Toner will definitely take on a different shape and form in the future, but for right now, we are somewhat stuck with using toner or laser cartridges. I often ask my loyal client base, would you prefer to continue to use printer cartridges to print your documents or some other simpler form, such as paper, and in the process receive a higher quality digital print. I think the answer would be quite obvious.
The History of Toner Cartridges
Toner has taken on many shapes and forms over the last 20 years. It went from an original equipment product, meaning brand named companies like Lexmark would be behind its manufacturing, to a compatible product that third party vendors would produce. This essentially means that the toner cartridge itself is used, but the parts contained in the Toner cartridge are brand new. In addition, the components of toner have changed over time as well. Toner is, by definition, a powder that contains many different attributes. When this powder is passed through a medium, such as a laser printer, it creates an image on the document you want to produce. But before the toner gets to your document, a heating process occurs in the printer, which melts the chemically processed ink onto your document.
Toner Composition Today
Over time, technology dictated pretty much what form toner was to take on. For example, just as technology dictated how the computer evolved from this huge machine to a tiny hand held instrument with 50 times the power as the old huge machine, the composition and size of toner changed over time as well. I could talk to you about the composition of toner, but I think most of you would be board to tears. For the most part, it is important to know that toner is made up of a combination of plastic resins, coloring pigments and a host of other ingredients. More importantly and what was most challenging over time was its SIZE. In the early days of laser toner printing, the individual toner element was 12 microns, which is quite small. As time marched on and technology exploded, the demand for improved print quality became evident. This resulted for laser printers to become more efficient, but required that the composition of toner itself change to accommodate this advancement in the printer industry. Twelve microns became eight microns in a couple of years, then to four. One huge advantage to all this downsizing of toner particles was a higher “Yield Per Page". This meant that you would need less toner to produce the same result, therefore, lower cost. There is your history in some 300 words or less.
What About the Future of Toner Cartridges?
This brings us to the Future of Toner, which will be Non-Toner. What the heck is non-toner you say? Paper! You will see that toner will evolve again and its composition will be totally different than it is today. In fact, it makes sense that its components will be found in the paper you print and not toner contained in a cartridge. One company is doing this very well. It is the patented paper, which contains a combination of cyan, yellow and magenta crystals with a protective outer layer. The crystals are colorless before the print process, but when heat is applied, the crystals are activated. Time and temperature are the keys to releasing the magic of color from the crystals to an image on paper. The result is a digital quality print with rich deep colors, and yes, NO INK CARTRIDGE. By applying heat impulses from the printer head through to the paper over some a period of time will determine which crystals or color will appear as the image on this "special paper". There you have it, NO CARTRIDGES. YES!
The History of Toner Cartridges
Toner has taken on many shapes and forms over the last 20 years. It went from an original equipment product, meaning brand named companies like Lexmark would be behind its manufacturing, to a compatible product that third party vendors would produce. This essentially means that the toner cartridge itself is used, but the parts contained in the Toner cartridge are brand new. In addition, the components of toner have changed over time as well. Toner is, by definition, a powder that contains many different attributes. When this powder is passed through a medium, such as a laser printer, it creates an image on the document you want to produce. But before the toner gets to your document, a heating process occurs in the printer, which melts the chemically processed ink onto your document.
Toner Composition Today
Over time, technology dictated pretty much what form toner was to take on. For example, just as technology dictated how the computer evolved from this huge machine to a tiny hand held instrument with 50 times the power as the old huge machine, the composition and size of toner changed over time as well. I could talk to you about the composition of toner, but I think most of you would be board to tears. For the most part, it is important to know that toner is made up of a combination of plastic resins, coloring pigments and a host of other ingredients. More importantly and what was most challenging over time was its SIZE. In the early days of laser toner printing, the individual toner element was 12 microns, which is quite small. As time marched on and technology exploded, the demand for improved print quality became evident. This resulted for laser printers to become more efficient, but required that the composition of toner itself change to accommodate this advancement in the printer industry. Twelve microns became eight microns in a couple of years, then to four. One huge advantage to all this downsizing of toner particles was a higher “Yield Per Page". This meant that you would need less toner to produce the same result, therefore, lower cost. There is your history in some 300 words or less.
What About the Future of Toner Cartridges?
This brings us to the Future of Toner, which will be Non-Toner. What the heck is non-toner you say? Paper! You will see that toner will evolve again and its composition will be totally different than it is today. In fact, it makes sense that its components will be found in the paper you print and not toner contained in a cartridge. One company is doing this very well. It is the patented paper, which contains a combination of cyan, yellow and magenta crystals with a protective outer layer. The crystals are colorless before the print process, but when heat is applied, the crystals are activated. Time and temperature are the keys to releasing the magic of color from the crystals to an image on paper. The result is a digital quality print with rich deep colors, and yes, NO INK CARTRIDGE. By applying heat impulses from the printer head through to the paper over some a period of time will determine which crystals or color will appear as the image on this "special paper". There you have it, NO CARTRIDGES. YES!
