What is Solid Ink?

Last Updated on August 14, 2023 by Christian Ralph

Solid ink is an award-winning printing technology that has been hailed as a cost-effective environmentally-friendly alternative to standard ink and toner cartridges.

Here we look at what makes solid ink different from regular ink and whether solid ink printers are set to be the printing technology of the future.

Print quality

In simple terms, solid ink printers melt the ink and apply it to the paper from a rotating print drum. The cold of the paper solidifies the ink without it spreading. This process produces exceptional print quality with vivid colours, even if the paper surface is not smooth and white; so cheap and recycled paper can give the same great results.

Tests have demonstrated that the quality of solid ink printers competes with toner-based multifunction printers when printing a typical office document that includes text, images, lines, blends and tints. This may seem puzzling at first glance, since solid ink printers do not generate as many dots per inch (dpi) as laser printers. However, print resolution is not the only marker of print quality, and not an accurate comparator when looking at solid ink printers which use a different kind of technology. Solid ink pixels are discrete and may be placed precisely to within half of a pixel. The pixels are not smaller in size than toner particles but may be placed singularly; whereas toner particles can only be placed on the image in clusters in order to make a single pixel.

Another difference that impacts print quality is colour-to-colour registration which is manufactured into the print head of the solid ink printer rather than being developed at print time as part of the printing mechanism. This makes colour-to-colour output much more consistent in a solid ink printer than in a laser printer.

Durability of prints

When solid ink was first developed, it was quite easy to scratch off the ink, and therefore less durable than laser prints. Now, the technology has evolved and the pile height has been reduced, making solid ink prints more durable. The melting point of the ink is around the temperature of boiling water, so there is no danger of hot weather affecting your printing. Tests have also demonstrated that solid ink prints do not fade or crack over time, and the longevity of prints can be compared to those made with a laser printer.

In the past, solid ink print heads had a reputation for clogging up but this is something that has been addressed with new technology. The print heads on Xerox solid ink printers can fix themselves through calibration if they become clogged, and the remaining print heads allow the machine to remain operational in the meantime.

Environmental factors

As solid blocks of ink are utilised, solid ink printers generates less waste than for inkjet or laser printers, and there are no empty cartridges to dispose of. The ink blocks arrive in a thin, plastic tray that is crushable, and they are packaged in a recycled box. Xerox claim that a solid ink printer will generate up to 90% less printing waste than a comparable colour laser printer, the consumables for which are often not recyclable.

This is a significant consideration, given that more than 500 million ink cartridges find their way to landfill every year and these can take between 450 and 1,000 years to decompose. Xerox also boast that solid ink printers translate to 13% lower greenhouse gases across the life cycle of the printer, based on a peer reviewed life cycle assessment and compared with a multifunction laser printer.

Other factors

Solid ink printers have many advantages. They are less sensitive to differences in media type than other types of printers and are therefore capable of printing on a variety of different types and thickness of media.

Solid printers can also be left unused for a significant period of time without any difficulties arising. The melting and cooling of the ink within the printer’s pathways is a normal part of its functioning and the ink does not therefore dry out, as it can do with regular inkjet printers. In fact, the solidified ink actually helps stop moisture and oxygen from damaging the internal parts of the printer whilst it is not in use.

Solid ink printers can be extremely cost effective because they have fewer moving components, making them less likely to break down, and they have fewer supplies that need replacing. For users that print a lot of coloured pages, a solid ink printer is an easy choice, with savings of up to 70% achievable in contrast with other types of printer.

Prices

Solid ink printers start at around £248 excluding VAT*, which makes them highly competitive with laser printers. Replacement solid ink cartridges cost around £50 excluding VAT per colour which prints around 6,000 pages for the black cartridges and 3,000 pages for the colour cartridges.

Rather than buy individual cartridges when you need them, Xerox also gives you the option of fixed printing costs so you always know exactly how much you’ll pay per sheet. Their Hybrid Colour Plan, available for ColorQube 8900 and ColorQube 9300 Series printers, records the number of coloured pixels used to produce each page that you print. You’ll be charged one of three different fees depending on whether your document is classed as: useful (a page that is mainly black and white with a tiny bit of colour), everyday (a page that has medium colour coverage) or expressive (a page that makes extensive use of colour). ‘Useful’ documents are charged at the black and white only rate, which makes them highly cost effective – and the fixed cost per page make budgeting and cost control far simpler.

You can, if you prefer, opt for a pay as you go model, where printing costs are based on the actual amount of colour used for each document.

You can take a look at our full range of printer ink and toner cartridges here.

*price correct at time of publication