With huge numbers of households (and most small businesses) now owning and using at least one printer, the thorny subject of inkjet cartridges remains shrouded in mystery for the majority of users.
In recent years, all the major desktop printer manufacturers (including HP, Lexmark, Epson, Canon and Brother) have introduced smaller, faster machines that take up less space on the desk which is great.
The downside however, is that the ink cartridges inside the machines have generally become much smaller, containing less ink and therefore need replacing more frequently.
Go back just a few years to the late 1990’s, and the printers being produced then might take a black inkjet containing 40ml or more of ink the very common HP45 is a prime example, containing 42ml.
A tri-colour cartridge would typically contain 30ml or more the HP78A (38ml) being an example of a widely used cartridge. Although HP examples have been used here, the other manufacturers also produced and sold printers with bigger cartridges.
At the turn of the 21st century the price of digital cameras and desktop printers became much lower. The printer manufacturers realized there...