{"id":641,"date":"2011-06-03T12:00:19","date_gmt":"2011-06-03T18:00:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.kirkmahoney.com\/blog\/2011\/06\/ink-jet-vs-ink-jet-vs-inkjet\/"},"modified":"2015-12-10T13:33:23","modified_gmt":"2015-12-10T19:33:23","slug":"ink-jet-vs-ink-jet-vs-inkjet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kirkmahoney.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2011\/06\/ink-jet-vs-ink-jet-vs-inkjet\/","title":{"rendered":"“ink jet” vs. “ink-jet” vs. “inkjet”"},"content":{"rendered":"

Reader Jennifer W. recently contacted me<\/a> with this question:<\/p>\n

Could you look into the proper spelling of the term inkjet? I see it spelled 3 ways: ink jet, ink-jet and inkjet. There are differences between various dictionaries as well. How do I know which is correct?<\/em><\/p>\n

Here was my response:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Jennifer,<\/p>\n

Thanks for contacting me. It’s an excellent question!<\/p>\n

If you are referring to an individual jet built into a printer, then “ink jet” would be correct. For example: “An ink jet in the printer became clogged with ink residue.”<\/p>\n

But you should never use “ink jet” to modify a noun (such as “printer”). When you use two nouns together to modify a third noun, you must hyphenate the first two nouns. Otherwise, for example, you leave the reader wondering whether “ink jet printer” refers to a printer that uses one or more ink jets OR to a “jet printer” (whatever that is!) that uses ink (versus, say, toner(s) or color stick(s)).<\/p>\n

This leads to the question about when to use ink-jet and when to use inkjet.<\/p>\n

You may not like the answer, but in my opinion the answer is that you may use either one.<\/p>\n

It depends on whether you prefer hyphenated or non-hyphenated compound nouns.<\/p>\n

The German language is full of non-hyphenated compound nouns.<\/p>\n

In contrast, British English is full of hyphenated compound nouns.<\/p>\n

My impression is that many Americans prefer the German approach, and this approach is fine when combining ink and jet.<\/p>\n

Omitting the hyphen does not always work, though. For example, “pen-island” can easily be misinterpreted when you omit the hyphen!<\/p>\n

But, again, the non-hyphenated “inkjet” form is just as clear as the hyphenated “ink-jet” form.<\/p>\n

And it seems to me that many people now prefer “inkjet” over “ink-jet” when you are omitting the word “printer” from your sentence — as in, “My inkjet died last week.” (or “Do you have any inkjets for less than $100?”).<\/p>\n

…<\/p>\n

Best,
\nKirk<\/p>\n

One suggestion: Buy my How to Use Hyphens<\/a> book. It will help you further with questions like this.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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