HP Store Online

What is the difference between a Digital color printer and a color laser printer ?

Public Comments

1. If you are asking about the difference between an inkjet and a laser printer: 1. Ink: an inkjet uses ink, a laser uses toner 2. Transfer: an inkjet uses a crystal to stimulate ink and a nozzle to transfer ink, a laser uses a laser to "draw" the image to a magnetic drum, and then the toner is attracted to the drum. It then magntizes the paper to pull the toner off the drum, and the toner is fused to the paper on a heated roller before being transfered out of the machine. 3. Cost: a good inkjet printer (like an Epson) will cost you around $200, but in the long run, the ink will be cheaper, especially if you use 3rd party ink. A good color laser printer will cost you anywhere from $300 and up, and the cost of the toner can cost as much as $100. 4. Quallity: The quality of a good, high performance inkjet printer is almost indistinguishable from a laser, however, this is a matter of opinion. Best course of action would be to do a side by side comparision.
2. Based on my searching on the web, here is what I found! If you view it from a marketing (or sales) point of view, there is not much difference in both terms as both can mean laser printers aside from the fact that the "Digital Color Printer" designation also might be an inkjet printer, an advanced color photocopier or a Dye-Sublimation printer. But let's look at it purely from a technical point of view! The printer with a designation of "Color Laser Printer" means that a laser :) is used to burn text and image on four (4) drums (one each for Yellow, Cyan, Magenta and black) which then pass through the appropriate colored powder (AKA Toner) and finally, transfer these "powders" to the paper resulting in a complete color page (Brochure, magazine, ETC). The printer with a designation of "Digital Color Printer" uses the same principle but instead of a laser, the printer uses LEDs (Light-emitting diodes). Okidata printers are (or were) famous for using this technique. N.B.: In printing, Cyan (AKA Light Blue) replaces Blue and Magenta (AKA Fuchsia) replaces Red.