Michael Sabetsky Loc: Rockledge, Florida

Which printer gives you better photos an ink printer or a laser printer. Also which is more cost effective. Buying ink or laser cartridges. My son & I have been going over this over & over. Told him not sure about the ink cause of ink cartridges cause of all I hear about cartridges clogging up & the cost of toner cartridges. Toner cartridges not talked very much on the HOG. Thanks for your opinions. My HP inkjet photo printer is on it's last legs as much as I love it. Still prints out great photos. Again thanks for all of your opinions.

User ID

When I had constant access to a Canon 5000 laser printer I toadally looooooved the look of photos in CMYK toner color.

But for full disclosure here Im more of a graphics type and so Im not your typical pixel peeping, monitor calibrating, highly nerdified Hogster. AAMOF before toner I loved the rather odd look of early "wax transfer" CMYK color copiers.

If youre a certified Hogster youll surely prefer CCMMYKKK ink jet prints despite the headaches and expense.

JohnSwanda Loc: San Francisco

For traditional photo prints ink jets are far ahead of laser printers for image quality, and not just any inkjet, but photo inkjets which have 7-8 colors of ink, usually light magenta and light cyan and more than one shade of black. Laser printers are probably more cost effective, but just not made to print photos.

chrissybabe Loc: New Zealand

There are two questions here and thew are mutually exclusive.
Ink printers are way better in quality.
Laser printers are way cheaper and easier.
You pick one or the other depending on what you are after - best or cheaper. You can't have both.
There is actually a 3rd option here - get your prints done at a commercial print bureau and buy a laser printer for the convenience.
I have had several good inkjet printers and they were all better than any laser I have had. But the inconvenience and expense is tremendous. Anything we need prints for goes to a commercial printer (they can give you profiles for their printers). The end cost is still cheaper than maintaining your own high end inkjet. The downside is it will take a few days so you don't get 'instant and NOW'. A good bureau will let you arrange to email in the originals and will courier out the result in tubes.

yssirk123 Loc: New Jersey

Ink jets are better for printing pictures and laser is more economical - cheap vs. good.

dpullum Loc: Tampa Florida

Eye/mind/distance/dpi-resolution/viewing-light. What do we perceive from 4 feet away from an 8x10 photo; can we tell the difference?
http://www.signindustry.com/outdoor/articles/2001-03-19-viewingDistance.php3

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Some ideas -

https://www.ldproducts.com/blog/pros-cons-of-inkjet-and-laser-printers/
https://www.tomsguide.com/us/inkjet-vs-laser-printers,review-6199.html
https://www.pcmag.com/how-to/inkjet-vs-laser-which-printer-technology-is-better
https://www.pcworld.idg.com.au/article/354659/laser_vs_inkjet_printers_which_better_/
https://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/laser-printer-vs-inkjet/

bwana Loc: Bergen, Alberta, Canada

I haven't found a laser printer that gives good image quality output and I've given up on inkjet simply because the heads are always plugged off when I need it.

I've gone with dye-sub printers and love it! Great image quality and no problems with sporadic operation.

bwa

CPR Loc: Nature Coast of Florida

What is a dye-sub printer? Term is new to me.

sgt hop Loc: baltimore md,now in salisbury md

i have both color laser and inkjet....i find the inkjet much better for pix......

bwana Loc: Bergen, Alberta, Canada

Short for Dye Sublimation printer.
"Dye sublimation is a digital printing technology that uses heat transfer to apply an image to the intended substrate. Also referred to as digital sublimation, the process is commonly used for decorating apparel, signs and banners as well as other items with sublimation-friendly surfaces."

In the case of my Mitsubishi printers, the 'substrate' is photo paper and the output is a photo quality print.

bwa

chrisg-optical Loc: New York, NY

The absolute best images I've seen are from wide inkjet printers, or the better desktop versions. Laser printers tend to "flatten" the image. Also the paper matters too. Different papers will yield markedly different results.

one_eyed_pete Loc: Colonie NY

One important factor in answering your question is how frequently you plan to make photo prints. Inkjet printers are the best for making quality photo prints but they are complex electromechanical devices that must be exercised regularly to stay in good working condition. If you are not willing/able to do that ink jets will dry up and plug, requiring tedious frustrating work to restore the printer to working condition. In that case you might be better off sending photos out for printing. If you only needed to travel once every 3 months, would you use uber or buy a car only to watch the tires and belts dry rot and the engine gunk up.

I have an ink jet photo printer (12 years old) that prints up to 11x14. I have a program that prints a 5x7 nozzle check print every 5 days (even if I'm on vacation) to keep nozzles clean. It uses minimal ink. I also refil cartridges using quality aftermarket ink to minimize ink cost. If I need something larger than 11x14 I'll send it out.

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

Laser jets are much more cost effective... BUT they SUCK for printing photos!

Inkjets are MUCH better for photo printing... In particular, those photo quality inkjets that use six or more ink colors. (Some use as many as 8, 10 or even 12 inks.)

There are two types of inks used in photo quality inkjets:

- Dye based inks are the more common type. They used to be short-lived. Even with care, at best they were expected to last around 25 years. Exposed to a lot of UV I've seen them fade badly within a year or two. This has changed. Newer dye inks are rated for 100 years or more (but still need to be protected from UV light).

- Pigment inks are less common and more "archival". They can be expected to last 200 years or more.

Often the printers that use pigment inks are more expensive. The inks themselves cost about the same.

Some people report more problems with clogging with pigment inks. I haven't noticed this, but my pigment and dye ink printers are different brands, each with their own ink formulations.

Personally I prefer pigment inks on matte papers (most "fine art" papers are matte). And I use dye inks on glossy and lustre papers.

baer

What program is that?
Thanks,
Baer