Hi daisysix –
Solid ink printers are different that ink jet and laser. Laser printers use electromagnetically charged toner particles to create the printed image. Most ink jet printers create the printed image by spraying water-based ink directly onto the paper.
Solid ink printers use resin and polymer-based inks – first melting the solid ink sticks, then spraying the molten ink onto a drum, before transferring the image to the page. Here are a few links that might be helpful if you want more details.
How laser printers work – computer.howstuffworks.com/laser-printer.htm
How ink jet printers work – computer.howstuffworks.com/inkjet-printer.htm
Xerox Solid Ink technology site – office.xerox.com/solid-ink/enus.html
(Sorry I couldn't make these links active - I just joined the site to help with your question and haven't earned the ability to post links! Copy/paste them into your browser and they should work...)
Thanks for asking about solid ink!
Rob@Xerox
