John C. Arkin asked:


Among all of the printers that are available in the market today, the most preferred and purchased type of printer is the liquid inkjet printers. It is used for a number a different purposes from printing out essays to complete brochures and newsletters. It is found in residential homes, business establishments, academic institutions, government offices and non-profit organizations.

What is a liquid inkjet printer?

Liquid inkjet printers are those that use nozzles to spray miniscule droplets of colored ink from the cartridge onto the paper’s surface. There are two kinds of liquid inkjet printers depending on the printer head used. The first is the fixed-head type. This kind of inkjet printer has a built-in printer head which is designed to last the entire lifespan of the printer.

The second type of liquid inkjet printers are those equipped with a disposable head. This means that each time that the ink cartridge needs to be replaced the printer head would need to be replaced as well. This makes this kind of inkjet printer more costly.

Common brands of liquid inkjet printers

The most common and most popular liquid inkjet printer brands in the United States today are:

Hewlett-Packard

Canon

Epson

Brother

Xerox

Lexmark

Advantages of liquid inkjet printers

They are much quieter than dot matrix printers

Liquid inkjet printers are able to print fine quality images similar to that of a photo printer with the ability to print text documents as well, unlike most photo printers

Liquid inkjets are able to print documents and images faster because it does not have to warm up

Highly cost-effective. Newer models now allow you to purchase ink cartridges by the color. This means that you only need to replace whichever ink cartridge is empty and then use the remaining cartridges. Some liquid inkjet printer cartridges being sold today are designed to be refillable. When a cartridge runs out of ink, you can simply refill the cartridge with inks that are available in most office and school supply stores. These ink refill kits are cheaper than buying completely new liquid inkjet printer cartridges.

Disadvantages of liquid inkjet printers

There are a few disadvantages of using liquid inkjet printers as well. The first is that most liquid inkjet printers that are now out in the market today are equipped with very fine nozzles that are prone to clogging. Although these printers come with the capability to clean the nozzles, this cleaning process uses up a significant amount of ink.

Another reason is that liquid inkjet printer use inks that are water-soluble. They are prone to smear, blot and even be damaged when it comes in contact with even just a minute drop of water, completely ruining your printed works.

Corbin Newlyn asked:


Have you ever tossed aside an printer cartridge? If you’re the kind of person that does a lot of printing each day, you’ll probably end up using more than one ink cartridge in a month. When your it runs out of ink, throwing it away is not always the best option.

There is good money to be saved by taking your empty printer ink cartridge and getting it refilled instead of buying a new one. In the majority of cases, you can save as much as 70% of the price of it if you choose to refill them instead of purchasing new ones.

In addition to saving money, you actually help the environment by reducing the amount of garbage that goes into landfills each day by refilling your printer cartridge instead of throwing it away and buying a new one. Keep in mind that the majority of printer ink cartridges nowadays are constructed of non-biodegradable materials such as plaster. What this means is it would take hundreds and hundreds of years to have a small ink cartridge disintegrate.

If you’re the type of individual that uses more than one new printer ink cartridge in one months time and you do not refill your empty cartridge, you are in effect adding more pollutants to the environment. Imagine how much actual non-degradable (pollutants) you would be creating in a years time at the rate you are going now.

Choosing the Appropriate Ink For Your Printer Cartridge Refill

There are many different types of ink on the market today based on the fact that certain printer brands use specific kinds of ink. If your computer brand is say a Hewlett-Packard then there are specific types of ink cartridges with ink made especially for that brand that you should use.

It is not a good idea to use an ink that may be incompatible with your computer printer because the possibility exists that you could damage your printer. It is also prudent that you not use any of the cheaper ink’s that may adhere to your printer causing distortions and discolorations in the colors.

To ensure that you have the right cartridge refill, it would be wise to bring your empty cartridge to a local retailer that specializes in refilling ink cartridges. Even though refilling the printer ink cartridge on your own may be somewhat less expensive than bringing your empty ink cartridge to someone who specializes in that work, there may be many things that may not go as smoothly when you’re refilling your ink cartridge. Also, keep in mind that refilling ink into your ink cartridge can be a messy job.