What Is the Difference Between a Drum & Laser Printer Cartridge?

With so many options available in the market, it's become extremely perplexing to decide which type of printer to buy. While making the decision, one must consider the variety of inks used by printers such as a drum printer, to produce documents. Each type of ink comes with certain pros and cons. Hence, we've provided a brief guide on different types of ink to assist you in choosing the best one of all. 

Liquid Ink

Liquid ink is used in inkjet printers to produce text and images by spraying microscopic droplets. Inkjet inks are available in two forms i.e., dye-based ink and pigment-based ink. The former is cheaper and produces images that can fade over time or when exposed to UV light. However, pigment-based inks are generally more expensive and are more resistant to fading. 

Toner

If you are familiar with laser printers then you must have heard about drums in them or are you wondering what is the drum on a printer, both are the same thing. Laser printer uses a dry ink named toner which is made up of tiny particles of pigment. The drum in the printer fuses the toner powder onto the paper to print images and text. 

Solid Ink 

Solid ink is particles of pigment embedded in wax that are melted by a heated print head to deposit onto the paper and form an image in multiple layers. It is non-toxic and convenient to use. However, it has a noticeable texture that can be scraped off accidentally.

Ribbons

The inked ribbon system is used by impact and dot matrix printers that have long ribbons passing through a reservoir of ink to leave an ink impression on the paper. These kinds of ink cartridges are bulky and come in limited colours. 

To conclude, while making a printer purchase, it's important to seek information such as what is a printer drum, what is its function and more to make the best decision and invest your money in the right place. 

We hope you found this article helpful.