Speaking for toner
cartridges and ink cartridges, we
have not considered these facts:
What is more, many
people do not even understand the difference between toner and ink cartridges,
knowledge that can be valuable when it comes to office productivity and saving
costs.
Where
does each go?
Let us get the easy one
out of the way. Laser printers use toners while inkjet printers use ink when it
comes to bringing your ideas to life on paper.
Now, we would like to move
on to the difference between toner and ink.
What
are Ink Cartridges?
Ink cartridges are
comprised of microscopic nozzles that spray dye or pigmented ink onto paper in
the form of droplets — turning on and off thousands of times per second.
Sophisticated printer software controls all the nozzles. Every ink cartridges
company guards their formulas better
than McDonald’s does its secret sauce formula due to ink cartridges are a huge
revenue generator for printer brands. Thus, selling ink cartridges is a key
role in their whole world business.
According to Consumer
Reports, printer inks cost around $50 an ounce in the USA. (and the shocking
truth is that many printer models deliver half or less of valuable ink to a
page, with some managing no more than 20 to 30 percent – mostly because of
maintenance and testing).
What
is Toner?
Toner is mostly
composed of finely ground polyester (a type of plastic). The polyester powder
holds a static charge that sticks to anything with an opposite charge.
In a printer, a laser
produces an electrostatic template of the desired images on a rotating metal drum,
which contains an electrical charge. A cartridge dispenses toner on the drum.
The toner adheres only to certain places where the laser alters the drum’s
electrical charge.
At
the same time, a laser printer also charges the sheets of paper while they pass
through the machine. As the sheets curl past the drum, it yanks the charges off
the toner in the exact shapes that make up images and text. During this
process, a hot fuser essentially melts the polyester in place, making sharp,
smudge-free prints.
Which One for Me?
Beyond all this cool
tech science that happens every day at work, choosing between a laser or inkjet
printer really depends on your needs. But those needs are important to address
– especially in a time when printer costs are just below that of office
utilities, rent, and payroll; and the typical office worker prints 10,000 pages
per year, at an average cost of $725.
In general, inkjet
printers are cheaper than laser printers, just as ink cartridges are cheaper
than toner cartridges. However, toner tends to get much more bang for your
buck. In other words, the overall cost-per-page of inkjet printers is higher
than laser printers. Laser printers will save you more money in the long run,
especially if you’re printing thousands of pages a month.
Laser printers are
better for:
Black & white
documents
Larger offices
Faster need of
documents (can print up to 100/minute)
Smaller need for paper
size variety
Inkjet printers better
for:
High-quality photos or
anything with brilliant colours/tonal depth
Small/home businesses
Less demand for quick
printing (can print up to 16 pages/minute)
Larger need for paper
size variety (and this can include fabrics and glossy paper)
In a perfect world, an
office would have both an inkjet and laser printer, leveraging laser for volume
and monochrome documents while tapping into inkjet for colour docs and photos.
Sadly, the Large Hadron Collider hasn’t created this perfect office environment
for many companies. But we know an independent photographer would benefit from
an inkjet printer, while a law firm should depend on laser printers.
In between the
photographer and the lawyer, your office should find out where it stands when
it comes to buying printers. We always recommend our office print savings
calculator. At the very least, you can impress co-workers at the next holiday
party with your awesome ink and toner factoids.
