NEW CHILDREN'S APP FOR HOLIDAYS

Holidays are coming up, and that means small bored children saying, "What can I do? I'm bored". It's a universal cry from the little ones.

Today, we are changing from our normal printing supplies blog articles this once, but hey, it's holiday time incoming, and it always helps to be prepared with children.
If you have an Iphone or Ipad, and there's not too many that don't now days, then there is a great kids app that will while away the hours with silence except for little noises of glee - its called All Grown Up by Christopher Cotton.
Designed for children aged 3 -6 years, although children up to 9 will certainly get a buzz out of it, the (audio) story is based around the animals (animated) of the Australian bush. The central character is a frilly lizard wondering what he can be when he grows up. He then looks at what other animals do. For instance there is a platypus that is a life saver at the water's edge. There is lots of children's comedy to the story.
As an extra bonus, there are also games such as memory which shows the bush land creatures which you have to pair off - very cleaver. As you successfully complete a game you can go on to the next one with more cards.
The animated animals are cleverly portrayed, and really do give you a sense of the Australian bush.
For more details and how to get it, click here.


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PRINTER CARTRIDGE DEFINITIONS

Are you confused with all those different expression describing printer cartridges, and how relevant are they? I know I was.

LATELY, you have bought your first printer and it is time to get another print cartridge so you research the internet, to be confused with a plethora of expressions about printer cartridges that confuse you.  It can make it hard for you to make the correct decision about to what to get.

We will define some of the expressions used here to help you understand what they mean:

Compatible/Genuine/Refill/Remanufactured: You can have all of these types of alternative cartridges even though they apply to the one printer.For a fuller description of these types of cartridges, click here.

Drum Cartridge: The drum cartridge can also be called the drum unit or drum roller.

They are used with toner cartridges - the latter generally fit inside the drum cartridge. Whereas the toner (laser) cartridge holds the toner powder. The purpose of the drum cartridge is to distribute the powder in image /text form via electrode charging onto the paper. When the quality of your printing is deteriorating it is usually the drum cartridge that needs replacing, normally after every 3 to 4 toner cartridges have been used. 

Laser Cartridge:  A laser cartridge is really a cartridge that uses toner powder. It is not the cartridge itself that is laser but the printer that uses a laser ray to focus a beam of magnetic charged light to transfer images and text onto the paper. The expression laser cartridge really means a toner cartridge that disperses powder onto the electronical charged paper as dictated by the laser beam.

Mono: This type of printer only uses black cartridges - it does not have colours. More often used in an office environment for text printing, usually at higher speeds.

OEM Cartridge: Means Original Equipment Manufacturer, and refers to the model code for the cartridge as supplied by the original manufacturer. For example Brother TN2150....TN2150 is the OEM cartridge as supplied by Brother.

Toner Cartridge: refer to Laser Cartridge above.

Yield: This is the amount of available toner or ink that determines what quantity of print you will achieve. It will normally be measured in millilitres or pages that can be printed. The term is often not a good measure in that there are many variables that effect yield, including the efficiency of any particular printer, the density of print (image/text) to the page, the mix of black, cyan, magenta, & yellow etc. There is now an International standards organisation accepted measurement that determines a page as approx. 5% of an A4 size sheet in text printing. So when a user sees yield 5,000 pages, in fact it might be more like. 1,000 pages achieved, or if images, less again.

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WHAT PRINTER SHOULD I BUY?

For most people, this really is a perplexing query as you will discover a lot of selections are available to you.

The solution to resolving this query will be to do some significant thinking as to what you are going to need the printer for, and after that to analysis the market place for all those type of printers by going to the diverse printer review evaluation internet pages. You may even look at technically inclined forums including PCreview or Whirlpool.


But for now, lets go back to the essential uses you could have for your printer.

