which type of printer will work best for your needs, we’ll help you to find the specific brand and model that provides you with the features and functions that will give your business the most benefits. We carry printers from all of the major brands, including HP, Canon, Sharp, Toshiba, and more. Whatever you’re looking for and whatever your print needs may be, Arctic Office Products can find the machine that’s right for your business. Call now or stop by our showroom to view some of our products and learn more about our services.