The inkjet printers and printer ink cartridges came to the market in 1984. This redefined the way you presented your written matter to the world, as the tasks of printing your documents became more convenient. Also it became a cleaner procedure to follow than the previous methods of changing ribbons which was required previously with the old dot matrix printers.

Today the four largest companies which are worldwide inkjet printer brands are HP, Canon, Epson and Lexmark among many others. These brands have been the driving forces behind the wide acceptance of printer ink cartridges in the market. These days, not only black and white but colour ink cartridges are popular among the larger customer base for printers and their accessories. Colour ink cartridges are more expensive and are used more often for colour graphics and photos.

Printing quality has improved drastically these days, with newer innovations in the printing technologies. Much of it owes to the development of printer ink cartridges. It is now an easy thing to print on different types and sizes of paper. These printers are used in businesses, in schools and the homes of millions of people worldwide.

Printer ink cartridges are generally designed to fit in their own specific brand of printers. For this purpose, cartridges are given specific numbers for identification along with the model number of each printer in which it can be used. However, it is also possible to get your printer ink cartridge refilled, which then costs much less than the original brand ink cartridges. The flip side is that it may affect the life of your printer.

Technorati Tags: printers, printer ink, printing choices

First of all, it?s difficult to find generic printer ink in actual store locations, so you will more than likely need to do your shopping online. Because you?re shopping online, you will need to buy the ink cartridges ahead of time. When you buy ahead of time you tend to buy in bulk, so you save money on shipping. For all of these reasons, generic ink is the way to go. Nothing is sacrificed as is the case with some other products. Rather, when you buy a generic inkjet cartridge, the only thing that gives its status as ?generic? away is the label! The quality of print you?ll see is virtually indistinguishable from the manufacturer brand.

Generic cartridges essentially work by being compatible with a brand name company?s printer. For instance, if you have a Canon printer, generic ink specifically designed for certain Canon models will work fine in your unit. The same goes if you have an Epson or a Hewlett Packard. Regardless of your printer brand, there is more likely than not a generic printer ink cartridge out there that will work in your printer.

The real bonus of using generic ink jet cartridges is the fact that they are so much cheaper than the name brands. And I can?t emphasize this enough: you are not sacrificing quality here. This generic printer ink will be fully functional in your name brand printer. No one will be able to tell the difference except for your wallet!

Finally, you can find these generic cartridges rather easily. Just do a quick search online or visit your favorite online printer supply store for more information. Whatever you do, don?t wait until the last minute to prepare for ink shortages. Order back up ink now so that you won?t ever have to make a midnight rush for ink cartridges again. And instead of forking over loads of money for a cartridge just because it has a certain label on it, allow yourself the discounted price of generic ink. Your pocketbook will thank you and your printing jobs will continue without a hitch.

Technorati Tags: printing, printers, printing companies

If you look at the prices, you’ll probably find the same thing as I have - they’re really ink companies selling the printers as a way to get you “hooked” on their supply of ink. It’s a lot like the way drug dealers work if you think about it - give people a free taste to get them hooked for life.

Printer ink is one of the most expensive liquids on the planet, if you calculate how much you spend versus how much you get. And every time a new model of printer is released, the cartridges seem to contain less and less ink.

This is why it’s important to do your homework before you buy a printer. Check the cost of the ink versus how much you get in the cartridge. You’ll be surprised at how much of a difference in the actual volume of ink you’ll see from one brand to another. The cartridges may be about the same price, but you’ll see twice as much ink in some brands than others.

Unfortunately, not all manufacturers print the actual volume of their cartridges on the box (Epson in particular doesn’t). In these cases, you’ll have to do a little research first.

If you check one of the aftermarket ink suppliers like 4inkjets.com, they sell their own generic versions of most types of cartridges. They normally state the volume of ink in these cartridges, so you can use that information to determine what is in the original brand as well.

Use this information as part of your decision making process. Don’t just go for the latest model from brand X because the prints look nice. Compare the print quality versus the cost of ink do make sure you get the best deal possible in the long run.

Technorati Tags: printers, printer ink, printing choices

If you walk down the printer isle these days, you’ll probably see a few printers selling for about $50. You might see yourself , “Hey, what a great deal” — but is it really?

Lexmark was first manufacturer marketing $50 printers. The printer was a loss-leader and the sales of replacement cartridges subsidized the low initial cost. The cost of 1 black and 1 color cartridge exceeded the value of the machine itself.

