Your online supplier of printer ink

The Printer Ink Supermarket offers amazing value on original and compatible replacement ink and toner cartridges. We supply inks and toners for both business and personal use, so no matter if you need to print off the kid’s drawings or purchase office toner for your entire business, we can provide all your printer supplies with free delivery.

We offer free delivery on all our orders over £50. Please take a look at our printer ink deliveries information page for details of postage charges for smaller orders. In most cases delivery under £50 is only £5.

Here at The Printer Ink Supermarket we love printer ink and we want you to love it too. That’s why we offer one of the most complete ranges of printer ink cartridges, toner and drums available.

Now you may think that all printer ink cartridges are the same, that one printer ink cartridge is exactly the same as any other. In fact many of us lack the knowledge needed about these items. That’s where The Printer Ink Supermarket comes in with our easy three stage ordering process. With out three step printer ink ordering process all you need to know is the make and model number of your printer and we will do the rest. We will show you not only the manufacturer printer ink available for your machine, but also the third party ink manufacturers that may be much cheaper and just as good, so by saving you money.

However you may still want to know more about printer ink cartridges and we can help with that too. We know that many people want to know more if only for peace of mind and to make sure that they are in fact getting what they need at the correct price.

Common Printer Ink Cartridge Types

Inkjet printer ink cartridges hold liquid ink, typically black, and shades of magenta, cyan and yellow. Black is normally supplied in its own cartridge whereas colours are often combined in a single printer ink cartridge. However separate colour printer ink cartridges are available depending on your type of printer. Printer ink cartridges are actually quite complicated pieces of engineering with microchips that communicate with the printer to control flow and inform on ink reserves.

Laser toner ink cartridges contain dry ink which is printed by electrically charging particles onto your paper. Laser toner printer ink is available in both black and coloured. All colors are combined in one toner cartridge. Many office machines tend to be just mono printers as this offer the best cost savings and efficiencies. Lifespan of laser toner printer ink cartridges is directly related to the number of pages you print but tends to be much greater than that of inkjet printer ink cartridges. Laser toner cartridges contain dry ink, a photoreceptor, a waste toner bottle, and blades.

Other Printer Ink Cartridges Available

Solid printer ink toners are normally used in photocopiers but can be found in other printers as well. They work by meting the ink stick and using the meted material to print onto the page. It is claimed that this produces improved colour quality and less environmental impact due to the lower amounts of waster produced.

Dye sublimation cartridges are normally only used in textile printing. The printer ink cartridge is a film and ink is transferred to the surface contact by heat. Only one color can be printed at a time and the process repeated with different coloured films until a final image has been produced.

Traditional and Old Fashioned Printer Ink Cartridges

Daisy wheel cartridges are used in traditional typewriters. A ribbon impregnated with ink, normally black or sometime red is spun between two opposite wheels. When you strike the keys of the typewriter this forces a hammer towards the ribbon. On the hammer is the character you wish to type, it picks up the ribbon and the force of impact leaves an ink mark on the paper in the shape of the character.

Dot matrix cartridges operate in a similar way to a daisy wheel cartridge, but with ribbon run along the length of the cartridge instead. The ribbon is placed in front of the print head, as the print head moves forward it picks up the ink and the impact marks the page with the ink.

If you need more information on printer ink, laser toner or any info on printing head over to our FAQ’s or Articles section where you will find even more help.