In the market, there are multiple types of inkjet printers present that works on the principle of different inks. The different printers use dye inks and pigment inks to print varied documents, pictures, etc. Both the available inks are water-based and mostly preferred by designers, photographers, in homes, etc. These types of printers are best for small-scale printing work.
Pigment Ink vs Dye Ink
The main difference between Pigment Ink and Dye Ink is that Pigment Ink is not absorbed by the paper fiber but forms a thick layer on the surface while comparatively, on the other hand, the Dye Ink gets readily absorbed on the surface of the paper fiber. The composition of the pigment ink is mainly in powdered form while on the other side, the composition of the dye ink is completely made of liquid.
Pigment Ink is used for printing many documents, photographs, daily small-scale printings. The inks are manufactured with much greater effort and require a lot of labor which made the printing cost quite expensive as the price of the ink gets more. The composition of the ink includes the powder form which is suspended in a liquid.
Dye Ink is also used for printing different documents, advertisements, designs, or daily small printing work. The manufacturing of these ink doesn’t require much work which made the overall cost of printing with dye ink much cheaper compared to pigment ink. The composition of the ink includes the overall liquid form of color.
Comparison Table Between Pigment Ink and Dye Ink
| Parameters of Comparison | Pigment Ink | Dye Ink |
| Composition | In powder form | In liquid form |
| Color Stability | Forms thick layer on the paper | Gets absorbed on the paper |
| Interaction with Water | Resistant | Flow consistency |
| Ink Quality | Low | High |
| Price | Expensive | Cheap |
What is Pigment Ink?
Pigment Inks are the composition of various powdered form colors that is dissolved in a liquid solution forming the actual color to be used as printing ink. The color powder involves very small, tiny, suspended particles in it. Because of it, the shelf life, or the durability of the print material gets extended.
Some of the advantages of using pigment ink as their choice may include the longer durability and long life of the material. Also, the material printed by using any pigment dye is generally considered to be water-resistant, and if it is exposed to special UV light the shelf life increases. Even the print color of the material is light.
When the ink color contacts the paper fiber it forms a thick layer on it and doesn’t get absorbed beneath. The manufacturing of the ink includes a genuine effort of many laborers which makes the ink expensive and on an overall basis the printing cost of the ink gets high.
What is Dye Ink?
Dye ink includes the composition of the liquid that is they are colorants that are already dissolved in a liquid solution. The invention of dye ink is way much older in the market than the new-age printers. But despite this, the shelf life, or the durability of the print material is not as good as Pigment ink.
Some of the advantages of using dye ink as their choice include the vibrant and vivid color of the print material. As the ink gets washed off if interacts with water it may come off until it is safeguarded on any special coating. Also, the quality of the ink after printing is immensely good.
On interaction with water, the ink gets washed off, and also when it interacts with the surface of paper fiber the ink gets readily absorbed beneath it and after some time evaporates sticking the dye behind.
Main Differences Between Pigment Ink and Dye Ink
- The main constituent forming the pigment ink includes a powder of the color which is then suspended in a liquid and forms the actual product while comparatively, on the other hand, the main constituent of the dye ink is already in the liquid state.
- The color stability shown by the pigment ink includes that when the color touches the paper fiber it immediately forms a thick as it doesn’t absorb on the paper completely while comparatively, on the other hand, the color stability shown by the dye ink includes the formation of smooth surface as the ink gets absorbed on the paper fiber.
- The pigment ink shows an advantage in the matter of interaction of water as they are resistant towards the water while comparatively, on the other hand, the dye ink has a disadvantage of possessing a flowing consistency when interacting with the water.
- The quality of the ink for pigment is low while comparatively, on the other hand, the quality of the ink for dye is very good.
- The cost price charged for the pigment ink is quite expensive while comparatively, on the other hand, the cost price charged for the dye ink is cheap.
Conclusion
To summarize the given topic this can be concluded that with the upcoming time the amount of printing work has increased a lot. And almost every professionals or non-professional prefers a good quality of print for their work. Even now the school work is also based a lot on such printing materials. Thus there must be a need to be aware of the type of inks used in various printers for the printing work.
In the market, there are many printers available that works with pigment ink and dye ink. Some of the examples of the printers that work on pigment ink are – Epson Ink tank Wi-Fi printer, HP Designjet printer, HP Smart tank printer, Canon Pixma, and many more others. While some examples of printers that work on dye ink are – Epson all-in-one, Canon Pixma G3000, HP Color Laser, and many more others.
Both the ink works on different principles and have different manufacturing costs and overall cost of printing. But despite this dye ink printers are more preferred as they use a very less amount of ink and are much cheaper and affordable.
References
- https://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/ist/nipdf/2002/00002002/00000001/art00090
- https://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/ist/jist/2004/00000048/00000005/art00005
- http://admin.umt.edu.pk/Media/Site/STD1/FileManager/OsamaArticle/febarticles/InkJet%20Printing.pdf
- https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.859.69&rep=rep1&type=pdf