Laser printers make for quick, accurate, and economical prints—the best choice for most offices and many homes. But before you buy one consider what’s the best for your printing needs.
What Is a Laser Printer?
A laser printer is an electrostatic digital printing process that uses a laser beam to create an invisible stamp of text and image on the device’s drum. This stamp is charged with static electricity, attracting toner powder transferred on a substrate or paper.
Laser printers are great for printing multiple documents quickly with quality and precision. Its toner cartridge can print up to 50 pages per minute, and last up to 2,500 to 3,000 pages before needing replacement—far greater than inkjet printers.
Price-wise, laser printers are more expensive but more cost-effective. Toner cartridges cost more than ink, but last longer and print more documents. In turn, the return on investment through cost savings outweighs any initial upfront costs.
Uses of a Laser Printer
Aside from homes, many industries use laser printing for its versatility. Offices use it for producing reports, presentations, marketing materials, and other outputs. Multifunction laser printers with print, scan, photocopy, and fax features let you do all in one unit.
How a Laser Printer Works
Instead of spraying ink droplets like in inkjet printers, the laser printer printing process has various steps. Let’s break down the different parts to understand completely:
- Lasers—Transmits light across multiple mirrors and gets reflected onto the drum unit, imprinting the shape of the print file.
- Drums—A metal cylinder with a special coating that receives positive and negative electrical charges from the laser light.
- Toner Cartridges—Contains coloured or carbon oxide powder with a positive charge.
- Transfer Belt—Moves the paper throughout the printer, helping it pass through the drum and reach the fuser.
- Fusers—A heat roller that melts toner powder onto the paper, sealing the printed text and images on the surface.
These parts work together to transfer text and images onto paper. Here’s how the printing process works:
- Clicking ‘print’ on the computer sends the file to the printer, prompting it to warm up.
- The printer drum starts rolling and gets a positive charge across its surface, a common process for all printer drums, particularly in colour laser printers.
- A laser beam hits mirrors before reflecting onto the drum, leaving the print file shape with a negative electrical charge.
- Whether you have monochrome laser printers or coloured variants, the toner cartridges release positively charged carbon toner particles on the drum. The toner powder attaches to the negatively charged areas of the drum.
- The printer lets a sheet of paper pass through the transfer belt, charging it positively. This attracts the pre-shaped negatively charged toner powder as soon as the paper passes through the drum.
- The fuser seals the toner powder on the paper by melting it with hot rollers.
Image Source: Canva
Types of Laser Printer
There are many types of laser printer technology on the market. Know what you want before getting one.
Multifunction Laser Printers
As the name suggests, multifunction printers don’t just print, they also copy, scan, and fax. They’re ideal for homes or offices that need regular scanning, faxing, and copying tasks but have limited space.
A multifunction laser printer costs more upfront than your usual laser printer, but it’s more cost-effective than buying and running many machines all at once. It’s a one-unit solution for multiple print functions most offices and households do.
Best for:
⭐ Education, law firm, healthcare, corporate, and real estate industries
⭐ High-volume document printing, scanning, copying, faxing
Colour Laser Printers
Colour laser printers are a step up from their mono laser counterparts. Aside from greyscale tones, they use cyan, magenta and yellow to produce various colours in print.Aside from a black toner cartridge, a colour laser printer needs four coloured ones to produce high quality coloured prints. This means higher upfront cost and price per page but better quality prints. It’s perfect for designers, marketers and architects relying on precise coloured printouts.
Best for:
⭐ Photography, marketing agencies, design, architecture, retail and hospitality industries
⭐ Printing high-quality photos and other coloured documents at a fast print speed
Monochrome Laser Printers
If you’re looking for sharp, crisp text to be produced quickly, then the monochrome laser printer will be perfect. It uses a black toner cartridge to print black and white text, allowing it to produce prints much quicker than its coloured counterpart. Only requiring a black toner cartridge reduces upfront and operating costs, perfect for businesses that don’t heavily rely on colour prints.
Best for:
⭐ Packaging and publishing companies
⭐ Printing labels and text-heavy documents
Image Source: Canva
Wireless Laser Printers
Laser printers haven’t been left out of the popular wireless trend streamlining business processes today. You can buy a Wi-Fi ready laser printer or a wireless print server if you already have a printer. Plug it into the USB port and install the software—that’s it.
Best for:
⭐ Multi-location businesses, construction companies, charities and non-profit organizations
⭐ Printing text-heavy documents with a few images
Network Laser Printer
A network laser printer has to be connected to a local area network (LAN). This allows multiple users to simultaneously access the printer and send print jobs when needed. A good choice for businesses that print high volumes.
Best for:
⭐ Corporate, education, pharmaceutical, healthcare, multi-location businesses
⭐ Printing text documents
Duplex Laser Printer
This model is the only one among laser printers that supports automatic duplex printing. It prints on both sides of paper in one go.
Best for:
⭐ Finance, insurance companies, publishing houses, and real estate companies
⭐ High-volume text document printing
Laser Printing Costs: Buy or Lease?
Laser printing technology is a cost-effective way to save money and print resources. Businesses producing many paper documents annually should switch to laser printers. Toner cartridges can print thousands of pages before needing replacement. Yet, the initial expenses for laser printing can be daunting, as their cost surpasses that of inkjet printers, potentially exceeding your budget.
If you want to streamline printing and save money, lease laser printers. Your business won’t need to invest a large sum of money to reap the benefits of a laser printer. With leasing, you choose the duration of use and return when finished. This allows ample time to decide on committing to the full price.
Image Source: Canva
Buy or Lease Laser Printers From Busys
Choose laser printing for fast, affordable printing of multiple files. Need help with your laser printer? The Busys team is here for you. We have flexible buy and lease terms for all types of laser printers, ensuring you find one that suits your needs.
Choosing us as your print supplier will be a decision you’ll never regret for your business. Request a quote today or call +1 (905) 696-6932.
FAQs
What Type of Printing Is Laser Printing?
Laser printing is an electrostatic digital printing process that uses laser beams to negatively charge the drum and leave the imprint of an image.
Are There Laser Printer Paper Types?
A laser printer can handle printing on white bond, glossy, photo, and specialty papers. Avoid sticky or transparent papers as they can cause printer issues.
Is Laser Printing Better Than Inkjet Printing?
Comparing laser and inkjet printers needs a broader view. Opt for a laser printer for high-volume printing with long-lasting toner cartridges. For cost-effective vibrant colours, go for an inkjet printer.
Do Laser Printers Print Faster?
Yes, indeed. A basic laser printer can print 30-40 pages per minute, with high-end printers capable of 100 pages per minute.
