Laser Printer vs Ink Tank Printer: Which Costs Less to Run?

If you print more than the odd boarding pass, the printer's price tag is only half the story. The other half turns up every time you buy toner or ink, and for laser and ink tank printers that ongoing cost can look very different. We priced up two real Tech Supply Shed printers, a colour laser and a MegaTank inkjet, using current New Zealand consumable prices, so you can see exactly what each one costs to keep running.

Laser vs ink tank: the basic difference

A laser printer fuses powdered toner onto the page with heat, which is why laser prints resist smudging and fading. An ink tank printer (sometimes called a MegaTank, EcoTank or ink tank system) sprays liquid ink from large refillable reservoirs instead of small disposable cartridges. Both technologies produce good results for everyday documents. The real difference shows up in what you pay to replace the consumable, and how many pages that consumable gets you.

The two printers we compared

The HP Color LaserJet Pro 3301fdw is a compact colour laser multifunction printer built for a busy home office or small work team. It prints, copies, scans and faxes, handles automatic two-sided printing at up to 25 pages per minute, and uses HP's TerraJet toner cartridges.

The Canon PIXMA G3630 MegaTank is a print, scan and copy ink tank printer aimed at home use, with large refillable ink tanks visible on the front of the unit instead of cartridges.

Comparison at a glance

These figures are a worked example rather than an industry-wide average; costs vary considerably between printer models and consumables.

What the numbers actually mean

Those per-page figures come from the manufacturers' own published cartridge and bottle yields, checked against current New Zealand retail pricing for the exact parts each printer uses. The laser's high yield black toner cartridge is rated for approximately 3,200 pages, while a colour cartridge is rated for approximately 2,500 pages. The ink tank's black bottle is rated for approximately 6,000 pages, and each colour bottle for approximately 7,700 pages, using genuine replacement bottles rather than the smaller-yield ink that ships in the box.

Run those yields against current cartridge and bottle prices, and printing in black costs roughly 7 cents a page on the laser versus under 1 cent on the ink tank. Printing in colour is where the gap widens further, since a laser colour page draws from three separate high yield cartridges at once. For a household or small office doing a mix of black and colour printing, that difference adds up fast over a year of normal use.

None of this makes the laser a bad printer. It is simply built for a different job: faster output, automatic duplex at higher speed, a fax line, and business grade security features aren't things the ink tank offers. The running cost gap is real, but so is the reason the laser costs more to buy and more to feed.

Which one should you choose?

Choose the ink tank printer if:

• You print mostly at home, for study, hobbies or general household use
• Colour printing is a regular part of what you print
• You'd rather pay less up front and keep replacement costs low for years

Choose the laser printer if:

• You need to print, scan, copy and fax from one machine
• Speed and high-volume two-sided printing matter for your workday
• You want the crisp, smudge-resistant text laser printing is known for on business documents

Frequently asked questions

Is an ink tank printer really cheaper to run than a laser printer?

For the two printers compared here, yes, by a wide margin on ink and toner cost alone. Check the specific models on their manufacturer's page, since running costs vary between individual laser and ink tank models.

How much does it cost to print a page on an ink tank printer versus a laser printer in NZ?

Based on current New Zealand consumable pricing for these two models, a black and white page costs under 1 cent on the Canon PIXMA G3630 versus around 7 cents on the HP Color LaserJet Pro 3301fdw, and a colour page costs around 1 cent versus around 31 cents.

Do laser printers still make sense for a home or small office in NZ?

Many small offices choose laser printers for the print speed, automatic duplex printing, and features like fax and advanced security that specific ink tank models don't offer. It comes down to whether speed and functions matter more to you than running cost.

How often do you need to refill an ink tank printer like the Canon PIXMA G3630?

That depends entirely on how much you print. Canon rates the included starter ink at up to 3,100 black and 4,400 colour pages, with genuine replacement bottles rated higher again, so light home use can go a long time between refills.

Which prints faster, laser or ink tank?

Laser printers are generally faster. The HP Color LaserJet Pro 3301fdw is rated up to 25 pages per minute, compared with up to 11 pages per minute on the Canon PIXMA G3630.

The bottom line

If keeping running costs down is your priority and your printing needs are mostly home based, the Canon PIXMA G3630 MegaTank costs less to buy and dramatically less to keep running. If you need fax, faster output and business grade features, the HP Color LaserJet Pro 3301fdw earns its higher running cost. Browse the full range in our Multi Function Printers collection to compare more options.

Related guides

• Brother vs Canon Printers: Which Should You Buy?
• Printer Running Costs Explained: Ink, Toner, Yield and Duty Cycle