Ink Printer Cartridges

The type of ink printer cartridges used by a printer determines whether it is better at printing plain text documents, photos, or graphics. Different print jobs can mean different types of inks are required. Usually, a printer will use either dye-based ink printer cartridges or pigment-based ink printer cartridges. The type of ink determines the best use for the printer.

Dye-based ink refers to water soluble ink, while pigment-based ink refers to non-soluble ink. Both types of ink are said to be environmentally friendly, specifically when compared to alcohol based ink or industrial oils. But which type of ink printer cartridges should you choose when you are trying to determine which printer you should buy?

Dye-Based Inks

Dye-based inks are usually much cheaper than pigment-based inks, easy to manufacture, and, as a result, they have traditionally been the choice ink for digital printers. Dye-based inks are manufactured with optical brighteners which make their colors more bright and vivid as they utilize a colorant dye dissolve-in solution. The results of the use of optical brighteners are prints that are much brighter in color and much more stable. However, the vivid colors may fade quickly due to a poor resistance to UV lighting; and since the colors can take longer to dry, it can result in a blurry image.

Pigment-based ink is more resistant to UV light and water, but the dye-based ink is better at holding and projecting the brightness of colors. Dye-based ink printer will be best used for photo and graphic print production, while pigment-based ink printer cartridges will produce much better text documents. Major printer manufacturers such as Compaq, Hewlett-Packard, Dell, Epson, and Lexmark generally will use pigment-based black ink to go alongside dye-based color ink.

Pigment-Based Inks

Pigment-based ink is produced with resins, which are normally chemically based polymers. These are ground into small particles and then covered with a dispersant. The particles, or resin, are then suspended in water so that they can be used in an inkjet printer. The production method for creating pigment-based ink makes the ink much more resistant to UV light and gives it a longer life expectancy than dye based ink. However, it does cause the printed colors to appear duller when compared to prints of dye-based ink.

It also has been common for black colored inks to be pigment-based inks because they dry quickly and result in a clear, crisp printout.

Pigment-based inks are not typically used for color desktop printers because their constant usage would result with the color pigments massing together, causing the ink printer cartridges to become blocked. Color printers that use pigment-based ink are usually more expensive due to the need to incorporate special software to prevent blockage and produce dense colors.

Which Type of Ink is the Best Choice?

Given the above explanations, take a look at the summary below of the desirable qualities of each type of ink printer cartridges and how these two types of ink compare:

1. Resistance to water: Dye-based inks need to be dissolved in order to work. They are often used as inkjet printer inks because they easily dissolve in water and flow easily with it. However, if a print made from dried dye-based ink gets wet, the print colors will run. Pigment-based inks, on the other hand, absorb water but do not dissolve with it. Thus, they are more water-resistant.

2. Sharpness of color: Dye-based ink printer cartridges are preferred for brightness and vivacity of the colors they produce. Thus, they are more often used for printing photos and graphics. Pigment-based inks are typically limited to black colors only and are thus used for grayscale prints and text only documents.

3. Resistance to light: Dye-based inks have optical brighteners that produce vivid colors. These optical brighteners, however, are vulnerable to light and other chemicals, and thus fade more quickly. Pigment-based ink printer cartridges are the ink of choice for archiving jobs because it can last for years even under light or chemical exposure.

Knowing what type of ink a printer’s cartridges are filled with will ensure that the correct printer is utilized for a particular job, whether it is pigment-based ink for black & white or dye-based ink for color work. Canon, Epson, HP, Compaq, Lexmark and other printer manufacturers use dye-based inks in their less expensive inkjet printers. Higher quality printers generally use pigment-based black ink and dye-based color ink printer cartridges.

Be sure that you check the printer’s manual for exact ink specifications prior to purchasing your new printer.