Ink cartridge
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An ink cartridge or inkjet cartridge is the component of an
Design
Thermal
Most consumer inkjet printers use a thermal inkjet; inside each partition of the ink reservoir is a
The printing depends on the smooth flow of ink, which can be hindered if the ink begins to dry at the print head, as can happen when an ink level becomes low. Dried ink can be cleaned from a cartridge print head using 91% denatured isopropyl alcohol (not rubbing alcohol).[5] Tap water contains contaminants that may clog the print head, so distilled water and a lint-free cloth is recommended.[6]
The ink also acts as a coolant to protect the metal-plate heating elements − when the ink supply is depleted, and printing is attempted, the heating elements in thermal cartridges often burn out, permanently damaging the print head. When the ink first begins to run low, the cartridge should be refilled or replaced, to avoid overheating damage to the print head.
Piezoelectric
Parts
Cartridge body
Stores the ink of the ink cartridge. Others contain hydrophobic foam that prevents refilling.
Printhead
Some ink cartridges have printheads installed on them. Printheads of ink cartridges consists of four parts:
- Nozzle plate: the part where ink goes through from ink cartridge to paper.
- Cover plate: covers the nozzles when they are not in use.
- Common ink chamber: where ink is transferred from the body before printing.
- (In piezoelectric printers) piezoelectric substrate: houses the piezoelectric crystal.
- (In thermal printers) metallic plate / resistor: is heated with a weak electrical current which heats the ink.[9]
Variants
- Color inkjets use the CMYK color model: cyan, magenta, yellow, and the key, black. Over the years, two distinct forms of black have become available: one that blends readily with other colors for graphical printing, and a near-waterproof variant for text.[10]
- Most modern inkjets carry a black cartridge for text, and either a single CMYK combined or a discrete cartridge for each color; while keeping colors separate was initially rare, it has become common in more recent years. Some higher-end inkjets offer cartridges for extra colors.[11]
- Some cartridges contain ink specially formulated for printing photographs.
- All printer suppliers produce their own type of ink cartridges. Cartridges for different printers are often incompatible — either physically or electrically.
- Some manufacturers incorporate the printer's head into the cartridge (examples include HP, Dell, and Lexmark), while others such as Epson keep the print head a part of the printer itself. Both sides make claims regarding their approach leading to lower costs for the consumer.
- In 2014, Epson introduced a range of printers that use refillable ink tanks, providing a major reduction in printing cost. This operates similar to continuous ink system printers. Epson does not subsidize the cost of these printers termed its "EcoTank" range.
Pricing
Ink cartridges are typically priced at $13 to $75/US fl oz ($1,664 to $9,600/US gal; $440 to $2,536/L) of ink,
Another alternative involves modifications of an original cartridge allowing use of continuous ink systems with external ink tanks.[citation needed] Some manufacturers, including Canon and Epson, have introduced new models featuring in-built continuous ink systems.[15] This was seen as a welcome move by users, especially small business owners who rely on bulk-printing solutions, like Internet cafes and small-scale print shops.[citation needed]
Consumer exploitation lawsuits
It can sometimes be cheaper to buy a new printer than to replace the set of ink cartridges supplied with the printer. The major printer manufacturers − Hewlett Packard, Lexmark, Dell, Canon, Epson and
Some printer manufacturers set up their cartridges to interact with the printer, preventing operation when the ink level is low, or when the cartridge has been refilled. One researcher with the magazine
In 2006, Epson lost from a class action lawsuit that claimed Epson inkjet printers and ink cartridges stop printer operation due to "empty" cartridge notifications even when usable ink still remains. Epson settled the case by giving $45 e-coupons in their online stores for people who bought Epson inkjet printers and ink cartridges from April 8, 1999, to May 8, 2006.[18]
In 2010, HP lost from three class action lawsuits: 1.) claims of HP inkjet printers giving false low ink notifications, 2.) claims of cyan ink being spent when printing with black ink, 3.) claims of ink cartridges being disabled by printers upon being detected as "empty" even if they are not yet empty. HP paid $5 million in settlement.[citation needed]
In 2017, Halte à L’Obsolescence Programmêe (HOP) — End Planned Obsolescence — filed a lawsuit and won against Brother, Canon, Epson, HP and other companies for intentionally shortening product lifespans - inkjet printers and ink cartridges included. The companies were fined €15,000.[citation needed]
In September 2018, HP lost a class action lawsuit where plaintiffs claim HP printer firmware updates caused fake error messages upon using third party ink cartridges. HP settled the case with $1.5 million.
