Both toner and ink are used in the printing process, but are they the same? No, they aren’t.

TLDR: A toner is a powdery substance used to print on a laser printer. Meanwhile, ink is a liquid used to print on an inkjet printer. Toner and ink are both used to produce texts and images – but just on different printer types.

What is Printer Toner?

Printer toners are powdered pigments that bond with paper when heated. They’re made using finely ground plastic as the base, and may include additives like polypropylene, fumed silica, and a variety of minerals to help with the printing process.

What is Printer Ink?

Printer ink is an oil-based liquid that’s dyed or pigmented and used to stain paper in a meticulous in the printer. The material composition of black printer ink includes

carbon black pigment, a binder, solvent, and several other additives like chelating, drying, and opacifying agents. Pretty complex stuff, right?

Wondering if toner or ink is right for you? Both toner and ink have their own pros and cons, which we’ll be covering below:

The Pros and Cons of Printer Toner

Pros:

• Allows for faster printing
• Tends to produce higher quality results (with some exceptions)
• Doesn’t dry out since it’s already in a powdered form
• Produces more images and text before running out than ink
• Lasts longer than ink

Cons:

• Laser printers (which use toner) are more expensive upfront than inkjets
• Refilling toner cartridges can get expensive

The Pros and Cons of Printer Ink

Pros:

• Less likely chance of smudging via ink and inkjet printers
• Initial cost of inkjet printers is more affordable than laser printers
• Replacement ink cartridges tend to be cheaper

Cons:

• Printer ink can dry out and this may affect the quality and usability of the ink
• Ink cartridges may clog up
• Ink depletes faster and will need to be replaced more often than toner

I am never pleased when one of my office printers runs dry. That means the toner cartridge, the inkjet cartridge, or something needs replacing. I have to choose between buying a remanufactured cartridge, saving a little money, or a new OEM cartridge, getting a bit more assurance about its performance. You know, maybe I’ll refill the old one. What is the right choice?

After my building lease and payroll, printing supplies seem to be right at the top of my business
expenses. It stands to reason that a frugal man would try to cut back costs by
cutting a corner here and there. Then again, some corners aren’t meant to be cut.

OEM Parts, Remanufactured Cartridges, And Refills. What Are They?

OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) parts are the top of the line. I can’t say I’ve ever been unhappy with brand new toner or inkjet cartridges. I’ve been a bit poorer but never unhappy. New is good.

I’ve been fortunate never to have problems with new merchandise. However, there is a peace of mind that comes with knowing that I will have support services at my disposal and warranty protection if something goes wrong.
Remanufactured cartridges are a step down from new. The remanufacturer disassembles a cartridge, inspects the parts for any unusual signs of wear and tear, and reassembles another cartridge from serviceable parts. Just like new, right?

No. It isn’t like new because it isn’t new. However, you saved a few dollars, a few dollars for functional but a little worn part If you pay attention to details and make sure the cartridge has a warranty covering any defects, this might be a way to go if you are money conscious.

At the bottom of the barrel, just above rummaging in a dumpster for cartridges that aren’t entirely empty, are refills.

The Good, The Bad, And The Messy.

Refills are not my short-list.I decided to investigate having a toner cartridge refilled. I took the cartridge to a shop advertising refills. I asked how they would accomplish the refill, and the customer service representative pointed to a spot on the cartridge and said, “We just drill a hole in the case right here and inject new toner.”

They drill a hole… I wouldn’t say I liked the sound of that. A friend had advised me that refill businesses work so inexpensively because the toner and ink they use are inferior. I gave them one last chance and asked about failure rates. Any money I might save was not worth the risk of damaging my printer and having to pay for a repair or a replacement. The song and dance I got was the third strike, and I was out of there.

I tried to refill an inkjet cartridge myself once. Do you have any idea how long it takes ink to wear off of skin? Yes, it was a mess, but there are other reasons why refilling inkjet cartridges isn’t a wise choice.

