These small boxes constitute a significant part of the cost of using an inkjet printer. The good news is that much money can be saved when buying your next set of ink cartridges.

The simple rules are to buy online, compare prices before buying and to go with compatible ink cartridges. The results are savings on up to 75% of the cost compared to buying original ink cartridges at your local store.

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» Popular Ink Cartridges

Brother	LC-01, LC-02, LC-04, LC-21, LC-25, LC-31, LC-41, LC-51
Canon	BCI-3, BCI-5, BCI-6, BCI-8, BCI-120, BCI-130, BCI-140, BJI-20
Epson	S02025, S02036, T0601, T0691, T0692, T0693, T0694, T0771, T0774
HP	HP 02, HP 15, HP 21, HP 40, HP 44, HP 74, HP 88 HP 96
Lexmark	10N0016, 10N0026, 12A1970, 12A1980, 16G0050, 16G0070
Xerox	8R7660, 8R7661, 8R7662, 8R7663, 8R7880, 8R7972 8R7973 8R7881

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More 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.

As for Laser Toner Cartridges, Inkjet Ink Cartridges can be divided into three different groups depending on the origin of the raw materials and the used manufacturing process:

• 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 the last years on if 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 a better choice for users primarily using black ink where the prints don’t need to last. Print quality is also 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.
• 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! Read our Cheap Ink Cartridges Guide for advice on how to save money on your next buy.If most of your print jobs is 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 if you are not open for taking any chances. Read more about OEM 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 reduce waste and energy consumption. Read more about the environmental savings in our Remanufactured Cartridges article.

A fourth option is to buy a ink refill kit so that you can refill your old ink cartridges yourself. Remember that empty cartridges are best refilled while they still are fresh. If they are empty and unused for too long there is a risk that your printhead (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