Blogs - Printer ink blog - Tips, guides and printing advice for home and office

Tips, guides and printing advice for home and office

Welcome to The Ink Shop blog page! Here we provide our professional advice around all the questions you may ask around printing, which is the best home printer for you, how to choose a printer, how to get affordable ink cartridges and more. If you have any question or query our team is always available to assist you so just contact us.

Recycling ink cartridges

Table of contents: Can you recycle ink cartridges? Why recycle printer cartridges? Where to recycle ink cartridges Ireland? Are HP ink cartridges recyclable? Canon toner recycling Canon inkjet recycling Brother ink cartridge recycling Epson ink cartridge recycling Conclusion Can you recycle ink cartridges? Today we are more conscious than ever of the environment, and the mantra of Reuse, Recycle has been firmly absorbed. So... Read More

Why is my printer smoking?

Smoking is an ambiguous adjective. We might use ‘smoking hot’ to signify our liking of something. Your printer smoking – not so good. In fact, if your printer either smokes or steams, you could be in trouble. Plug it out immediately, before you even read on. No, seriously. Turn your printer off immediately, then unplug it. A smoking printer represents a fire hazard. Sometimes it is a simple problem, but you take no chan... Read More

Professional Label Printers Ireland

Table of contents (skip to): What are label printers? Types of label printers Advantages of label printers Thermal label printers Dymo label printers Brother label printers Top 10 label printers Conclusion What are label printers? The clue is in the name - they are specialist printers, designed to do nothing but labels. They won’t do your holiday snaps, but they will ensure everything in your office is accounted for. ... Read More

Colours of printer ink

Colour is where the world of creativity and the world of science intersect, at least for most of us. In primary school we are introduced to colour combinations - mix red and blue, and you get purple. Later we learned that you mix red, blue and yellow paint and you get black - but mix red, blue and yellow light, and you get white. It’s a kind of magic. It’s the magic that makes printers possible. If we needed a thousand cartri... Read More

Printer Ink Four Pack

Back in the day printer ink was simple. Many people had a black and white printer, and there was only one cartridge to think about. But things rapidly got more sophisticated - and more complicated. Today you can get printers with eight and more cartridges. Do we need that complication? Some people do, but if you are not a graphic designer or photographer, chances are you need something simpler. A four cartridge printer can do a good jo... Read More

Printer Ink in Ireland - Our Buying Guide

Buying a pint of milk or a loaf of bread is the simplest thing. Just walk into any grocery shop, browse the shelves until you find what you want, and hand over the cash. Actually, most people tap these days, making it even easier. Not so with printer ink. You have to go to a specialist store, and you don’t have much choice. You have to get the right cartridge with the right ink, or it just won’t work. That’s why we put ... Read More

Epson printer ink pad

We all know that frustrating moment when we are ready to eat, and we want to splash some ketchup onto our chips. We take the bottle and no matter how we squeeze it, hit it, bang it on the edge of the table, or shake it, nothing comes out. Yet we can see that there is some ketchup left. We could go to extraordinary lengths; cut the bottle and use a sharp knife to root in the nooks. But in the end we have to accept the inevitable. We nee... Read More

Epson 8 ink printer

What is an eight ink printer, and why should we care? In a nutshell, an Epson 8 ink printer uses eight different ink cartridges to produce high-quality colour prints. The eight cartridges use cyan, magenta, yellow, black, light cyan, light magenta, light black, and light light black, which allows for a wider range of colours and more precise colour reproduction than standard four ink printers. These are not home printers. They are popu... Read More

6 ink vs 4 ink printer

Many decades ago the printing of photos - say on a newspaper - was a simple process. The image was made up of a series of black dots, or the absence of them. If something was very dark, big black dots close to each other were used. If something was white, a tiny number of tiny dots (or no dots) were used. All the intermediate shades were depicted by varying the size and spread of the dots. If you look at an old newspaper photo with a m... Read More

Epson Expression Home printer ink guide

The Epson Expression Home Printer range is ideal for everyday purposes - documents, holiday snaps, to-do lists, even high quality graphics. With this range you can enjoy the freedom of printing from laptops, smartphones, and tablets. Some of the printer range are wi-fi equipped, making printing so easy. With this range you can produce vibrant and clear prints reliably. And there is another advantage - the Expression printers use a seri... Read More