 A single technique to make the determination of what is the proper printer for you personally will be to set out your specifications for the printer, and these can be broken down as follows, assuming that the minimal requirement is met in every situation:
1. Speed of printing pages ? (a) not vital, (b) at times essential, (c) crucial
2. Quality of print ? (a) not critical, (b) a necessary level (c) essential
3. Colour print ? (a) no requirement (b) occasional colour (c) photo top quality
4. Usage ? (a) printing only (b) copying, faxing, and scanning
5. No of 'printer users ? (a) just your personal computer system (b) some computers inside a home or perhaps a compact workplace (c) many computers

When determining  the above selection criteria, keep in mind the saying "champagne tastes - beer prices".
 In other words, deciding on the ideal of every option to make a decision can be way above what it is possible to afford. What's the point in saying you wish for a good quality print with colour when you really only require a printer to sustain recipes and household account records.
Apart from figuring out the above variables, it is best to also place the 5 above specifications into a priority. For instance, if you are a photographer just beginning out using a restricted spending budget, your priority would most likely be along the lines of three, two, one, four, and five. The usual residence requirement may be two, three, four, five and one.
 It's very much a matter of personal perception,as to what printer you wish to obtain, but what undertaking this exercise does is enable you to establish what your hot points are. As an example, in the event you run a business enterprise that creates substantial volumes of documents for example a legal firm, then your requirement will be as follows:
1 - crucial
 5 - a lot of printer users
 4 - quick copying is usually a high requirement
 2 - occasionally significant
 3 -  no requirement

Essentially the decision making in this case is revolving around the fact that we do quite a bit of printing and we've five solicitors and three clerical staff all with printing needs, that good quality, so long as it's acceptable will not be a high priority, and that you simply don't use colour.

if you apply the above criteria to your own needs, this should help you in determining what type of printer you need.



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SAMSUNG IS NOT ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY

Samsung have recently released an article putting down remanufactured cartridges.

The article by Samsung, linked here, states how the remanufactured cartridges 'can' result in printouts marred by streaks, splotches etc, and that they 'may potentially' shorten the life of the printer.

That reads to me like 'if your aunt didn't have breasts she 'may/can be your uncle'. The paragraph is designed to create fear.

What they fail to add is that if a 'fake', as Samsung calls them, does produce inferior results, their manufacturing won't last long, market forces will see to that!

As for potentially shortening the printer's life, the money saved from using remanufactured cartridges will more than compensate for a replacement printer, preferably with a brand that doesn't go out of its way as much as Samsung to eliminate remanufactured printer cartridges and thereby help create an environment unfriendly to sustainability.

The article by Samsung then goes on to state that a remanufactured cartridge “usually shows signs of physical damage on the outer plastic case...........” That's not my understanding of remanufactured cartridges, refills possibly. The international remanufactured cartridge suppliers I'm aware of look in new condition, because they are quality checked before reprocessing, and where possible components that have signs of wearing are replaced.

Samsung, along with other brand Original Equipment Manufacturers, should realise that if they hadn't used the printer cartridge to maximise prices in the first place, then entry of replica products would have been more difficult.

Yesterday morning I received my monthly newsagent invoice wrapped around my delivered newspaper.

There was a request on the invoice for me to agree to receiving the statement notice via email in future. I wonder if the CEO for Samsung might also have received a similar request from his newsagent? And if so, would it occur to him that high printing costs, as well as the environmental message which appeared on my invoice, might be partially his responsibility?

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INCREASE PHOTO LIFE

How important is it to you for your grandchildren to see all the details in the photographs you print today?

We all know how important photos are to us and our family. If someone’s house is on fire in the middle of the night, and they only have moments to rescue their most important items, what gets saved – the family photo album of course. After all, it is an extension of our lives.

Although many of our images are stalled digitally (and make sure you have adequate back up in the form of memory sticks or removable hard disk drives which you update frequently), we print our best photos because they are easier to get (more accessible) when dear old aunty Nellie comes visiting. It can also get a bit crowded around a computer when there are also her 6 children with her (her hubby has gone fishing).

First thing to do to improve photo lifetime is to get the most suitable printer.

For the part time camera enthusiast, who often use their mobile phone for photography, then the ink-jet printer is probably the best way to go.

Printers that use additional printer cartridges beyond the Black, Cyan, Magenta, & Yellow, such as photo black, light cyan light ,magenta light etc are designed to provide more detail to the photo.

