Ink jet or laser?
 The biggest decision you're likely to face when choosing a printer is which print technology to go with--laser or ink jet. While mainstream laser printers use a toner cartridge/drum assembly, ink jets accept ink cartridges. Your choice should reflect the way you work and the jobs you plan to send to your new printer. Lasers are generally better for high-volume printing and have higher duty cycles--the manufacturer's rating for the unit's recommended monthly workload. Lasers also produce better-quality black text than most ink jets, though some ink-jet models rival low-end lasers.

 Lasers still hold the high ground in terms of speed, while ink jets offer the important advantage of color printing. For home use, you'll probably want to print out digital photos or graphics, which makes color a must. The traditional differentiation between lasers and ink jets has been office versus home use; however, color offers obvious presentation advantages for business use as well. Fortunately, prices for both categories of printers have come down enough to make it practical to purchase both a laser and an ink jet if you absolutely need both color and high-quality text.
Mike Brown Home Office editor at Amazon.com