Continuous ink systems were originally developed for large format
inkjet printers. Due to the volume of printing and hence the amount of
ink used in this type of printing, alternatives to small inkjet
cartridges needed to be developed.
Some large format printers were
supplied with large bag like cartridges that held 100-200ml of ink.
These printers are household names and yet this option was not available
to small business/home users.
Another development was where the
ink was delivered to the printhead by a series of tubes. This was often
the case where the piezo style printhead was used in the professional,
large format printers. In this case, bulk ink was added to a reservoir
and the ink was drawn by capillary action to the printhead.
Continuous
ink systems for home users and small business were initially developed
for the piezo printheads. They consisted of individual ink bottles,
tubes that delivered the ink to a modified cartridge which sat on the
printhead in the same position as a normal cartridge, a support
mechanism for the tubes, and a priming apparatus to set the system up so
that the ink was delivered to the printhead.
The addition of the
continuous ink system now made inkjet the technology economical for a
small business.
With the better continuous ink systems, the
process was clean and painless (compared to refilling your own
cartridges) and allowed printing to continue around the clock. By
watching the level of the ink in the ink bottles, additional ink was
added simply unscrewing the lid of the ink bottle, topping up, then
securing the lid again.
Improvements over time meant that
continuous systems were developed for the bubblejet technology over time
as well.
The limiting factor now became the duty cycle of the
printers. The duty cycle was the number of pages per month a printer was
designed to handle. Continuous ink systems quickly printed the duty
cycle volume and then some.
Funnily enough, it was the printers
that became the consumable item where they would be worn out by
continually printing and so once they began having problems, it was
cheaper to replace the printer than repair it.
At the same time,
inkjet printer manufacturers were aware of developments and appeared to
be taking steps to bring back more profits to their bottom lines.