Canon printers such as the MP750, 760, IP3000 IP5000, etc that use the Canon BCI6 inkjets . or the Canon MP500, 510, IP3300, 4200, etc which use the PGI5, CLI8 colours are photo orientated.
HP also manufacture the very highly reviewed Photosmart C310A, which use the HP 564XL cartridges.

If high photo printing quality is a serious portion of your print requirement then buy a Dye Sublimation Printer . They are printers that are used for photographic applications & graphic arts that are excellent at printing the finer detail. You should also get high quality paper which allows multiple layers of dye to fuse to the paper, making the prints resistant to water and dirt.

Second thing to get is high quality print paper of a glossy nature. Manufacturers will advise of recommended paper or provide gloss paper of a high standard such as  “HP “ Q8008A Advanced Glossy Photo Paper 60Sheets - 10X15cm borderless.

Two other important considerations for longevity of photos:

Maintain your printer such as vacuuming the internal areas for dust & regularly running it.

Keep you albums in a protected area such as the wine cellar, but don’t look at photos whilst imbibing – photos & red wine don’t go well together 

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CLEANING YOUR PRINTER DRUM ROLLER

It won't always work, but when your print quality is effected by the ageing of the drum roller (see previous article), you might try cleaning it.

But drum units are very sensitive, so clean at your own risk.

Like all of us, our drum unit has a definite life expectancy period. Ours is approx .70 to 80 years approx. A drum cartridge is usually 3 to 4 printer cartridges lives. Simply, it wears out.

Because they are expensive to replace, relative to the cost of the toner cartridge, you might want to attempt to clean the drum, remembering that toner powder is a toxic substance (as in poison), until it is transferred to paper, and should be handled with care.

If your drum is suffering from any of the following symptoms, then either replace it or clean it:

·         Smudges or marks on paper

·         Faded text

·         Paper jam

·         Blank spaces in image (text or picture)

·         Lumps of powder on the drum roller.

Remember, don’t attempt to clean it unless you accept that you might damage it i.e. it is unacceptable.

Before you start, check to see if your user guide advises you of the correct procedure, and follow that if so. Otherwise do the following procedure.

Use a pair of throw away rubber gloves; surgical or washing gloves are fine. Place a large sheet of plastic onto a flat surface, or newspaper, as this can be a messy job.

Open the printer and remove the toner cartridge. Inspect the drum for obvious damage. If it's damaged, don't try to clean it; replace it. Place the drum roller on the plastic/newspaper. Remove any large spots of toner on the drum with tweezers or pliers. Be careful not to scratch the surface. Dip a cotton swab in a rubbing alcohol. Gently swipe any visible soiling.
If the entire drum looks dirty, then put a couple of drops of alcohol on a soft, lint-free cloth and carefully wipe the drum. Check the other parts for toner residue while you have the cartridge out. Carefully clean them.

Reinstall the cartridge and print a couple of test pages. If the problem persists, then go back to the first alternative: a new drum, or a new printer if drum replacement is becoming too frequent..





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HP INCREASING PRINTER CARTRIDGE PRICES

When the other OEM printer cartridge suppliers (Brother, Canon, Epson, Xerox et al) are remaining constant with their prices, HP's are climbing. Why?\ We have noticed an increase, often substantial, in the price of HP printer cartridges. One wholesaler has increased the price of all HP printer cartridges by placing an $8 levy on any cartridge order of less than $50.00.  Cartridges such as the C312A, Q5949X, CC530AA, CE250X, CE320A, and the C9730A but to name a few, have increased from 14% to 16% since the end of 2011.  Why would HP choose to factor in these price increases when their competitors are holding steady on prices, particularly with the increase in demand from compatible and re-manufactured printer cartridges? HP has recently announced 27,000 job cuts (8% of its international workforce) and are taking a US$8 billion charge. This will certainly be a factor in increasing prices, to increase revenues. What does this mean to HP printer cartridge users? I can't see how HP would advantage from this. Possibly in the short term users are stuck with their printer, so therefore improved short term profits; but surely it can't help them when users go to replace their printers, or relate the price rises to their friends/collegues, who are about to buy a printer. Adverse publicity is certainly something HP doesn't need at present.

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HOW IS A DRUM PRINTER CARTRIDGE USED?

