Inkjet printers are the most popular in the world, but are designed mainly for personal use rather than office use.  Laser printers use toner cartridges and are built to appease the needs of businesses with high-volume printing demands.  An inkjet unit contains ink cartridges, and uses one of two technologies- either drop-on-demand or continuous.

Drop-on-demand technology is used by most major manufacturers including HP, Canon and Lexmark.  It was first used in 1977.  Photolithography is used to create small chambers contained little heaters.  The liquid ink is directed through these chambers, heating it and rapidly vaporizing it.  This creates a bubble within the nozzle that increases pressure and pushes out small drops of ink.  Resolution is measured by the thousands of ink dots that are layered per inch on the paper.

Continuous printing technology involves a high pressure pump that pushes the ink from its cartridge to a gun-body and nozzles, which results in a constant stream of ink.  A piezoelectric crystal causes what is referred to as an “acoustic wave” which vibrates and breaks the stream of ink into small drops.  There can be 64k to 165k dots per second.  Each dot has an electrostatic charge which allows it to bind to the canvas it is applied to.  This method was originated and patented in 1867.

There are also two different kinds of printheads that are used in inkjet printers.  One is referred to as a Fixed Head.  This printhead is built into the machine and designed to last the life of the printer.  The other kind is called a Disposable Head.  This printhead gets replaced every time the inkjet cartridges do.

Ink is always water-based.  There are two different kinds- pigment based and dye based ink.  The dye based ink is the cheapest to manufacture, but tends to fade when exposed to light.  The pigment based ink costs a bit more, but lasts longer and produces more solid colors.  Inkjet printers may not be good for high capacity printing, but they have the largest color gamut on the market.

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