# Laser vs. Ink Jet **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 13, 2010, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laser-vs-ink-jet/532394 "2010-03-13T21:03:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2010, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laser-vs-ink-jet/532394/21 "2010-03-16T16:18:34Z")
> [@Max\_Torque](#): > > Oh yeah, my laser printer is an HP 2100M, circa 1999. I’ve upgraded the memory to 24 megs and even added a JetDirect card a couple of years ago; I remember when they used to cost $300 and up, but I got one off eBay for about $10. How did the memory upgrade change things? Noticeable? ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2010, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laser-vs-ink-jet/532394/22 "2010-03-16T16:38:29Z")
If I remember right (it’s been years since I did the memory upgrade), I primarily did it because back then I did a lot of scanning, and to get my scans looking right, I scanned the documents as large multi-page TIFF files. Printing them out again either took forever, or sometimes they didn’t print at all. The upgrade fixed that problem entirely; it seems like there’s nothing this printer can’t handle now. At a max speed of 8 pages per minute, it’s never been a real speed demon, but it’s good enough for my purposes. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2010, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laser-vs-ink-jet/532394/23 "2010-03-16T17:11:03Z")
Another HP laser user = 6MP, in daily use for 20 years, 90,000 copies, 4MB RAM (that was the max then) and a Postscript cart that takes up one RAM slot. Never had a page it couldn’t print; if it’s too much data, it somehow discards extra stuff on the fly and still prints at 600DPI, so the time-to-first-print can be long if the file is unnecessarily huge. I love it. Another advantage of laser – toner is waterproof and doesn’t warp the paper like ink. A much more professional look where that matters. ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2010, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laser-vs-ink-jet/532394/24 "2010-03-16T18:13:01Z")
For or five years ago, I did the math and found that buying a small color laser printer and treating the entire unit as a disposable item was cheaper than buying enough ink cartridges to print the same number of pages that the laser’s toner cartridges were rated at. From a “stuff in the landfills” perspective, I found this offensive - it should not be economically advantageous to treat a $600 device weighing 45 pounds as a consumable item. As it turned out, the printer (An HP Color LaserJet 2605DN) was not capable of lasting much longer than a set of toner cartridges due to a design flaw with its optics that caused reds to fade out, so ultimately, it was a disposable item as the repair cost was not cost-effective. I’ve since gone back to inkjet, but with a “semi-pro” model that uses ink tanks, which make the cost of use more affordable as you’re not throwing away a cartridge with most of the cyan ink left because your corporate logo is red and yellow. ---
**Author:** ![nivlac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/3bc359/32.png) [@nivlac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nivlac)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2010, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laser-vs-ink-jet/532394/25 "2010-03-16T18:42:57Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > … > p.s. Anybody want a nice LJ4 for parts or ??? Free to the first person to come get it. LJ4??? I had a LaserJet III that refused to die. Had it for over 15 years! I finally just gave it away to make room for a newer, sleeker, faster printer. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laser-vs-ink-jet/532394.md?page=1)