Everyone is familiar with printer cartridges (well, nearly everyone), but what about drum units?

You are happily printing out a mass of statements. You have had the new printer for 8 months now, with no problems. 

Just  yesterday you replaced the toner cartridge with a new one, the fourth one now, when suddenly the statements are becoming faded, But how could it be so? You've only just replaced the cartridge, so that has to be the problem! You take it out, check that you've removed the seal properly, shake it for a possible blockage, and try again-  same problem. So you get the reserve cartridge out, install it..... and aghhh... still no success. Has it occurred to you that your drum unit has worn out.

Before describing a drum printer cartridge or unit, it is important to know that you should normally replace it approximately on a ratio of every 3 to 4 toner cartridges.

What is a drum printer cartridge and what does it do? 

A printer drum is a rolling pin inside of a laser/toner printer. To create image patterns, a laser beam shines on the drum in the shape of the required image (text, pictorial), to place what are called "electrostatic images." The drum is then rolled through a reservoir of toner, the powdered substance that creates printed images on the paper (for both black and coloured prints), on those previously invisible electrostatic patterns. The magnetically paper rolls through the drum, where the toner is applied, and then finally goes through what is called a fuser which is a heat source to melt the powder, to create your printout.
The drum is different to the toner cartridges, the sole purpose of which is to hold the toner powder. For a number of printers, the drum and toner cartridge are the one unit, known as a toner cartridge. But a number of popular printers have the drum roller separate from the printer cartridge, as follows:
For the Brother brand, there are the Brother DCP7040, and HL2140, HL2142, HL2150N etc. printers that use the DR2125 drum unit, as we well as the DCP7055, HL2130, 7460DN and others that use the DR2225 drum unit. There are 6 other drum rollers from Brother including the DR3000, DR3115, DR3215, DR6000, DR8000, & DR150CL with their related printer ranges.
The HP brand uses the CB384-7A drums for black,cyan, magenta, and yellow. each colour having its own drum roller. The related HP printers include the LaserJet CP6015dn, CP6015n, CP6015x, CP6015xh, LaserJet CM6030, CM6030f, and CM6040 .
Dell has the 592-10544 laser drum unit for their 1700, 1710, 1710n range of printers; Epson the C13S051055 mono laser drum unit with the  C13S050010 mono laser cartridge for the EP L 5700, 5700L, 5800 range of printers; & Xerox the CT350150 colour copier drum unit for the DocuCentre C240, C320, C400 range of printers

 The drum is the unit that can clip onto the back of the toner cartridge, or surround the toner cartridge; and it holds the image and  is extremely important to the laser printer functioning properly. When it starts to wear, you will have problems with print quality and you may experience frequent paper jams.
Signs of drum deterioration:

• Smudges or marks on paper
• Faded print
• Blank areas in print
• Paper jam

Although some printers will give you a warning that you should replace your drum unit, it is a good idea to have a spare in the storage room.
Our next article will be on how you can clean a drum unit, for the brave hearted!

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THE INKJET PRINTER HISTORY

When did the InkJet printer first come into existence?

The Inkjet printer produces a digital image by spraying droplets on demand onto paper, and are the most commonly used printer today, largely due to their low entry cost which has found favour with the home and small office user.

The first  recording device, using electrostatic forces, was invented by William Thomson, later Lord Kelvin, in 1858. This was the Siphon recorder. The apparatus was used for automatic recordings of telegraph messages and was patented in 1867

The first practical continuous  Inkjet printing device was patented by Elmqvist of Siemens in 1951,  with the rapid development of inkjet technology starting off around the late fifties. But not much happened until 1977 when Siemens introduced the PT-80 serial character printer. This printer ejected ink droplets on as it was needed to print, as opposed to continuous inkjet technology that IBM had developed earlier in the 1970’s., which was far more complex , and far more expensive.

Also about then Canon introduced bubble jet printer technology, a drop on demand inkjet printing method where ink drops were ejected from the nozzle by the fast growth of an ink vapour bubble on the top surface of a small heater. HP did likewise and coined the name ‘thermal inkjet’.

