Printer cartridge
A printer cartridge (also known as an ink cartridge ) is a container filled with ink that is used in inkjet printers and supplies the ink required for the printing process.
Inkjet printer cartridges are manufactured in different designs and, if the printhead is not firmly connected to the cartridge, transfer the ink to the printhead via a puncture or a sponge-like contact surface. I. d. Usually a pressure equalization system, which is often designed as a labyrinth on the top of the cartridge (e.g. under company stickers) allows air to flow in without the ink being able to escape through the fine channel.
Many inkjet printers have the print head built into the cartridge. Ink cartridges (cartridges for ink ) for printers can be filled with a foam sponge, which holds the ink in its pores or consists of a vacuum system, in addition to the design as a pure liquid container in the appropriate form. In addition to restrictions due to patents, differences result from different approaches to ensure a uniform ink flow in every printing situation. The printing technology and fluidity of the ink play a role here, as do problems with mobile printers.
In this market segment, manufacturers are required by law to take back all used cartridges for environmental reasons. The background to the law is the immense consumption of finite resources .
Unused ink when changing cartridges
Modern printer cartridges often have a microchip that saves the fill level beyond a cartridge change, especially after a refill. Some manufacturers, including Epson and Hewlett-Packard , were charged in the United States because their devices prematurely reported the fill level as "empty" before there was actually no significant amount of ink left.
A 2007 study by TÜV Rheinland showed that with some printers more than half of the ink is disposed of without being used. With single-color cartridges, between 9% and 64% ( Kodak Easyshare 5300), an average of 20%, of the ink remained in the "empty" cartridges, while with multi-color compact cartridges the proportion is even higher, because they have to be changed as soon as only one of the cartridges colors contained in it becomes "empty".
See also
Individual evidence
- ^ Tom Spring: Epson Faces Consumer Suits. PCWorld, October 24, 2003, accessed February 26, 2014 .
- ↑ US woman sues over ink cartridges. BBC, February 24, 2005, accessed February 26, 2014 .
- ↑ Ken Fisher: Study: Inkjet printers are filthy, lying thieves. ars technica, June 19, 2007, accessed February 16, 2014 .
