Ink Cartridges & Thermal Ribbons
Wide range of ink cartridges and thermal ribbons
ForeFront Label Solutions offer a range of inks and ribbon for printers and print-needs of all types and sizes.

Different types of inks
There are two main types of ink: laser and inkjet. Different inks work for different printers and produce differing results depending on the material used.

Laser
Laser printers don’t use liquid ink, but rather a fine powder call toner. This is fused by a drum unit to the page using heat. Laser printers, for standard office paper, get cleaner results. This is because the toner doesn’t get the page wet with ink.

Color laser printers are ideal for medium quality photos and graphs. But for high-quality images, you want inkjet inks.

Inkjet
Inkjet printers are a popular because of the compactness and affordability, and there are two main varieties of inkjet ink:

Dye-based
Dye-based ink is made from coloration dissolved in either glycol or water. Either of these liquids help the dye flow easily from the printer head to the page. Which then helps the dye dry quickly once it gets on the page. The average inkjet printers use dye-based ink because of wider color range.

Pigment-based
Pigment-based inks are designed to create long-lasting color images of photo-quality. These are used by professions like photographers. Unlike dye-based inks, pigment-based inks come in a wider range of tones. This is because they are specialized for use with different kinds of material.

Pigment-based inks offer more versatility to professional photographs, because they are able to improve sharpness, tone, and color depth through different combinations of material and ink.

Pros and cons of each print type (technology)

Dye-based inkjet vs pigment-based inkjet
Until very recently dye-based inks were better than pigment-based due to its lower cost and wider color range. And the dye-based inks were soluble—that is a little drop of water could ruin a print.

On the other hand, pigmented inks last longer, more durable and were water-resistant. However, they didn’t have the same color depth as dye-based ink.

Nowadays, the differences aren’t so great, and it comes down to a question of what result you want to achieve on which type of material you want to use.

Inkjet vs laser
Laser printers are faster than inkjet printers, however for photos and image-heavy documents, inkjet does a better job of blending smooth colors. Laser printers are more expensive but resources tend to go further.

However, which one you go with will depend largely on the type of printing you need.

Information on thermal ribbons
Wax
These thermal ribbons are the most economical and suitable for general-purpose printing on paper stocks. Inexpensive, with superior resistance and abrasion, they offer excellent print quality for barcodes on uncoated and coated paper.

Wax-Resin
Wax-resin labels are ideal for labels that require a long lifespan and provide a finer image on a variety of stocks. Using wax-resin provides a more durable image that is both smear and scratch resistant.

Resin
Resin ribbons offer excellent performance to create labels that have a clear and sharp print. These types of ribbons thrive in corrosive, moisture, and high temperature UV applications.

Inks and Ribbons from ForeFront Label Solutions
ForeFront Label Solutions offer a wide range of inks and ribbons for a variety of applications, please browse our range below.