The invention of thermal inkjet (TIJ) fundamentally changed inkjet research. By

the replacement of the piezoelectric by a thermal transducer, the main bottleneck

concerning miniaturization was resolved. The thermal transducer became a

simple, small, and cheap resistor

Today, the technology used for inkjet & bubblejet printers is the serial printing process, where the printer uses print heads with nozzles arranged in vertical columns – a process which is the same as is used in dot matrix printers.

The dot matrix printers  ( both serial & line dot matrix printers are the most popular today owing to the fact that they are the least cost per page for print usage when compared to other inkjet printers.

So don’t just sit there -  go and use your inkjet printer to print this out.

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TONER PRINTERS - ARE THEY THE BEST TO BUY?

Why should you buy a toner printer, now that it is time to replace your faithful old inkjet?

Well there are a number of reasons to look at the toner/laser option.
Up until recently, toner printers were too expensive for the small business and home user, by a big margin, so they wern't in the race. But things have changed. For example the HP LaserJet Pro P1102 is selling at around A$130 to $150. Sure, it's only a mono (black) printer, but there are colour lasers, as per this review. There is the Dell 2150cdn. at approx. $350. 
You might say though that Inkjet printers are so much cheaper, some brand models selling at $50 to $85 each. This is because the manufacturers profits are made from the sale of the ink cartridges

And then there is the improved printer speeds that laser printers give you. The former prints at a rated speed of 19 pages per minute (ppm), & the colour at 23ppm. These speeds are very fast when compared to inkjet printers which are at around 12 ppm , according to a review of Inkjet printers by PCWorld . Although there is the Brother DCP-J525W Inkjet Multifunction at 26ppm for colour & 33ppm for black - but it's output print quality does not rate well.
And print quality, particularly for text, is where toner usually lauds it over ink. However, there are exceptions such as photo prints. Inkjets still do a superior job than tonerss of blending colours smoothly. Some have special photo inks that help create subtler shadings and contours, and of course, special photo paper garners the best results. You don't have to be a photo enthusiast or a snap-happy family to want this level of quality. Visually oriented businesses such as real estate and design, or any business that wants to create photo-heavy promotional materials, should also consider an inkjet. But look carefully at inkjet printers that specialize in this area.
Aside from speed and text print quality, probably the  most significant benefit from buying a laser printer is the cost of printing. The cost per page of black toner is between 3 cents and 7 cents per page, whereas the cost of inkjet is between 7 cents and 16 cents per page. Internationally, the cost of bulk ink is increasing, which doesn't auger well for inkjet cartridge prices into the future.
And finally, toner cartidges have a much better storage life, often as long or longer than the life of the printer, wheras inkjets, if in ideal conditions, cn be a problem within two years with the ink congealing. 

If your budget is low in being able to afford the initial capital cost of a printer, and your printing demands are low, but regular, or you require high quality photo prints, then certainly buy an inkjet printer, otherwise I'd recommend a laser printer for either your house or small business.




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THE WRONG PRINTER CARTRIDGE FOR YOUR PRINTER

Do you make sure you’re getting the correct cartridge when you place your order.

It seems people ordering printer cartridges get it wrong more often than you’d think.

The main reason this occurs lies largely at the feet of the OEM (original equipment manufacturer). They often produce a cartridge with a model number that will be close to identical to a printer model number, but that is not designed to be used by that printer.

Brother is one manufacturer that does this. Many users of the Brother HL2130 (a popular printer from the Brother stable), especially when they are first ordering a replacement printer, see the TN2130 printer cartridge and understandably think that’s the cartridge to buy. But no, the TN2130 is used in the Brother HL2140 (not the HL2130).

The TN2130 is actually the cartridge supplied by Brother for the HL2140 and other printers which is included in the price. It is approx 40% volume yield to the TN2150 (standard-2,600 pages), and the TN2150X, the high yield cartridge. The latter two are the ones you should be ordering for the Brother HL2140.

Oh, the HL2130 in fact uses the Brother TN2030 printer cartridge.

Another example of confusing printer cartridges with different printers, is by Kyocera. Their printer the FS-C5100DN is only a single character different to the Kyocera FS-C5200DN. That alone can create confusion when ordering printer cartridges, but there’s more.