Poor quality ink can build up on your printer head, and it can make an ink splotch or run on your copy. Sooner or later the inkjet ports are going to gum up and clog. That creates a mess of another proportion.

Bottom line: OEM or remanufactured toner or inkjet cartridges are the only way to go.

HP Deskjet 2655

The main advantage of this multifunctional printer is that you’ll never be left without ink. By connecting to HP Instant Ink or Amazon Sprint and ordering from these services, you’ll save from 10% (Amazon Sprint) to 50% (HP Instant Ink) on ink.

With the HP Deskjet 2655, you can scan, copy, and print, including via Wi-Fi, using a smartphone or tablet.

Click here to buy ink cartridges for HP Deskjet 2655

HP Deskjet 2652

This is a compact, inexpensive printer that is easy to transport and carry. Its low cost does come with some disadvantages, the main of which is the fragile plastic of the device. It also lacks an ink-saving feature, so it’s not the best option for offices.

However, for the cost, it’s a good value, which is why it makes the list. This multifunctional device can print, scan, and copy. It has a liquid crystal display, an A4 flatbed scanner (maximum resolution of 1,200 by 1,200 dpi), and a 60-sheet tray.

Click here to buy ink cartridges for HP Deskjet 2652

Canon PIXMA MG3620

The Canon PIXMA MG3620 is a multifunction, color inkjet printer that supports printing from a smartphone or tablet. This device scans, copies, and prints. It’s compact enough, quickly connects and configures over Wi-Fi, and lets you print documents remotely using Apple AirPrint, Google Cloud Print, NFC, Mopria, and Canon PRINT.

The tray holds 100 sheets of plain paper, or 20 sheets of 4″ by 6″ picture paper.

The printer comes complete with an instruction manual, installation CD, and preinstalled cartridges.

Click here to buy ink cartridges for Canon PIXMA MG3620

Brother HL-L2300D

This laser printer can print on both sides in black and white. With a 250-sheet tray, it prints quality documents of up to 2,400 by 600 dots, with duplex speeds of 13 ppm and simplex of 26 ppm.

It has some peculiarity regarding compatibility with Windows 10. Before upgrading Windows 7 or 8.1 to Windows 10, you must uninstall the printer drivers and software and reinstall them on Windows 10; otherwise, it may not work correctly.

However, thanks to the free, one-year warranty support by mobile phone, you can always get advice and answers to any questions.

Click here to buy toner cartridges for Brother HL-L2300D

Canon PROGRAF printers have always belonged to the category of high-quality office equipment, which is in special demand among fans of art printing. Canon has rolled out the new Canon imagePROGRAF PRO-300 wide format inkjet printer and recommends paying attention to some of the advantages of this model that distinguish it from the previous ones. The advanced PRO-300 model has the potential to pique curiosity and interest, primarily regarding the printer’s profile, which makes it easy to find a location for the machine.

 

Compare the Canon PROGRAF Series wide format printers with PRO-300 dimensions. For the former, models from 13 inches wide to 60 inches long are the norm. The PRO-300 is the smallest of this line: it is 13 inches wide and 39 inches long. With these capabilities, the PRO-300 can occupy an area that’s 15% smaller than that required by previous devices. This parameter is one of the advantages of the PRO-300, since maintaining a free working area for everyone is a problem that doesn’t lose relevance.

It should be noted that PROGRAF PRO-1000, on which many rely as a reference, is a high class, solid and prestigious printer. It has the ability to maintain image quality under a heavy load. The PRO-300 printer, which is the successor to the PRO-1000 and retains all its qualities, will be especially convenient in the field of art, provided that 13 inches wide by 39 inches long is sufficient for the project.

The printer has a three-inch liquid crystal display with which you can monitor print status and other parameters. On 13-by-9-inch Photo Paper Pro Premium, it prints in about four minutes. To some, this may seem pretty slow, but keep in mind that conventional office printers are in many ways inferior to the Canon PROGRAF PRO-300 printer, namely in print quality, especially if you need artistic printing. Using nine-color inks, the Canon PROGRAF PRO-300 provides smooth color transitions and detailed images with advanced technologies that help avoid clogging of cartridges.

