All About Inkjet Printing: Benefits & Applications

Creating hard copies of a digital document is an essential process in the workplace. Historically, if someone wanted their thoughts and ideas to be printed on paper, they had to be written by hand. This made printed knowledge extremely rare. In the digital era, we use printers to create books and documents. Printing machines allow us to reproduce documents countless times without extra effort.

In this post, we will understand the differences between inkjet printers and laser printers, their varied applications in the printing industry and various aspects of their working.

Defining Inkjet Printers

Inkjet printers are those printers that use minuscule amounts of coloured ink to produce images or print documents. It drives the ink through tiny tubes onto the canvas, producing premium-resolution prints. Inkjet printing is used for both personal and professional purposes.

To get prints of good quality in fewer numbers, inkjet printing is used. This way of printing can be done on various types of materials including paper, cardboard, canvas and fabric. Isn’t it exciting to think we can produce good-quality prints on such a variety of surfaces?

Inkjet printers are energy efficient and environment friendly, with the capability to print high-quality prints on demand.

Advantages Of Inkjet Printing:

Personal and/or professional use of inkjet printers comes with numerous benefits. First and foremost among these is the fact that this is a cost-effective form of printing which yields excellent results. The cheapest inkjet printer will also satisfy your needs in an efficient way. Inkjet printers can also be used for printing professional photographs for portfolios in gloss or matt lamination. 

Their low-maintenance requirements make them perfect for frequent use, paired with their capability to print on a versatile range of surfaces. Last but not least, Inkjet printers are lightweight and modest, easy to transport or reorganise if you decide to shift your computer system somewhere else.

Disadvantages Of Inkjet Printing:

Inkjet printers are slower in printing as compared to laser ones. Hence, they cannot be used for bulk printing. Water or early touch can make them have blotches as well. Unlike other printing forms, inkjet prints have a short life which could be a problem if they’re desired for longer durations.

Defining Laser Printers

Having been through inkjet printing at length, it’s time for us to explore laser printing. The name itself stands for employing a laser beam in the operation of this type of printer.

High-quality prints are created using an electrostatic process by laser printers. Firstly, a negative electrostatic charge is uniformly applied to the photosensitive drum. A laser beam then scans over the surface of the drum neutralizing the charge in particular areas forming a latent image.

Thereafter, these discharged areas on the drum attract positively charged toner particles which constitute the image. The toner image is then transferred onto paper using static electricity while heat and pressure are afterwards applied so as to permanently fuse the toner particles onto the paper. This intricate process enables laser printers to produce sharp and high-resolution pictures and texts quickly and effectively.

There are several advantages associated with laser printing making it preferred for many users. For starters, laser printers are fast as they produce documents rapidly, making it suitable for high-volume printing places. In addition, they give precise texts and graphics thus leading to good quality results. Economically speaking, laser printers have a low cost per page because their toner cartridges serve them longer than the ink cartridges of inkjet printers, thereby reducing maintenance costs considerably. Furthermore, they last longer without needing much maintenance than other types of printers do.

Inkjet Printer Vs Laser Printer

We must appreciate how the inkjet and laser printers differ, so as to understand their different applications and determine which of these is most appropriate for you:

The primary difference between the two is that, while ink-jet printers use ink to produce documents; laser machines employ lasers.

The perfect choice for fast printing of numerous monochrome papers would be laser printers. For home office purposes, however, one may encounter complications since they are generally heavy-set machines.

On the other hand, inkjet can produce stunning images but is not suited for mass production of written texts. In addition to this, they can print on surfaces where lasers can’t because they are affected by heat.

FAQs

1. What is the difference between an inkjet printer and a regular printer?

Inkjet printers utilize jets that discharge ink droplets for printing text or images on paper. They are usually quite expensive, however, they produce high-quality colour outputs with great precision. For this reason, these types of printers are made for producing images that require vibrant colours like photographs but cost them dearly to maintain them over time. On the other hand, laser printers work using an electrostatic image created with a laser beam which is charged using toner powder hence faster speeds and cheaper choice per page suitable for high volume text printing (although initially pricier).

2. What is inkjet printing used for?

Inkjet printing has wide applications beyond paper including textiles for exclusive fashion designs, pharmaceuticals for accurate dosage, art reproductions bursting with colours, packaging targeted at specific marketing needs, decorative surfaces like glass and wallpaper even bioprinting living cells. By enabling materials made from diverse sources to be printed with high-quality pictures this technology has opened doors to unbelievable innovations across various sectors of the economy.

3. Which is better, an inkjet or laser printer?

Each type of printer has some pros & cons in its own right; so choosing which one suits your needs depends on what you want it used for in most cases. Under conditions of low volume but demanding colour outputs then go for an Ink-Jet; while under high volume black & white scenarios then Laser Printing will do just fine.

4. Which is cheaper to maintain inkjet or laser printer?

Laser printers are cheaper to maintain than inkjet printers. Inkjet printers have a high cost of their ink cartridges which need to be replaced quite often. Laser printers have a large initial cost, but are very cost-effective in the long run.