Lexmark platinum pro 905 also has a cartridge finder Smart Solution that locates and prints out a copy of a map showing the nearest retailers carrying the ink cartridges for the Platinum Pro 905. The driver gives you the option to print using all available ink, black ink, or color ink only to extend the life of consumables. The printer uses ink cartridges–one pigment black for printing text and three dye-based yellow, cyan, and magenta cartridges for color prints. The black page of ink to cost 1 cent, and color page cost approximately 3 cents.

Lexmark Platinum Pro 905 is one of the fastest printers in the industry. The black text prints obtained from this cheap printer is close to the laser quality.

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An ink-jet recording method is a recording method involving causing a small ink droplet to fly to plain paper or a dedicated glossy medium to form an image. The method has become rapidly widespread in association with advance of a reduction in price of a recording apparatus and an increase in recording rate of the apparatus. In addition, additional improvements in image quality such as an extreme reduction in size of an ink droplet to be flown and the expansion of a color gamut in association with the introduction of multicolor inks have progressed in recent years. In view of the foregoing, it has been desired to additionally suppress physical property changes with time of ink which may affect image property.

A physical property change resulting from evaporation is an example of the physical property changes with time of ink described above. An aqueous ink composition that can evaporate at a reduced speed has been disclosed as a technique concerning the problem (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H05-214282). Means for suppressing the amount of evaporation of ink depending on the shape of an ink cartridge has been also disclosed (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H10-278290). Further, a technique for suppressing the evaporation of ink by using a specific material as a packaging material for an ink cartridge has been disclosed (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-331688). Meanwhile, an ink having a density in a certain range has been disclosed (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-073598). An ink-jet recording method using two ink cartridges each capable of storing plural inks has been also disclosed (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H05-202328).

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

However, the inventors of the present invention have found the following novel technical problem: when an ink cartridge including an ink-jet head and plural liquid chambers storing inks different from each other is used, an image is apt to change as a period for physical distribution or a period for use is prolonged.

The Lexmark X500n measures 21 inches tall, 19 inches wide, and 17.2 inches deep, and weighs a hefty 77 pounds. The multifunction unit of the printer sits atop the printer comprises a flatbed scanner, an automatic document feeder, and the control panel. The control panel is basic and well-organized.

The X500n uses four toner cartridges: black, cyan, magenta, and yellow. Each cartridge is offered in regular- and high-capacity versions. The regular black costs $90 and yields about 2,500 prints, while the high-capacity version costs $134.70 and yields about 5,000 pages. Each regular color cartridge costs $98.45 and produces about 1,500 pages, while the high-capacity versions cost $119.70 apiece and yield about 3,000 pages.

The cheap Lexmark X500n features a 366MHz processor and 128MB of memory. It offers both USB and Ethernet connectors, so it can be connected directly to a PC or on a network for a multi-user environment and also provides faxing for $500.

At scanning, the Lexmark X500n cheap printer is the fastest printer compared to other same price printers. Printer prints 6.30ppm for grayscale and 6.23ppm for color. Finally, for copying using the automatic document feeder, it is a speed demon: 14.65ppm. This machine is a workhorse! Its black text prints is basically perfect. Black graphics were also very good.

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An ink cartridge includes a cartridge case enclosing an ink chamber; and a path extending from the ink chamber to an exterior of the ink cartridge. The path varies in diameter at different locations along the path; a first diameter of the path in one or more narrow sections is smaller than diameters in all other sections of the path; and the path has a polygonal cross sectional shape in at least one of the narrow sections.

Another benefit to the cheap E460DW is the back features a built-in 802.11b/g/n wireless print server and antenna to sniff out local Wi-Fi networks. There’s an Ethernet port on the back as well for connecting to a wired network. The middle of the monochrome laser printer gives access to the removable toner cartridge, and the bottom-loading input drawer extends out to accept up to 250 sheets of 20-pound paper, a standard amount for any monochrome laser printer. This cheap printer can accept different sizes of media, up to 8.5 inch by 14 inch legal paper.

The Lexmark E460dw contain high-yield 9,000 page toner cartridge, and replacement high-yield cartridges cost $229. The average cost comes out to be 2 cent per page. According to Lexmark, the printer can print up to 80,000 pages per month which are more than enough to handle the output volume of most small to midsize businesses.

