Ink cartridge

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Two cartridges (one with black ink (a third-party type HP 15-compatible cartridge), one with colored inks (an original type HP 17 tri-color cartridge)) installed in an HP inkjet printer. Ink-jet printer inside-cartridges.jpg
Two cartridges (one with black ink (a third-party type HP 15-compatible cartridge), one with colored inks (an original type HP 17 tri-color cartridge)) installed in an HP inkjet printer.

An ink cartridge or inkjet cartridge is the component of an inkjet printer that contains the ink to be deposited onto paper during printing. [1] It consists of one or more ink reservoirs and can include electronic contacts and a chip to exchange information with the printer. [2]

Contents

Design

Thermal

HP Inkjet color cartridge. HP Inkjet Tri-color Print Cartridge 22.jpg
HP Inkjet color cartridge.

Most consumer inkjet printers use a thermal inkjet; inside each partition of the ink reservoir is a heating element with a tiny metal plate or resistor. In response to a signal given by the printer, a tiny current flows through the metal or resistor making it warm, and the ink in contact with the heated resistor is vaporized into a tiny steam bubble inside the nozzle. [3] As a consequence, an ink droplet is forced out of the cartridge nozzle onto the paper. This process takes a fraction of a millisecond. [4]

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

Piezoelectric printers use a piezoelectric crystal in each nozzle instead of a heating element. When current is applied, the crystal changes shape or size, increasing the pressure in the ink channel and thus forcing a droplet of ink from the nozzle. [7] [8] There are two types of crystals used: those that elongate when subjected to electricity or bi-morphs which bend. The ink channels in a piezoelectric ink jet print head can be formed using a variety of techniques, but one common method is lamination of a stack of metal plates, each of which includes precision micro-fabricated features of various shapes (i.e. containing an ink channel, orifice, reservoir and crystal). This cool environment allows use of inks which react badly when heated. For example, roughly 1/1000 of every ink jet is vaporized due to the intense heat, and ink must be designed not the clog the printer with the products of thermal decomposition. It also can make a smaller ink drop in some situations than thermal inkjet schemes.

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.
  • Coverplate: 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

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, [12] meaning that refill cartridges sometimes cost a substantial fraction of the cost of the printer. To save money, many people use compatible ink cartridges from a vendor other than the printer manufacturer. A study by British consumer watchdog Which? found that in some cases, printer ink from the manufacturer is more expensive than champagne. [13] Others use aftermarket inks, refilling their own ink cartridges using a kit that includes bulk ink. The high cost of cartridges has also provided an incentive for counterfeiters to supply cartridges falsely claiming to be made by the original manufacturer. [14] The print cartridge industry lost an estimated $3 billion in 2009 due to this, according to an International Data Corporation estimate.

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 Brother − use a "razor and blades" business model, often breaking even or losing money selling printers while expecting to make a profit by selling cartridges over the life of the printer.[ citation needed ] Since much of the printer manufacturers' profits are from ink and toner cartridge sales, some of these companies have taken various actions against aftermarket cartridges. [16]

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 Which? over-rode such an interlocked system and found that in one case he could print up to 38% more good quality pages, after the chip stated that the cartridge was empty. In the United Kingdom, in 2003, the cost of ink has been the subject of an Office of Fair Trading investigation, as Which? magazine has accused manufacturers of a lack of transparency about the price of ink and called for an industry standard for measuring ink cartridge performance. Which? stated that color HP cartridges cost over seven times more per milliliter than 1985 Dom Perignon. [17]

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

Infusing an inkjet printer Wiki vb InfusPrint.jpg
Infusing an inkjet printer

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.

Resetting an Epson ink cartridge using a resetter tool Wiki vb ngeresetEpson.gif
Resetting an Epson ink cartridge using a resetter tool

Legality of refills and third party replacements

The legality of this industry was brought to the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in the case of Lexmark Int'l v. Static Control Components . The Court ruled that reverse-engineering the handshaking procedure to enable compatibility did not violate the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. [22] The Supreme Court of the United States also ruled in May 2017 in Impression Products v. Lexmark that companies cannot use patent law to block reuse of products protected by patent once the product is sold, which in the case of ink cartridges, allows the sale of refurbished cartridges both within the United States and overseas. [23]

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, PC World reports that refilled cartridges have higher failure rates, print fewer pages than new cartridges, and demonstrate more on-page problems like streaking, curling, and color bleed. [25] Therefore product or service research is often recommended. [26] In the tests made by Wilhelm Imaging Research, Epson ink is fade-resistant up to 40 years. Ink from remanufactured cartridges are only fade-resistant up to 3.9 years.[ citation needed ]

