Archived from groups: comp.periphs.printers (
More info?)
Although color laser printers are continuing to improve, IMHO, they are
not quite ready for prime time, if you want true photo-quality from
them. They have many advantages, such as very permanent color (the
toner is pigment and plastic and they tend to be very stable), and the
per print cost is probably a bit cheaper, and they are definitely faster
once they get going, for multiple copies, but the quality is still not
quite photographic. I find two problems. One is the toners tend to
either be glossy or matte, or something in between, but they do not
alter vastly on different paper surfaces. If you use a high gloss clay
coated paper, even the glossy toners will appear semigloss, and
obviously of a different surface than the "white" glossy showing through.
If you use a matte paper on a machine with glossy or semigloss toners,
the white will be much more matte than the toner areas. The best seems
to be very matte toners on matte papers.
Another issue is cost. One of the ways manufacturers have dropped the
cost of the printers is by limiting memory (an option) and reducing the
amount of toner they sell you with the initial purchase, and then
getting you on the cost of replacement cartridges. They will usually
quote 5% coverage per color, which is not much more than a half filled
typed page. A photo image may be 30-60% per color coverage. Also, mid
grays can tend to be tined if they are made up of overlay of CMY toners.
Laser printers have their place, for sure. They are great for
reproducing graphic art images, water colors, etc. as they tend to have
brighter and more punchy and contrasty colors. The toners lack
transparency, so build up diminishes the result. For photographic
images, they still don't have the finesse and control that some inkjet
printers can provide.
I find that laminating color laser output, which slightly melts the
toner and diffuses it, makes the images look better and evens out the
surface gloss.
Art
John Katic wrote:
> With the current drop in price of colour lasers, are they now more cost
> effective than the much cheaper ink-jets which must use more expensive
> photo-paper for decent hardcopy? Has anyone used colour lasers for
> digital photographic albums?
>
> thanks in advance
> John K
> --
> e-mail address aq0731@freenet.carleton.ca
> --------------------------------------------
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