The performance of this cheap monochrome laser printer is excellent. The E460dw can print a sheet of black text at 38 pages per minute.

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An ink cartridge includes an ink-jet head and plural liquid chambers storing inks different from each other. The minimum value A1 (g/ml) for the ink densities of the inks stored in the plural liquid chambers and the maximum value B1 (g/ml) for the ink densities of inks each obtained by evaporating 10 mass % of each of the inks stored in the plural liquid chambers satisfy the relationship of (B1-A1)/A1.ltoreq.0.100. A stable image can be obtained, in which, even when the ink cartridge is stored for a long time period at the time of physical distribution, or is stored for a long time period in a state of being mounted on a recording apparatus so that the stored inks are brought into a situation in which the inks are apt to evaporate, a change in color balance is small as compared to an initial state.

The white-and-light-gray unit of this cheap printer stands 16.9 inches wide, 11.5 inches deep, and 6.9 inches tall and weighs a light 10.4 pounds. The scanner lid opens to reveal an A4-size flatbed scanner. The X2500′s control panel is rudimentary, consisting of just six buttons, four of which are start buttons for various tasks.

Lexmark X2500 contain two-ink cartridges: one black and one tricolor (Cyan, Magenta, and Yellow). The black tank can be replaced with a photo ink tank for six-color photo prints. The feature set of Lexmark’s cheap X2500 printer is standard for a low-cost all-in-one. For a $60 all-in-one, the Lexmark X2500 offers a surprisingly full range of features.

The printer prints text at the rate of 4.34 pages per minute. It also printed 4×6 photos fairly quickly–0.77ppm—again. The X2500 fared well in scanning tasks too: 5.36ppm for grayscale and 4.45ppm for color. The quality of the Lexmark X2500 did an impressive job for the price. Texts obtained from the cheap X2500 are nicely dark and looked great at arm’s length. Color gradients are also smooth and color blocks were nicely saturated. The photo elements displayed decent detail as well. The X2500 did a pretty good job with the grayscale scan: it was sharp, and it handled patterns well,

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An ink cartridge, comprising: a cartridge case enclosing an ink chamber; a path extending from the ink chamber to an exterior of the ink cartridge; a valve member having a first state in which communication between the ink chamber and the exterior of the ink cartridge along the path is permitted and a second state in which communication between the ink chamber and the exterior of the ink cartridge along the path is prevented; an urging member enclosing a portion of the path on an ink chamber-side of the valve member, the urging member being capable of urging the valve member toward the exterior of the cartridge and comprising a hollow portion forming the portion of the path; wherein: the path varies in diameter at different locations along the path; a first diameter of the path in one or more narrow sections is smaller than diameters in all other sections of the path; at least one of the narrow sections of the path has a polygonal cross sectional shape in a plane perpendicular to a direction in which ink flows through the at least one of the narrow sections; the hollow portion has a substantially tapered shape, such that a first diameter at a first end of the hollow portion is greater than a second diameter at a second end of the hollow portion; and the hollow portion has a polygonal cross sectional shape at least at the second end.

2. The ink cartridge of claim 1, wherein the urging member is formed of a resin or rubber material having elasticity, the resin or rubber material being combustible.

3. The ink cartridge of claim 1, wherein: the urging member comprises a ink chamber-side portion, an exterior-side portion and an intermediate portion provided between the ink chamber-side portion and the exterior-side portion, the ink chamber-side portion and the exterior-side portion each having a greater structural strength than the intermediate portion; the ink chamber-side portion has a first hollow portion, the exterior-side portion has a second hollow portion and the intermediate portion has a third hollow portion; and at least one of the first hollow portion and the second hollow portion has a polygonal cross sectional shape.

The cheap Lexmark X3550 features the white-and-light-gray body, with silver accents. The printer sits 17.8 inches wide, 7 inches tall and 12.8 inches deep. The input area of the printer is protected by a translucent plastic guard that deflects small objects such as paper clips and pens. The control panel is simple and well-organized. The centerpiece is the two-line, backlit text LCD. The cheap X3550 also offers two built-in memory card readers, as well as a PictBridge-enabled USB port for PC-free photo printing.

