Can I Use My Old Ink With My New Printer?
By Barry Shultz
The quick answer is...yes and no.
Consider this. How many printer models do you think
there are out there right now? 1000? 2000? Who
knows. But one thing I do know is nobody is going to
spend the time testing the wrong inks in the wrong
cartridges all day long to see if it works.
All printer manufacturers do things a little
different. Without getting technical, there are
basically three different technologies for inkjet
printers. Epson uses Piezoelectric, Canon uses
Bubblejet and HP and Lexmark use thermal inkjet
technology.
An ink designed for Canon, for instance, has a much
lower convection rate than an ink made for HP or
Lexmark. The reason is HP's cartridge print heads
fire at thousands of degrees. The ink must be made
to withstand that kind of heat or your resulting
output will be unpredictable.
Also there are basically two kinds of ink. Dye based
and Pigmented. Pigmented ink particles are much
larger than dye based particles so using a pigmented
ink in a cartridge designed to use dye based ink
will result in a clogged print head every time.
Also, pigmented inks are waterfast on any surface.
Notice I said waterfast and not waterproof.
Pigmented inks can made waterproof if they are used
with the proper media. The same goes with dye based
inks.
Pay attention to this because it will apply to any
ink on the market. Any dye based ink can be used in
ANY inkjet printer. The color output may not be what
you expected but it will work.
Not so with pigmented inks. Pigmented inks are used
in most black inkjet cartridges today. Epson has a
version of color pigmented inks they call DuraBrite
inks. They are very expensive to make and there is
quite a hefty premium on the bulk inks from any
manufacturer that I have contacted.
DO NOT use pigmented inks in any cartridge that was
designed to use dye based ink.
Generally speaking, HP and Lexmark inks are
interchangeable because their process' are similar.
Watch for color variations though.
The newer Canon cartridges, BCI-3e and BCI-6 colors
are so close that most people cannot tell them
apart. Ironically the cartridges are physically
identical except for the BCI-3e black which is
slightly larger. The BCI-3e black takes pigmented
ink while the BCI-6 takes dye based. Be careful
here. Some of the new Canon printers take both
BCI-3e and BCI-6 black cartridges.
To wrap it up I'll say that you can use most inks in
most printers with the exceptions that I already
mentioned. Color variations, if they occur, might be
compensated for in the printer driver settings. Be
prepared to fiddle with it. Physical damage to the
printer is unlikely in any case, unless the
cartridge is leaking when you put it into your
printer. But you wouldn't do that. Would you?
Barry Shultz is the author of
Atlascopy News, and President of Atlascopy, Inc.
Atlascopy specializes in affordable alternatives to
the high cost of printer supplies.
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