What is a printhead vs. an ink cartridge?

Do I need to buy both or is it an option?


My printer is an HP2500CM and below is the link to the purchasing site.


http://www.shopping.hp.com/supmodel/prod鈥?/a>





I don%26#039;t know which one to buy (or both).


Thanks for any help you can offer


|||The printhead is the part that applies the ink onto the paper.


An ink cartridge is essentially a container for the ink, but for many ink jet printers, the printhead is also part of the ink cartridge as a single unit.





For other printers, such as your printer, the printheads and ink cartridges are separate, which is a good thing, because then you are not paying extra for the printhead every time you change an ink cartridge.





If your printouts come out fine and you%26#039;ve only just run out of ink, then get just the ink cartridge. You don%26#039;t have to change the printheads until they wear out.





You can tell if a printhead has gone bad when your printouts come out poorly but there%26#039;s still ink in the ink cartridges. Occassionally gently cleaning the printheads help too.