Ink Cartridges

An ink cartridge is a replaceable component of an ink-jet printer that contains the ink and sometimes the print-head itself that is spread on paper during printing. more...

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Each ink cartridge contains one or more partitioned ink reservoirs, electronic contacts and a chip that communicates with the printer.

How it works

Inside each partition of the ink reservoir is a tiny metal plate. In response to a signal given by the printer, a tiny current flows through the metal causing it to warm up. The ink immediately surrounding the heated plate is vapourised. As a consequence, the total volume of the ink exceeds that of the cartridge. An ink droplet falls out of the cartridge onto the paper. This process takes place in a matter of milliseconds.

Variants

Typically, two separate cartridges are inserted into a printer: one containing black ink and one with each of the three primary colors. Alternatively, each primary color may have a dedicated cartridge.; Some cartridges are specifically designed for printing photographs.; All printer suppliers produce their own type of ink cartridges. Cartridges for different printers may be incompatible - either physically or electrically.; Since replacement cartridges from the original manufacturer of the printer are often very expensive, some other manufacturers produce "compatible" cartridges as cheaper alternatives.; Some cartridge have incorporated the printer's head (most HP printers use this system). Usually, they are more expensive, but the printers are cheaper. Others don't include the printer head, but they are more economic and the printers are more expensive (for example, most Epson printers);

Other information

Typically, ink cartridges are generally very expensive; the price of a new cartridge on a per-gram-of-ink basis exceeds that of pure gold per gram. Alternate approaches is that many people are using compatible ink cartridges that bring the same quality, but with savings up to %90 or the other alternative involve modifications that allow the use of continuous ink systems that use external ink tanks.

Consumers are often surprised at the price of replacing their printer cartridges, especially when compared with that of purchasing a brand new printer. The major printer manufacturers, Hewlett Packard, Lexmark, Dell, Canon, Epson and Brother, often break even or lose money selling printers and expect to recoup their losses by selling cartridges over the life span of the printer. Since much of the printer manufacturers' profits are made up of ink and toner cartridge sales, these companies have taken various actions to limit the options of consumers in using aftermarket cartridges.

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