Patent ID: 7314263

Claim:
A printing apparatus which prints on a printing medium by using an inkjet printhead, used to discharge ink supplied from a cartridge that contains ink and has a first non-volatile memory storing identification information of the cartridge, comprising an electric contact for establishing an electrical connection with the first non-volatile memory in order to read the identification information from the first non-volatile memory when the cartridge is connected, comprising: detection means for detecting mounting of the cartridge; discrimination means for discriminating, on the basis of the identification information read from the first non-volatile memory of the cartridge, whether or not the mounted cartridge is a certified one for the printing apparatus; and control means for performing printing operation by the ink let printhead, wherein said control means is mounted on a control circuit board, wherein the control circuit board has a second non-volatile memory which stores information, and wherein exchange history information of the cartridge is stored in the second non-volatile memory.