Is it okay if my printer to use ink of different brands?

Why do people continue to use printers that use ink cartridges, when a laser printer is cheaper.?

• I can understand why they would for photos, but I don't think they are good if you just need to print out something and color doesn't matter. I used to have a Ink jet printer and I was going though Ink every three months. I tried to use the refill kits, but they were not the same quality as the name brand ink cartridges. I bought a laser printer a year ago, and its still on the original cartridge. The laser printer prints out about 1,000 pages before it runs out of Toner. I havn't even had to buy any toner cartridges, since I gotten the laser printer. The Toner cartridges that you buy at the store print out about 3,000-5,000 pages depending on what toner cartridge you buy. People say they are really expensive, usually $100-$150 a Toner cartridge, I would have already spent this much this year if I still had the ink jet printer. I can't imagine how much I would save if I bought a Toner that I saw at the store that prints $5000 pages for $135. Laser printers are also not the expensive.

• Answer:

  If you print that much at all, that is. For someone who prints just a few pages a day, inkjets make a lot of sense. Lower initial investments and all that. A couple more things: inkjets use little power if any. Laser printer needs a lot of power for the fuser, and even the "instant-on" fusers need a few seconds to warm up. Also, research in Australia shows that laser printers emits microparticles that MAY have health effects. Not to mention ozone. No emissions from an inkjet.