A couple of weeks ago I treated myself to a Colour Laser Printer. The last printer I bought and still have is a 3 in 1 HP, photo copier/scanner/printer. The printer perform really well and I would have no qualms in recommending one. However, ink for these type of printers is quite expensive. I think you are talking around £40 to replace all the ink cartridges. I can't tell you exactly how many pages you get off one cartridge but the ink will not last very long if you do a lot of printing. The other problem you have with inkjet printers is that if they are left for too long without printing, you sometimes find that the ink dries and it won't print properly. I had this problem with a cannon inkjet printer. Because the original cartridges are quite expensive, many people opt for compatible replacement cartridges. Basically, these just copies and not original cartridges made by printer manufacturer. They cost considerably less than the original cartridges, sometimes less than a quarter of the price, however, I have found that these are never as good as the original cartridges. In fact, I've had some that just don't work at all. Also, you may find that some printers have a function that stop you from using compatible cartridges. You may well find that you get a message telling you that you are not using compatible cartridges. Sometimes you just get the message and they will work, other times, you may find that they will not work at all. Although compatible would work on my Canon printer, I would get a message telling me that I wasn't using Canon original cartridges. I did find that compatible cartridges were nowhere near as good as the original Canon cartridges.

So I have now got a Samsung CLP-315 Colour Laser Printer and I am really happy with it. I wouldn't say it was a cheap option at all, in fact, the ink for a laser printer is very expensive indeed, twice as much as an inkjet printer. However, you get a lot more for your money, the laserprinter I have just purchased will print something like 1500 pages in black,and 1000 pages in color. The quality is also extremely good. I bought mine from Staples in Torquay Devon for a little over £100. A full set of ink media costs more than the printer which does seem a little ridiculous but it should last me for at least two years considering how much I print