Product Profiles

Printing terminology can sometimes be a little too technical or confusing. To aid you in your search for ink jet savings, we have assembled the following definitions and explanations for various the types of printing cartridge supply products that we offer. This page and our FAQ page are good starting points for the enquiring mind, though we are also available to answer questions on specific and general topics over the phone Monday through Friday, 8:30AM to 5:30PM Pacific. Call us at 800-901-4657 or email support@a1inks.com.

• ink jet print cartridge: In some cases, the ink jet print cartridge contains the ink jet ink and the printer head (as with most HP and Lexmark printing machines), in others, the printing cartridge is simply an ink tank that delivers ink to the printing machine. With most ink jet print cartridges, ink jet ink is stored by means of an internal sponge, though there are some notable suggestions such as the HP 51645A and most newer Epson cartridges (T032, T033, T034, T042, T044 and T048 series). These printing cartridges contain no internal sponge, but rather, the ink is stored in a cavity or system of cavities inside the cartridge. ink jet print cartridges come in a variety of color combinations: some contain only one color, while others may have three, four or even five colors in different chambers.

• Ink Tank: An ink tank is a ink jet print cartridge that does not contain a printer head, but simply feeds ink jet ink to the printing machine's printer head mechanism. Most Canon, Epson and Brother ink jet print cartridges fall into this category.

• ink printing machine: Ink jet printing technology dates from the late 1970s, however, ink printing machines did not become widely popular until the 1990s. Ink printing machines create images and text by precisely placing small droplets of ink jet ink on paper or other media. The dots created by the ink drops are smaller in diameter than a human hair, and different colored dots (generally cyan, magenta and yellow) can be combined in various ways to produce a wider range of color tones. Ink jet technology continues to evolve: monochrome printing machines were replaced long ago by 4-color printers, which are now being superseded by 6- and 7-color photo printers. Resolution and speed have been improving with each new generation of ink printing machines released on the market.

• Compatible (AKA Generic): Compatible printing cartridges are, simply put, cartridges made to work with a given printing machine, but not manufactured by the OEM manufacturer. All of our brand new compatible printing cartridges are brand spanking new, never been used. They arrive at your doorstep in pristine, factory-sealed condition, ready for you to open and install in your printing machine. Our JetMaster brand brand new compatible ink jet print cartridges are made in ISO-certified facilities with adherence to strict manufacturing specifications and quality assurance guidelines to ensure you both good quality prints and dependable output. New compatible ink tanks are available for Brother, Canon, Epson, Okidata and some Xerox printers. Legally, there are no new brand new compatible ink jet print cartridges available for HP or Lexmark, as their printing cartridges contain a patented printer head (Be aware that some printing cartridge retailers label their restored printing cartridges as brand new compatibles, though they are in fact selling refilled printing cartridges).

• OEM (AKA Genuine): The Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM for short) designation is reserved for ink jet print cartridges, laser printing cartridges, ribbons and other printing cartridge supply products that are manufactured by the same company that made the printing machine.

• Remanufactured: Other descriptive terms for this type of cartridge are either refilled, recharged or reinked. Both ink jet and laser printing cartridges, as well as dot-matrix ribbon cartridges can be restored, though of course the technique varies by printing technology. We offer a wide variety of restored laser printing cartridges and continually add new ones to our product line. Our restored toner powder print cartridges are refilled with toner specially formulated for the printing cartridge it is used in. The replacement blades, wands and rollers are carefully cleaned and inspected for wear, and replaced as necessary. Currently the only restored printing cartridges that we have are laser printing cartridges. In our experience, remanufactured ink jet print cartridges are best suited for serving local markets; the stresses of shipping (particularly by air) can cause remanufactured ink jet print cartridges to leak in transit.

• ink printing machine recharge kit: A set of tools, ink jet inks and instruction booklet for re-inking ink jet print cartridges. Unlike many ink printing machine recharge kit retailers who sell so-called universal ink printing machine recharge kits, each of our ink printing machine recharge kits is designed around the needs of a individual ink jet print cartridge; therefore, our kits include printing cartridge-specific instruction booklets, cartridge-specific ink jet inks and cartridge-specific ink jet re-inking gears. See the individual JetMaster ink printing machine recharge kit details for printing cartridge compatibility and yield.

