Both ink and toner cartridges are used for home and business printing, however the way they are applied to paper is different. When purchasing consumables, it’s really important to know which cartridges are compatible with your machine.
What are toner cartridges?
Toner cartridges are used in laser printers. They are cylinder containers filled with toner, which is a very fine powder made from polyester – a type of plastic. In a laser printer, such as the Lexmark CS820de, the laser forms an electrostatic image template on a turning metal drum, which is electrically charged.
At this point, the cartridge sprays toner onto the drum, but only sticks on areas where the laser changes the drum’s electrical charge.
What are ink cartridges?
Ink cartridges are used in inkjet printers. Ink – a liquid tinted with different-coloured dyes – is locked in an airtight foil compartment inside the ink cartridges. Little droplets of ink are squirted through tiny nozzles in the print head of an inkjet printer and deposited onto the page during printing.
What is the difference between ink and toner?
Replacement
Toner cartridges are more expensive to purchase initially, but are more cost-effective as they last longer than ink cartridges. Ink cartridges are small and easy to replace, making them easier to refill, however they are prone to clogging, so if your inkjet printer does not have an in-built print head cleaner, you may need to replace the ink more often. Ink cartridges also tend to dry out.
You often pay more upfront for a laser printer but you will save money in the long run compared to an inkjet printer, where you may find you need to replace the inkjet cartridges more frequently.
Speed
Laser printers – which take toner cartridges – are preferred by businesses who value speed, due to the precision possible with a laser compared to a spray of ink. When it comes to saving time, a laser wins the majority of races.
Quality
For normal font sizes, the quality of print is similar between laser and ink. However, for fonts smaller than 12pt, lasers are usually superior to inkjets.
However, images are usually clearer with toner as the price of applying ink in little pixels can’t match the precise skill of the laser. Ink is also more likely to smudge.