Many people who never owned a printer before didn’t realize Lexmark’s strategy. They were so blinded by the printer price that they never thought about the price of the printer cartridges themselves. As time went on Lexmark continued their process and also began to decrease the size of their ink cartridges. Their cartridges got smaller and smaller and required more frequent replacing.

Consider this:

One Lexmark 10N0016 OEM Black cartridge retails for about $30 and will yield 410 pages at 5% coverage

One Lexmark 10N0026 OEM Color cartridge retails for about $32.00 and will yield 275 pages at 5% coverage

It was commonplace to buy Lexmark printer for $50 just for the ink cartridges, and throw the printer in the garbage and just buy another one. Hewlett-Packard has now followed suit and is using the same strategy to takeover market share.

Several new machines will enter the market in July 2006. Many of which are cheap to buy (starting at around $25.00), but can be expensive to operate. Many of these new cheap printers do not come with connection cables or both ink cartridges which entices users by lowering the initial price.

Over the course of a few years however, the low cost of the machine will be overshadowed by the large amount spent on replacement inkjet cartridges

The inkjet cartridges that most of the new HP printers use contain only 5 Milliliters of ink. In comparison, about 4 years ago the most common HP black cartridges contained 42 milliliters of ink. That’s roughly 8 times more printing at about 1/3rd the cost (per milliliter of ink).

Some of the people who owned older machines, feel they’ve been taken advantage of when they see how fast their new printer uses up the ink.

Almost nobody is aware of the true cost of operating these machines until the first or second time they need replacement cartridges.

HP is now attempting to squeeze out the competitors by dominating shelf space with a multitude of printer models. Most machines have the same general features but the more they have on the shelf, the less room for competitors. Hewlett Packard hopes to lure people with their brand-name and low initial cost.

Once the consumer commits to their printer, HP will have a continuous stream of replacement cartridge business for the lifespan of the machine. It’s in the supplies where they make their money.

So the lesson here is this?? It is critical that you investigate the price of replacement ink cartridges before you purchase a new printer. Comparison- shop both the printer and cartridges at the same time.

A brief list of printers to avoid are printers using the HP 21 and HP 22 ink cartridges. (these contain only 5 milliliters of ink)

PSC 1410 Series, Officejet 4315, Deskjet F340, F380, HP Fax 1250, HP Deskjet 3910, Deskjet 3940 Series, Deskjet 3915, Deskjet 3930 Series

Printers Using HP 92 and HP 93 ink cartridges (5 milliliters of ink)

PSC 1510 Series, PSC 1507, Officejet 6310, Deskjet 5440 Series, Photosmart 7850, Deskjet 5440 Series

The only people who should consider these particular new HP printers, are those who print infrequently (less than 3 cartridges per year).

HP makes quality machines, however we recommend simply seeking out a model that does not use the #21 and #22 or #92 and #93 cartridges. Many more of these new HP printers will be released this month.

Another option is to look for a different manufacturer such as Canon, Epson or Brother. Their inkjet printers often get as good or better reviews from users.

Again, check the cost of replacement cartridges, page yield or milliliters of ink contained in the cartridge to be sure you are getting a good value in comparison.

Technorati Tags: printers, printer ink, printing choices

So, rather than going with the brand and the technology they are used to, and looking for the biggest purchase price discount, what do buyers have to gain by doing their research? The answer, of course, is a great deal.

Inkjet or Laser Printer?

First off, the mantra from IT departments is often fixed in stone, that laser printers should always be specified as the more “professional” choice for any organisation. But for small groups, inkjet provides a perfectly professional print quality, and would suit small networked teams, not least because of the quiet operation compared with some extremely noisy laser systems in operation.

On the other hand, in terms of purchase price alone, the cost of entry-level colour laser has also made laser very attractive to corporations, so that they can follow the advice of their IT departments, upgrade monochrome laser to colour and then absorb the supplies and consumables costs in their departmental stationery budgets.

But in another scenario, price discounting has also brought the colour laser printer within reach of the home-office worker, or sole trader company, where the “mantra” factor tempts buyers away from inkjet simply through the belief that laser provides better print quality at faster print speeds. Here, it is quite possible that low page counts and colour content would not justify the higher cost of many laser printers currently available.

On the other hand again, by looking amongst the best discounted prices, colour laser printers in the Canon range can be found at a very similar prices to Hewlett-Packard business inkjet machines, and as we shall see, can offer laser technology at a competitive overall Cost of Printing, when print volumes are below average.

High volume or low volume usage?

