What Are Printer Toners? How They Differ From Ink Cartridges?

Posted by printoxe on June 4th, 2019

What are Printer Toners?

They are peculiar types of ink that are used by the Laser printers and copy machines. It consists of a dry, powdery substance which is electrically charged so that it adheres well to a plate, drum or a piece of paper that is charged with the opposite polarity. Most of the times especially in the case of laser printers, the toner is available in the form of a cartridge which is inserted into the printer.

Is Toner Different from Ink?

Yes! Toner cartridges are meant for the LASER Printers and ink cartridges are meant for the Inkjet printers. Toner is just a fine powder and ink is a liquid form of pigmentation. Each of them plays a very different role in the entire printing process.

To know how cartridges work in your printer is very important. It is good to keep in mind that ordering just one wrong product can cost hundreds of dollars to your company. So, you should know that ink and cartridges are two different things. Ink cartridges have a liquid that is used by the inkjet printers and toner cartridges contain powder substance that is taken by the laser printer. Given here is the difference between Printer toner and ink cartridge in detail.

The ink inside any branded cartridges like HP ink cartridges or other cartridges can either be pigment based or dye based. Depending on the type of cartridges you have. Most of the Inkjet printers available on the market are dye-based inks. They are more economical than the pigment-based ink cartridges and are chosen for their vibrant and true to life photos and color prints.

Dye-based inks are not water-proof and are susceptible to smudging and many of the prints tend to get fade after 25 years or so. On the other hand, pigmented-based ink has a crispier finish and can get dried quickly than the dye-based ink. It is valued by the graphic designers and by the professional photographers because it can print archival quality text and images. Pigmented ink tends to resist water and Ultra-violet light better than dye-based ink. It is also able to resist fading for up to or over 200 years.

Toner is a dried powdery substance that does not get stained like the ink cartridges. However, they can be utterly messy if you do not handle them properly. Monochrome laser printers use black toner cartridges. Color laser printers use four different types of toners: cyan, magenta, black and yellow toner cartridges for producing a print. A drum unit is built into the toner cartridge or sold separately. With the drum unit, you would not be able to print. Toner cartridges that have in-built drum units cost you more than the single-toner cartridges.