Over the last 3 or 4 years, Inkjet technology has started to appear in the portfolios of some of the major Office equipment manufacturers.
Currently, Hp, Epson and Brother, some of the biggest office equipment manufacturers in the world, all have an Inkjet business printer offering.
What are the benefits of inkjet printing?
The simple answer is that in the correct environment an Inkjet machine can be very cost-effective.
If you are a business owner, you will understand the need to cut costs where you can but not compromise on the quality of your equipment.
Advances in manufacturing have meant that these machines are now ultra-reliable and fast.
Let's take the Epson range of inkjet machines. They all use the Epson “Precision Core“ print head.
This Print head has been downscaled from Epson Production printers which are Market leaders in wide format printing.
What is the difference between an inkjet printer and a laser printer?
Try not to think of the Old home office inkjet you have used with cheap Chinese cartridges that smear the print.
These are not the type of printers we are talking about.
In newer models, the print quality is very sharp for text documents and if using a good quality paper, can be better than laser for full colour/photos. One of the main differences to laser printers is the matte finish on an Inkjet document.
Another positive for inkjet is the speed of the first print out time (FPOT).
Inkjet printers are superior when it comes to speed because inkjet uses a simple mechanism for ejecting ink directly onto the paper, compared to the complex laser method.
The inkjet can also produce the first print at up to 3.5 times as fast as a laser printer (which has to warm up/run itself up).
Please bear in mind that 83% of all documents printed are 3 pages or less so first copy out time can be a more relevant measure of speed than “prints per minute “, which has been the standard industry measure of speed.
What are the environmental benefits of Inkjet printers?
Now we know the print quality and speed of inkjet printers, let’s take a look at some more of the benefits you can expect.
From an environmental point of view, Inkjet ticks all the boxes.
Inkjet printers typically consume 95% less energy than a laser printer (due to the simple printing mechanism) and also 92% less C02 emissions.
There are really only 3 consumable items in an inkjet machine.
Compare this to a laser which uses toner, developer, image/drum unit 2 x transfer units fuser unit feed tyres and waste toner cartridge.
So, what does this all mean for the end-user?
To put it simply, the more consumable items the less user/technician intervention and the more associated driving/packaging/recycling/landfill costs.
All this adds up to a compelling argument, we at Copyprint have kept a close eye on this technology and feel that now is the right time to make the switch.
It may be that this type of printer doesn’t suit your business, as every business is different. However, from our experience, most businesses could definitely benefit from using an Inkjet printer.
According to Epson, 35% of business documents were produced on an Inkjet machine in 2018, by 2021 this will rise to 55%.
For advice on this or any other printing requirement, please get in touch with us. We're more than happy to point you in the right direction for your business printing needs.