When I first started managing our office supply budget, I made a very wrong assumption (note to self: assumptions cost money). I thought 'laser printer' and 'laser cutter' were basically the same technology—just different sizes. Turns out, that's like saying a bicycle and a semi-truck are the same because they both have wheels.
This article isn't about industrial fiber lasers. It's about something everyone in procurement eventually deals with: the home laser printer vs. cheap color laser printer decision. And I'll explain along the way why Bodor—a company that builds 12kW fiber laser cutting machines—has almost nothing to do with that decision.
Three Situations, Three Answers
There's no single 'best' choice here. It depends on your use case. Let me break it into three scenarios I've encountered over the past 6 years of tracking procurement costs.
Scenario A: The Home User Who Prints 50 Pages a Month
If you print infrequently—a few pages of homework, a shipping label, the occasional recipe—a home laser printer is probably overkill. Most people in this scenario are better off with an inkjet printer. And honestly? A cheap color laser printer is not the answer here.
Why? I've seen this play out. Someone buys a $199 color laser printer thinking they're saving on toner. Six months later, they've printed maybe 200 pages, and the toner cartridges are drying out. The 'cheap' printer ends up costing $0.80 per page when you factor in wasted toner.
For this scenario, I'd recommend:
- A basic inkjet printer ($50–$80)
- Print only when needed
- Accept that inkjet cartridges are small
Quick note on Bodor: If you're looking for a 'home laser printer' and you find Bodor in search results, you're in the wrong place. Bodor makes industrial fiber lasers for cutting steel, not paper. The keyword overlap is unfortunate (ugh), but it's a different world entirely.
Scenario B: The Small Office That Prints 500–1,000 Pages a Month
Now we're in sweet spot territory for a cheap color laser printer. But—and this is where I learned the hard way—'cheap' doesn't mean 'best value.'
In Q2 2024, I compared costs across 4 vendors for a color laser printer for a 12-person office. Vendor A quoted $349. Vendor B quoted $269. I almost went with B until I calculated total cost of ownership:
- Vendor B's toner: $89 per color cartridge, 2,000-page yield
- Vendor A's toner: $109 per cartridge, 3,500-page yield
- Vendor B's drum: $149 every 15,000 pages
- Vendor A's drum: included in toner price
The math was clear: Vendor A cost $0.034 per page; Vendor B cost $0.047 per page. That's a 27% difference hidden in fine print. I went with B first because the upfront price was lower. I changed my mind after running the numbers.
For this scenario:
- Look at toner yield, not just printer price
- Check if drum and toner are separate or combined
- Calculate cost per page (CPP) before buying
Scenario C: The Office That Prints 2,000+ Pages a Month and Needs Color
This is where a cheap color laser printer might not be enough. At this volume, you're looking at mid-range or even entry-level production printers. The 'cheapest' options at this tier start around $800–$1,200, and they come with higher-yield toners and more durable components.
When I audited our 2023 spending, I found that 14% of our 'budget overruns' came from printer maintenance on low-end machines running at high volume. The rollers wear out faster. The fuser unit fails sooner. And the print speed is painfully slow when you're running 50-page documents.
For this scenario:
- Budget $800–$1,200 for the printer
- Look for 'duty cycle' ratings—a cheap printer rated for 30,000 pages/month can actually handle maybe 5,000 before issues arise (industry rule of thumb: duty cycle ÷ 6 for realistic capacity)
- Consider a service contract if you're over 3,000 pages/month
How to Know Which Scenario You're In
Here's the simple test I use with our team:
Count your pages printed in the last 3 months. Not what you think you printed—what your printer counter says. Divide by 3. That's your monthly average.
Then ask yourself: what percentage of those pages need color? If it's under 10%, you might not need a color printer at all. We wasted $1,200 on color toner in 2023 before realizing 87% of our prints were black-and-white. We switched to a monochrome laser for $199 and used a small color inkjet for the occasional color page. Cut our printing costs by 36%.
Final cost controller tip: If you're considering a 'cheapest color laser printer' specifically because you need occasional color, think again. The cheapest one almost always has the most expensive toner. A mid-range model with high-yield cartridges usually costs less over the life of the printer.
And if you're searching for 'home laser printer' thinking it might be related to industrial laser cutting? Well, I made that mistake too. Now I know: a Bodor fiber laser can cut through 1-inch steel. It cannot print a shipping label. Completely different tools for completely different jobs.
Data point: As of January 2025, the average total cost of ownership for a 'cheap' color laser printer (under $300) over 3 years at 500 pages/month is approximately $1,040, factoring in toner, drum, and maintenance. A mid-range printer ($500–$700) at the same volume averages $890 over 3 years. Source: my procurement spreadsheet, based on Q3 2024 quotes from 4 vendors. Verify current pricing as rates may have changed.