Cost

• Laser cartridges cost more, but they also produce more pages and return a lower cost per page. A typical laser cartridge costs $70 and yields 2,500 pages, resulting in an average cost of 2.8 cents per page. An inkjet cartridge costs $35 but yields only 250 pages, resulting in an average cost of 14 cents per page.
  
  

Type of Ink

• Inkjets use liquid ink similar to that used in pens. Laser printers use powder ink, called toner. This solid type of ink lasts much longer than liquid ink.
  
  

Color

• Both inkjet and laser cartridges use four or more cartridges (cyan, magenta, yellow and black) to provide color to the documents. Inkjet printers tend to provide higher-quality photo images.
  
  

Size

• Laser cartridges are usually 9 to 12 inches wide. Inkjet cartridges are quite a bit smaller, generally 3 to 4 inches wide.
  
  

Quality

• Documents created with inkjet printers are more likely to smear due to the liquidity of the ink. In addition, the ink in the cartridge will eventually dry and make the cartridge unusable.