HP cartridge technology: More than meets the eye

While the rand/dollar exchange rate has forced the prices of genuine printer consumables to align to a more reasonable level, buyers of this technology are still not aware of the intelligence resident in the HP cartridges and the fact that inkjet printers simply provide a casing for those cartridges to get their job done.

"Inside every inkjet cartridge there`s a wealth of technology, a factor which has contributed to the relatively high-cost associated with HP cartridges over the past year," says Janine de Wolf, product manager for HP consumables at ACT. "The technology integrated into genuine HP printer cartridges, besides anything else, is one of the most compelling reasons to buy approved cartridges instead of generic or compatible cartridges.

"The technology used for printing is constantly being researched and further developed. HP spends over EUR3.4 billion every year on research and development, ensuring the level of quality and reliability is constantly on the increase," De Wolf continues.

"Looking closer at this technology, some inkjet cartridges make use of more than 300 nozzles to accurately and precisely lay ink down on a page. Each of these nozzles must be capable of producing a vapour blast that`s seven times more intense than the sun, for two millionths of a second. This process is repeated 36 000 times per second, no small feat," she says.

In order to control the flow of ink to the nozzles accurately and reliably, each HP cartridge also has its own integrated circuit, which needs to direct print instructions to the right ink nozzles with exact timing. The advanced design of this integrated circuit allows many HP inkjet print cartridges to benefit from features like Electronic Drop Detection (EDD).

In addition to controlling the operation of the cartridge, the integrated circuit constantly monitors the print head`s health and makes ongoing adjustments to ensure that consistent output quality is maintained. If an individual nozzle malfunctions, the integrated circuit is intelligent enough to assign the task to another nozzle on the fly.

"With this in-built technology, it`s difficult to not question what technology actually exists in the printer itself. It`s also no surprise then that genuine cartridges ensure longer life for printers and better quality results," De Wolf concludes.