How come laser printers print pages faster, but when you read the specs it will state like 12ppm while an inkjet printer will say 20-30 ppm??? Also what’s your brand preference???
Answer:
Even basic laser printers can print over 20ppm and 12 might be for the irregular pages such as envelopes, A4 paper and other irregulars that will fit in the printer's manual feeder. Laser printers use toner instead of ink. Toner cartridges are more massive and cost more but they can have a page yield of over 25,000 pages (at 5% coverage, black only).
If you want to purchase a printer, you need to decide if you want black only or color. If you want to print black only but want the reliability and speed, a small laser printer is the best option.
If you only print black occasionally, a small ink printer will be the ideal option.
If you need to print color, know that any printer out there is not going to save you money. If you get any color laser, the cost of the printer will be over $200 and a set of replacement toner cartridges will cost over $250 (2,000 page yield each x4, 5% coverage). Ink color printers cost a lot less but the cartridges do not last long and are still high-priced. A set of black and color cartridges for an affordable ink printer (that might print 7ppm at best, 5% coverage) will still cost $50 and last for less than 100 pages.
The best brands for printers are Brother or HP. Dell printers are not actually manufactured by Dell and finding cartridges for them will be difficult and costly.
Answer:
Lasers take longer to warm up and print the entire page at once. Inkjets start right away, but print basically line by line.
I'll never buy another inkjet. Even color laser printers are so cheap it makes no sense to buy something else.