Budgeting and selecting correct ink supplies and dye and pigment inks. In large corporate organizations, where a number of printers are in operation, on a daily basis, ink supplies may need to be refilled regularly. In this respect, printer ink supplies can become a larger operating expense. However, effective purchasing of a standard printer, where possible, throughout the organization, will greatly assist with budgeting
Budgeting and selecting the correct ink supplies
Bulk buying of printer ink supplies, allows one to request a reasonable discount. Purchase the larger ink cartridges, which have generous volumes of ink supplies. In the long run the higher volume ink cartridges will last longer and so provide better value, in this respect
Ink reviews have provided independent test results and information, to assist consumers in selecting the right ink for their printer and making an educated buying decision. Printer ink cartridges are one of the most common products. purchased by customers today
Dye ink and Pigment ink are two types of ink supplies, which are used in inkjet printers. There are various differences between these ink types.
Dye and pigment ink characteristics
Pigment inks are not absorbed by the paper, but sit on top, as small encapsulated particles, while dye based inks, are absorbed into the fibres of the paper. This basic difference creates diversity in areas, such as ink stability, colour intensity and contrast. The choice of ink type depends on what result one expects and which characteristics are favoured.
Pigment based inks are generally stronger in the some areas, compared to dye based types. They are water fast on most paper media, whereas dye based inks start to run, when wet, if not printed on specially coated paper. These inks have a long life cycle, are fast drying, non fading and also have low bleeding, in the edges of the printed colour.
Dye based ink supplies are generally less expensive, have high brilliance and contrast and a wide range of colours, which can be produced.
The comparisons
Recommendations on what ink type to use, also depends on the printer. Dye based ink supplies are more often used in monochrome printers and pigment ink supplies in colour printers. The main reason for this is that four up to ten, different colours, depending on the cartridge system, may be used in a colour printer. All colours need to dry fast, to avoid bleeding into each other.
Pigment inks should be the choice for printer owners, who favour long time archival and colour stability in their printouts. The longevity of dye based inks, is constantly pushed forward and dye based printouts can currently be expected to last, at least 20-30 years, if stored under the right conditions.
A note on above comparison: Intensive research and development is continuously done on printer ink supplies, which means that both dye and pigment ink supplies, are steadily becoming stronger in their weak areas
Ink an important factor
All in all, remember that ink supplies are just one of three important factors for obtaining good print results. It is of equal importance that the quality of the printer hardware and the printer paper also holds a good standard.