Cheap printer cartridges
Definition: Cheap printer cartridges are ink cartridges which, because of their poor quality ink and poor cleaning before filling, can clog or even damage the nozzles of the printer. A cheap and for the printer better variant are compatible printer cartridges with high-quality ink.
Cheap printer cartridges - what you should know about printer ink
From time to time, the inkjet printer requires fresh ink, which must be changed in the tank of the printer in the form of a new ink cartridge. The consumer is confronted with the task of making a selection from the extensive range of original ink cartridges, compatible printer cartridges and alternative ink cartridges.
Making a purchase decision, especially about the price, is a widespread and understandable attitude. However, whether this criterion is the most economical over the long term requires some reflection and accompanying information.
Each manufacturer sets its own priorities - variations of the application
Each manufacturer of pressure equipment installed in his printer his own technology, which has its own unique selling points. For example, different printer manufacturers are paying special attention to printing a high-quality print image and specializing in photo printing, while other manufacturers are equipping their machines with high stability for large print runs and manufacturers are optimizing the speed of printing for professional printing.
The different orientations in the functioning for various applications of pressure equipment bring different technologies, which also affect the construction of the ink cartridges.
Printer ink is not the same printer ink - Variations in design
A printer cartridge, in principle, constitutes a container for ink, equipped with technology to direct its contents into the print head and make it available for printing. The ink used to fill the cartridge consists of either dyes or pigments. Pigmented ink is indelible and water-insoluble, but contains the finest pigment particles that clog the print nozzles of a printer that is built for dye ink, and therefore should not be used in an equivalent model. There are two basic classes in the design of the ink cartridge housing: the ink cartridge with printhead and no printhead.
With the first design, the printhead with its built-in electronics is completely replaced at each ink change at the same time. The second design of the printhead is independent of the ink cartridge installed directly in the pressure unit and will only be changed when it stops working. Printhead cartridges are more expensive due to their higher material usage, and they sometimes consume unnecessary resources by replacing a component that is not necessarily worn.
Another type of inkjet cartridge design is the so-called single ink on one side and the compact cartridge as its counterpart on the other side. The single ink uses a separate ink cartridge for each of the four inks, while the compact cartridge usually offers the three printing colors yellow, cyan and magenta together - sometimes even all four inks including black - in a single tank.
The compact cartridge must be changed whenever only one of the three or four colors is emptied, while the other colors still have enough ink, while the single ink can be changed individually and the still filled ink tanks remain in the printer. The compact cartridge is considerably less favorable in terms of consumption than the single ink, since it gives unused ink for disposal.
This is how an ink cartridge works - the technology
The principle of the ink cartridge works with a system for pressure equalization. For this purpose, air is sucked from the top of the cartridge and pushes the ink through fine channels to the print head. The housing of the ink cartridge usually has small openings or fine grooves, flows through the air. The ink is in the inner casing of the cartridge. This is usually equipped with a sponge, which ensures an even distribution of the liquid. Frequently, the printer cartridges are equipped with a chip that checks the ink level and passes it on to the device.
Expensive or inexpensive - variants of the offer of printer cartridges
The demand for ink cartridges is calling not only the manufacturers of printing equipment, but also companies that specialize in the provision of printer supplies and offer alternative printer cartridges. The production of ink cartridges is divided into three areas.
First and foremost for the production of ink cartridges are the manufacturers of pressure equipment. They produce ink cartridges that they have planned, designed and built in a joint process during the development of their equipment. These original ink cartridges are labeled OEM for Original Equipment Manufacturer. In addition to the OEM printer accessories, both the printer manufacturer and other companies offer reprocessed ink cartridges.
The so-called recycled ink cartridges, which are offered as compatible printer cartridges, are divided into two classes under the terms refill and rebuilt, which differ in their production process. In the refill process, used original cartridges are cleaned and filled with new ink, while the rebuilt process also replaces wearing parts with new material. The third variant on offer is compatible ink cartridges manufactured by alternative companies under their own company name.
All three variants are manufactured within Europe under strict quality controls and in consideration of manufacturer patents and other copyrights and offer a reliable quality. In terms of pricing, the OEMs are in the top segment, while recycling and rebuild cartridges are offered at an attractive price, which corresponds to the material, technology and labor input for their production and at the same time represents an extremely favorable alternative to the OEM.
Cheap cartridges - the clone Klau, who does not pay
Mainly in Asia, but especially in China, alternative ink cartridges made of cheap materials, filled with inferior ink and designated as original ink cartridge. The manufacturer's technology is plagiarized, mimicked with cheap material, put into a reprinted original packaging using the manufacturer's name, to throw a cheap plagiarism, regardless of infringement of patent rights and copyrights and naming rights on the market.
Cheap cartridges - cheap in price and cheap in quality
The plagiarized cheap cartridges reveal the secret of their unbeatable price when used in the printer. The print image is faint, the edges are frayed, the ink runs on the paper or in the printing device.
The high quality characteristics of the ink cartridges, which were built up by the device manufacturer, in the recycling process or by the reputable third party, such as the uniformity in the printed image, the color intensity, the mixing behavior of the colors among each other, the smudge resistance or UV resistance are far from being achieved by low-priced cartridges. Not only are the colors pale, the print image unbalanced and brittle - the reach, which is guaranteed by the side performance of the ink cartridges of the equipment manufacturers, recycling and third party manufacturers through stringent tests in numerous series of tests, can not reach the low-priced cartridge.
The high quality loss in the print output in addition to the rapid emptying of the ink tank, which causes a multiple of consumption and requires frequent replacement of low-priced cartridges, makes the price advantage when purchasing quickly melt to a financial disadvantage compared to quality products.
Cheap cartridges - harmful to the printer, to the environment and for the price
Cheap cartridges are a forgery of the original not only a technological theft and by using the company name of the device manufacturer also a deception of the consumer - they also harm the printing device. The manufacturers of printing equipment are developing both the technology of the printer and the characteristics of the printer accessories - above all the ink cartridge. Pressure device and ink cartridge are optimally adjusted to each other. The device uses finely tuned technology, which requires the smooth operation of precisely matched components.
For example, the physical properties of the ink, such as its fluidity or density, must be closely correlated with the capillaries in the printhead, so that the printer can guarantee trouble-free operation, minimization of maintenance and long life. These criteria are important components in the long-term economy of the ongoing operating costs of the printing device. The use of high-quality ink cartridges maintains the printer and saves on maintenance, repair and acquisition costs for the device.
Low-cost cartridges also pose an ecological problem, as they cause increased waste not only on plastic, but also on residual ink due to their premature emptying. Also, because recycling companies will not accept and recycle the low-end low-priced cartridges, you can not dispose of your ink cartridges in an environmentally friendly way and they will be left completely as waste.
Another consequence of the flooding of the market with low-priced cartridges is the decline in high-quality material for reprocessing, a resulting price spiral in the production of recycled ink cartridges and a loss allowance for other printer accessories, the price of which rises appreciably.
Therefore, beat the costs before you take the offer of a low-priced cartridge.