5 Different Kinds Of Printer Ink

You should consider the type of ink when buying a printer. Keep in mind that various kinds of ink are used to produce documents or images. Thus, knowing the ink appropriate to your printer is essential to ensure your printer will run smoothly and yield good output.

Here are some of the printer ink commonly used:

1. Liquid Ink

If you prefer buying an inkjet printer, the right ink to use is liquid ink. It comes in two kinds, pigment-based, and dye-based ink. The latter is cheaper, but expect that the image fades quickly, especially when overexposed to ultraviolet light. On the other hand, the pigment-based ink is pricier, but the color of the image does not fade easily. Thus, expect more vivid colors.

2. Toner

LED and laser printers use toner, a dry-form ink made of tiny pigments. An intense light is used to run the spinning drum of the printer. The spinning drum attracts the particles of the toner in the material printed. With the intense heat, the toner is fused onto the paper, thus embedding the toner particles to the surface. Toner works well with Inkjet printers by producing quality color.

Considering the cost, toner is more expensive, but it balances the lifespan as it lasts longer. It is best to use toner when printing text-based documents, such as company letterhead, marketing materials, labels, and others.

3. Solid Ink

This kind of ink is similar to crayons because of the pigment engrained in wax. The print head must be heated to melt the wax. Once the wax is melted, it will be deposited on the paper. The images formed using solid ink are in multiple layers. Solid ink is in a form of solid sticks inserted into the receptacle of the printer. It is non-toxic but leaves a noticeable texture on the printed document or page.

4. UV Ink

This printer ink dries quickly and is cured through UV light. But it is the most expensive among the different types of ink.

5. Ribbons

Ink ribbons are used in dot matrix and impact printers. It looks like a cartridge containing a long, wounded fabric ribbon that passes through a tank of ink. It is essential to know how to install the ribbon between the page and the print head. Once the print head strikes the page, the ribbon ink leaves an impression of the character. Ink ribbon is available in red-black and monochrome varieties.

Takeaway

When buying ink, make sure that it matches your existing printer. This way, you can ensure achieving the best result of the printed document.