Buying a Printer

Separate Colored Ink Cartridges

SUMMARY: Separate colored printer ink cartridges can lower a printer's TCO.

Most color inkjets, bubble-jets, etc. come with two print cartridges, one for black & white printing, and one for color. This may be convenient and seem cheap in that when the printer runs out of color ink, you only have to replace one cartridge.

However, if you plan on doing a lot of printing, you may want to spend the extra money when purchasing a printer and buy one with separate colored ink cartridges. Some printers have separate cartridges for Cyan, Magenta, and Yellow, which, combined with Black, form the colors on paper. Some color printers may even contain other cartridges to more accurately display a wider range of color.

The advantage of having separate cartridges is simple. If several prints require less use of one particular color, then that color of toner or ink can be saved for later use. This way, if you tend to print the same colors often, such as when printing company stationary or letterhead, you may only have to replace one or two of the cartridges. However, if you used an all-in-one cartridge, using up all of the available cyan or magenta means that no matter how much yellow you have remaining, it cannot be used on future prints that require all colors. The whole cartridge must be thrown away.

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