Ink is a complex medium comprising solvents, pigments, dyes, resins, lubricants and other materials. Approximately 5000 years ago, an ink for blacking the raised surfaces of pictures and texts carved in stone was developed in China as a mixture of soot, lamp oil, and gelatin. Other early cultures also developed many colours of ink from available berries, plants and minerals.

Ink Cartridges

Most homes and businesses have printers, and buying ink in the form of ink cartridges has become an ordinary shopping experience. Inkjet cartridges are filled with printer's ink - a semisolid quick drying ink especially designed for printing.

Ink cartridges, or printer cartridges, are the replaceable components of printers. (And ink jet printers of course use ink jet cartridges.) They contain the printer ink (and sometimes the print-head itself) which is spread on paper during printing.

All ink cartridges, including ink jet cartridges, contain one or more partitioned reservoirs for the printer ink; some manufacturers also add electronic contacts and a chip which communicates with the printer.

Inside each partition of the printer ink reservoir is a heating element with a tiny metal plate or resistor. In response to a signal from the printer, a tiny current flows through the metal or resistor warming it, and the printer ink immediately surrounding the heated plate is vapourised into a tiny air bubble inside the nozzle. A droplet of printer ink is forced out of the printer cartridge’s nozzle.

The printer ink is also a coolant protecting the metal-plate heating elements: when the printer ink supply is depleted, the heating elements in thermal printer cartridges and ink jet cartridges often burn out, permanently damaging the print head. When the printer ink first begins to run thin, all printer cartridges should be refilled or replaced, to avoid over-heating damage.

So you should perhaps treat with caution some reports that ink cartridges can be overriden when some printers refuse to print when they claim levels of printer ink are low. One researcher claims he could print up to 38% more good quality pages, even though the chip stated that one of the ink cartridges was empty of printer ink, and
Which? magazine has even called for an industry standard for measuring ink cartridges’ performance.

Typically, two separate printer cartridges are inserted: one containing black printer ink and one with each of the three primary colours printer ink. Alternatively, there may be separate ink cartridges with separate supplies of printer ink for each colour.

Some printer cartridges are designed specifically for printing photographs. Some printer cartridges also incorporate the printer's head.

Ink Jet Cartridges

Ink jet cartridges are extremely popular: most of us are familiar with ink jet printers, as they provide high quality printing and ink jet printers can be used in a variety of industries. The principle which ink jet cartridges use is straightforward. Ink jet cartridges are reservoirs of printer ink which connect to the print head and create very small dots of ink. In a single colour such as black, the nozzles can be used to form text. The colours in ink jet cartridges can also be combined to form a colour image.

Most colour ink jet cartridges follow the Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Key, or Black (CMYK) colour model. The four colours are held in separate reservoirs, sometimes within a single cartridge and sometimes sold individually as separate ink jet cartridges. They can be mixed in specific amounts to form hundreds of potential colours, creating evenly toned images on a wide variety of papers. When a user prints a document, the data sent from the computer to the printer includes the specific CMYK formula for each pixel in the image and the print head replicates it with hundreds of tiny nozzles that fire simultaneously.

Many manufacturers make ink jet cartridges with a built-in print head. The print head is one of the most heavily used parts of the printer: by including it with ink jet cartridges, manufacturers ensure that the print head is replaced frequently, permitting high print quality.

Laser Toner Cartridges

For a laser printer, you would use laser toner cartridges which contain dry ink (toner). Laser toners are much larger and more expensive than ink jet cartridges. Toner cartridges are about a foot long and typically used in copiers and office printers.

All printer suppliers produce their own ink cartridges, so ink jet cartridges for different printers may be incompatible.

But there is help at hand. Since replacement printer cartridges from the original printer manufacturer can be expensive, some manufacturers produce "compatible" printer cartridges as cheaper alternatives. These printer cartridges sometimes have more printer ink than the original branded ink cartridges but produce the same quality.

Consumers can be surprised at the price of replacing their printer cartridges, especially when compared with the cost of a new printer. The major printer manufacturers often break even or lose money selling printers so recoup their losses by selling ink cartridges over the printer’s life span. Much of their profits are made up of sales from ink cartridges, ink jet cartridges and toner cartridges.

Kodak is one company which is attempting to change this business model with the launch of ink jet printers providing individual ink jet cartridges at a low price.

Printer Cartridges

So you've brought home a new printer and it's working flawlessly - until it runs out of printer ink! Now you need to buy your new printer cartridges or ink jet cartridges. What’s the best advice? To keep your printer in top condition, it's always better to use only the best printer ink available for your printer, but with the sheer number of types of printer ink, ink cartridges and ink jet cartridges made for certain models, it can be tough choosing the best printer ink for your machine. But using these tips, you can be sure that you will find just the quality printer ink that your printer requires.

Even though it is often the most expensive, printer ink from the original equipment manufacturer is designed to work with your printer model and provides the best and most reliable quality print possible. This printer ink often comes backed with a warranty in case of any discrepancies in product quality.

Many ink cartridges and ink jet cartridges work with specific printer models, even coming in specific sizes and shapes. Always remember the model of your printer and check the box to make sure you are buying the right printer cartridges. Using the wrong printer ink, even though the printer cartridges or ink jet cartridges may have the same shape, can damage your printer, or void its warranty.

Some companies offer remanufactured printer cartridges and ink jet cartridges made from recycled printer ink. Although these printer cartridges are cheaper than new, a few brands can be unreliable. Make sure you get a guarantee or solid returns policy from wherever you are buying remanufactured printer cartridges or ink jet cartridges.

There's nothing wrong with having a few extra printer cartridges around in case you suddenly run out of printer ink. They'll come in handy if you don't have the time or energy to replace them. It’s also an idea to buy in bulk, as buying separate printer cartridges for each colour can be more expensive than buying everything you need in a pre-packaged bundle.

Online dealers usually offer brand-name ink cartridges, ink jet cartridges and printer ink at prices that can be cheaper than shops, and a greater selection of ink jet cartridges than most shops. Some suppliers will deliver your printer cartridges and ink jet cartridges to your doorstep, without charging for delivery.

A good example is Cartridge Discounts, which sells a huge range of products, including remanufactured toner cartridges and printer cartridges for a wide variety of brands. All these toner cartridges are of exceptional quality equal to those of the original manufactured but at a fraction of the cost. The company is so confident that all toner cartridges come with 100% money back guarantee.

Toner Cartridges

Remanufactured toner cartridges are toner cartridges that have been used at least once and then disassembled, cleaned and had worn parts replaced and toner refilled -- can save money while helping the environment. Typically, remanufactured toner cartridges save users from 30 to 50 percent off the price of new toner cartridges, or sometimes even more. And remanufacturing toner cartridges keeps them out of landfills.

Recycling Your Toner Cartridges

You can also recycle all toner cartridges when you have finished with them. According to current statistics, only 5% of empty toner cartridges are currently being recycled - this means 95% of all toner cartridges are simply discarded and end up in landfill sites. It can take up to 1.5 litres of oil to produce new toner cartridges from scratch and discarded toner cartridges can take over 1000 years to decompose, this is not good news for our environment.

Donate Toner Cartridges To Charity

So many charities need toner cartridges 'Help the Aged is just one' and you can easily find more information on the web. Why not start a scheme for recycling toner cartridges your office?

So, with a bit of thought and research, all your printer cartridges, including toner cartridges, and ink jet cartridges can come at a reduced cost to your pocket and the environment.

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