G&G image printer ink guide

Printer ink is one of the most expensive liquids on earth. Forget Chanel Grand Extrait, or Remy Martin Cognac. It is more expensive than perfume or top shelf booze. Forget petrol - even at the height of the summer, printer ink was more expensive. As a comparison, petrol is still under E2 a litre in most garages, and Absolut Vodka is E45 a litre. If you want to go for a better drink, vintage Dom Perignon is E280 a litre. Chanel No 5... Read More

Canon PIXMA TS5150 / TS5151 printer ink guide Ireland

Canon is a quality printer company with a long history of providing top products. So you know when you choose this brand you are buying into all that comes with a prestige name brand. But which Canon should you choose? Two of the best all around printers, with great connectivity, quality and quick printing, and not too hard on the pocket, are the Canon Pixma TS5150 and Canon Pixma TS5151 models. Both are versatile and suitable for home ... Read More

Canon Pixma MG3650 and MG3650s printer ink guide

Both the Canon Pixma MG3650 and MG3650s are compact all-in-one printers. They offer a number of advantages, aside from size and stylish looks. With these printers you can enjoy fast, high quality printing. You can copy and scan - not an option with all printers - and can print on both sides of the page. An added economy is that both allow the option of XL ink cartridges, which reduces running costs. And both are easy to connect to whate... Read More

Inkjet vs laser printer

Inkjet vs laser printer There are so many questions when it comes to buying a new printer. Will it suit your needs? Will it cost the earth? Will the print quality be up to expectation? But the biggest question is a very basic one - do you want an inkjet or a laser printer? To decide this you need to know what both are. Inkjet relies on dye or pigment based ink. They are generally smaller and slower than laser printers, but produce sup... Read More

What printer ink is waterproof?

When it comes to printing there are so many factors we look at - whether an ink produces a clean, legible image; whether it is expensive or more economical; whether it smudges. But did you ever consider how water resistant the ink is? You won’t be printing a rain poncho, but whether your ink is waterproof can be a factor in some jobs. If you operate in a humid environment - printing menus in a hot kitchen, or notices for a hortic... Read More

Epson Ecotank Printer Ireland

Why is the Epson Ecotank printer range so popular? Did you know you can save up to 90% on printing costs with Epson’s cartridge-free EcoTank printers. That’s one reason why, but let’s take a closer look! Which Epson EcoTank should I buy? Epson EcoTank printer comparison chart Epson ecotank printer review Conclusion Watch the video below or click the links above to skip to content. Which Epson EcoTank sh... Read More

How do I check printer ink levels?

Below we have linked out to the official websites of popular printer brands like Canon, HP, Epson and Brother where they give advice on how to check printer levels, whether from the printer LCD touchscreen, a Windows computer or a Mac computer. How to check printer ink levels on Windows or Mac? How to check printer ink levels Canon? How to check printer ink levels Epson? How to check printer ink levels HP? How to check prin... Read More

Complete buying guide for HP ink cartridges

HP - or Hewlett-Packard - is one of the prestige names in the printer and computer accessories sector. They pre-date the second world war, and have adapted to every change in technology since. So you know if you have a HP printer, you have nearly a century of expertise. If you use the right inks and cartridges, and follow the instructions, you will get years out of your printer. Table of Contents: How much is HP printer ink? Recycl... Read More

The Complete Guide to Buying Epson Ink Cartridges

It might seem like an esoteric art, choosing the right cartridge for your printer, and getting it to fit. But the good news is that it is not. This article should walk you through the whole process. If you watched the movie Airplane you know that anyone, no matter how overwhelmed, can be talked through landing a Jumbo Jet. Imagine how much easier it is to fit your ink cartridge. Table of contents: How to install Epson ink... Read More

The complete guide to buying Canon ink cartridges.

We created this guide to be a definitive resource to buying Canon Ink Cartridges for your printer. We answer some of the frequently asked questions around Canon Ink Cartridges and feel free to jump to the answer you need using our table of contents below! If you have a question we haven’t answered, please do get in touch and we will be happy to assist you. Table of contents: Are all Canon ink cartridges the same? How much are... Read More

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Tips, guides and printing advice for home and office