What is the difference between inkjet and laser printer

I work in an electronics store, and I have found Epson printers to be the best for price, reliability, performance, and ink cartridge replacement cost. As far as the difference between inkjet and laser... Basically inkjets are just that... tiny little jets of ink which land on the paper and form an image. Laser printers use toner, which is charged electrically, then attracted to the negatively charged drum, and fused to the paper... forming an image. Inkjets are the way to go... they're cheaper... and the technology has been perfected fine now. Cheers!

Huh?

Lasers and inkjets have two totally different market places.

Ink jets and low end lasers are targeted for low end users. By that I mean users who have relatively low output needs.

Given that market view, you need to decide what your usage expectations are, before you get a printer. If you want a low cost printer for occasional use and color is not a need, then a low end mono laser is best for you. However, if you need color and your output is still low, then an inkjet is fine.

But if you are looing for a printer that is capable of handling color and high yield (say several hundred photos every few days) then you need to move away from the "consumer product" and more into the business class of printers.

So, to net it out, first look at what you expect the printer to be able to generate, then find the family of printers that match your needs.

Because I used to work for Lexmark, I am very biased towards their products. My second choice is Canon. My absolute last choice is HP. But that's because they were my corporate enemy before I retired. :-)

Donf has a lot of good things to say, but I'd like to add some things.

What is your expectations of your use and quantity.

Laser printer

Generally the ink is stable and won't blur when exposed to water.

Laser printer Color

Best used for brochures that need color printing. Not good for photographs.

Inkjet printers

Ink blurs. Expensive per page. Cartridges dry out. The print head may clog. Epson may have the best technology at a price. One of their printers has about 600 nozzles and they love to clog. This is no consumer grade.

Generally they print using CMYK and black inks. You can find ones that use single inks and ones that use a color and B&W cartridge.

My Epson has:
A LIght Cyan, cyan, magenta, light magenta, Yellow, and blank inks.

See: CMYK color model - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CMYK_color_model)

For an explanation of CMYK

Know what your going to use it for. In my opinion printing pics at the store KIOSKS does a much better job.

Know if you need duplexing or if you want a multi function device: fax, printer with or without Duplex, copier, scanner with or without ADF (Automatic Document Feeding)

The cost per page will generally be less for a laser printer. HP discontinues most products after 3 years, so don't expect to be able to fix a cheap inkjet.

Know if you want a netwok printer or if you want wireless network printing.

I have two printers: A networked HP laser printer with duplex and an all in one Epson Artisan 800 with duplexing.

I use the B&W all the time UNLESS I need color for whatever reason.

The paper used for printing phoptographs with an inkjet is expensive.

Some manufactures use "starter cartrides" which have less ink in them.