Which is better toner or ink?

Anyone who buys a new printer basically decides between ink or toner. This decision influences the printing costs. The choice is not easy, however, because there are different models with ink and toner - each with its own advantages and disadvantages.

Ink and toner: the differences

Ink or toner, which is better - is often the question when it comes to purchasing a printer. In a nutshell: Ink is used in inkjet printers, toner in laser printers. Ink is liquid, toner is powder. Both materials are equally suitable for printing. However, different printing methods are used. The two technologies have developed in parallel and will continue to exist in parallel because they are each really well suited for different purposes.

How does an ink cartridge work?

This cartridge contains ink and usually sits in the print head. An airtight foil container keeps the ink in the cartridge, it can only escape through a small opening. It flows into the small ink nozzles of the printhead, which transfer it to the sheet (or other medium) to be printed. Ink cartridges have different yields, the yield depends on the printing device and follows an ISO standard. Cartridges with a very high yield are naturally more expensive.

How does a toner cartridge work?

The toner cartridge is a cassette filled with the fine toner powder. The toner powder is fixed and heated on the paper by an electrical charge. The individual particles fuse together and adhere to the paper. The yield of toner cartridges also depends on the printer. Toner cartridges are also standardized and are determined in the ISO 19752 standard test. It is the yield per unit volume.

Toner or ink - which is better for which purpose?

A concise, general statement is: If you print less, you are better off with ink, if you print a lot, you should rely on laser toner. The limit is around 2,000 pages per year. If you exceed this limit, you can print more cheaply with a laser printer and the appropriate compatible toner. But this statement is really general. For example, if you use the original cartridges from the printer manufacturer for toner, you pay significantly more than with refill or remanufactured cartridges and other variants of recycled or replica cartridges. In certain cases, e.g. when printing photos, inkjet printers can convince with a higher quality. But this statement is also very general, because of course there are differences in quality between individual brands.

Does ink cost more than toner?

• OEM printer cartridges and cartridges: The cartridges or cartridges from the original equipment manufacturer (original equipment manufacturer) are trademarked and are produced by the printer manufacturer. Well-known OEM brands are Epson, HP, Canon and Lexmark. Its quality is impeccable, but it is the most expensive variant.

• Compatible printer cartridges or cartridges: These are replicated by special companies, taking patent rights into account on the OEM goods. They are often slightly larger in order to circumvent patent protection. Their quality can be very good, but they are much cheaper than the OEM cartridges. Compatible cartridges or cartridges from manufacturers with an ISO 9001 certificate are recommended.

• Refills and rebuilt cartridges: These are processed printer cartridges or toner cartridges with new ink or toner filling, which means they are cheap and also environmentally friendly because the material is recycled. The quality can decrease with very frequent processing of a single cartridge or cartridge. It depends on the provider how much he pays attention to it.

It should also be noted that older printer models could print more complex and therefore more expensive than newer ones - or vice versa (depending on the brand).

Toner or ink: intended use decides

When deciding whether ink or toner is better suited for printing, the intended use is decisive. If you need perfect photo prints, you should rely on a very good inkjet printer. Cheap models, like laser printers, only deliver average results. Printing on glossy photo paper only works with ink. If you only print text, you are better off with a laser printer that prints with toner. This works excellently even on cheap plain paper. Ink, on the other hand, sometimes leaves a frayed printed image on this paper. This adverse effect disappears on high-quality paper, but this paper is expensive. If you want to print photos cheaply, you can use an Ecotank model from Epson or the ink subscription from HP, for example. With a large number of prints, these variants reduce the costs drastically. Due to the precise calculation of such a subscription, this is most likely worthwhile for professional photographers who print a lot but know their quantities exactly. Laser printers with toner create simple, inexpensive text printing. These considerations should be made before purchasing a printer and deciding between toner and ink. The ink cartridges and toner cartridges can account for the largest portion of the cost of printing in the long run. The price can be reduced with XXL cartridges or multipacks. For absolute occasional printers, it can be important that, in the worst case, ink can dry up in the printer – toner, on the other hand, cannot.