Printer ink is supplied in cartridges called printer cartridges or inkjet cartridges as well as in printer ribbon format. Printer ink is released during the printing process enabling the transfer of text or graphics onto paper. Printer ink cartridges are used in inkjet printers within the home, workplace or schools. They offer a great printing finish and are often cheaper than laser printing.

Printer Ink Cartridges

When choosing printer ink cartridges it is important that they are compatible with your printer. You can find this out by reading the printer manual or looking at the product number of the current ink in your printer. Ink cartridges contain single or multiple ink reservoirs. These reservoirs can contain different colours of ink and generally come in black or colour versions. Ink colours include black, grey, cyan, magenta, yellow, light cyan, light magenta. These colours form part of a colour model called CMYK which, when combined in different quantities create many different colours. The "Approximate Page Yield" of an ink cartridge represents how many pages the cartridge should last for. If you are planning on doing a large amount of printing, you should choose a printer cartridge with a higher page coverage.

Printer Ribbons

A printer ribbon is a cloth soaked in ink that yields printouts. Printer ribbon is also known as ink ribbon and comes in spools or cartridges. When printing, the ribbon and paper travel in unison beneath the print head as the ink from the ribbon is transferred onto the paper. Ink ribbon is used in impact and thermal printers and is excellent when cost and quantity are more important than the intricate detail of an image. Applications that use printer ribbons include fax machines, point of sale systems and cash registers