Solid Ink Printing

Solid Ink Printing, also known as Solid Wax, Ink Stix or Colour Cube printing, is a print technology used by Fuji Xerox Printers in their Phaser and ColorQube range of printers. Solid Ink is a fast, high quality printing method, similar to laser printing but with many benefits. Solid Ink printing generally offers a lower cost per print than laser printers, produces more vibrant colours, while being safe and environmentally friendly.

 

Advantages of solid ink printing:

Low running costs:
Depending on the model is question, solid ink cube printers generally have a cost per print of approx $0.06 to $0.09 (AUD) per colour A4 page. As a comparison, a typical laser printer may have running costs of approx $0.12 to $0.15 Australian Dollars per colour print. Comparing these figures, some solid ink printers can cut your cost per print in half.

These running cost figures are based on an A4 print with 20% total page coverage (5% Black coverage, 5% Cyan, 5% Magenta and 5% Yellow, giving a total of 20% coverage). This is rough representation of typical office colour printing that may include graphs, illustrations and colour logos.

Of course when it comes to lower running costs, the more you print the more you save. If you're printing heavy colour, such as brochures and presentations, stationery, wedding invitations or photography, your colour coverage could be as high as 80% or even more. If we apply a cost per page of say $0.08 for 20% coverage and multiply that figure, a print with 80% coverage would cost $0.32 on a Solid Ink Printer.

The same print on a conventional laser printer with a running cost of $0.13 per print, would end up costing around $0.52 based on 80% coverage. Comparing the Solid Ink's 32c print to the laser printer's 52c print, you'd be saving 20c per print - those savings will add up!

Solid Ink Printing does not require expensive drums, fusers or transfer units. All you need are your ink sticks and a relatively inexpensive maintenance kit. Many laser printer owners will appreciate not having to change over costly drum cartridges, fusers, etc which often cost as much as a brand new printer!

Vibrant Colour Output:
Solid ink printers produces beautiful, vivid colour prints on a wide variety of paper types. Because the ink bonds to the surface of the paper, the colour seems to sit on top of the page, rather than soaking into it. The result is rich, vibrant colour that jumps off the page. Solid Ink does not produce banding like many laser printers can, or soggy over-saturated prints like a dye inkjet printer.

Using an enhanced DPI (dots per inch) of 2,400 FinePoint (using the Fuji Xerox 8570 solid ink printer as an example) solid ink printers are also able to produce highly detailed prints.

Low Environmental Impact:
Solid Ink technology produces 90% less waste than a conventional laser printer. Stop paying for large bulky cartridges that more often than not end up in landfill! Solid Ink blocks (also known as Colour Stix) are blocks of pure colour. The printer melts these blocks down into ink, which is completely consumed by the printer, leaving no empty cartridge. Minimal packaging of ink stick boxes conserves storage space compared to bulky toner cartridges, and is better for the environment.



Impressive Media Handling:
Solid ink printers are known for their ability to handle a wide variety of matte media including heavy card stock that many laser printers struggle with. Solid Ink and ColorQube printers are extremely popular with stationery and invitation printers, who like to use thick and textured matte papers. Solid ink also produces rich colourful prints on recycled papers.

Ease of Use:
Cartridge-free design has the added benefit of ease-of-use! Solid Ink sticks allow for simple ink loading - it's as easy as loading a stapler! Colour coded and number coded, as well as each colour block being shaped differently, mean it's actually impossible to load colours in the wrong spot, and with no empty toner cartridge to pull out, it couldn't be any easier.

Built for Business:
Lowering running costs and environmental impact DOES NOT mean you have to sacrifice office efficiency! Solid ink printers rival their laser equivalents in terms of print speeds, warm up times, and added features. The solid ink range of printers include built-in network, duplex printing and powerful software including sleep/power management and Xerox's Colour By Words - which allows you to customise colour output in simple, everyday terms.

 
For further info, videos, pricing and more, check out the current Fuji Xerox ColorQube 8570 model on the Ausmedia website.