In 2007, research showed that, generally speaking, a lot of ink cartridges are replaced prematurely, sometimes when as much as 50% of the ink remains in the print cartridge. This discovery can cause a lot of problems for those who own inkjet printers in the UK and worldwide. Following are a few more facts regarding the study.

Ink Cartridges – Astounding Data Discovered

The study was conducted by TUV Rhineland, an international service group that documents the security and superiority of brand new and already available products, systems, and services using relevant standards and meaningful performance measures The research was commissioned by Epson. TUV Rhineland examined five well-known inkjet printer name brands of printers which employ single and various types of printer cartridges. The research indicates many differentiations in the way that effective inkjet printers are in using both colour and black ink cartridges. The Epson brand printer was normally the most productive, using as much as 80% of the ink in a cartridge. Kodak ended up being the least productive, wasting around 64% of the ink supply inside the cartridge. However, the most crucial discovery is that numerous printers will give a mistaken indication that they are about to run out of ink.

Ink Cartridges – More Information Documented

The study also reported that cartridges that contain multiple colours of ink report themselves empty when only a single colour is expended. So, if you’re using an ink cartridge which has multiple colours, you will have to trash it whether it is empty or not. This stresses the dominance of printers which use separate inkjet cartridges for each individual colour and also black. Nonetheless, research shows that single cartridges still indicate that they are empty when there is about 20% of ink left in the cartridge.

Ink Cartridges – What Was Not Addressed By the Researchers

The study didn’t consider situations where ink is lost due to under use or expended in cleaning procedures. Many people are aware that printer ink cartridges do not function as well if the printer isn’t used on a regular basis. Something else that the researchers did not consider is the “cost per page,” an aspect that aids users in settling on which colour and black ink cartridges provide the highest productivity level. Cost per page is key in determining the price of using an inkjet printer, in spite of the printer cartridge system it utilizes.

Print Head Location

Another factor that influences the cost of a printer ink cartridge is the location of the print head. In some of the more popular printers like Epson, Hewlett Packard and Canon, the print head is built into the ink cartridge along with a microchip that controls communication with the printer. If the printer is not used regularly, the print head in the cartridge is likely to dry out and become blocked. In addition, if the proper OEM ink isn’t used, the print head will also get blocked. A further problem with these types of cartridges is that the embedded chips make it more difficult for companies other than the OEM to produce them.

The best advice for inkjet printer owners in the UK from our in-house experts is to find a reliable source for ink cartridges that balances price with quality.

So, in spite of the fact that the research offered some data that can help UK buyers make educated buying decisions concerning inkjet printers as well as ink cartridges, it left many important questions unanswered.