Should The Inkjet Printer Use Dye Ink or Pigment Ink, What is The Difference?

The Inkjet Printer is different from the laser printer. It can not only print documents, but also print color pictures. Because of its convenience and versatility, it has become one of the indispensable helpers in our daily lives. Although most people use inkjet printers, they don't know much about its consumable-ink. It has two kinds of inks, namely dye ink and pigment ink. So what are dye inks and pigment inks? What is the difference between the two inks? How should we choose in daily use? Below Lianwo Digital takes you to uncover the mystery of the two inks.

What are the differences between dye ink and pigment ink

Dye Ink is composed of single molecules with specific chemical structure, the smallest unit is only 1-2 nanometers. The colorant of the dye ink is a dye soluble in water or organic solvents, and the dye molecules are completely dissolved in the solution. The ink is a transparent liquid. It can maintain a wide color gamut to achieve rich, bright colors and excellent and outstanding image quality.

Dye Ink

Pigment ink is a collection of molecules, the smallest pigment unit is 50-200 nanometers. The colorant of the pigment ink is a water-insoluble pigment, suspended in water with the aid of a dispersant, and is an opaque liquid. It can provide bright and bright colors, clear and sharp blacks, and outstanding durability, including waterproof, fade-resistant, long-term storage, preventing print jams, and extending print head life. Pigment ink is more vivid than powder ink. Of course, this is just a vivid statement and is not accurate enough. To be precise, it grinds solid pigments into very fine particles and dissolves them in a special water solvent. It is a suspended solution or semi-solution, which has the same properties as the pigments used in printing and dyeing clothes.

How to choose between pigment ink and dye ink

First of all, we need to consider the maintenance of the print head. For the use of Pigment Ink, the chance of causing the print head to be clogged is much greater than that of the dye ink. This is very likely to cause serious problems for users who want to use ink to reduce costs. Cost

Secondly, in terms of printing pictures, dye ink has obvious advantages over pigment ink in terms of color expression. I personally think that if the life cycle of pictures is not long, bright colors are more valuable than dim colors;

Thirdly, the problem that the dye ink cannot be waterproof can be solved by other methods, such as pasting a layer of transparent glue on the picture, or directly plasticizing it (usually such services are provided in print shops or photo development shops). Waterproof and keep for a long time;

Therefore, for users who add ink, dye ink is the best choice. However, Lianwo Digital reminds everyone that the quality of dye inks currently on the market is also uneven. Choose a good dye ink. It is a more economical way to protect your ink cartridges and printers to get better image colors!