The new Premium Fine Art Rough cotton paper can also be used to print perfectly three-dimensional images. If you work with programs such as Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Lightroom, the advanced software built into the printer will allow seamless printing.

A printer is a necessary device, not only for the office, but also for working at home. Therefore, the number of those interested in office equipment is not decreasing; demand is constantly growing. In this case, the improved PRO-300 model will bring inspiration and satisfaction to many user groups, including those who are fond of photography and fine art.

Here are another best, most reliable printers for those who need to print, copy, and scan while staying at home.

Epson Expression ET-2550 EcoTank

This multifunction inkjet printer has print speeds of 7.7 pages per minute in black and white and 2.7 pages per minute in color. Tray capacity: 100 sheets. Weighs 10 pounds.

The main difference between this printer and other inkjet printers is that cartridges are not required for printing with the ET-2550. Inks of different colors are poured into special containers, and one bottle is enough for about 4,000 pages of black-and-white printing and 6,500 pages of color.

Although the printer itself is expensive, if you print a lot, you’ll save on the purchase of cartridges. Moreover, the print quality is comparable to that of inkjet printers using standard cartridges.

The 1.44-inch miniature screen is not a touch screen; the printer is controlled by buttons located next to the screen. The printer connects via either Wi-Fi or USB cable.

Click here for Epson Expression ET-2550 ink cartridges

HP Deskjet 3755

This compact universal inkjet printer can print 19 pages per minute in black and white, and 15 in color. Tray capacity: 60 sheets. Weighs 5 pounds.

Sometimes it’s necessary to urgently print a document, even if that happens once a year. In order to not panic and avoid needing to look for a service that provides printing services, the HP DeskJet 3755 is the printer for you.

It’s compact, doesn’t take up much space, and is easy to transport. Despite its size, it can scan and copy, and print photos of acceptable quality.

Click here for HP Deskjet 3755 ink cartridges

HP Tango X

This miniature inkjet printer is an all-in-one. Print speed: 11 pages per minute, black and white, and 8 pages per minute, color. Tray capacity: 50 sheets. Weighs 7.5 pounds.

Unlike bulky, conventional printers, due to its graceful design, you can place it anywhere that’s convenient for you, even on your desktop, even on a bookshelf (where it’ll still be convenient, given the voice printing function). This printer won’t spoil your decor; in fact, you’ll want to show it to everyone.

Although the printer has been declared an all-in-one, it doesn’t have the physical ability to scan: scanning and copying take place through a specialized HP application using your smartphone.

Click here for HP Tango X ink cartridges

HP Envy 5055

This multifunctional inkjet printer can copy, scan, and automatically print on both sides. Print speed: 10 pages per minute, black and white, and 7 pages per minute, color. Tray capacity: 100 sheets. It has a 2.2-inch LCD display and weighs 12 pounds.

The disadvantages include the lack of an SD card slot and the use of only four cartridges. However, this does not prevent the Envy 5055 from printing photos of acceptable quality using a smartphone.

The Envy 5055 is easy enough to connect and configure via a wireless network.

Click here for HP Envy 5055 ink cartridges

During the COVID-19 pandemic, staying at home is important, but those who need to print often can run into problems with their printers, which can paralyze work in their home office. Problems can be of a different nature: from electronic and mechanical to fast ink consumption.

The most annoying and common problem tends to be fast ink consumption, though, so why is this happening?

Inkjet printers use ink not only for printing, but also for maintenance. Therefore, if your printer is idle, in order for it to start printing fully, it will need preparation (in the process of this preparation, ink will be used). Therefore, if you print once a year, it may be better to contact specialized centers, rather than buying a new cartridge to print just a few sheets.

This problem is mainly present in inkjet printers, since laser printers use toner that doesn’t dry out. That said, inkjet printers can be high quality and convenient.

