We all rely on it, but not many of us understand it. What is printer ink and toner and how are they made? The high cost of genuine printer consumables has led to all kinds of jokes about it being made from liquid gold, but the truth is a lot more mundane than that.
Read on and let Toner City show you what you’re buying when you restock your printer.
Printer ink
Ink is an old technology – any trip to the museum will show you that people have been using it for millennia to scribble down thoughts. While the principle hasn’t changed in thousands of years – ink has to be applied to paper and dried – the formula certainly has. Modern printer ink is a cocktail of various substances designed to make creating quality printouts fast, simple and easy.
At the base of your standard black printer ink is a pigment called carbon black. This is a material created by the incomplete burning of an oil or gas, which leaves behind black particles which are then crushed to achieve a fine consistency. Carbon black is then mixed with a number of substances including dispersants to make the ink flow smoothly and easily, resins to help it bind to the page, and other materials to extend shelf life, prevent bubbling, and aid in drying once it reaches the page. All of this is suspended in an oil or solvent and packed into cartridges.
Toner
Being a dry material, toner has a different composition and manufacturing process. While still utilising carbon black as a pigment, toner relies on a granulated plastic instead of oil or solvent as a transport medium. This plastic allows the toner to be bonded to the paper by the fuser, which heats it to melting point and seals it to the page, creating the image. The plastic used varies between manufacturers and is often a trade secret as it has a significant impact on the quality of the printout.
Toner is made by combining all of the ingredients into a slab or brick and then pulverising it into a powder. Due to the need for precision during the laser printing process, the size of each granule of toner is extremely important. A consistent size of 8-10 micrometres – about a fifth of the diameter of a human hair – allows the level of detail required by modern users, offering up to 600 dpi printing capabilities. Too large and prints can come out blurry looking, making quality control of toner a key concern.
The smarter choice in printer consumables
Get the consumables you need to keep your printer running perfectly from Toner City. With a range of genuine and compatible consumables offered affordably, finding the products you need has never been easier on you or your wallet.
Order today and get a better quality of printout with Toner City.