The wireless network card can be added to the printer for wireless printing across your home’s Wi-Fi network. The X3550′s features are standard for an entry-level all-in-one printer. This multifunctional X3550 printer isn’t fax-ready, the CD also includes Lexmark’s Fax Solutions utility, which lets you send and receive e-faxes, as long as your PC is equipped with a modem.

The quality of multifunctional X3550′s is also as expected: not spectacular, but decent and serviceable for the occasional home user. Black text prints obtained from black cartridge are nicely dark and looked good at arm’s length. The color graphics print revealed smooth color gradients. Overall, the X3550 did a decent job and is fine for home users who make occasional prints for reference.

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1. An ink cartridge, comprising: an ink-jet head; and plural liquid chambers storing inks different from each other, wherein a minimum value A1 (g/ml) for ink densities of the inks stored in the plural liquid chambers and a maximum value B1 (g/ml) for ink densities of inks each obtained by evaporating 10 mass % of each of the inks stored in the plural liquid chambers satisfy a relationship of (B1-A1)/A1.ltoreq.0.100.

2. An ink cartridge according to claim 1, wherein A1 and a maximum value B2 (g/ml) for ink densities of inks each obtained by evaporating 15 mass % of each of the inks stored in the plural liquid chambers satisfy a relationship of (B2-A1)/A1.ltoreq.0.070.

3. An ink cartridge according to claim 1, wherein a minimum value C1 (g/ml) and a maximum value D1 (g/ml) for the ink densities of the inks each obtained by evaporating 10 mass % of each of the inks stored in the plural liquid chambers satisfy a relationship of (D1-C1)/C1.ltoreq.0.090.

This Photosmart printer measures 5.2 inches tall, 9.9 inches wide and 4.6 inches deep. A small door on the front of the printer folds down to reveal the single HP tri-color inkjet print cartridge, and the rear mounted input tray can hold 20 sheets of photo paper in a variety of sizes including 4×6 inch, 5×7 inch, and all the way up to 4×12-inch panoramas. While other printers require an external disc full of drivers and superfluous software, the Photosmart A636 has all the necessary installation files already preloaded onto the device.

The cheap A636 printer provides a variety of fun, creative ways to edit your photos using more than 300 stock elements, including borders, frames, clip art, and even drawing on the screen. A636 has 64 MB memory bank which help in saving lots of images.

The HP Photosmart A636 performed at a relatively similar speed to the A626 at 0.63 pages per minute but the quality of image obtained from this printer is much better than A626.

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An ink cartridge stores ink to be supplied to an inkjet recording device (inkjet printer). The ink cartridge is provided with an ink storage chamber that stores ink and an ink supply port that supplies ink from the ink storage chamber to the inkjet printer. The ink supply port may also function as an insertion port for an ink extraction tube. When the ink cartridge is not mounted to the inkjet printer, the ink supply port is closed by a valve so that ink will not leak from the ink cartridge.

Mounting the ink cartridge to the inkjet printer is performed by pressing the ink cartridge toward the inkjet printer. In the inkjet printer, a hollow ink extraction tube is protrudingly arranged. When the ink cartridge is mounted to the inkjet printer, the ink extraction tube engages the valve that closes the ink supply port of the ink cartridge, and the ink supply port is opened. By opening the ink supply port, the ink storage chamber and the ink extraction tube are permitted to communicate with each other, and ink is supplied to the inkjet printer via the ink extraction tube.

JP-A-2005-22198 discloses an ink cartridge including an ink supply port having a valve that is urged into a closed position by a coil spring. The ink supply port is opened when the ink cartridge is mounted to an inkjet printer and an ink extraction tube opens the valve by acting against an urging force of the coil spring. When the valve is opened by the ink extraction needle, the ink supply port can supply ink through the ink extraction needle to the inkjet printer.

JP-A-2005-103866 discloses an ink cartridge including a valve element that does not employ a coil spring. The valve element is constructed so as to be slightly deformed by insertion of an ink extraction tube. The slight deformation opens an ink supply port and permits the supply of ink.

