Comparing inkjet and laser printers

Name:

Date:

Class:

Quick Questions

Shade in the A or B circle for each question.

1. Which printer sprays tiny droplets of liquid ink onto the paper?

A Laser printer

B Inkjet printer

2. Which printer uses toner powder that is fused onto the paper with heat?

A Laser printer

B Inkjet printer

3. A school office prints 500 pages of text every day. Which printer is the better choice?

A Laser printer, because it is fast and cheap per page

B Inkjet printer, because it is fast and cheap per page

4. A student wants to print a few colour holiday photos at home. Which printer is the better choice?

A Laser printer, because it gives the best photo quality

B Inkjet printer, because it gives good photo quality

5. Which statement about the cost of buying the printer is usually true?

A Inkjet printers are cheaper to buy than laser printers

B Laser printers are cheaper to buy than inkjet printers

Match the Pairs

Draw a line connecting each item on the left to its match on the right.

Left column		Right column
1inkjet: liquid ink sprayed through tiny nozzles		Aprinter = "laser"
2laser: toner powder fused by heat		BInkjet ink cartridges are costly per page and printing is slower, so they are not best for large runs. Laser printers have the lower cost per page for high volume.
3An office needs to print 5000 pages of text reports every week, quickly and cheaply per page		Cprinter = "inkjet"
4A student wants to print a few high-quality colour photos and wants a low purchase price		DLaser printers use a charged drum to attract toner powder, then a heated fuser melts it onto the paper. This makes them fast with sharp text.
5Laser printers spray liquid ink through nozzles		ELiquid ink sprayed through nozzles describes an inkjet printer. A laser printer uses toner powder fused onto the paper by heat.
6Inkjet printers are cheaper per page than lasers, so they are best for large print runs		FInkjet printers form the image by spraying tiny drops of liquid ink onto the paper, which suits detailed colour photos.

Definitions

inkjet vs laser

Fill in the Blanks

Complete each line of code by filling in the missing parts.

IF job = "photo" THEN printer ← "______" ENDIF

IF pages > 500 THEN printer ← "_____" ENDIF

inkjetPage ← 0.08 laserPage ← 0.02 OUTPUT laserPage _ inkjetPage

IF budget = "low" THEN printer ← "inkjet" ____ printer ← "laser" ENDIF

inkjetUses ← "liquid ink" laserUses ← "_____ powder" OUTPUT laserUses

Spot the Error

Shade in the letter of the line that contains an error.

Question 1

A printer = 'inkjet'

B ink_type = 'toner powder'

C quality = 'good for photos'

Question 2

A printer = 'laser'

B ink_type = 'toner powder'

C speed = 'slow'

Question 3

A laser_method = 'spray ink'

B inkjet_method = 'spray ink'

C print(laser_method)

Question 4

A job = 'office reports'

B pages = 500

C if pages > 100:

D printer = 'inkjet'

Question 5

A buy_inkjet = 'low'

B buy_laser = 'high'

C page_inkjet = 'high'

D page_laser = 'high'

Answer Key

Comparing inkjet and laser printers

Section A: Quick Questions

B — Inkjet printer

A — Laser printer

A — Laser printer, because it is fast and cheap per page

B — Inkjet printer, because it gives good photo quality

A — Inkjet printers are cheaper to buy than laser printers

Section B: Match the Pairs

inkjet: liquid ink sprayed through tiny nozzles → Inkjet printers form the image by spraying tiny drops of liquid ink onto the paper, which suits detailed colour photos.

laser: toner powder fused by heat → Laser printers use a charged drum to attract toner powder, then a heated fuser melts it onto the paper. This makes them fast with sharp text.

An office needs to print 5000 pages of text reports every week, quickly and cheaply per page → printer = "laser"

A student wants to print a few high-quality colour photos and wants a low purchase price → printer = "inkjet"

Laser printers spray liquid ink through nozzles → Liquid ink sprayed through nozzles describes an inkjet printer. A laser printer uses toner powder fused onto the paper by heat.

Inkjet printers are cheaper per page than lasers, so they are best for large print runs → Inkjet ink cartridges are costly per page and printing is slower, so they are not best for large runs. Laser printers have the lower cost per page for high volume.

Section C: Definitions

inkjet vs laser — Inkjet sprays liquid ink: good photo quality, cheap to buy, costly per page. Laser fuses toner powder: fast, sharp text, dearer to buy, cheaper per page.

Section D: Fill in the Blanks

IF job = "photo" THEN
  printer ← "inkjet"
ENDIF

IF pages > 500 THEN
  printer ← "laser"
ENDIF

inkjetPage ← 0.08
laserPage ← 0.02
OUTPUT laserPage < inkjetPage

IF budget = "low" THEN printer ← "inkjet"
ELSE printer ← "laser"
ENDIF

inkjetUses ← "liquid ink"
laserUses ← "toner powder"
OUTPUT laserUses

Section E: Spot the Error

B — Inkjet printers spray tiny drops of liquid ink onto the paper. Toner powder is used by laser printers. The line should be ink_type = 'liquid ink'.

C — Laser printers are fast, especially for many pages of text. Inkjet printers are the slower type. The line should be speed = 'fast'.

A — A laser printer fuses toner powder onto the paper using heat. Spraying ink is how an inkjet printer works. The line should be laser_method = 'fuse toner'.

D — Large print jobs of text suit a laser printer because it is fast and cheaper per page. Inkjet is better for small jobs and photos. The line should be printer = 'laser'.

D — A laser printer costs more to buy but has a lower cost per page, because toner lasts a long time. The line should be page_laser = 'low'.