Inkjet Cartridges – guide

The Origins Of Inkjet Printing

Different types of inkjet printers form their droplets of ink in different ways. There are several technologies used by printer manufacturers, but by far the most popular technique is the inkjet printer technology initially known as the bubble jet developed by Canon in the mid 1980s (also the originator of today’s laser printers). In a bubble jet technology printers, tiny resistors create heat, and this heat vaporizes ink to create a bubble. The expansion that creates the bubble causes a droplet to form and eject from the print head. A typical bubble jet print head has 64 or 128 tiny nozzles, and all of them can fire a droplet simultaneously.

Printing has evolved throughout the years with the technology that supports it. In the earlier days the dot matrix printers used a replaceable ribbon. This required regular ribbon changes in order to ensure the print quality. The very first ink jet printers and printer cartridges were introduced in 1984, and the industry found new ways to make printing easier and more convenient.

By 1990 ink jet print cartridges were widely accepted. Printer cartridges were able to print in color as well as in black and white. Inkjet printer cartridges can print on just about any sized paper, on fabric and on film. Ink jet printers are used in a variety of settings worldwide and are the most popular choice for printing.

Selecting The Best
Inkjet Cartridge For Your Use?

Each brand and model of printer uses a specific type of cartridge. Ink jet cartridges are given an identification number and the models that can use this particular cartridge, is listed. Today, there is a wide variety of cartridges available, and users should check their printer’s manual to see exactly what cartridges are available for their specific printer.

Selecting the best Ink ink jet cartridge requires a number of factors for consideration. One must take a look not only at the features but also costs and benefits that are tied up with them. Here is a simple list that will serve as a basic guide when selecting ink jet cartridges.

But the choices are simple:

Original Brand (OEM) Cartridge
While probably the most expensive option, it will always deliver the best quality printing due to their unique formulation of ink – but may not yield the largest number of pages (see our Guide To Print Yield).

After-Market Brand Cartridge
Less expensive, and for most applications may produce very acceptable results – main differences will show in printing photos – but typically has much higher yield (they physically put more ink in the cartridge). Brands of after market cartridge vary significantly due to ink formulations, thus well know brands (such as Rhinotek) are much better than unknown boiler room brands.

Refill Your Own
Refilling a cartridge is generally a simple process, however, the kits vary wildly in their quality.

Use A Refill Service
The benefit of a Refill Service can be simplicity, but they are cutting every corner – including in the quality of the ink.

Cost
If you are trying to save money, you can purchase refill kits that allow you to fill the cartridges yourself. Not everyone is a fan of these kits however, the quality of the printing isn’t as good, and in some cases the cartridges when re-installed can fail to operate.

Ink Type
In choosing a printer check the type of cartridge it will use. You will need to determine if the cartridge is appropriate for the type of printing and the volume of printing you will be doing. Two of the most popular ink types are the HP’s Vivera Inks and Epson’s Durabrite Inks. HP Vivera Inks is a pigment-based ink technology suited for photo printing suites. Vivera inks are geared to premium photo printing for the high-end consumer. The drawback of After-market formulations is that they will not contain the OEM formula inks, so you will have to decide if you need the higher priced OEM product.

Availability and Accessibility
You can get discount ink cartridges from many sources. All you have to do is search for your ink or printer cartridge, to locate both After-market and OEM cartridges. Some sites offer amazing discounts. Pay attention to the cartridge packaging BEFORE YOU OPEN IT! Check the sides of the box for a list of models the cartridge will work in.

Refilling Inkjet Cartridges

Something most printer owners need to know is how to successfully refill inkjet cartridges. Knowing this simple process will save a lot of time and mess.

Injecting Ink
Depending on the type of cartridge being refilled, ink can either be injected through a hole on top of the cartridge, or directly into the ink chambers after the top has been popped off. The ink can be injected directly from a bottle (with a needle tip on it) or from a needle filled with ink (the specifics vary with the type and brand of refill kit). The needle must be slowly inserted into the cartridge, per the package instructions to prevent damage to the cartridge. The ink must be slowly injected into the cartridge so as not to cause overfilling, or overflow to other-color ink reservoirs. (For colors, a label on the cartridge might have 3 ordered color-dots to indicate the corresponding 3 ink colors of the reservoir chambers. Some refill kits include a final step where a small amount of air is removed from the cartridge in order to restore the ink-fluid balance that was present inside the cartridge before the refilling.

Installing & Running
Once the cartridge is filled, sealed or the top is placed back on (if necessary) and the cartridge can be reinstalled in the printer. Extra ink flowing from the cartridge print-head can be wiped/blotted (for a few moments). On some cartridges the ink has a problem getting to the bottom of the cartridge (especially the colored cartridges), it must be forced to the bottom either by suction through the jet plate or by putting pressure from the top with a syringe to purge the ink through the jet plate very gently. It might be necessary to run the printer cleaning utilities on the refilled cartridge, in case any excess ink is leftover from the refilling process.

Cleaning the Printer Head
Sometimes the ink flow might be blocked by dried ink on the ink cartridge print-head. For color cartridges, typically one ink-color may fail to flow due to dried ink. The dried ink can be cleaned using isopropyl alcohol (50% or higher) on a swab or folded paper towel rubbed gently 3 or 4 times across the print-head. But, always follow the refill kit instructions to resolve this situation.