In the debate about the best route - laser or inkjet - a major deciding factor is, without doubt, the anticipated volume of use. Even considering the above examples, discounting would have to be far too heavy in order for any laser printer to match the low overall cost of printing available with, say, the HP Officejet Pro K550. Tests have shown that overall cost of printing on this printer, in a high-volume environment, has been shown to be as low as two pence per page taking into account a purchase price that is well below ?100.

Conversely, users with low volume needs might aim to avoid replacing the more expensive laser parts. Some might hope not even to need to replenish the colour toners.

At the level of 250 pages per month, for example, a user will print 9,000 pages over three years. Calculating at at black-only to colour page ratio of 70%/30% (in favour of black-only), then only 2,700 of those pages will be colour.

At this level, many laser printers will need a toner change during the life - or the capital cost write-off period - of the printer. But it is not impossible to find a low-end entry-level laser printer with a 2,000-page starter toner capacity so that for such users there is no need for a colour toner change within three years.

Other factors affecting colour printer choice

Colour is desirable of course, when working with presentation materials. But a large proportion of printing can still usefully involve only monochrome output. How much colour is used will always be a factor in costs. Discipline is needed to ensure correct printer settings for the task in hand. Discipline is also needed, of course, for test printing, where draft settings are important to ensure no unnecessary, cumulative wastage.

With the choice in technologies, and with the choice in entry-level pricing inkjets, against high specification or workhorse lasers, and against the additional complexities of multifunctional printers, it pays to think hard about the actual tasks to which a new printer is to address and the number of users it is to serve. This is the starting point for an understanding of the actual costs of owning the printer over its lifetime in the workplace.

Technorati Tags: printers, printer ink, printing choices

Today’s customer demands various sized orders from smaller runs of less than 2,000 pieces up to direct mail campaigns of 20,000 pieces or more. Furthermore, increasingly the expectation is to have the job completed in 2- 3 days. Not too long ago an offset printer would send this customer to a quick printer for fast turn-around especially for, say a 2,000 piece four color job. Well today, that same offset press printer will most likely accept that job and turn it around in the time demanded. Because more and more customers were requesting this type of service, offset printers have had to adjust.

This is where technology enters the picture. Because the speed and quality of digital copiers has greatly increased while prices have continued to decline, printers are able to acquire more capability at modest investments. Thereby allowing them to compete head to head with quick printers and accept much more of the work they used to turn away.

While this all sounds great for customers and offset press operators, where does it leave the traditional quick printer? Well, the short answer is worse off. It is no secret that quick printers can purchase and invest in higher-end equipment that can compete head to head with the offset press, but the fundamental problem with that is that quick printers are quick printers because they made a decision to be such, meaning they chose not to be in the offset printing business and really have no desire to do so. This is especially true given the high cost of equipment and skilled labor. So how do quick printers compete? They compete by partnering or forming alliances with offset printers, especially those that exclusive serve the print trade industry, in order to satisfy the quick print customer base and gain some financial benefit. And by partnering, I mean quick printers continue to pass larger jobs on to their offset partners but retain ownership of the customer, thereby gaining the ability to extract some of the margin. In the end this model is not ideal because the quick printer has little control over the production process and the pricing model. Additionally, this is a much lower margin business model that cannot sustain as a primary source of revenue in the long term.

At the other end of the spectrum for quick printers, very short runs, the news is not much better. Customers are gaining the ability to produce this work themselves for the very same reasons noted above with technology being the key factor. It is not unusual to find the same production-quality equipment found in a quick print shop in corporate offices. These corporate customers still demand finishing services such as binding but the core printing service is increasing being done in-house.

Because quick printers are being squeezed at both ends, they will need to offer services that others cannot or are not willing to offer such as end-to-end customized solutions. These types of offerings provide value to the customer by allowing them to focus on their core business and these offerings are less sensitive to price competition. The future for quick printers is one of change and discovering new ways to bring value to customers.

Technorati Tags: choosing a printer, all-in-one printer

Address label printers are used mostly by courier companies, warehousing, and retail industry for printing mail and destination addresses. They are designed to deliver consistent performance over longer periods at affordable rates. Many of them have sturdy metal chassis, covers, and advanced print mechanics to ensure long lasting performance in industrially demanding conditions.

