Modular Ink Delivery System
A modular ink delivery system is the separation of ink cartridges and printheads into individual, single-color components. Traditional inkjet printers use one black and one tricolor ink cartridge, each with integrated printheads. HP's modular ink delivery system features four separate ink cartridges—one for each primary printing color--and four corresponding long-life printheads, with tubes connecting the components. Including the standard and high-capacity black ink cartridges, there are actually nine consumables, with only eight used in the printer at one time.
How It Works
By separating the ink cartridge from the printheads, a modular ink delivery system allows the ink supply to remain in a permanent, fixed position. The printheads remain attached to the carriage and move back and forth, delivering ink to the page as the paper advances through the printer. Each printhead and ink cartridge is embedded with a tiny memory device called a smart chip that recognizes and stores the unique operating characteristics of the component to create a totally integrated printing system that ensures consistent, high-quality printing at the lowest cost available.
A unique pressurization system maintains a constant supply of ink to the printheads. Smart chips monitor the amount of ink used by counting every drop that passes through each printhead. When the smart chips sense more ink is needed to maintain continuous printing, a plunger in each cartridge temporarily pressurizes the cartridges to deliver more ink to the printheads. With the modular ink delivery system, ink supply is instantly replenished, even at top speeds.
The new, individually replaceable printheads are designed for long life and each should print 12,000 pages in black, 24,000 pages in color. As a result, you'll go through many ink cartridges before the corresponding printhead will need replacement. With their modular design, ink cartridges contain twice the ink supply of current HP cartridges, so you'll also get longer lasting cartridges. When a component approaches the end of its print life, the smart chip notifies the user through on-screen messages so a replacement can be purchased prior to the part expiring.
By separating the printheads and ink cartridges, you only replace the component that is no longer usable. Printheads can be replaced one at a time without the need for costly or extensive servicing and aren't discarded when the ink is expended. HP printheads also use a wet wiping system to eliminate nozzle clogging that plagues other permanent printhead designs. Component replacement is easy. Simply pull out the used part and snap in a replacement.
The Benefits
Cuts up to 30 percent off the printing costs of other methods
■ Modular design means only the component that is no longer useful is replaced.
■ Longer-life printheads and higher-capacity ink cartridges means less frequent replacement.
Achieves color laser speed in a personal desktop printer
■ Each Printhead has 304 nozzles (1,216 total, the most in the industry) resulting in faster print speeds.
■ Prints in 1/2-inch swath as opposed to the 1/5- or 1/3-inch swaths of integrated print cartridges.
■ Ink cartridge pressurization system keeps constant flow of ink to printhead. Smart chips store component information and alert user to low-ink, ink-out and printhead failure status.
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