An ink cartridge contains the ink that is used during printing in a printer. It is a replaceable component of any ink jet printer and may contain one or more partitioned ink reservoirs. Printers like HP, Canon and Lexmark use a thermal ink jet process. In this process, a small amount of current flows through the resistor of the printer when a print command is received by it. This process heats up the printer's resistor plate. As a result, the ink surrounding the heated resistor plate is immediately vapourised into tiny air bubbles inside the printer's nozzle. Therefore, the total volume of the ink inside the printer's nozzle exceeds that of the nozzle. Consequently, an ink droplet is forced out of the cartridge nozzle onto the paper, resulting in printing.
Epson printers work quite differently. Instead of heating up the resistor elements, they use a piezoelectric crystal in each of their nozzles. When current is applied to the piezoelectric crystal, it changes shape and size. As a result, a small droplet of ink is forced out of its nozzle. A piezoelectric ink jet printer like Epson allows for a wide variety of inks that can be used with it. A black ink cartridge gives a fine quality print with a piezoelectric printer.
Different variants of black ink cartridges are available in the markets. Some are specifically designed for printing photographs only. These cartridges are generally very expensive. Original cartridge replacement could cost as much as a brand new printer. Many people therefore use cheap and compatible after-market ink brands. Much of the manufacturer's profits are made up of cartridge and toner sales. Therefore, many printer manufacturers like Epson and HP have taken steps to limit the consumers' options of using after-market inks.
Laser/toner cartridges that are sold as "Compatible" are usually refilled cartridges.
Ink cartridges that are sold as "Remanufactured" are the ones that have already been used at least once by a consumer and then refilled by a third party.
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