Choosing the right printing technology is a big decision with many implications for your business. It impacts print quality, production speed and operating costs. We’re in the age of digital printing, and two of the most common technologies for commercial printing are inkjet presses and toner presses. While there are similarities between inkjet and toner presses, they operate differently and serve different production needs.
A digital inkjet press is a printing machine that uses tiny droplets of liquid ink to produce prints. It sprays the ink directly onto a printing material or substrate, creating precise patterns that form text and images once the ink sets. There are various types of inkjet systems, each distinguished by their ink ejection technology and application. While they may use similar inks, the drop ejection process and intended applications can vary.
Here are some examples of inkjet printers you’ll come across:
Inkjet presses are increasingly used for high-volume and versatile applications such as packaging, books, marketing materials, and graphics. Their cost efficiency improves especially in large-scale industrial environments or when printing high-quality, full-color images. As a result, inkjet presses are most profitable and well-suited for long production lines.
A digital toner press is a printing machine that uses a distinct print technology compared to its ink-based alternatives. These presses use toner, which is typically a powdered substance, to create prints. Once the press receives instructions, it transfers toner particles to the substrate using a process called electrophotography, which involves an electric charge that attracts and deposits toner to the printing surface. The machine then heats and fuses toner onto the substrate, creating high-quality and precise prints.
While toner printers have several steps in their printing technology, the entire cycle is extremely fast. These printers are popular in commercial settings for their exceptional clarity with text-based projects and projects that require sharp, clean lines. They’re generally best for the text-heavy prints like brochures, manuals, newsletters, maps and schematics.
Monochrome, color, and multifunction toner printers primarily differ in their output capabilities and additional features, rather than fundamental print technology. However, there are two main types of toner presses differentiated by how they deposit toner on the paper:
Inkjet and toner press differences make these two printing equipment types special and irreplaceable under specific circumstances. Here are the key differences to consider:
We’ve touched on the core technologies each machine relies on to create prints and how distinct they are. To sum it up, toner presses rely on an electrostatic process combined with heat-based fusing, while inkjet presses spray ink directly on the paper. The two processes affect everything from drying time to paper compatibility and even maintenance requirements.
Inkjets rely on ink absorption. The substrate has to absorb the ink or maintain it on the surface until it dries — that is, when you print on coated material. Toner prints are ready almost instantly because the toner is bonded to the surface using heat, eliminating the need for drying time.
When it comes to inkjet versus toner presses, quality depends on what you’re aiming for.
Inkjet printers generally excel with complex graphics and images thanks to their exceptional color blending. They can accommodate various paper types, and with the right ink quality and paper, they produce everything from photorealistic graphics to muted images.
Toner presses excel in sharpness and fine lines, making them ideal for text-heavy projects and less complex graphics. While modern toner presses are just as good with color printing, they’re not ideal for color-heavy CMYK+ output.
Each performs differently depending on what you want to print, but both offer high-quality digital prints.
One of the main differences between inkjet and toner presses lies in their speed and production volume. Toner presses have traditionally been preferred for short-run, sheet-fed printing due to their speed and quality. However, modern continuous-feed inkjet presses now offer significantly higher throughput and are favored in large-scale, high-volume applications. These high-speed, web-fed inkjet printers offer the fastest digital printing solution while equally dominating in production volume. Top-tier web-fed inkjet printers can achieve monthly duty cycles of over 10 million impressions, depending on the specific model and application. High-end toner presses also support multi-million monthly impression volumes but are typically lower than those of inkjet web presses.
Commercial toner presses are primarily sheet-fed, and while their fusing process involves precise mechanical steps, their throughput is mainly limited by feed mechanisms and intended application, compared to the continuous-feed nature of high-speed inkjet presses. As a result, they typically have a maximum monthly volume of 2 million impressions. That said, they excel at high-quality, short-run projects even though they don’t have the superior speed and throughput of inkjet models.
Toner presses generally avoid the absorption and drying challenges of liquid ink, enabling faster turnaround and less risk of smudging. However, while they are compatible with many types of printable media, especially standard and coated papers, some substrates—like certain synthetics or textured stocks—may require specific adjustments or equipment for optimal results. Since inkjet presses rely on liquid ink, they often need specially treated paper and other media to ensure the ink sticks and cures, especially with water-based inks.
That said, certain modern inkjet presses, particularly those using UV-curable inks, can print effectively onto nonporous materials that were previously challenging for traditional inkjet systems. Standard water-based inkjet presses typically require treated or coated substrates for optimal print performance.
When considering inkjet versus toner press differences, you want to bear in mind your production needs and long-term growth plans. Both presses are efficient, but aren’t ideal for every scenario. If you focus on short-run printing, such as manuals, booklets, brochures and pamphlets, a toner-based or laser press provides high quality and efficiency. For high-volume transactional documents, modern inkjet solutions are also frequently used.
If your priority is high-volume printing or premium marketing materials where visuals play a big role, an inkjet press is a better choice. Inkjet presses offer scalability through high speed and throughput, and their image quality is well suited for many commercial print applications—particularly those requiring vivid color and large volume.
Inkjet and toner presses have similarities and differences that will help you determine the digital printing technology that best meets your business needs. Both bring unique strengths to the digital printing market, and by understanding how the two technologies differ, you can confidently align your equipment choice and production goals.
We offer innovative inkjet and toner technologies, enabling us to address a wide range of commercial print applications and provide clients with highly reliable digital press solutions tailored to their needs. Request a demo today to learn how we can help you maintain a competitive edge and make more with our systems.