Various Types of Printer Cartridges & Their Purposes

When you are going to find the best printer cartridge for your printer, you will find numbers of options dealing with your purpose. Some of them might lead you in a confusing state with no results or high-cost shopping experience. Remember, from an abundance of the cartridges, every product is not meant for your need. You need to be a little cautious to choose the most relevant. So, in this write-up, we have discussed major categories of printer cartridges based on various purposes. Let’s begin now:

1. Based on Printer Type

Bases on the printer categories, there are basically two types of cartridge categories prevailing in the industry. One is ink cartridges for inkjet printer and another is toner cartridges for a laser printer. Here, we have a detailed description of these both categories:

• Ink cartridge

As the name suggests, ink cartridges are found in a liquid state. These cartridges are considered best for delivering high-quality images output. This solution is best suited for all your office and home printing needs. The best part is that they fall under the cheap cartridges category. 

• Toner cartridge

Toner is made from fine polyester particles known as plastic powder. It starts printing on paper when your laser printer gets heated up. Toner is little costlier than ink cartridges. So, if any brand offers cheap printer cartridge, think about it. Later, you may need to sacrifice for the quality aspect.

2. Based on Acquisition

According to the acquisition, cartridges are categorised under three heads. Original, compatible and remanufactured. A detailed description of all these is given below:

• Original Cartridge

Original or genuine cartridges lies under the category of most expensive and distinctive cartridges. These are branded and manufactured by the name manufacturer of your printer. These cartridges are manufactured after conducting lots of research. Therefore, these are considered as the best cartridge for all your need, whether documents or images printing.

• Compatible Cartridge

Compatible cartridges are a cost-effective technique of acquiring a cartridge. These are spread largely in the market and suits all types of printers. Majority of the business this cheaper option to deal with everyday office printing needs.

• Remanufactured Cartridge

Remanufactured cartridges are the easy way to restore your hard earned. As the original manufactured cartridge can be used for 2-3 times. So, refilling your original cartridge with quality ink is the best way to produce quality results.

3. Based on Ink Character

• Pigment Ink Cartridge

Pigment inks are water resistant and have long-lasting results on the paper. Therefore, they bear a higher price compared to dye-based ink. This ink uses solid particles of pigment powder suspended in the ink to transfer colour. That helps in resists of fading for longer and does not smudge when drying.

• Dye-based Ink Cartridge

Dye-based ink is a complete solution for your inkjet printer. It dissolved in water and forms various vibrant and brighter colours on the paper. This solution is more likely to smear and fade away in direct sunlight. Their time interval for dying is also high compared to pigment ink cartridges.

Bottom Line

Hope the above outline able to give you a brief idea about different types of printer cartridges. So, the next time while shopping for it, check out your cartridge need. Most importantly, it is highly desirable to look for your printer model number and the cartridge you get at the time of acquiring a new printer. Still, you are confused at the time of buying new, simply go with a new original cartridge option.