In October 2019, Epson had a class action complaint filed against it for printer firmware updates that allegedly prevented printer operation upon detection of third-party ink cartridges.[19]
Refills and third party replacements
This section needs additional citations for verification. (February 2008) |
Since printer cartridges from the original manufacturer are often expensive, demand exists for cheaper third party options. These include:
Ink refill services
Ink refill services are available in office supplies stores, pharmacies and warehouse clubs such as Office Max, Walgreens and Costco.[20] People simply give them their empty ink cartridges in order for them to be refilled.
Ink Sold in Bulk
People buy large bottles of ink, ranging from 100 mL to 5 gallons.[citation needed] Ink from these bottles are transferred through syringes or droppers.
Cartridge refill kits
Cartridge refill kits can contain both ink syringes/droppers, rubber plugs, drill tool, screw driver and sealing tape.[citation needed] These are tools that you will need depending on your cartridge model. Some cartridges needed to be unscrewed or drilled or simply injected, depending on the design.[21]
Re-manufactured cartridges
Remanufactured toner and ink cartridges makes up 30% of total printer cartridge market.[citation needed] Remanufactured cartridges are recycled cartridges that have been disassembled, cleaned and tested for quality. Worn or damaged parts are replaced and the cartridge is then re-assembled and refilled with ink. Manufacturing costs stay low since remanufactured cartridges do not require many new parts.[citation needed]
Compatible ink cartridges
Compatible ink cartridges are generic cartridges that are made of 100% new materials instead of remanufactured cartridges.
Continuous ink supply system
Perhaps the easiest, most trouble-free method of refilling ink cartridges is through the use of a CISS (Continuous Ink Supply System). A CISS consists of a set of cartridges that have tubes connected to them, through which the ink continuously flows from ink reservoirs on the outside of the printer. Instead of refilling the cartridges themselves, the user simply refills the bottles on the outside of the printer. Early CIS systems were composed of OEM cartridges that had been drilled and outfitted with fittings to accept the ink delivery tubes, a set of 'ribbon' tubes, and plastic bottles with holes drilled in the caps for the tubes and the vents. Today's CIS systems are mass-produced in China, often incorporating all ink bottles into one partitioned container. They typically utilize auto-reset chips, which means the cartridges rarely have to be removed from the printer.
Legality of refills and third party replacements
The legality of this industry was brought to the
HP has fiercely defended its printing interests from the refill industry, including filing patent complaints and false advertising lawsuits which allege that inferior ink is not properly differentiated from the original HP ink.[24]
Quality of refills and third party replacements
Back in 2007,
Recycling programs
Many programs have been implemented in the United States and Europe[27] to encourage the recycling of ink cartridges. New York has implemented a recycling law for businesses and consumers regarding toner and ink cartridges.[28] In California the Public Contract Code (PCC) section 12156[29] encourages businesses to purchase recycled ink and toner cartridges. In the UK, large compatible cartridge manufacturers have implemented recycling programs in order to receive back empty cartridges for refilling of HP, Lexmark, Dell, etc. cartridges, as no compatible version is readily available.
See also
- Arizona Cartridge Remanufacturers Association Inc. v. Lexmark International Inc.
- ROM cartridge
- Inkjet refill kit
- Razor and blades business model
- Toner cartridge
- Ecofont (inksaving font)
- Under cover removal
References
- ISBN 978-93-89924-57-2.
