Liquid Ink vs. Toner

The dry toner process is used on the majority of digital presses on the market today. In comparison to the liquid ink used on Hemlock’s digital press, the dry toner process is often characterized by a lack of print quality. Due to the size of the ink particles, it is often a struggle to reproduce fine details. The use of liquid ink forms much sharper images than toner-based printers. In addition, the liquid inks match the gloss level of the underlying substrate whereas the toner-based inks always have a glossy finish, even if printing on a matte stock.

Liquid ink solidifies as soon as it is transferred to the substrate allowing press sheets to be finished immediately. Unlike Hemlock’s digital press, toner-based printing processes attract a lot of static electricity to the substrate, often resulting in problems and high waste in the finishing processes.