Differences between inkjet and thermal printers Picture Quality Inkjet printers are one of the most prolific methods of digital printing and can produce high quality images at a low initial cost. The two main determinants of print quality are resolution, the substrate used for printing, and the number of levels that can be printed per dot. Any moisture or dampness can damage the prints. Thermal printers produce high quality prints with glossy, protective finishes and better color saturation. Because thermal printers have fewer moving parts, they are durable. Printing Process Inkjet printers use liquid ink rather than ribbons and heat to produce an image - the printer jets thousands of tiny droplets of ink onto a substrate (such as paper) pixel by pixel to create an image. Thermal printers use heating elements to burn or melt dot-matrix pattern characters on special paper. This is a cost-effective industrial printing technique that applies dried wa...