Below we recommend multifunctional devices that can print, copy, and scan with additional options and parameters for solving certain tasks, such as automatic document feeding (for quick, convenient copying and scanning) as well as devices with high printing speed.

Here are the best, most reliable printers for those who need to print, copy, and scan while staying at home.

HP OfficeJet Pro 9015

A fast, multifunction inkjet printer that can print, copy, scan, and fax. Printing speed reaches 22 pages per minute in black and white and 18 pages per minute in color. The tray capacity is 250 sheets. It has a 2.65-inch touch screen and weighs 20 pounds.

The reliability and print quality of the OfficeJet 9015 is high compared to most other inkjet printers. It is more compact than other HP models of the same line. That said, it has a small color display, which sometimes causes inconvenience when running commands.

Installing and configuring the printer is simple through EasyStart and HP Smart, and subscribing to Instant Ink will help when it comes time to replace the cartridge.

Click here for HP OfficeJet Pro 9015 ink cartridges

Canon Pixma TS9120

This inkjet printer can also copy and scan. It prints 15 black-and-white pages and 10 color pages per minute. It has a 100-sheet tray, a 5-inch touch screen, and it weighs 15 pounds.

Although it is not intended for professional photo printing, because it uses six cartridges of different colors, it allows you to get great colors, and built-in filters help you adjust the quality of the photo for at-home printing.

The Canon Pixma TS9120 has two trays (for ordinary paper and for photo paper, but without automatic feeding) and an SD card slot, so you can start printing photos quickly enough. Thanks to the large touch screen, printer management is convenient.

Click here for Canon Pixma TS9120 ink cartridges

Brother HL-L2395DW

A monochrome multifunction printer that prints 36 pages per minute. The paper tray is designed for 250 sheets. It has a small, 2.7-inch color display and weighs 23 pounds.

This printer is the best laser printer for those who care about print speed and number of pages printed. However, due to the lack of automatic document feeding, copying may take a lot of time, despite the high printing speed. The HL-L2395DW is quite easy and quick to configure and connect to via Wi-Fi. The printer is controlled using a touch screen and buttons.

Click here for Brother HL-L2395DW toner cartridges

To be continued…

Despite the low price of budget printers, they can come with additional features (such as copying and scanning), and the print quality compares to that of expensive models. Of the five models presented below, based on price and quality, for first place we chose the Canon Pixma TR4520. In second place — Epson Expression Premium XP-7100.

A small budget doesn’t have to mean that you can’t take advantage of modern printers. Aside from printing, scanning, and faxing photos and documents, modern printers connect wirelessly, for convenience, and can be quite compact, for use in small spaces.

Inexpensive printers usually use inkjet printing technology, which can be quite expensive to maintain (if, for example, you print a lot of high-quality, color photos or documents). However, no matter how reliable a printer is, its mechanical elements may wear out over time and require replacement. Laser printers are available, though they’re recommended for printing mainly black-and-white documents. Therefore, when choosing a printer, you must determine how you intend to operate it.

The printers recommended below are not the most modern, but they’re still manufactured and are not inferior to the latest models. After all, new models sold by manufacturers are not very different from previous ones.

Below are the best printers you can purchase at a fairly modest price!

1. Canon Pixma TR4520

This is the best printer for homes and small offices. Thanks to its cubic shape, it’s easy enough to find a place for it. It has a full range of functions: printing (includes double-sided), scanning, and copying (includes automatic document feeding), as well as fax capability. The Pixma TR4520 has support for remote printing via Wi-Fi, and you can connect your smartphone or tablet to it. Finally, with the help of Amazon’s Alexa, you can control it with voice commands.

For printing, the Pixma TR4520 requires two cartridges (black and color, standard or increased capacity). You can print photos, but only 4 by 6. However, if you print a lot of photos and images, then be prepared for the high cost of consumables (ink). Pixma TR4520 is a printer for moderate operation.

The disadvantages of this printer include a lack of touch screen, a small tray, slower print speed, and the high cost of ink for those who plan to print frequently in color.

Find the supplies for Pixma TR4520 here.

