Is this pigment ink, toner, or what?

[stefanopesce]

Hello! I am Stefano and this is my first post on this forum. I am also new to the world of printing, so I apologize in advance if my questions sometimes will be too much basic.

So I bought a PIXMA IP8750 to get started, but the results i am achieving are not what I expected to be; my question is how I achieve this kind of finish with my inks, that on my pixma looks really opaque and dark:

What did this guy use? This is a business card that I got printed as a test on uncoated paper and as a single unit. Is he using pigment inks? Or is it some kind of toner??
Thank you, glad to be in the forum!

 

[Biggs]

Could be thermography. Is the ink slightly raised?
That texture looks very much like thermography.

 

[stefanopesce]

The ink is not raised. I am starting to think is just laser print on uncoated paper. Could it be? Is toner printing this shiny?

 

[Biggs]

Toner is definitely shiny. It's a polymer that melts as it's fused to the sheet. It has a somewhat wet or melted plastic like appearance.

You may be right, it could just be a digital print on uncoated stock. With coated sheets the toner is spread thinly, and often has a similar look and feel to the coated sheet itself.
With an uncoated sheet, especially coarse ones like vellum, linen and laid, you'll see the fibers of the paper through the toner.

Some folks like it - I still prefer the look of offset ink on uncoated media... anyway..

 

[Biggs]

That red looks so thick though... I cant say I've seen a digital press lay a coat that heavy. The Kodak NexPRESS has a demensional top coat... I wonder if thats it.

 

[stefanopesce]

That red looks so thick though... I cant say I've seen a digital press lay a coat that heavy. The Kodak NexPRESS has a demensional top coat... I wonder if thats it.

One reason that makes me think that its probably not something sophisticate is that it was a relatively cheap price, around 15 bucks for 100 double sided copies. So maybe it is laser, I am thinking in buying a Phaser 7500 and see if that makes the trick. As far as I saw in video it seems to have a quite shiny toner