The Benefits Of Printers Using Individual Ink Cartridges
By Eli Fry

Individual cartridges are not a new phenomenon to hit the printing world; in fact, they have been around for years.

HP was one of the first companies to have separate color cartridges for their printers, such as the early Designjet series and wide format printers. This system worked well but required a large printer to hold the cartridges, that were huge in comparison to what are used today.

Although HP has continued to manufacture this type of printer, they have been traditionally best suited for special applications or heavy printing. Individual ink cartridges were not to be found as an option in personal inkjet until 2001. Epson came out with the C80, and about the same time Canon came out with like the BJC-3000 series.

This new, separate color ink cartridge system was a real innovation for small offices and home use. The printer's footprint was equivalent to other contemporary 2-cartridge (1 black cartridge and 1 color cartridge) but had the advantages of the older large that used separate color cartridges

One of the best aspects of having separate ink cartridges in your printer is being able to replace a single color when it is empty instead of having to replace all colors. If you print multiple copies of the same photo or image, you'll most likely use more of one color. This makes individual cartridges especially economical.

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Features: *30-81kHz horizontal frequency, 56-75Hz vertical *Includes - D-sub VGA cable power cord users guide, monitor driver, Natural Color and MagicTune software (Mac version of MagicTune available on Samsung.com for download) *19 (diagonal) TFT LCD Flat-pa
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Features: *Wide 140-degree horizontal and vertical viewing angles *250 nits of brightness, 500:1 contrast ratio, 16 ms response time *Simple setup supports optional wall mount *PC compatible 3-year warrantyGreat
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Silver Features: *Dual digital and analog inputs for maximum versatility *Wide 170-degree viewing angles *250 nits of brightness, sharp 500:1 contrast ratio *2-year warranty PC and Mac compatibleForm Function and
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Features: *The HP Printing Mailbox automatically downloads and prints Presto e-mails over a standard phone line, without interrupting voice calls. It uses plain 8.5 x 11 paper and one standard HP print cartridge. *Presto Service only delivers messages from family and fr
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Features: *Accepts standard analog and digital DVD-I inputs *600:1 contrast ratio, 170-degree viewing angles *16 ms response time wall-mountable *PC, Mac, and HDTV compatible 3-year warrantyProduct DescriptionThe inno
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7. Hewlett-Packard HP Photosmart 130 Color Printer - $83.99
Features: *Up to 4,800 x 1,200 optimized color dpi on HP Premium Photo papers *Prints a borderless 4-by-6-inch photo in less than 3 minutes *Small and lightweight for easy transportability *HP Memories disc-creator software for albums and slide shows
8. Samsung SyncMaster 192MP 19" LCD Monitor with TV Tuner - $299.00
Silver Features: *Analog, digital DVI-D, video, component, and TV source inputs *170-degree horizontal and vertical viewing angles *700:1 contrast ratio, 250-nit brightness, 25 ms response time *Picture-in-picture, MagicBright technology, 3-year warr
9. Dell 924 Photo All-In-One Inkjet Printer - $84.99
Features: *Max Resolution Color: 4800x1200 dpi *Port(s) Total (Free) / Connector Type: USB (cable not included), PictBridge *Monochrome: Up to 17 cpm, Color: Up to 12 cpm *Min Operating System: Microsoft Windows 2000/XP/XP 64 BitProduct D
10. HP Deskjet 3745 Color Inkjet Printer - $55.50



All in one or "tri-color" cartridges usually contain Cyan, Magenta and Yellow. Some cartridges also have Light Cyan and Light Magenta for a total of 6 possible colors in one single cartridge. The inks are not used at equal rates, so inevitably you will run out of one color (usually yellow) before the others, which renders the entire cartridge unusable. A lot of usable ink gets thrown out, which is a waste of money when you consider the cost per milliliter of ink.

Image quality on a color to color basis does not change with separate tanks but does allow for more colors to be added for photo printers. More colors to start with means it is easier to accurately replicate the original colors of the image.

Today's high-end use more individual color cartridges in additional to cyan, magenta, yellow, light cyan and light magenta. Epson and Canon photo can use an array of additional colors like red, green, blue, matte black, photo black, light black and even light light black. These inks are designed to provide better halftones, so it is easier to reproduce photographs. Additional colors also produce more accurate and richer photos, especially in grayscale printing.

Human eyes see more than 9 million colors. Color has hue, intensity and luminosity, so it makes sense to start with a larger palette.

Another benefit to individual color tanks is that they are generally larger capacity ink volumes. You have more of each color in the printer at a time, so they will last longer and you'll spend less time changing cartridges.

In case you need more justification for using an Epson or Canon printer with individual tanks, the individual compatible cartridges are inexpensive, ranging from $4.87 - $6.87 each.

ASAP Inkjets sells discount ink cartridges and laser toner. Signup for their free newsletter for useful computer tips, and discounts at:subscribe@asapinkjets.com or visit: www.asapinkjets.com/