After realizing I have at least one printer of most major print technologies (Laser, Ink-Jet, Dot-Matrix, Thermal) I decided to do a comparison of quality, speed, and cost.
The Contenders:
Representing Laser the Brother HL-5250DN:
Representing Ink-Jet the HP Envy 5055:
Representing Dot-Matrix the Epson LX-350:
Representing Thermal the Citizen PN60:
Quality comparison: (all of these prints were scanned on the HP Envy's 1200x1200 dpi scanner)
Laser Document:
Laser Photo:
Ink-Jet Document:
Ink-Jet Photo B&W
Ink-Jet Photo Color (the ink-jet could do much better with photo paper but for fairness this is on plain paper):
Dot-Matrix Document:
Dot-Matrix Photo:
Thermal Document:
Thermal Photo:
For comparison here is the original photo that was printed in the comparison above, taken straight from my Nikon D7000 (An Alaska RR SD70MAC pulling into Talkeetna Depot for anyone curious):
Ink/Toner Cost Comparison (all costs are for genuine OEM cartridges):
Laser $0.015/page. (A toner cartridge costs $100 and is good for 7,000 pages)
Ink-Jet B&W: $0.12/page (The Black Ink Costs $15 and is good for 125 pages), Color: $0.28/page (A Color Cartridge costs $16 and is good for 100 pages costing $0.16/page + the $0.12/page for black)
Dot-Matrix: $0.004/page (A Ribbon costs $5 and is good for 1,350 pages).
Thermal: $0.20/page (A 2pk. of Ribbons is $12 and each ribbon is good for 30 pages)
Speed (timed with a stop-watch rounded to the nearest 5 sec.):
Laser Document: 5sec./page
Laser Photo: 5 sec/page
Ink-Jet Document: 30 sec./page
Ink-Jet Photo B&W: 45 sec./page
Ink-Jet Photo Color (Best Quality): 14 min. 45 sec./page
Dot-Matrix Document: 15 sec./page
Dot-Matrix Photo: 2min. 15 sec./page
Thermal Document: 45 sec./page
Thermal Photo: 6min 45 sec./page
The Contenders:
Representing Laser the Brother HL-5250DN:
Representing Ink-Jet the HP Envy 5055:
Representing Dot-Matrix the Epson LX-350:
Representing Thermal the Citizen PN60:
Quality comparison: (all of these prints were scanned on the HP Envy's 1200x1200 dpi scanner)
Laser Document:
Laser Photo:
Ink-Jet Document:
Ink-Jet Photo B&W
Ink-Jet Photo Color (the ink-jet could do much better with photo paper but for fairness this is on plain paper):
Dot-Matrix Document:
Dot-Matrix Photo:
Thermal Document:
Thermal Photo:
For comparison here is the original photo that was printed in the comparison above, taken straight from my Nikon D7000 (An Alaska RR SD70MAC pulling into Talkeetna Depot for anyone curious):
Ink/Toner Cost Comparison (all costs are for genuine OEM cartridges):
Laser $0.015/page. (A toner cartridge costs $100 and is good for 7,000 pages)
Ink-Jet B&W: $0.12/page (The Black Ink Costs $15 and is good for 125 pages), Color: $0.28/page (A Color Cartridge costs $16 and is good for 100 pages costing $0.16/page + the $0.12/page for black)
Dot-Matrix: $0.004/page (A Ribbon costs $5 and is good for 1,350 pages).
Thermal: $0.20/page (A 2pk. of Ribbons is $12 and each ribbon is good for 30 pages)
Speed (timed with a stop-watch rounded to the nearest 5 sec.):
Laser Document: 5sec./page
Laser Photo: 5 sec/page
Ink-Jet Document: 30 sec./page
Ink-Jet Photo B&W: 45 sec./page
Ink-Jet Photo Color (Best Quality): 14 min. 45 sec./page
Dot-Matrix Document: 15 sec./page
Dot-Matrix Photo: 2min. 15 sec./page
Thermal Document: 45 sec./page
Thermal Photo: 6min 45 sec./page
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