Thermal vs. Inkjet Printers - What are the Differences?

As we all know, printers have become extremely useful tools for most of us, not only in office environments but also at home.

From printers that are designed for printing out labels to those that are meant for printing out documents, there are many different types of printers available on the market.

If you’re in the market for a printer for your home office or your small business, it’s important to understand the various different types of printers that exist so you can get the right one for your business needs.

In this article, we are going to explain how inkjet and thermal printers differ from each other and what benefits each offer.

We’ll also give you some information on what factors you should be considering when choosing between the two.

First, let’s take a look at what thermal transfer printing is.

This type of printing works by heating up a special ink ribbon that has been placed inside a cartridge on top of the print head. As the print head heats up, the ink melts onto the paper and forms a permanent image.

The ribbons are made from a variety of materials, mainly wax and ribbon, but you can also see wax/ribbon hybrids.

These types of printers have been around since the 1970s, but have improved drastically in recent decades. Thermal printers also come in a variety of different models, from very basic models to high-end models with more features.

Advantages:

1. Printing is Fast

The first advantage of thermal printers is speed, and are usually much faster than inkjet printers because they only need to heat the ribbon and not actually shoot out ink.

2. Prints are Durable

The second advantage of thermal printers is that they print with very long-lasting quality. Unlike inkjet printers, the inks used in thermal printers do not dry out and fade a lot over time, making them extremely durable.

3. Less Maintenance

Thermal printers do not need as much maintenance as inkjet printers because there are no nozzles to clean. And, since they are significantly smaller than inkjet printers, they have fewer parts, so less wear and tear occurs.

4. Versatile

Another advantage of thermal printers is their versatility. While most printers have a specific range of documents that they can print, thermal printers can print out a wide range of shipping labels, barcodes, stickers, documents, and more.

5. Easy to Use

This is one of the major reasons why people prefer thermal printers. They are very easy to operate and you don’t need to know any coding language. Just connect the printer and start printing.

Disadvantages:

1. Cost

Thermal printers are generally more expensive than inkjet printers because they use special parts to produce prints.

2. Fewer Colors

Thermal printers are not as good in terms of color quality as inkjet printers and this is a key reason why thermal printers are not used to print photos.

Now let’s take a look at inkjet printing.

Inkjet printing is one of the most popular methods of printing nowadays. In this printing method, color is transferred from the printhead nozzles to paper or other materials by spraying droplets of ink onto the surface.

The printhead features many nozzles that spray the ink fast and in a controlled manner so you can get high-quality documents and images.

Inkjet printers use cyan, magenta, black, and yellow, and it combines them to create various different colors.

Advantages:

1. Quality Prints

Inkjet printers produce quality prints and are a great choice for home users who want to print mainly documents, but also photos.

2. They are Mostly Cheap

Unlike thermal printers, there are many inkjet printers that are affordable and that is one of the main reasons as to why they are so popular.

3. Easy to Use

You don’t have to be an expert to use an inkjet printer and anyone can master it within minutes. The setup is easy and that makes them great for first-time users.

Disadvantages:

1. Printed Image Durability

Printed documents and photos made by inkjet printers can get very easily damaged over time. Outside factors can be a real issue for the durability of printed documents, and just a single drop of water may cause the ink to spread over the document.

2. Printer Durability

Well, while there are many inkjet printers that are affordable, and that is great, but, that also has a huge influence on their durability. The usage of cheaper parts means that inkjet printers are prone to wear and tear, and some can even stop working over time.

3. Cheaper Inkjet Printers are Generally Slow

One of the biggest disadvantages of inkjet printers is that they are generally slower than other types of printers, and they usually print out 15 pages per minute.

To get the idea of the print speed, laser jet printers can print out 30 to 40 pages per minute.

Inkjet and thermal printers are great tools to have in your office or home. There are times when you should choose one over another.

Inkjet printers should be used when printing out documents, contracts, etc. And since thermal printers are bad at printing out photos, inkjet printers have a huge advantage over them in that department.

On the other hand, thermal printers are used for printing shipping labels, barcodes, and invoices, generally for prints that need to be durable. They are mostly used in the transportation industry, pharmaceutical industry, manufacturing industry, and many others.