Printing has come a long way since the first Guttenberg bible.  Ever since that first manuscript was printed, ink cartridges have evolved. They moved from rolled on ink, mimeograph machines, and ink ribbons and finally up to the printer ink cartridges we know today. Here’s a history of printer ink cartridges.

When computers first started being produced for mass consumer use printers were stuck with basically the same ink delivery system as a typewriter. They used an inked ribbon on a spool cartridge and used a process called dot matrix to produce a really low quality image.

The next area of innovation was the toner cartridge.  They’re still in use today for mass black and white copying and printing. These are common in copiers and laser printers. They allow for high-speed mass reproduction of any black and white document.

Moving up to the modern era though we have the ink jet cartridge that lets you produce high quality printing in black and white and in color. The way it does this is by using two separate sets of cartridges. The first cartridge is just for black ink. The second cartridge contains three primary colors that mix together to give you great eye-popping color prints and even photographs.

For years whenever an ink jet cartridge was empty you just tossed it away and bought a new one. Now a days though you can refill your inkjet cartridge or buy refilled/refurbished ones.

Refurbished printer ink cartridges typically cost much less than a brand new one. If you choose to refill the cartridge yourself it’s even cheaper, but can be a little bit messy.

So there’s a history of printer ink cartridges from the lowly dot-matrix ribbon through modern photo quality ink jet printers.  There are all sorts of options out there for whatever printer you choose.


Related posts:

  1. Add Printer Ink to Your Grocery List
  2. History of HP Printers
  3. History of Lexmark Printers
  4. Why You Should Choose Your Printer Ink First, Printer Second
  5. The Epson Ink Cartridge – Backed By a History of Quality

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