They are capable of housing different types of address label rolls and ink ribbon cartridges. They are equipped with a movable label sensor to detect gaps, black marks, and perforations present in label rolls. Information generated by the sensor is used to print addresses in the right spot and avoid overlapping. They are equipped with ample amount of flash memory and RAM (random access memory) for processing labels, storing formats, and supporting different fonts. They can be connected to a computer via USB, serial, or parallel interface ports. The device can be connected to a number of accessories such as label cutters, external keyboard, self-strip (peel off) units, internal rewinders, and external ethernet adapter.

The device is used in conjunction with different software such as driver software for Windows (98, Me, NT 4.0, 2000 and XP), LabelShop START label design and print package, and configuration tool for installation of additional fonts, images, and firmware upgrades.

Font software used in these devices can support different character sets representing regional languages used in different parts of the world. This feature is used by courier companies to print addresses in regional languages alongside normal addresses for shipping consignment to different parts of the world.

Technorati Tags: printers, printer ink, printing choices

Prices are also determined on the basis of print speed, print resolution, flexibility of operations, supported print media, software applications compatibility, flash memory, operating environment, and the accessories provided with the printer.

Buyers looking for the most cost effective label printer should include operational costs of the printer with retail price to find out the real cost of different label printers. Some printers may be priced low but may require print software and other accessories to perform efficiently. Other low priced printers may require expensive ink cartridges to support basic printing activities. All these add on to increase the total cost of operations and negate the financial benefits derived from low priced offerings. Expenses may also be incurred on repair and maintenance and should be assessed before buying a label printer.

Label printer discount schemes reduce retail costs of a printer and are launched to sell old stocks or compete with other printer manufacturers. Used, refurbished, and wholesale printers are also available in the market and are priced accordingly. Some of these are priced below hundred dollars.

Label printers are also priced according to pricing policies followed by the retailer or manufacturer. Manufacturers looking for increased sales generally offer low prices whereas high priced printers have a small market and are usually customized to suit specific customer requirements. Apart from these, printer prices also depend on cyclic demand-supply situation existing in the label printer manufacturing industry.

Technorati Tags: printers, printer ink, printing choices

Some network label printers use direct thermal technology to print on heat sensitive paper. Direct thermal prints usually start fading after six to twelve months, which make them ideal for short duration applications such as printing address labels. Other factors that can affect thermal prints include direct exposure to sunlight and chemical vapors.

Other network label printers use thermal transfer technology in which heat is used to transfer ink from ribbons onto labels for getting permanent prints. Different grades of ribbons are used in network label printers to print on a variety of substrates. Wax ribbons are used to print on matte and semi-gloss paper labels that have average smudge resistance qualities. Resin based ribbons offer scratch and chemical resistant prints and are used to print on synthetic labels.

Some network label printers can print at 400-dpi resolution and use advanced print technology to provide label-to-label image registration with a tolerance limit of ?0.030 inches (.762 mm). Apart from printing on standard paper labels, it can also print on a variety of substrates such as Kapton or ultra-smooth polyesters and synthetic labels. This feature has increased its usage in electronics and healthcare industry. The printer can be connected to a LAN (local area network) for network management without the complexity, space requirement, and vulnerability of external print servers.

Software used in these printers includes different applications such as label design and print package and Printer Network Manager (PNM) for administration of network connected printers. It also supports different character sets such as Code page 850, French, German, ISO 256 character, Italian, Kanji/Katakana (optional), Norwegian/Danish, Spanish, Swedish/ Finnish, Swiss, UK, ASCII, and USA ASCII.

Technorati Tags: printing, printers, printing companies

Industrial users can avoid printing mistakes by using high-end P&A label printers that have easy to use features and advanced software that can be used to create different print formats. It can be customized to suit label quality and size without affecting print quality.

P&A label printer need to be connected to a computer for utilizing the benefits of print software provided with the printer. The user-friendly interface allows users to select the kind of label and label dimension. It automatically adjusts its settings to suit different print mediums. The software allows users to design their own labels by placing the shipping address and the barcode in the intended positions. Most of these printers use thermal transfer technology to create high-resolution labels. Label cutters available with some printers are used to cut printed label sheets based on specifications entered by the user.

Some P&A label printers can print forty different label styles and sizes. The software easily integrates with other applications used for designing customized print formats. The software allows users to print directly from Microsoft word files, word perfect, outlook, QuickBooks, and others. Some of these can print at 55 labels per minute depending on the label size.

These printers are ideal for courier companies, warehouses, retail stores, healthcare industry, and manufacturing industry. They can be connected to a computer using different interfaces such as parallel, USB, or serial ports. They are designed as low maintenance units that reduce training and operating costs of the company.

Technorati Tags: printers, printer ink, printing choices