This mono laser printer includes a toner cartridge. The E352dn ships with a 3,000-page cartridge. E352dn offer cheap cartridge at $157 for 3,500-pages and a $267 for 9,000-pages. Both cartridges also are available at a great discount under Lexmark’s return cartridge program. Under this program, the 3,500-page unit costs $132 and the 9,000-page unit costs $242. E352dn contain a 366MHz processor and 32MB of onboard memory (expandable to 160MB).

The Lexmark E352d is a little speed demon of a laser printer. It prints out a text document at a rate of 24.13 pages per minute and a page of mixed text and graphics at an impressive 25.47 pages per minute. The Lexmark E352d displayed excellent text quality, with clear, sharp characters unmarred by jaggedness.

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The invention provides for an ink cartridge unit for an inkjet printer. The cartridge includes an elongate main body defining a number of rectangular ink reservoirs along a length thereof, with end reservoirs being larger than reservoirs interposed between the end reservoirs, said end reservoirs being configured to store ink more readily consumed during a printing process. The cartridge also includes a lid assembly covering the main body to seal ink inside the ink reservoirs, and a printhead assembly operatively fed with ink from the ink reservoirs in the main body.

This mono laser printer includes a toner cartridge. The E450dn ships with a 3,000-page cartridge. E450dn offer cheap cartridge at $157 for 3,500-pages and a $267 for 9,000-pages. Both cartridges also are available at a great discount under Lexmark’s return cartridge program. Under this program, the 3,500-page unit costs $132 and the 9,000-page unit costs $242. E450dn contain a 366MHz processor and 32MB of onboard memory (expandable to 160MB).

The Lexmark E450dn is a little speed demon of a laser printer. It prints out a text document at a rate of 24.13 pages per minute and a page of mixed text and graphics at an impressive 25.47 pages per minute. The Lexmark 450dn displayed excellent text quality, with clear, sharp characters unmarred by jaggedness.

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An ink cartridge includes a cartridge body including an ink storage chamber and a wall having an ink introduction hole formed therethrough. The ink introduction hole is configured to receive an ink supply tube of an inkjet printer when the ink cartridge is mounted to the inkjet printer, and the ink supply tube is configured to communicate with an ink supply channel of the inkjet printer via a communication path. The ink cartridge also includes a first valve member configured to selectively open and close the ink introduction hole, and a first urging member configured to apply a first force to the first valve member to urge the first valve member to close the ink introduction hole. The first valve member includes a valve body configured to receive a second force from the ink supply tube when the ink cartridge is mounted to the inkjet printer. The second force urges the first valve member to open the ink introduction hole, and the second force is greater than the first force. The first valve member also includes a projecting portion which projects from the valve body in a predetermined direction toward the exterior of the ink storage chamber via the ink introduction hole. The projecting portion is configured to enter the ink supply tube and to apply a third force to a second valve element of the inkjet printer to urge the second valve element to open the communication path between the ink supply tube and the ink supply chamber when the ink cartridge is mounted to the inkjet printer. Moreover, a second urging member of the inkjet printer is configured to apply a fourth force to the second valve element to urge the second valve element to close the communication path between the ink supply tube and the ink supply chamber, and the third force is greater than the fourth force.

The power consumption and material waste are less in Lexmark laser printer. This color laser printer is composed of toner cartridges which are stacked vertically, resulting in a tall unit: 19 inches tall by 17 inches wide by 20 inches deep.

All three models in Lexmark’s C530 cheap printer come standard with a 375MHz processor and 128MB of RAM (The memory can be expanded up to 640MB). The C530 series printers also come equipped with a USB connector and an Ethernet jack for network printing. The C532dn printer consists of auto duplexer who helps in reducing the amount of paper consumed by printing on both sides of the sheet.

This color laser printer is fast across the board and made high-quality prints. It printed black text at a speedy 17.02 pages per minute, It is quick with black graphics prints, too: 16.36ppm, again, behind only the Oki and the Lexmark C500n. The black text obtained from the printer is clean, sharp, and dark–everything as expected from a laser printer. The same goes for the color text. The black graphics print showed excellent grayscale handling, sharp details, and again, minimal cross-hatching. The color graphics print also showed sharp detail and smooth color gradients Overall, Lexmark C530dn’s print quality is much better than both the HP 2605dn and the Oki C3400n and found it to be on par with the more expensive Oki C5500n.

