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Ink Cartridges are integral parts of Inkjet printers supplying them with a continuous flow of new Ink.

Article chapters:
1. What is a Inkjet Ink Cartridge?
2. What is a Compatible Ink Cartridge?
3. What is a Original Ink Cartridge?
4. What is a Remanufactured Ink Cartridge?

About Inkjet Ink Cartridges

Ink Cartridges acts as ink tanks for inkjet printers and usually contains a printhead and one or more chips for printer communication and health indication.

Printers from HP, Lexmark and Dell often have cartridges with the printhead integrated while Epson and Canon cartridges usually only hold the ink. The cost of the ink cartridge is affected by the placement of the printhead. By placing it in the cartridge, the cartridge price goes up since complexity is added to the manufacturing process and electronic components and wiring needs to be added.

In most cases there is one separate container for black ink and separate containers for Cyan, Magenta and Yellow ink. Versions of containers also exist where Cyan, Magenta and Yellow ink all are encased in the same cartridge. Out of these four colors all other colors in the color spectrum can be created during the printing process.

Compatible Ink Cartridges

Compatible Ink Cartridges are produced by third party manufacturers who often refill (read about remanufactured ink cartridges below!) existing cartridges with new Ink.

The debate has been running high in the last years on whether or not compatible ink is as good as original ink. Pros and cons arguably exist for both cartridge types. We at InkGuides sincerely think that compatible ink is the best choice for those users who primarily print in black and who don't need to archive the prints for long periods of time..

This is not to say that full color printing using compatible cartridges is not to recommend. Independent research from TrustedReviews actually shows that reviewers generally prefers compatible ink over OEM ink. If you want to feel safe, will mostly print in full color, expect great results and are not price sensitive - go for OEM cartridges!

Just remember that print quality is not only dependent on the ink quality but also on the printer and the paper being printed on. To achieve good results, all these factors need to be accounted for.

We recommend you to buy from well known and long established ink stores that have the credibility and the product and refund policies to back you up.

Read more about Compatible Cartridges.

Original Ink Cartridges

OEM /Original Ink Cartridges are produced by the printer manufacturer. A significant part of the printer makers profit actually comes from selling the ink and not the printer. Did you know that Inkjet Ink is probably the most expensive liquid per volume you will ever buy? It's actually more expensive than Champagne, Perfume, Oil and even Gold and other expensive substances that come to your mind!

If most of your print jobs are about printing text and black graphics, we recommend you to go with Compatible Ink Cartridges instead of OEM Ink Cartridges. If the quality of the print is really important and you are printing in full colors, go with OEM Ink Cartridges.

Read more about OEM Cartridges.

Remanufactured Ink Cartridges

Remanufactured Ink Cartridges are produced from recycled materials. Buying this cartridge type is not only good for your wallet but also for nature since this reduces waste and energy consumption. Read more about the environmental savings in our Remanufactured Cartridges article.

A fourth option is to buy an ink refill kit so that you can refill your old ink cartridges yourself. Remember that empty cartridges are best refilled while they are still fresh. If they are empty and unused for too long there is a risk that your print head (if applicable) has been clogged.

Learn more about Inkjet Based printing by reading below articles:

• Inkjet Ink, the substance encased in a Ink Cartridge
• Inkjet Printers, a printer technology that uses Ink Cartridges