The most notable difference between laser photo printers and an inkjet photo printers would be the type of ink that it uses. Laser printers use powdered ink while inkjets use the usual liquid type. There’s a big debate right now as to which of them can actually provide you with the better print, higher performance and the lower overhead cost. When shopping for professional photo printers it is best to compare shop before deciding on which type of photo printer to buy.
When it comes to print quality, laser photo printers are slightly behind the inkjet types. Inkjet is able to create better pictures because most of the glossy photo papers available today are highly compatible with its internal printing technology. Laser printers, on the other hand, usually have to use a special type of matte paper in order to create quality photo prints. There are just a few glossy photo papers that can be safely used on a laser photo printer. This is because every paper fed into a laser printer has to be heated for the powder ink to stick to it.
Photo papers with a glossy surface are not applicable for use on laser photo printers because the paper’s outer layer may possibly melt down when heat is being applied to it. Aside from smudges and smears, the worse that could happen is a system breakdown. Your laser photo printer may possibly be damaged by the melting of the glossy part of the paper inside its mechanism.
But when it comes to speed and performance, laser photo printers are still the best. This is the reason why offices prefer lasers. They can create quality prints in half the time an inkjet printer takes to do the same job. This is also applicable with pictures. Most laser photo printers can beat any regular inkjet printer when it comes to printing speed.
As for the costs, laser photo printers win that area too. The toner, although it seems somewhat more expensive when you buy it from a store, cam print twice as many photos when compared to the number of prints the same amount of cartridge inks can produce. Laser photo printers are more economical in the long run.