IT Printer Technology

Difference Between Plotter and Laser Printer

Plotter vs Laser Printer

Summary: Difference Between Plotter and Laser Printer is that Plotters are sophisticated printers which are used to produce high-drawings which include blueprints, circuit diagrams or maps. While Laser printer is a high-quality, high-speed type of non-impact printer. They use individual sheets of paper that are stored in one or more removable tray that slide in the printer case when they work with personal computers.

Difference Between Plotter and Laser Printer

Plotters

They are sophisticated printers which are used to produce high-drawings which include blueprints, circuit diagrams or maps. These types of printers are used in specialized fields such as drafting and engineering but drawings made by plotters are very costly. When you use ink-jet printer technology on a much larger scale, but large-format printer always creates photo-realistic-quality color prints. These high-performance and high-cost printers are mostly used by graphic artists for posters, signs and other professional quality displays. In plotters there are more than one automated pens that can create designs such as diagrams or blueprints etc. Printer can only print a single line at a time but plotters can easily draw continuous lines from point-to-point at same time. They are usually used for CAE and are much more expensive than printers.

Laser Printer

Laser printer is a high-quality, high-speed type of non-impact printer. They use individual sheets of paper that are stored in one or more removable tray that slide in the printer case when they work with personal computers. They can print graphics and text easily in high-quality resolutions which ranges from 1200-2400 dpi. Laser printers are more costly than ink-jet printers but that are some models available at affordable prices for home user. They can print faster as compared to ink-jet printers. Manufacturers of printers state that laser printer for home and small business user typically prints black and white text at the speed of 15-62 ppm. Color laser printers print 8-40 ppm but laser printers for large businesses print more than 150 ppm.

For small office user and home user laser printer cost ranges from few hundred dollars to few thousand dollars but the cost depend on the quality, speed and type of laser printer. And laser printers for large businesses can cost several thousand dollars. Color laser printers can be slightly higher priced otherwise they costs equivalent to black-and-white laser printers. They operate similar to a copy machine, laser printer uses a laser beam and powdered link to create images. Laser beam and powdered ink called toner. B&W laser printers use one toner cartridge but color printers use multiple cartridges. One cartridge for black and one or more cartridges for colors, when toner runs out, you replace the toner.

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