Knowing what cartridges work in your printer is of vital importance. While many people mistakenly use the terms ink and toner interchangeably, they are actually two different products which work quite differently, each with their own distinct pros and cons. Make the wrong choice, and you could blow thousands of extra dollars per year on ink and toner. So, what is the difference between ink and toner cartridges? Please follow me through this article to get everything you want to know and become your office’s ink and toner expert!
Major Differences Between Ink and Toner
The physical features of ink and toner cartridges differ significantly, both in terms of design format and contents. For one thing, ink is a liquid while toner is a powder. Ink and toner cartridges are both used to print documents and pictures, however, the means by which inkjet and laser printers achieve this are essentially different. To better understand why ink cartridges and toner cartridges are not equal, a closer look at inkjet and laser printer functionality can help to expound the ways in which ink and toner function differently.
Inkjet Printers Use Ink Cartridges
It’s a bit easier to understand inkjet printer technology. As the name indicates, inkjet printers use ink cartridges. The liquid ink inside the cartridge is locked in an airtight foil compartment. The ink cartridges are loaded into the print head that is mounted with numerous microscopic ink nozzles. When the print head moves back and forth across the paper, the nozzles produce the image with droplets of ink.
There are mainly two categories of inkjet ink: dye-based inks and pigment-based inks. Dye-based inks consist of colorants dissolved in liquid, while pigment-based inks use super-fine powder suspended in liquid. Dye-based inks are not water-resistant and may be susceptible to smudging, with many prints tending to fade after 25 years. Pigment-based inks, on the other hand, provides a crisper finish and a quicker dry-time. Moreover, pigmented ink also tends to resist water and UV light better than dye-based ink, and is capable to resist fading for up to 200 years.
Laser Printers Use Toner Cartridges
Toner is a fine powder used in laser printers. Iron oxide and plastic resin are the two main components of toner. Laser printers do not simply press toner onto the paper directly. Instead, a laser first draws an electrostatic template of image onto a spinning metal drum inside the printer. Covered in photosensitive material, the drum starts out with either a positive or negative charge.
A tremendously precise laser alters the electrical charge in certain spots based on data fed from the computer. The drum is then coated in magnetically charged toner, however, the fine particles only stick to areas where the laser defined the image before. Next, a sheet of paper that has been magnetically charged as well rolls past the drum and draws the toner away. Finally, the fuser creates the image by warming and melting the plastic particles.
A fundamental knowledge of printer technology and printer functionality is the key to what is the difference between ink and toner cartridges. Most important of all, ink cartridges are meant for inkjet printers, while toner cartridges are designed for laser printers. Ink is a liquid form of pigmentation, but toner is a fine powdery substance. Each performs a very different role in the printing process. Ink sprays out of a cartridge by way of microscopic jets in the printer head, while toner was developed to reproduce an image composed of charged ions. Each has its own merits and demerits, and it is therefore up to the buyers to decide whether ink or toner suits their needs.
Post time: Oct-18-2018