Xerox Ink Sticks and Xerox Solid Ink for Phaser

On the surface solid ink and color laser printers seem to be similar which is true and false. Solid ink printers deliver fast prints just as color lasers, but increasing the speed comes with a disadvantage for the solid ink printers. Solid ink printers loose definition in graphic documents the faster they are printed; actually the image quality settings determine this. By setting the image quality higher the unit prints slower. Color laser printers are not affected by the image quality and typically print at the same speed regardless. Color coverage and application is a different story though.

Because toner is comprised of miniature particles they can leave gaps in colors and shading and cause a blurred or faded effect. Solid ink actually fuses with the surface of the paper becoming part of the fibers and provides clean smooth lines and colors even when in close proximity; bleeding rarely happens with solid ink for the very same reason. Another big difference in print quality between solid ink and color laser printers is the style of the printed document itself. Color toner will generally have a matte finish on standard paper while solid ink has an inherent semi glossy finish delivering photo quality prints on virtually any type of paper or medium.

In continuation, color toners will print and behave differently depending upon the media type used to print upon. Solid ink can print as is on virtually any medium without any lose of definition or change in appearance. Due to the glossy nature of solid ink printing extremely small font sizes can seem muddy and unclear; the infusion of the solid ink into the paper plays into this as well. Monochromatic printing at small font sizes is a strong point for color lasers for the same reason they can fall short in color shading, their extremely small particles. Both solid ink and color laser printers have their strong points that should be considered when determining the best technology for printing in any environment.