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

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Printer (computing)</span> Computer peripheral that prints text or graphics

In the field of computing, a printer is considered a peripheral device that serves the purpose of creating a permanent representation of text or graphics, usually on paper. While the majority of outputs produced by printers are readable by humans, there are instances where barcode printers have found a utility beyond this traditional use. Different types of printers are available for use, including inkjet printers, thermal printers, laser printers, and 3D printers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Laser printing</span> Electrostatic digital printing process

Laser printing is an electrostatic digital printing process. It produces high-quality text and graphics by repeatedly passing a laser beam back and forth over a negatively charged cylinder called a "drum" to define a differentially charged image. The drum then selectively collects electrically charged powdered ink (toner), and transfers the image to paper, which is then heated to permanently fuse the text, imagery, or both, to the paper. As with digital photocopiers, laser printers employ a xerographic printing process. Laser printing differs from traditional xerography as implemented in analog photocopiers in that in the latter, the image is formed by reflecting light off an existing document onto the exposed drum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dot matrix printing</span> Computer printing process

Dot matrix printing, sometimes called impact matrix printing, is a computer printing process in which ink is applied to a surface using a relatively low-resolution dot matrix for layout. Dot matrix printers are a type of impact printer that prints using a fixed number of pins or wires and typically use a print head that moves back and forth or in an up-and-down motion on the page and prints by impact, striking an ink-soaked cloth ribbon against the paper. They were also known as serial dot matrix printers. Unlike typewriters or line printers that use a similar print mechanism, a dot matrix printer can print arbitrary patterns and not just specific characters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Inkjet printing</span> Type of computer printing

Inkjet printing is a type of computer printing that recreates a digital image by propelling droplets of ink onto paper and plastic substrates. Inkjet printers were the most commonly used type of printer in 2008, and range from small inexpensive consumer models to expensive professional machines. By 2019, laser printers outsold inkjet printers by nearly a 2:1 ratio, 9.6% vs 5.1% of all computer peripherals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Giclée</span> Fine art ink jet prints produced from digital files or artwork.

Giclée describes digital prints intended as fine art and produced by inkjet printers. The term is a neologism, ultimately derived from the French word gicleur, coined in 1991 by printmaker Jack Duganne. The name was originally applied to fine art prints created on a modified Iris printer in a process invented in the late 1980s. It has since been used widely to mean any fine-art printing, usually archival, printed by inkjet. It is often used by artists, galleries, and print shops for their high quality printing, but is also used generically for art printing of any quality.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Digital printing</span> Method of printing

Digital printing is a method of printing from a digital-based image directly to a variety of media. It usually refers to professional printing where small-run jobs from desktop publishing and other digital sources are printed using large-format and/or high-volume laser or inkjet printers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Toner</span> Powder mixture in laser printers

Toner is a powder mixture used in laser printers and photocopiers to form the text and images on paper, in general through a toner cartridge. Mostly granulated plastic, early mixtures added only carbon powder and iron oxide, however, mixtures have since been developed containing polypropylene, fumed silica, and various minerals for triboelectrification. Toner using plant-derived plastic also exists as an alternative to petroleum plastic. Toner particles are melted by the heat of the fuser, and are thus bonded to the paper.

Lexmark International, Inc. is a privately held American company that manufactures laser printers and imaging products. The company is headquartered in Lexington, Kentucky. Since 2016 it has been jointly owned by a consortium of three multinational companies: Apex Technology, PAG Asia Capital, and Legend Capital.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Epson</span> Japanese multinational electronics company

Seiko Epson Corporation, commonly known as Epson, is a Japanese multinational electronics company and one of the world's largest manufacturers of printers and information- and imaging-related equipment. Headquartered in Suwa, Nagano, Japan, the company has numerous subsidiaries worldwide and manufactures inkjet, dot matrix, thermal and laser printers for consumer, business and industrial use, scanners, laptop and desktop computers, video projectors, watches, point of sale systems, robots and industrial automation equipment, semiconductor devices, crystal oscillators, sensing systems and other associated electronic components.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Continuous ink system</span> Method for delivering a large volume of liquid ink to a comparatively small inkjet printhead

A continuous ink system (CIS), also known as a continuous ink supply system (CISS), a continuous flow system (CFS), an automatic ink refill system (AIRS), a bulk feed ink system (BFIS), or an off-axis ink delivery system (OIDS) is a method for delivering a large volume of liquid ink to a comparatively small inkjet printhead. Many business and professional grade printers incorporate a continuous ink system in their design to increase printing capacity.

