What is Toner??

[Antiviruskey]

I am confuse with the definition of Toner and Normal ink. Can anyone explain what exactly is Toner compare to normal ink?

Because i saw people sell Power toner which i think is a solid item compare to ink which is liquid. So my question are:

1. What is toner?
2. What is the use of toner and the advantage over normal ink?
3. Is the form of toner in liquid, solid or both possible?

 

[firefighter4443]

Antiviruskey,

Toner is usually found in Laser Printers. Toner iteself refers to the very fine colored (cyan, magenta, yellow, or black) plastic particles. The way a laser printer operates is by depositing the toner onto what is called an image transfer belt, which then deposits the toner onto the paper. The Paper then rus through the Fuser, which melts the tiny colored plastic particles (toner) to the paper. The fuser operates at something like 400 degrees F, give or take a few degrees, which is why a new print job from most copy machies comes out warm.

Ink, on the other hand, is a pigmented liquid that "soaks" into the fibers of the paper. An inkjet printer has some kind of head that sprays the ink onto the proper places on the paper in very small amounts.

As far as I know, toner is only and always used with Laser Printers, and Ink is only and always used with Inkjet printers.

The only time you get away from liquid ink, or toner, is with the Solid Ink that Xerox has developed. Xerox has a printer that takes square blocks of solid ink, heats it up, applies it to the paper, and lets it cool again.

Hope this makes it clear for you.

 

[Quicktoner]

That is an excellent post! Nice and clear

 

[Isabella]

thanks! very clear explaination

 

[hpjones]

Printing with ink is similar to writing on paper with a pen. The printer puts ink on the paper and applies pressure to the ink to cause it to stick to the paper. When printing with toner, the printer does not use pressure to print. Toner is a fine powder that is applied to the paper and a laser is used to "burn" the toner into the paper.

 

[brother 110c]

You have certainly found the best answers for your query. As for me, I knew the difference between ink and toner when I found the inkjetsuperstore site that gives the best explanation on how these consumables can be use.

 

[InkCartridges]

Printing with ink is similar to writing on paper with a pen. The printer puts ink on the paper and applies pressure to the ink to cause it to stick to the paper. When printing with toner, the printer does not use pressure to print. Toner is a fine powder that is applied to the paper and a laser is used to "burn" the toner into the paper.

Think this is a bit inaccurate, there's not any pressure put onto the ink to make it stick to the paper, in fact the print head actually hovers slightly above the paper and doesn't actually touch it. Have a look at this video, it explains it very clear: HP Inkjet Video - YouTube

 

[aoife]

Wow this thread is great, I've learned a lot!

 

[Phil Katz]

Toner is also used in LED printers. Okidata makes LED printers, they are virtually the same as laser printers except the LED's shine onto the drum instead of a laser.

The solid 'ink' used in the Xerox Phaser printers is actually wax.

Contrary to popular belief, all toner is not the same. You can't use toner made for one printer or copier in a machine that is not made for it. All toners have specific properties which are formulated for specific machines. You can do some serious damage to a printer or copier by using the wrong toner.

Paul

 

[LoveToPrint]

Thanks for the post. It contained a lot of good information.

 

[john83]

Antiviruskey,

Toner is usually found in Laser Printers. Toner iteself refers to the very fine colored (cyan, magenta, yellow, or black) plastic particles. The way a laser printer operates is by depositing the toner onto what is called an image transfer belt, which then deposits the toner onto the paper. The Paper then rus through the Fuser, which melts the tiny colored plastic particles (toner) to the paper. The fuser operates at something like 400 degrees F, give or take a few degrees, which is why a new print job from most copy machies comes out warm.

Ink, on the other hand, is a pigmented liquid that "soaks" into the fibers of the paper. An inkjet printer has some kind of head that sprays the ink onto the proper places on the paper in very small amounts.

As far as I know, toner is only and always used with Laser Printers, and Ink is only and always used with Inkjet printers.

The only time you get away from liquid ink, or toner, is with the Solid Ink that Xerox has developed. Xerox has a printer that takes square blocks of solid ink, heats it up, applies it to the paper, and lets it cool again.

Hope this makes it clear for you.

thanks. good job bro

 

[Alex Hold]

1. What is toner?

- Powdered 'ink' for laserjet printers

2. What is the use of toner and the advantage over normal ink?

- Cheaper, no bleeding, less wastage

3. Is the form of toner in liquid, solid or both possible?

- Solid, liquid would just be ink.

Help this helps.

 

[LoveToPrint]

So is it dangerous to actually refill the toner from an independent company and not from the company that manufactured the printer?

 

[BlackKnight]

As mentioned above, toner is a fine colored material that must be electrically charged, applied and fused to the medium. Used with laser and LED printers.
Toner is not ink, therefore does not have same lifetime/storage limitations as ink-based printers.
Toner cartidges can last longer than ink cartridges and tends to be more expensive than ink cartidges.
Toner can be quickly applied, thus great for high pages per min (ppm) prints and can have high dpi counts. Can be used for color printouts, though for high qulity/photo prints I would recommend an ink-based printer or plotter machine.
Some vendors, such as HP, put a special chip on the toner cartridge that is checked to verify the cartridge is a genunie HP cart or not, if not, then will signal to the user "NON-HP SUPPLY DETECTED". It will still print, but status and level will be unknown.'
Hope this is helpful.

 

[moderngurl]

Laser printers use toners instead of ink cartridges like inkjet printers do.

 

[jerestun]

thanks for this info about toner..that's why my cousin recommended that having a toner kit would somehow less the cost.
i thought before when you have toner, you can refill other cartridges not just for laser printers.

 

[KathyMorrow]

I had the same confusion as what is the diff between toner and a normal ink. Now its clear. Thanks for the thread.

 

[Robbie_DL]

Toner cartridges, can cost up to £25/£30 for each cartridge... It depends on where you obtain them from as to how much content is placed in each cartridge... Some of the cheaper ones run out of toner, fairly quickly, so they can be considered quite expensive units...

Robbie_DL....