The FS-C5100DN uses the TK-544 black, cyan, magenta, & yellow cartridges, as opposed to the TK-554 black, cyan, magenta, & yellow cartridges used by the FS-C5200DN printer.

This creates problems; especially when the cartridges are so similar in shape that you don’t really notice the difference when you go to install them. But the printer certainly does!

Once you have opened the printer cartridge wrapping, your opportunity to claim a refund/replacement has flown out the window, and that can be expensive.

How do you eliminate the problem? When ordering your printer cartridge, ALWAYS carefully check that the ‘used with printers’ section contains the printer you use. Or order the cartridge by the printer model. If you see alternative cartridges, then it is for genuine, compatible or remanufactured cartridges; or  for different yield capacities or marketing e.g. twin packs. But at least you know one thing – they will all work for your printer.

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PAPERLESS OFFICE V's PRINTING

Who remembers the millennium bug? 

There was world wide spread fear in 1999 that because computer systems in the 1900’s hadn’t allowed for a change in the millennium, whereby  a shortened  date of say  28.04.86 (04.28.86) was for April 1986, whereas after 31.12.99 (12.31.99), the next date was 01.01.00, and that computers around the world would go into freefall.

Hardly anybody caught an aeroplane during  that time of millennium change-over for fear the planes’ computers would send it into free fall. Well the planes kept flying, and businesses kept operating.

What’s this got to do with the paperless society you say? Well, a lot.

The single major barrier against a paperless office is the fear of something going wrong with your computer system, and the business losing vital data. But there’s back-up to protect against that, you say. Sure, but everyone knows of a story where XYZ’s backup failed to work when it was desperately needed, for whatever reason.

Printed paper also offers advantages in other areas that I believe make a mockery of the term “paperless office”.

For example, you have a major presentation you are putting to a committee you need to convince. It is highly unlikely you are going to provide everyone with an electronic tablet to go through the benefits your system can provide them. You want something they can scribble notes onto, that they can put into their briefcase providing easy access to it when they wish to refer to it again (portability).

Paperless offices do run the risk of viruses, hackers, identity theft, and convenience issues (do you always carry a computer?).

And then there is the expression... “please sign on  the dotted line” – show me a computer that can do that.

The future will see less reliance on printed paper, but not an obsolescence of it. Printers and printer cartridges are here to stay.

But there is good news for the environmentalists. There will be less demand on forest trees for paper (also tree plantations are increasing in volume today), and  printer cartridge users are returning spent cartridges to recycling bins, placing less demand on land fills.

Have your say in the comments section below as to where you see the future of paper usage going.

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THE RISK OF BUYING INFERIOR PRINTER CARTRIDGES

Beware of dubious compatible printer cartridge offers on the Internet

Fortunately, most Internet suppliers of printer cartridges offer reasonable quality inkjets and toners to the public. Physically looking at a cartridge, or looking at an (web page) image of one will not help you in determining if you are getting a reliable product.

There are a number of ways to minimize the risk of buying a dud cartridge:

1.             Be wary of buying compatible cartridges on Ebay or Amazon or similar marketing sites, especially if the prices are too good to be true; they usually are. You don’t know it your purchases are legit until you receive them.
   2.    Look for a guarantee with the purchase
   3.    Sites that also sell genuine cartridges as well as compatible ones will normally prove reliable.
   4.    Look up the ‘about’ section of a supplier, and see if they also offer an address.
   5.    If a supplier offers a large range of product, it usually means that they have researched the quality of their stock.
   6.    Check to see if the supplier offers back-up support. If they are dodgy then why would they want to support their product.
   7.    Do a Google/Yahoo etc. search of the business you are considering buying from. This will give you a feel for their reliability.

There are brands of compatible cartridges, though acceptable, are not as good a quality as the genuine. If you find this situation occurring to you, ask the supplier what brand it is, and when you need to order next time, contact an alternative supplier and ask what brand (s) they use; because there are also brands that are of good quality.Two highly regarded brands of compatible printers are G&G™ and Focus®.

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DON'T MIX YOUR COMPATIBLE CARTRIDGES

Compatible cartridges might not always be compatible with other compatible cartridges.

