The kind of printing that the individual will be doing will play a big part in determining the type of laser printer cartridges that the individual use. Different types of ink will be used based on the type of print job you have. The two main types of laser printer cartridges you will use will be either pigment based or dye based.
Dye-based ink refers to water soluble ink, while pigment-based ink refers to non-soluble ink. Both types of ink are alleged to be environmentally friendly, specifically when compared to alcohol based ink or industrial oils. Which type of laser printer cartridges should you pick when you are trying to establish which laser printer cartridges you should buy?
Dye-Based Inks
Dye-based inks are generally a good deal less expensive than pigment-based inks, easy to create, and, as a consequence, they have traditionally been the choice ink for laser printer cartridges. Dye-based inks are produced with optical brighteners which make their colors extra bright and vivid as they employ a colorant dye dissolve-in solution. The results of the use of optical brighteners are prints which are much brighter in color and much more constant. On the other hand, the vivid colors may possibly fade quickly due to a poor resistance to UV lighting. As the colors might require longer to dry, they might result in a blurry image.
Pigment-based ink is more impervious to UV light and water, but the dye-based ink is superior at holding and projecting the brightness of colors. Dye-based ink printer will be best used for photo and graphic print production, while pigment-based laser printer cartridges can produce a lot better text documents. Major printer producers such as Compaq, Hewlett-Packard, Dell, Epson, and Lexmark generally will use pigment-based black ink to go alongside dye-based color ink.
Pigment-Based Inks
Pigment-based ink is produced with resins, which are generally chemically based polymers. They are broken up into tiny particles and subsequently covered with a dispersant. The particles, or resin, are then suspended in water so that they will be used in laser printer cartridges. The production system for producing pigment-based ink makes the ink much more resilient to UV light and gives it a longer life expectation than dye based ink. But, it does cause the printed colors to look duller when compared to prints of dye-based ink.
It also has been common for black colored inks to be pigment-based inks because they dry at once and result in a clear, crisp printout.
Pigment-based inks are not usually used for color desktop laser printer cartridges because the persistent use might result with the color pigments massing together, causing the laser printer cartridges to become blocked. Color printers that employ pigment-based ink are frequently more expensive owing to the need to incorporate special software to put a stop to blockage and generate dense colors.
Which Type of Ink is the Best Choice?
Provided the above explanations, take a look at the summing up below of the wanted qualities of each style of laser printer cartridges and how these two types of ink compare:
1. Resistance to water: Dye-based inks have to be dissolved in order to work. They are regularly used as laser printer cartridges since they simply liquefy in water and flow easily with it. Nevertheless, if a photocopy produced from dried dye-based ink gets moist, the print colors will run. Pigment-based inks, on the other hand, absorb water but do not dissolve with it. Therefore, they are more water-resistant.
2. Sharpness of color: Dye-based laser printer cartridges are number one for vividness and vivacity of the colors they generate. As a result, they are more often used for printing photos and graphics. Pigment-based inks are typically limited to black colors only and are as a result used for grayscale prints and text only documents.
3. Resistance to light: Dye-based inks contain optical brighteners that turn out vibrant colors. Those optical brighteners, nonetheless, are vulnerable to light and other chemicals, and consequently lose color more quickly. Pigment-based laser printer cartridges are the ink of choice for archiving jobs for the reason that it can endure for years even under light or chemical exposure.
Knowing what sort of ink a laser printer cartridges are filled with will guarantee that the proper printer is used for a particular job, whether it is pigment-based ink for black & white or dye-based ink for color work. Canon, Epson, HP, Compaq, Lexmark and other copier makers utilize dye-based inks in their less costly laser printer cartridges. Higher quality printers normally use pigment-based black ink and dye-based color laser printer cartridges. Be sure that you check the printer’s instruction booklet for precise ink specifications previous to purchasing your new laser printer cartridges.
