Glossary

• (TM)
  Trademark
• Cartridge
  A cartridge contains printer ink used to print to the paper. Printer cartridges may be of various types. some include the printhead, others have a separate printhead and ink cartridge.
• CDR
  A blank Compact Disc used for recording onto. You need a CD writer in order to use this item.
• CDRW
  A blank Compact Disc used for recording onto. This item can be erased and used again. You need a CD rewriter in order to use this item, a normal CD ROM or CD writer cannot use this product.
• Colorfast
  A trademark of Epson.
• Compatible
  A cartridge not manufactured by the original manufacturer of the printer. These are not recommended for top photo quality printing, further details available on our terms and conditions page. See terms and conditions for the legal status of these cartridges.
• Compression
  Data that is stored is compressed to take less space or less transmission time.
• Cyan
  Colour used in printing. Cyan is a light blue colour.
• DAT
  Digital Audio Tape: a 4mm tape designed originally for audio but now commonly used for data storage particularly in networks.
• DDS
  Digital Data Storage, another name for DAT (Digital Audio Tape).
• Developer
  The developer is used in laser printing technology. It does not need to be replaced very often on most printers and your printer will likely inform you when you require a new developer.
• DLT
  Digital Linear Tape. DLT (TM). A tape cartridge offering high capacity storage for networks and data centres at high speed.
• DPI
  Dots per inch. The number of dots that a printer can print in an inch. Higher numbers indicated better quality.
• Drum
  This is used in laser printers and is a round piece of metal that carries the toner powder from the cartridge onto the paper by rolling over it. It is highly sensitive and must not be touched. Some toner cartridges contain the drum within them.
• DVD RAM Type 1
  A DVD that can be written to many times. Not compatible with DVD-RW. Type 1 are sealed within a cartridge mechanism.
• DVD RAM Type 2
  A DVD that can be written to many times. Type 2 are within a cartridge mechanism but can be removed to be played in DVD-ROM drives.
• DVD-RW
  DVD-Rewritable. A DVD disk that can be written to many times.
• DVD
  Digital Versatile Disk. The next generation CD technology.
• DVDR
  DVD-Recordable. A DVD that can be written to once, but not erased or re-recorded.
• Format
  The 'map' of a disk or tape allowing the computer to find the correct data on the media.
• Gb
  Gigabyte. Amount of data available for storage. 1Gb is 1,073,741,824bytes.
• High resolution
  A typical Lexmark term referring to a cartridge which has more ink than a moderate use cartridge.
• High yield
  This refers to a cartridge which has been filled with more ink than the normal version or the version supplied with the printer.
• HP
  Short for Hewlett Packard
• Imaging cartridge
  An imaging cartridge is a toner cartridge which contains both the toner and the drum.
• Ink film
  Usually used in fax machines, an ink film is a roll of what looks like carbon copy film. The ink is transferred from the roll onto the paper.
• Ink roll
  Usually used in fax machines, an ink film is a roll of what looks like carbon copy film. The ink is transferred from the roll onto the paper.
• Ink tank
  An ink tank is an inkjet cartridge without a printhead. It is basically a block of ink.
• Inkjet cartridge
  The part used in a printer that contains the ink. It may or may not include the printhead depending on the manufacturer and model of printer.
• Light user
  See reduced volume
• Magenta
  Colour used in printing. Magenta is sometimes referred to as the red.
• Max capacity
  see high yield
• Mb
  Megabyte. Amount of data available for storage. 1Mb is 1,048,576bytes.
• Moderate use
  A Lexmark term referring to a cartridge which is designed for low print quantity users. These cartridges typically have less ink than an alternative cartidge in the Lexmark range. Note that some moderate use cartridges cannot be swapped for the high capacity versions in some printers.
• Peach Snap n Print
  The Peach system uses a brand new, original printhead in the starter pack which means you do not sacrifice quality when compared to reconditioned cartridges. The ink snaps out of the printhead unit and therefore when you run out of ink, you only need to replace the ink refill and not the whole cartridge. Most of the printheads can last up to 25 refills so once you have bought the starter kit you begin to save money.
• Photo black
  Some printers use a photo black cartridge in order to match the original image closely for printing photos.
• Photo cyan
  Photo cyan is a dark cyan. This is used by photo printers to get a closer match to the original image.
• Photo magenta
  Photo magenta is a dark magenta. This is used by photo printers to get a closer match to the original image.
• Photoconductor
  This part is used in laser printers and is similar to a drum.
• Prebate
  A cartridge that includes return information (and sometimes postage costs) to send an empty cartridge back to the manufacturer after use. This is usually to recycle certain parts, for example many manufacturers melt the plastic parts to rebuild new cartridges.
• Printhead
  The printhead is the part of a printer that touches the paper. This part controls the ink from the cartridge(s) through a set of nozzles onto the paper. Some cartridges come complete as one unit including the ink and the printhead. Other manufacturers may split the two and you will see the terms 'ink tank' for the ink block and 'printhead' for the holder.
• Process unit
  A process unit is a toner cartridge which contains both the toner and the drum.
• Quick dry
  A trademark of Epson referring to the speed at which the ink will dry when using the recommended Epson paper.
• Ream
  Paper term referring to a quantity of 500 sheets of paper.
• Reconditioned
  Reconditioned cartridges are those which have been returned and professionally refilled. This is more complicated than many people think. Ink of the correct type is required to keep the printhead worked efficiently, generic ink may damage or cause problems with the printhead.
• Reduced volume
  Typically referring to HP cartridges which have a reduced amount of ink. Designed for low print volume users.
• Refill
  Refills are similar to ink tanks. They are blocks of ink that sit in the printhead.
• SLR
  SLR (TM) is Scalable Linear Recording.
• SuperDisk
  SuperDisks (TM) are a high capacity (120Mb) disk technology from Iomega.
• SuperDLT
  SuperDLT (TM) is a new generation of DLT tape.
• TB
  Terrabyte. A measure of size. Equal to approximately 1000 Gigabytes.
• Thermal Film
  A thermal film is a fax film or a fax roll which works using heat to transfer ink to the paper.
• Toner
  Powder used in laser printers. This powder is transferred via the drum onto the paper using electrical charges. The toner is then heated and thus melts onto or into the paper.
• Travan
  Travan (TM) is a tape cartridge system.
• USB
  Universal Serial Bus. An interface commonly used to connect peripherals to your computer. A main feature of the Apple iMac (TM).
• Yellow
  Primary colour used in the printing process. Also see Cyan and Magenta which are the other two primary colours.
• Yield
  A reference to the quantity of printing that can be performed. A High Yield cartridge would print more than a standard capacity cartridge.
• Zip
  Zip (TM) is a high capacity disk technology from Iomega.