Solid Ink - How Does it Compare With Color Inkjet & Color Laser?

If you want to buy a color printer, there are three choices: color inkjet printer, color laser printer or solid ink printer. Both color inkjet and color laser printers have been around for a long time while solid ink printers are relatively new to most people. So what are the differences among solid ink vs color inkjet vs color laser printers?

Color inkjet printers require a low initial investment but the liquid ink runs out quickly and the replacement ink cartridges are expensive. Color inkjet printers print slowly but there is no warm up time. The ink may smear on some papers and the printout is not resistant to light and water. In general, color inkjet printer can produce good quality text and excellent images on special paper.  

Color laser printers are more expensive than inkjet printers. The replacement toner cartridges are also costly although they can usually last for a long time. Color laser printers have a high print speed but they do require warm up time. Because of the complex design, laser printers are bulky and take up a lot of space. Color laser printers can produce excellent text quality but unless you buy the high end color laser printers, they are less capable of producing high quality images. Unlike inkjet cartridges, it is less common to refill the toner cartridges. The empty cartridges produce lot of waste and take a long time to decompose in landfill.   

Solid ink printers use ink sticks instead of cartridges. The ink sticks are in solid form at room temperature. When they are heated to a specific temperature, they are melted and applied through the print head. Once printed on the media, they return to solid form immediately. The way solid ink works give them some distinct advantages over color inkjet and color laser printers.   

1)    The wax based ink produces good quality text, vivid colors and bright images on a wide range of media.

2)    The ink sticks can be used up entirely for printing, there is no empty cartridge left. 

3)    Solid ink printers have simple design, so they are more compact and affordable than color laser printers. 

4)    Unlike color inkjet printers, solid ink printers can print at a high speed and are good at high volume printing.

5)    Replacement solid ink sticks are more affordable than color inkjet or color laser cartridges.

6)    Solid ink sticks are easy to use and handle, there is no leaking and spillage.  

However, solid ink printers also have some disadvantages, such as longer warm up time, higher power consumption as the ink has to be heated even at standby mode. The wax based ink is difficult to write on and is not resistant to sunlight.  

In summary, if you want to buy a color printer for occasional color printing at home, a color inkjet printer will be a good choice for you. However, if you are shopping for a color printer for office use, you should do some research on the solid ink printers. The relatively low investment cost, affordable consumables, compact design and good print quality for both text and image make the solid ink printers an attractive choice for small businesses.