- ISBN 978-1-305-53737-8.
- ^ Fang, Mei (12 April 2010). "How Is Inkjet Printing Done?". Science 2.0. ION Publications LLC. Archived from the original on 12 April 2015. Retrieved 2015-06-16.
- ISBN 978-0-13-240266-8.
- ^ "How to Troubleshoot a Printer Printing Blank Pages: 10 Fixes to Try". Makeuseof. 30 June 2022. Retrieved 2022-07-04.
- ^ "How to Manually Clean Clogged Ink Cartridges". Small Business - Chron.com. Retrieved 2020-08-07.
- ^ Hanson, Eric. "imaging.org - Online". www.imaging.org. Society for Imaging Science and Technology. Archived from the original on 2015-06-22. Retrieved 2015-06-16.
- ISBN 978-0-240-80984-7.
- ^ "Printer Ink Cartridges". Design Life-Cycle. Retrieved 2020-08-06.
- ISBN 978-0-07-024877-9.
- ^ Inc, Ziff Davis (1990-11-13). PC Mag. Ziff Davis, Inc.
{{cite book}}
:|last=
has generic name (help) - ^ "The high cost of wasted printer ink". Consumer Reports. June 2013. Archived from the original on 2016-09-19.
- ^ "Printer ink pricier than champagne finds Which?". BBC News. 2021-07-23. Retrieved 2021-07-26.
- ^ Edwards, Cliff (28 May 2009). "HP Gets Tough on Ink Counterfeiters". BloombergView. Bloomberg L.P. Archived from the original on 6 March 2016. Retrieved 2015-06-16.
- ^ "L100 & L200 High-Capacity Ink Tank Inkjet Printers - Milestone Products - Epson". global.epson.com. October 2010. Archived from the original on 2015-06-26. Retrieved 2015-06-16.
- ^ "ACRA v. Lexmark". Electronic Frontier Foundation. July 2011. Archived from the original on 2015-04-22. Retrieved 2015-06-16.
- ^ "'Raw deal' on printer ink". BBC. 3 July 2003. Archived from the original on 3 February 2004. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
- ^ "Epson Settlement". www.epsonsettlement.com. Retrieved 2024-03-05.
- ^ published, Darren Allan (2019-10-24). "Epson firmware update stops printing with third-party ink, lawsuit alleges". TechRadar. Retrieved 2024-03-05.
- ^ "Places That Refill Printer Ink Cartridges". Small Business - Chron.com. Retrieved 2020-08-06.
- ^ "How to Refill an Inkjet Printer Cartridge". wikiHow. Retrieved 2020-08-06.
- ^ Judge, Tricia (1 June 2009). "A Decade Later: Prebate is Out...And That Isn't All". Recharger Magazine. Archived from the original on 27 May 2013. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
- ^ Stohr, Greg; Decker, Susan (May 30, 2017). "U.S. Supreme Court Curbs Patent-Holder Power to Block Resale". Bloomberg L.P. Archived from the original on May 30, 2017. Retrieved May 30, 2017.
- ^ Whitney, Lance (2010-03-18). "HP settles inkjet cartridge patent complaints". cnet.com. Retrieved 2010-09-13.
- ^ "Printers: Refills or new cartridges?". PCWorld.ca. 2007-04-03. Archived from the original on 2007-06-05. Retrieved 2009-07-22.
- ^ "3 Things You Should Know About Remanufactured Ink". Retrieved 2020-08-06.
- ^ Cradden, John (19 December 2002). "Printer-makers hit by new EU law". ElectricNews.net. Archived from the original on 1 June 2003. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
- ^ "NYCWasteLe$$: What to Recycle in New York City". NYC.gov. Archived from the original on 17 June 2010. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
- ^ "Office Machines - Toner and Inkjet Cartridges". Green California. Archived from the original on 18 February 2006. Retrieved 24 June 2020.