Confused? What we are advising you to be careful of, is using different brands of compatilbe cartridges together at the same time.

Any compatible brand manufacturer, such as G & G, is making different size printer cartridges from the genuine cartridges for two reasons. First, copyright laws are obliging them to be 35% different to genuine cartridges in shape, by 35%+. The second reason is that they are making them with more yield capacity making them more attractive to the consumer.

They will make certain that the compatible cartridge(s) will fit in with the genuine one, think for example colour & black combination.

But if you have a compatible black cartridge from say Printrite, it won't necessarily work with a G & G coloured cartridge. Why not? Because they can have a shape that wants to take up the same space as the other compatible, i.e. their bulge might be designed to use the same vacant place in the printer cartridge storage area as the other brand.

The solution is to stick to the one brand of compatibles.  

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JET AND TONER PRINTER COST COMPARISON

Which printer is the least cost system for me, including printer cartridge usage, over three years?

We are looking at a situation such as a small office or a large family, with usage of say 300 to 500 pages per month (average 400). Say 300 pages of black & 100 pages of colours

We are talking low entry cost, including colour , and Multi function i.e. copies, scans, and of course, prints from memory.

For comparison purposes we have selected an inkjet printer and toner printer from the same brand, Brother. Both printers have rated well in reviews.

The inkjet is the MFC-J430W, with a rated speed of 4.3 pages per minute, and an average cost of approx $100.00. Genuine print cartridges (Brother LC40BK cost approx. $25.00 each, and colours $17.00 each). Their yield is approx. 300 pages, black, or each colour.

The toner printer is the DCP-9010CN, printing at 16 pages per minute, and has a cost of approx. $350.00. Genuine toner cartridges cost approx. $80 each and  the colours $75 each. The black has a yield of 2,200 pages and the colours 1,400 pages each.

PRINTER	PRICE	COST PER PAGE		RUNNING COSTS PER MONTH		TOTAL COST PER MONTH	3-YEAR RUNNING COSTS	TOTAL 3-YEAR COST
		BLACK	COLOUR	MONO	COLOUR
MFC-J430W	$100	8.3c	5.7c	$24.90	$5.70	$30.60	$1101.60	$1201.60
DCP-9010CN	$350	3.6c	5.6c	$10.80	$5.60	$16.40	$590.40	$940.40

Based on a three year life period, the toner printer is a better return for your investment than the inkjet.

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REMANUFACTURED PRINTER CARTRIDGES – WHAT’S THEIR FUTURE?

Will the manufacturers of original cartridges succeed in their competition to discredit the remanufactured cartridge?

Or will bodies such as the International Imaging Technology Council (IITC)  win the day?

As reported by Tricia Judge, executive director of IITC, the Texas Department of Transportation will purchase 40,000 remanufactured tonercartridges over the next two years and save 50% of the OEM purchase price. After 15 years as an industry, remanufacturers can compete on quality and price," Judge says.

On the other hand, printer makers implant smart chips in cartridges that can render remanufactured cartridges incompatible with the printer. Typically, smart chips monitor the ink supply in a cartridge and stop the printer when the ink runs dry. But some printers will not work until a new OEM cartridge with the appropriate smart chip is installed. In these cases, makers of remanufactured cartridges cannot install a new chip in recycled cartridges, and that results in unusable recycled consumables. "This is an indication of the determination of the OEM brands getting more aggressive with smart chips, and they're basically giving away $100 printers, which has created a need to protect [the consumables] marketplace" Judge says.

Many users swear by remanufactured inkjet cartridges and say that they can't ascertain differences in print quality over more costly OEM products. Others, particularly those who insist on the highest-quality output for digital photographs, maintain that cartridges from the printer vendors are necessary for picture perfection.

One problem that is occurring with remanufactured cartridges, is that as demand is increasing for them, supply is not keeping up. According to ABC Print Supplies, the back ordering for stock of certain types of remanufactureds is drawing out, and that you should take this into account by placing your order even though you have enough usage for the foreseeable future.

A great ally of the remanufactured cartridge industry are the environmantalists, who are aware of the huge volumes of cartridges going into landfills that should be recycled either directly or indirectly into other products.