All posts tagged Printer ink

Printer Cartridges – Cheap vs Original

By on May 24, 2012 in Ink, News with No Comments

Buying the correct ink cartridges for your printer can already be a confusing task without even looking at re manufactured cartridges or cheap imitations.  The question posed here is does it make a difference what type of ink cartridges we put in our printer as long as they do the job?! – And that is print.

Re manufactured cartridge are those that have been cleaned and checked for damage before being recycled and refilled with a new batch of ink.  The main benefits of these types of ink cartridges is that they work out cheaper, but also they are environmentally friendly as recycling cartridges prevents them being sent to landfill after one use.  Re manufactured products entered the market a few years ago and are perfectly fine to use in most types of printers providing that the cartridges have been cleaned, checked and refilled properly.  However problems can arise when companies do not take much care in cleaning and refilling cartridges which can result in unreliable cartridges that may break and at the same time damage your printer.

Cloned cartridges usually manufactured in Asia are copies of original manufacturers ink cartridges and have become attractive to ink consumers because of their cheap price tags.  Even though the ink cartridges are made from scratch compared to re-manufactured cartridges they are still the cheapest type of cartridges on the market.  However the low price tags has got to make you question their reliability – you will find with these types of cartridges that they do not print consistently well and the print quality is nowhere near as good as original ink cartridges.  It is also believed that these cheap cartridges can damage your printer thus the cost of having to replace your printer will outweigh the benefits of purchasing these clone cartridges.

To ensure the longevity of your printer the best option is to purchase original or re manufactured ink cartridges.  Both types will ensure you get the most from your printer model in terms of  good, quality prints.  As the ink found in both original and re manufactured cartridges is perfectly compatible the risk of damage to your printer is minimal ensuring that you will get the most out of it and it remains reliable for a long period of time.

To find suitable ink cartridges for your printer visit iClick Ink where we stock thousands of ink products.

The Cube, desktop 3D printer for your home

By on March 6, 2012 in Ink, News with 2 Comments

After my recent blog post about the possibility of printing a house, we’ve had a kind reply from an expert in this field. Brunel University London’s Dr P Smith is one of the world’s leading experts in the exciting sphere of 3D printing. Read more…

What are the benefits of the new silver ink?

By on January 25, 2012 in Ink with No Comments

Researchers have discovered a new material which can be used to produce ink – silver.  The study conducted at the University of Illinois has been published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society and details how a solution of silver and ammonia has produced a new ink.  The printer ink is liquid at room temperature, with smaller particles than those in standard inks and requires smaller printer nozzles, as small as 100 nanometres whereas standard devices have a nozzle usually around a micrometre across.

These new printer ink cartridges are expected to give a finer resolution and greater detail in printed documents.  Other advantages include the printer ink being easier to manufacture, store and transport due to its stable solution of chemicals.  Conventional inks require a very high temperature to become conductive and get fed through a nozzle, whilst the silver-based solution needs a temperature of 90 degrees Celsius (194 degrees Fahrenheit) to reach its maximum conductivity.

The new inks to be used in toner cartridges will be cool enough to print on to a large variety of materials such as fabrics and plastic.   The new printer ink is surprisingly not going to be that expensive compared to other printer ink already on the market. The price of silver fluctuated between 26 and 48 US dollars per ounce last year and researchers suggest that an ounce of silver would produce a good size of ink to go into toner cartridges.   This ensures that the final cost to the consumer will be similar to that of printer inks already on the market.

Tanaka Precious Metals has made the world’s first silver ink available commercially from the 18th January.  The silver ink doesn’t require a thermal processing time or technical equipment allowing for an efficient production speed per unit.  Three different silver printer inks are now available and consumers can choose which they need depending on the manufacturing application and equipment.  The ink was showcased at the 41st Internepcon Japan last week, this is the biggest exhibition in Asia for electronics and manufacturing technologies.