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1. An ink cartridge unit for an inkjet printer, said cartridge comprising: an elongate main body defining a number of rectangular ink reservoirs along a length thereof, with end reservoirs being larger than reservoirs interposed between the end reservoirs, said end reservoirs being configured to store ink more readily consumed during a printing process; a lid assembly covering the main body to seal ink inside the ink reservoirs; and a printhead assembly operatively fed with ink from the ink reservoirs in the main body.

2. The cartridge unit of claim 1, wherein a base of each ink storage reservoir has a raised portion which surrounds an ink outlet through which ink flows for supply to the printhead assembly, said raised portions moulded into the main body to separate the outlets from the base of the ink storage reservoir to ensure a sufficient flow rate of ink from the reservoir.

3. The cartridge unit of claim 2, having an air barrier and ink filter positioned over the ink outlet atop the raised portions thereby leaving a space between the filter and the outlet for receiving ink, said air barrier and ink filter formed such that ink can readily pass through the mesh to the printhead assembly but any air bubbles present in the ink are prevented from passing through.

4. The cartridge unit of claim 2, having a pressed metal chassis fitted to an underside of the main body via clips formed in the chassis, the pressed metal chassis shaped to conform to the underside of the main body and including a plurality of holes that extend therethrough which are positioned to correspond with the ink outlets of the ink storage reservoirs such that there is a passage for ink to pass through the chassis.

The K850 uses a pigment-based black (for better black text prints over dye-based black) and dye-based cyan, magenta, and yellow inks. The Officejet Pro K850 can be connected via USB 2.0 or parallel port. It ships with a 256MHz processor and 32MB of memory, standard for an inkjet printer. This ink jet printer print text at a rate of 6.31pages per minute and color graphics at a rate of 2.92ppm. The color text obtained from this ink jet printer is beautifully blended. Overall, the print quality and speed of this printer is good enough for offices that want to print small quantities of their own marketing materials.

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What is claimed is:

1. An ink cartridge comprising: a cartridge body comprising: an ink storage chamber configured to store ink therein; and a particular wall having an ink introduction hole formed therethrough, wherein the ink introduction hole is configured to receive an ink supply tube of an inkjet printer when the ink cartridge is mounted to the inkjet printer, and the ink supply tube is configured to communicate with an ink supply channel of the inkjet printer via a communication path; a first valve member configured to selectively open and close the ink introduction hole; and a first urging member configured to apply a first force to the first valve member to urge the first valve member to close the ink introduction hole, wherein the first valve member comprises: a valve body configured to receive a second force from the ink supply tube when the ink cartridge is mounted to the inkjet printer, wherein the second force urges the first valve member to open the ink introduction hole, and the second force is greater than the first force; and a projecting portion which projects from the valve body in a predetermined direction toward the exterior of the ink storage chamber via the ink introduction hole, wherein the projecting portion is configured to enter the ink supply tube and to apply a third force to a second valve element of the inkjet printer to urge the second valve element to open the communication path between the ink supply tube and the ink supply chamber when the ink cartridge is mounted to the inkjet printer, wherein a second urging member of the inkjet printer is configured to apply a fourth force to the second valve element to urge the second valve element to close the communication path between the ink supply tube and the ink supply chamber, and the third force is greater than the fourth force.

2. The ink cartridge of claim 1, wherein the projecting portion comprises: a distal end; and a peripheral surface which connects the valve body to the distal end.

3. The ink cartridge of claim 2, wherein the peripheral surface comprises at least one contact portion configured to contact an inner surface of the ink supply tube and at least one non-contact portion configured not to contact the inner surface of the ink supply tube when the projecting portion enters the ink supply tube.

4. The ink cartridge of claim 3, wherein: the at least one contact portion comprises a plurality of contact portions positioned at regular intervals circumferentially; and the at least one non-contact portion comprises a plurality of non-contact portions, wherein each of the plurality of non-contact portions are positioned between adjacent ones of the plurality of contact portions in a circumferential direction.