What are the supplies, Ink cartridges, Printheads – HP DesignJet 500 User Manual
Page 47: Printhead cleaners
What are the Supplies?
For each of the six ink colors used in the printer, there 
are three separate components. The printhead and the 
printhead cleaner are supplied together, the ink 
cartridge is supplied separately. Two types of ink 
supplies are available, dye based ink and pigment-
based UV ink. The components of the normal dye 
based ink are called the HP No. 81 Supplies and the 
components of the pigment-based UV ink are called 
the 
. The ink supplies are
coded with an HP No. 81/HP No. 83 selection number 
to help you reorder the correct replacement supplies. 
They also each have a distinctive icon to aid 
identification. See 
Ink Cartridges
The ink cartridges for your printer require no 
maintenance or cleaning. As long as each ink cartridge 
is inserted correctly into its slot, the ink will flow to the 
printheads. Because the printheads control the amount 
of ink transferred to the page, you will continue to see 
high-quality printing results, even when the 
ink levels are getting low.
The front panel notifies you when an ink 
cartridge’s ink level is low. You can also 
check the ink levels of all the ink cartridges to 
determine if an ink cartridge needs to be 
replaced, see
. If the ink
cartridge is empty, the printer stops printing. See
Printheads
The printheads are extremely durable and do not need 
to be replaced every time an ink cartridge is replaced. 
They are independent of the ink cartridges and will 
continue giving excellent image quality results even if 
the ink cartridges are low in ink. See 
If you notice a decline in print quality, refer to
located in the “Solutions” tab.
Printhead Cleaners
The printhead cleaners keep the printheads in good 
condition and they prevent them from being damaged 
when the printer is not active. They service the 
printhead, making sure it is always ready to be used 
and prevent them from drying out when not in use.
Printhead cleaners come with the printheads when you 
purchase them. When you replace a 
printhead always replace the printhead 
cleaner. Leaving the old printhead cleaner in 
the printer will shorten the new printhead’s 
life and possibly damage the printer.