The battle between laser printers and inkjet printers has spanned decades, ever since the first wave of inkjets were commercialized in the 1980s. Back in those days, inkjet printers were sloppy and unable to adequately reproduce images from a computer screen, at least when compared to the more established laser printers. But since laser printers were also costly to get at the time, consumers were hungry for an alternative. So as technology got better and both laser and inkjet printers became more advanced and affordable, the question remained: which was the better option?
If you’re a photographer, the choice is clear – nothing beats the high quality reproduction of a top-notch inkjet printer. Laser printers are great for printing out basic documents quickly and efficiently, making it a staple in office places, but for more artistic endeavours it just can’t compete. The main reason is in the colour processes. Laser printers utilize four inks – cyan, magenta, yellow and black (otherwise marked as CMYK) – whereas inkjet printers nowadays will typically have an 8-ink system or higher, giving the printer a greater ability to reproduce images exactly how they were taken. Laser printers also have larger toner particles and not quite as high of a resolution to work with, meaning it ends up having trouble with certain colour schemes, especially in areas that are supposed to be one solid hue. Instead of a homogenous colour look, you may end up getting blotchy results. Another issue that colour laser printer users face is with a glossy final product. It’s something that cannot be avoided no matter what paper is used and is often annoying to look at when you take glare into account.
So if you’re a digital photographer trying to make your own prints from home, laser printers simply won’t do. Canon’s PIXMA line of printers is a top quality series that is the perfect accessory for photographers. All of the models use Canon’s trademarked Optimum Image Generating System, which goes over the photo bit by bit to figure out the best ink mixture for the whole canvas. When it comes time to print, you’re getting exactly the image that you saw on your computer and that you initially saw through your viewfinder. They’re also able to work with several different kinds of paper so you can tailor your prints any way you like.
If you’ve been dealing with the nuisances of a laser printer or just want to upgrade from an older inkjet model, PIXMA is the way you’ll want to go.
Source: Canon, Fine Art Printing for Photographers
Image source: Print Sabuy
