If you’re searching for a new printer or looking for the correct cartridge to fit your printer, you’re sure to stumble across the question- what’s the difference between an ink cartridge and a toner cartridge? Whilst both toners and ink are used to print, they differ in their components and printing mechanism.
An ink cartridge is the ink reservoir for an inkjet printer. Ink cartridges are smaller in size than toner and probably the most recognisable for most people with a printer in the home. Ink cartridges typically come in four colours: black, cyan, yellow and magenta. With these four colours, you can create millions of combinations of colours! The exception to this is photo colour ink cartridges which come in a wider colour range for printing photos. This makes inkjet printers that use ink cartridges perfect for printing photos.
An ink cartridge is made up of a small sponge saturated with liquid ink. The printhead consists of nozzles that are responsible for spraying the ink onto paper. The nozzles ensure the ink is distributed evenly, creating the shape desired for text or images. The printed page you see will therefore reflect the image on the screen. One disadvantage of having liquid ink is that it can dry out, so the cartridges need to be used frequently to avoid this. Another important component of an ink cartridge is the chip. The chip inside a cartridge is responsible for communicating with the software in the printer. The chip has information in it that allows it to work with a particular printer. This is why one cartridge works in one printer, and not in another. It also contains information on the ink levels of each colour and if they need to be replaced. The chip will provide this information to the printer and will allow the user to read it on screen. One disadvantage of chips is that they’re inserted by the manufacturer and prevent the cartridge from being refilled. Thankfully, our 123ink own-brand ink cartridges and their chips are fully compatible with all printer brands.
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