New Delhi, Sept. 9 -- Every few years, the same question shows up in my inbox: I need a new printer, should I go for a laser one or an ink tank one? It sounds like a small decision until you actually walk into a store or open a shopping app and see dozens of models staring back at you, half of them promising the lowest cost per page and the other half promising the sharpest prints. The confusion is fair. Laser and ink tank printers solve the same basic problem, getting something from your screen onto paper, but they go about it in almost opposite ways and that difference shows up in your wallet more than in the box. Here we'll break down what actually separates the two, where each one makes sense, and where it doesn't.

A laser printer wo...