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An inkjet cartridge is the removable part of an inkjet printer that contains the ink used when printing. The ink cartridge can also contain the printing head itself.

There are both one color and multi-color reservoir cartridges depending on which model and/or manufacturer’s printer is in question. Frequently manufacturers build in electronic contacts and microchips that tell the printer how the cartridge is performing.

Before doing any printing the level of available ink must be determined. Insufficient ink may dry on the printhead and lead to inferior prints. The volume of ink must be capable of providing smooth flow or the quality of prints will be sub-standard.

To proper way to clean the dried ink from the printing head is to gently rub the head with isopropyl alcohol on a swab or paper towel.

Most of the time original manufacturer ink cartridges tend to be quite costly, so customers sought ways to extend the life of the original cartridges.

The main printer manufacturing companies like Hewlett Packard, Lexmark, Dell, Canon, Epson and Brother have a strategy of little or no profit from the printer sale so they can make ongoing profits from the back end sale of inkjet cartridges from uninformed consumers.

They must recover these losses and make a profit by selling very costly cartridges over the life span of the printer. Because companies producing aftermarket ink cartridges take away much of their profit, major printer manufacturers have taken action against them. Some manufacturers even took legal action.

The printer manufacturers lost their case and now seek other ways to create a monopoly on printer cartridges.

Many printer owners choose have their cartridges refilled or buy remanufactured cartridges from third parties over buying new cartridges.

This new resource saves them both time and money and lets them print to their hearts content without breaking the bank. It also reduces unnecessary waste at landfills to the tune of hundreds of millions of cartridges.

Printer ink cartridge refilling is now a multi-billion dollar industry and like any other there are some good companies and some duds. It is important to be sure refilled or remanufactured cartridges are from a high quality source or there could be printer damage (unlikely) or more likely just low quality prints.

It is essential that the refilling of these delicate cartridges is done by someone with the extensive training that ensures the job will be done correctly.

You also want to be sure that their reputation is excellent and that they offer a 100% satisfaction guarantee.

Mostly, Brother, Canon, Dell, HP, and Lexmark cartridges can be refilled, with at worst a microchip re-set.

You CAN have it all. You can do all the printing you want – get high quality prints and photos – while being ecologically prudent, and best of all, save big money. Happy Printing!

It is hard to find a better quality printer than an Epson. You are almost guaranteed good prints with Epson products. Knowing when to change your ink cartridge will help you maintain that good quality.

Epson makes it easy to know when it is time to replace your cartridge. They put a light on the printer that flashes when the ink is running low.

If you have purchased an Epson within the last few years your computer will also tell you. This is because your printer software that you loaded into your computer detects when the printer is low on ink and lets you know.

The only thing is that at times these warnings do not come at exactly the right time. Sometimes the warning is premature and sometimes it comes late.

If you’re printing a large number of pages or pictures, the ink level warning may come too late. When you get the warning, the ink cartridges usually have somewhere around 15-20% of the ink left. This may not be enough to finish the job once it starts.

If the warning occurs and you change your cartridge right away you could be wasting ink. Usually when the indicator light flashes or the computer gives you the warning that you are running low on ink your cartridge is still ? full.

The fact is, you can run the printer right until the ink cartridges are completely empty. Once they run out of ink entirely, you can replace them then. This lets you get the maximum use from the cartridges, without wasting any ink.

However, if you are going to do a big print job or you need to print photos it may be better to start with a new cartridge. Yes you may still have some ink left in your old cartridge. But it may be better to go ahead and loose that little bit of ink than to mess up your print job.