Ink Cartridge Information

An ink cartridge or inkjet cartridge is a replaceable component of an inkjet printer that contains the ink (and sometimes the print head itself) that is deposited onto paper during printing.
Each ink cartridge contains one or more partitioned ink reservoirs; certain manufacturers also add electronic contacts and a chip that communicates with the printer.

Variants

Typically, two separate cartridges are inserted into a printer: one containing black ink and one with each of the three primary colors. Alternatively, each primary color may have a dedicated cartridge.
Some cartridges contain ink specially formulated for printing photographs.
All printer suppliers produce their own type of ink cartridges. Cartridges for different printers may be incompatible — either physically or electrically.
Some cartridges have incorporated the printer's head (examples include HP, Dell, and Lexmark). The precision parts required generally make the cartridges more expensive, but the printers are cheaper since they don't include the precision print head. Other cartridges don't include the print head and so can cost less, though the printers tend to be somewhat more expensive (Epson is an example).