• ink jet ink: Jet ink (or Bubblejet ink as it was originally termed by Canon) is a complex emulsion of either pigments or dyes (for color), stabilizers to maintain the integrity of the emulsion, solvents and glycol. As of 2004, we offer over 200 different types of ink jet inks, each specially formulated to match the original inks of the ink jet print cartridge for which it is designed. We offer bulk ink jet ink in 2.35oz bottles, 4.35oz bottles and pint bottles online. If you are interested in larger quantities, please call for pricing and availability of your desired ink in gallons or larger containers.

• cleaning kit: This kit is similar to the regular ink printing machine recharge kit, however, its purpose is to clean the printing cartridge and/or printer head to optimize print quality and output. Our cleaning kits include specialized ink jet ink solvents in one of two basic formulations: one is optimized for printing cartridges that use pigmented inks, while the other is meant for dye-based ink jet print cartridges.

• Cleaning cartridges: cleaning cartridges are simply printing cartridges or tanks that have been filled with an ink jet ink cleaning solution instead of ink. Their application is simple: install the cleaning cartridge in place of the regular ink jet tank and either run a cleaning cycle or print a test page (or both). These two actions will drawn the cleaning solution from the cartridge and through the printer head, dissolving dried ink and any other blockages in the printer head along the way. These cleaning cartridges are most effective when used as part of the printing machine's regular maintenance. We have cleaning cartridges available for the following ink jet print cartridge models: Epson S020110, Epson S020118, Epson S020122, Epson S020126, Epson S020130, Epson S020187, Epson S020189, Epson S020191, Epson S020193, Epson T001, Epson T003, Epson T005, Epson T019, Epson T020, Canon BCI-21BK and Canon BCI-21C. As only a little cleaning solution is used each cycle, a set of cleaning cartridges should last you a while if properly stored.

• Printer head: This is the mechanism that sprays the tiny ink drops onto the paper in a certain pattern. printer heads contain tiny jets or nozzles that are finer than a human hair. Canon, Epson and Brother ink printing machines tend to have printer heads are part of the printing machine, whereas with HP and Lexmark ink printing machines, the printer head is part of the printing cartridge.

• Laser Printing cartridge (AKA Toner Cartridge): Laser printing cartridges are made up of several components that each take part in preparing, regulating, charging and transferring the toner powder to the paper in a prescribed pattern, as well as some that do the clean up afterwards. Unlike ink jet print cartridges, toner powder print cartridges contain a solid powdered substance (toner powder) which is used to form the printed image and then fused on the page. In general, toner powder print cartridges rely on the magnetic propensities of the toner powder particles to be attracted to the properly-charged areas of the OPC drum.

• Toner powder: The great majority of toner powders contain particles of carbon and iron, as well as anti-caking and other agents. Toner powder can be of varying grain and fineness, depending on the printing cartridge model and resolution. The iron is an important toner powder ingredient, as it is magnetic -- an important feature for the technology of laser printing. Laser printing was formerly a strictly monochromatic technology, however, in the past few years, color laser toner printers and their technology have advanced to a point where they are becoming viable options for many businesses. For your convenience, we sell our toner powder in pre-measured bottles; one bottle is equivalent to one re-ink. New toner powders are continually under development, so if you need toner powder for a laser printing cartridge or printing machine not listed on our website, please call or email.

• Replacement blades, wands and rollers: There are several internal components that come into play inside a toner powder print cartridge. These include, but are not limited to: the OPC drum, the wiper blade (cleans any remaining toner off the drum at the end of the print cycle), the doctor blade ("doctors" the amount of toner that is allowed out of the toner hopper and onto the drum), the recovery blade (guides waste toner from the wiper blade into the waster hopper), the toner hopper (container for the toner powder), the magnetic roller (charges the toner with the correct polarity and delivers it to the drum), the primary charge roller (PCR for short, it magnetizes the drum so it can attract the toner powder).

• Paper and Media: Three of the main ink printing machine manufacturers have developed their own specialty ink jet papers and specialty media, which they have coated and optimized for various printing applications. We are able to offer brand name specialty ink jet papers from Epson, Canon and HP.

Still have questions? Call us at 800-901-4657 or email support@a1inks.com.