2. Epson Expression XP Premium-7100

The ideal multi-functional and low-cost printer for photos. This printer is capable of mixing five colors (black, photo black, cyan, magenta, and yellow) and printing any shade so that your photos are of high quality and more realistic (be sure to use high-quality photo paper for the best outcome).

Due to its cube shape, the XP-7100 is compact and won’t take up much space. It’s also convenient to control the printer’s functionality through the touch screen.

You can connect a flash drive or SD card with your photos on it to the printer. Or you can print photos directly from your smartphone or tablet, as this printer supports a Wi-Fi connection and services such as AirPrint, Android, Fire OS, Mopria, and Google Cloud Print.

Since this printer is multi-functional, it is also able to copy and scan (at the same time). The print speed is quite high, but of course it can’t be compared to that of laser printers.

The disadvantage of this printer is a small paper tray (only 100 sheets), as well as the high cost of consumables, their capacity, and the required quantity (five cartridges are required). So be prepared for the cost if you print a lot of photos.

Find the supplies for Epson Expression XP Premium-7100 here.

From those in small businesses to home offices, everyone wants the best printer available. Nowadays, small printers do the job better than bulky machines. They are quieter and faster, and print quality is better.

Many printers also have additional useful features, not just the ability to scan and print. If an office has a lot of employees, then the printing speed of the device is important, since the office printer is popular, especially if someone needs to send a fax.
Modern printers also provide an opportunity to save ink and paper. Our guide will help you choose exactly the printer that you need.

1. The best low-cost printer

Even if print quality is important to you, there is absolutely no need to buy an expensive printer. Despite its modest price, the HP Envy 4527 printer perfectly prints high-quality photos and documents.
HP Envy 4527 can be used remotely (for example, from a smartphone, tablet, or computer), which makes it well suited for home use. It is convenient to manage print settings as well as the quality of photos and documents using the touch screen. And if the ink in the cartridge runs out, the printer will automatically order a new cartridge.

2. The best universal printer for printing photos

Despite its slow printing speed, the Canon PIXMA TR8550 wins in print quality. Five separate color cartridges allow you to print amazing photos, especially if they are printed on quality paper. The printer has an SD card slot, but many prefer to store their photos in the PIXMA cloud.
Canon PIXMA TR8550 can perform several tasks at once, which is useful when working in the office. In addition to printing stunning photographs, it also scans, copies, and faxes.

3. The best printer for small, busy offices

When working in emergency mode, print speed matters. Epson Workforce Pro allows you to print 34 pages per minute (or 30 pages if they’re in color). It’s also possible to connect to the printer not only directly but also via Wi-Fi for printing and scanning documents from one or both sides.

4. The best home office printer

 

Even when working at home, you must maintain your professionalism. The main advantage of the Brother MFC-J6930DW printer is that it is a multifunctional, professional device with a low cost to operate, though it prints quickly and on different paper sizes.
Using the touch screen, you can scan, copy, and send faxes. The printer has a 500-sheet tray, and you can control the device through smartphones, computers, tablets, and laptops by connecting to the cloud.

5. The best universal printer for printing documents

The HP LaserJet Pro M28W monochrome printer is ideal for those small businesses that need to quickly and efficiently print, scan, or copy important documents. And thanks to the automatic on-and-off feature, it saves energy.

6. The best offer for medium business

The Brother MFC-L6800DW MFP is great if you are going to use it with several people, because it has a print speed of 46 pages per minute. It prints very fast, and it’s reliable enough.
The 12,000-page cartridge allows you to use the printer for a long time. It’s a great value for the money.

Here you can order ink and toner for the printer you choose.

You probably already know that printer ink is one of the most expensive liquids there is. Even with latest afford of the printer manufacturers to make ink more affordable to the people, you can find an exclusive French champagne to be cheaper in terms of dollars per ounce.

The bad news is, when you buy an ink cartridge or tank there is some amount of it that will never it the page. The good news is, there’s a way to mitigate this.
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