Ink Vs Toner Cartridges: What’s The Difference?

Last Updated on July 12, 2023 by Christian Ralph

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 important to know which cartridges are compatible with your machine. While people often interchange the terms ink and toner, the two are very different. We explain all you need to know in our blog post:

What are toner cartridges?

Toner cartridges are used in laser printers
. They are cylindrical containers filled with toner, which is a very fine powder made from polyester – a type of plastic.

In a laser printer, such as the Xerox C315, the laser forms an electrostatic image template on a rotating metal drum, which is electrically charged.

At this point, toner particles are deposited onto the surface of the drum, but only adheres to areas where the laser has effected the drum’s electrical charge.

This powdered toner then passes through the fuser unit which generates high levels of pressure and heat to melt the powdered toner particles and fuse them to the fabric of the paper.

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.

Ink cartridges contain a reservoir of liquid ink. During the printing process, miniscule droplets of ink are squirted through tiny nozzles in the print-head of the inkjet printer and deposited onto the page creating the finished print.

Ink is typically available in individual cartridges containing one of 4 colours including cyan, magenta, yellow and black.

These colours are then mixed in varying degrees to recreate a wide colour palette.

Why is toner more expensive than ink?

Toner cartridges are generally more expensive than ink cartridges due to a combination of the larger capacities and higher page yields associated with toner cartridges and the more sophisticated manufacturing processes involved in the production of toner compared to ink.

With extensive levels of research and development associated with the production of toner formulations, users can rest assured that they are receiving a cutting-edge product that is designed to work in harmony with their printer and deliver the best results possible.

Despite the higher initial purchasing costs of toner compared to ink cartridges, laser printing is often significantly cheaper on a cost-per-page basis when compared to inkjet printing making laser printers a clear choice for work environments that require, high-speed, high-volume printing.

What is the difference between ink and toner?

There are several differences when comparing ink and toner cartridges. Here are some of the most significant differences to consider when making a purchasing decision.

Image credit: iStockPhoto.com / studiocasper (via Custard Online Marketing Ltd)

Speed

Laser printers – which take toner cartridges – are preferred by businesses who value speed, due to the superior precision possible with a laser beam compared to a spray of ink.

Due to the faster speeds of a laser printer’s internal components, laser printers are perfectly suited to high-volume text-based printing helping users to significantly boost productivity, making them a powerful asset in any workplace environment.

With robust designs, laser printers also offer improved reliability compared to inkjet equivalents meaning support and maintenance needs are kept to a minimum.

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.

The high levels of precision associated with laser printing means toner is well-suited to producing high coverage text prints at speed.

An area where inkjet printers and the inks they use excel is photo printing. With vibrant colours and sharp details, some inkjet printers are perfect for producing eye-catching image prints.

Inkjet printers are also capable of printing onto a variety of media types thanks to the free flowing properties of ink. Offering impressive versatility with the ability to print onto media including glossy photo paper, cardstock and more, inkjet printers are well suited to produce a wide array of professional grade marketing materials including brochures, signs, leaflets, labels and more.

Capacity

Broadly speaking, toner cartridges feature significantly higher capacities. Due to their larger size and the more efficient laser printing process, toner cartridges tend to deliver far lower cost per page prices making them better suited for high volume printing.

When it comes to handling paper, laser printers also tend to have higher capacities with a range of additional paper trays available for most models to easily expand paper handling capabilities based on user need.

The increased paper capacities that laser printers offer works in tandem with the larger page yields of toner cartridges meaning higher print volumes between media and supplies replenishment.

Additionally, most manufacturers offer high-capacity versions of toner cartridges allowing users to further reduce their cost-per page and minimise the frequency of user interventions.

Printers using inkjet cartridges often have lower paper input capacity, which means more time is spent refilling the paper. While these printers are generally cheaper to buy, they produce fewer prints between replenishments than their laser counterparts.

Purchasing Ink & Toner Cartridges from Printerland

Hopefully, this article has helped shed some light on the differences between ink and toner cartridges.

Printerland stocks a wide range of genuine manufacturer ink and toner cartridges from leading manufacturers including Xerox, HP, Kyocera and more.