Lexmark International, Inc. v. Static Control Components, Inc., is an American legal case involving the computer printer company Lexmark, which had designed an authentication system using a microcontroller so that only authorized toner cartridges could be used. The resulting litigation has resulted in significant decisions affecting United States intellectual property and trademark law.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Solid ink</span> Type of ink used in printing

Solid ink is a type of ink used in printing. Solid ink is a waxy, resin-based polymer that must be melted prior to usage, unlike conventional liquid inks. The technology is used most often in graphics and large-format printing environments where color vividness and cost efficiency are important.

Compatible ink is manufactured by third-party manufacturers and is designed to work in designated printers without infringing on patents of printer manufacturers. Compatible inks and toners may come in a variety of packaging including sealed plastic wraps or taped plastic wraps. Regardless of packaging, compatible products are generally priced lower than original equipment manufacturer (OEM) brand inks and toners.

Dynamic Cassette International (DCI) is an internationally recognised Boston, Lincolnshire, UK based ink cartridge and laser toner manufacturing company, producing products under the Jet Tec brand name. DCI is the sole UK manufacturer of compatible ink cartridges. DCI is notable for winning the Queen's Award for Enterprise: Innovation in 2004 and the Queen's Award for Export and being one of the biggest employers in Boston, employing over 300 staff at its 40,000 square metres factory. The company is currently Europe's largest manufacturer of compatible inkjet cartridges and has a turnover in excess of £20 million.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Toner refill</span> Refilling of laser printer toner cartridges

Toner refilling is the practice of refilling empty laser printer toner cartridges with new toner powder. This enables the cartridge to be reused, saving the cost of a complete new cartridge and the impact of the waste and disposal of the old one.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Toner cartridge</span> Consumable component of a laser printer

A toner cartridge, also called laser toner, is the consumable component of a laser printer. Toner cartridges contain toner powder, a fine, dry mixture of plastic particles, carbon, and black or other coloring agents that make the actual image on the paper. The toner is transferred to paper via an electrostatically charged drum unit, and fused onto the paper by heated rollers during the printing process. It will not stain like ink cartridges, but it can get messy if handled improperly.


Island Ink-Jet is a large printer ink and laser toner supply chain store with stores in Canada and Puerto Rico. The brand is currently owned by The Equipment leasing company ltd. and based in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, and locations operate under a franchising business model. The chain offer a printer ink cartridge refill service and sell several varieties of ink cartridges and toner cartridges including remanufactured cartridges.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Remax World Expo</span>

The RemaxWorld Expo is an annual trade show comprising vendors from within the print consumables industry. The event began in 2007, resulting from a joint venture between the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) and Recycling Times Media Corporation. Centered in Zhuhai, widely recognized as being the print consumables capital of the world, the exhibition currently takes place in the newly constructed Zhuhai International Convention & Exhibition Center. In 2015, the show accommodated 463 exhibitors and 13,938 visitors from 83 countries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Inkjet technology</span>

Inkjet technology originally was invented for depositing aqueous inks on paper in 'selective' positions based on the ink properties only. Inkjet nozzles and inks were designed together and the inkjet performance was based on a design. It was used as a data recorder in the early 1950s, later in the 1950s co-solvent-based inks in the publishing industry were seen for text and images, then solvent-based inks appeared in industrial marking on specialized surfaces and in the1990's phase change or hot-melt ink has become a popular with images and digital fabrication of electronic and mechanical devices, especially jewelry. Although the terms "jetting", "inkjet technology" and "inkjet printing", are commonly used interchangeably, inkjet printing usually refers to the publishing industry, used for printing graphical content, while industrial jetting usually refers to general purpose fabrication via material particle deposition.

Supertank printers are a type of continuous ink system (CISS) inkjet printer. Supertank printers differ from traditional inkjet printers in that the printhead is connected via a tube system that draws ink from large ink tanks built into the printer, which are filled and refilled via ink bottles, eliminating the need for ink cartridges. Cost-per-page (CPP) is significantly lower than traditional cartridges, as replacement ink bottles contain enough ink to print thousands of pages, and typically cost under $20.

References

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  26. ↑ "3 Things You Should Know About Remanufactured Ink" . Retrieved 2020-08-06.
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