An ink cartridge (107K, 107F) of the present invention has a storage element (80K, 80F), in which plural pieces of specific information relating to the ink cartridge (107K, 107F) are stored at specific addresses having predetermined data lengths. For example, a piece of information on the year of manufacture is registered in a data length of 7 bits, a piece of information on the month of manufacture is registered in a data length of 4 bits, and a piece of information on the date of manufacture is registered in a data length of 5 bits. A piece of information on the time (hour) of manufacture is registered in a data length of 5 bits, and a piece of information on the time (minute) of manufacture is registered in a data length of 6 bits. The technique of the present invention determines whether the storage element (80K, 80F) incorporated in the ink cartridge (107K, 107F)is normal or abnormal, based on the piece of information on the month of manufacture. This arrangement ensures the easy and adequate determination of whether or not the information stored in the storage element (80K, 80F) is destroyed.