[fractallyte]

Xerox Phaser printers (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xerox_Phaser) used wax „solid ink“ blocks (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solid_ink)

Advantages: waterproof print; very clean; easy to change ink blocks; maintenance was mainly just emptying a tray containing small amounts of waste wax (biodegradable)

Disadvantages: when offline, the printer still used power to keep the wax in a liquid state, otherwise a cold start could take a while; colors were occasionally not as vibrant as regular laser printers

[bombcar]

We had a tektronix with blocks - and that one had to be kept off except for very specific times, because if left on it would stay warm and over a week or two drain all the wax out of it into the waste tank.

[_carbyau_]

I had to support one of these. I thought the colours were quite good but had nothing to compare with.

Main disadvantage was the smell when it was warmed up. It had to be kept in a ventilated separate room.

[fractallyte]

Yes, I forgot about the smell. Definitely a downside...

It smells like slightly burnt, melted wax. Very much like a candle, including the smoke...!