| abstract |
An ink tank having an ink storing portion encases an ink-absorbent member for holding ink. The ink-absorbent member comprises a porous material having therein compressed open cells. The compression ratio r 1 of an apparent volume V 1 before compression to an apparent volume V 2 after compression (r 1 =V 1 /V 2 ) and the cell number p represented by number of cells per inch in the state of V 1 satisfy the relation (I) below, and p being not more than 60. n n 100 [inch.sup.-1 ]≦r.sub.1 ·p≦200 [inch.sup.-1 ](I) |