Easy Inkjet Refills

HP PSC multifunction printer won't function

2005-09-12T16:50:00.000+08:00

Hoho, I'm back and with goodies to share.

Came across this letter by Saradhi Motamarri. He saw an ad for a HP PSC printer, liked what he read, and bought the gizmo. And that's when his fantasy ended. In order for the printer to work, he needs to have both black and colour cartridges inserted. If either cartridge is missing, the thingamajig absolutely won't work, not even the fax or scan functions.

I didn't know that you need ink to fax or scan!!!

Mr. Motamarri, may I suggest that you take a look at some awesome non-HP alternatives, like those refill kits. Heck, if you can afford those pricey cartridges, you can also probably afford that new-fangled machine by Inké. It'll refill your cartridge and keep you chugging away, while HP sobs at its lost revenue.

Take back the power, man!

Tags: inkjet, inkjet cartridge, inkjet refill, HP, Epson, Canon, Lexmark

HP's new printers

2005-07-12T10:00:00.000+08:00

Associated Press reports that HP has launched a new line of inkjet printers.

The first printer with a printing head made with the new technology will be a $199 machine that can print a 4-by-6-inch photo in 14 seconds. It goes on sale later this month.

HP is following up this fall with a heavier-duty printer intended to supplant color laser printers for office use and a multifunction machine that also scans and faxes.

Later, the article states:

HP also addressed the price issue Monday, saying a 4x6 print can cost as little as 24 cents for customers who buy its "value packs," which combine paper and ink. That makes it competitive with Main Street photofinishers who print on traditional silver halide paper.

Really? That cheap, huh? I'll wait and see. I wonder how much of that 24 cents goes into the ink alone. And how did they come to that magic number anyway?

Tags: inkjet, inkjet cartridge, inkjet refill, HP, Epson, Canon, Lexmark

Choosing your Printing Medium

2005-06-21T12:24:00.000+08:00

Most inkjet and laser printers can print on a variety of surfaces, including labels, photo paper, business cards, stickers, and t-shirt transfers. However, most of your printing probably involves old-fashioned white paper and, when it comes to this medium, you may have more options than you realize. One of the advantages of laser printers is their ability to print well on almost any paper; if you own an inkjet printer, though, you should choose your paper carefully.

Inkjet printer paper
Although standard all-purpose paper will do the job, your results will probably be better if you use paper specifically made for inkjet printers. The quality of your printout is affected by two major factors: brightness and absorption.

Brightness
When a type of paper is advertised as being brighter than average, that really means that the surface of the paper is smoother than average: it’s the smoothness of the page that determines how much light is reflected from it, which, in turn, determines how bright your images appear on the page. The brighter (or smoother) the printer paper, the better your printout will look.

Absorption
Similarly, the less ink that is absorbed by the printer paper, the better your document will look: as the paper absorbs ink, the tiny dots on the page feather, or spread outside of their borders. This causes the edges of images and text on the page to look fuzzy and soggy. To counteract this problem, better printer papers are coated with a waxy substance that prevents the ink from being absorbed by the paper. Since coated paper allows for much more precise detail in a print job, some printers will print at a higher resolution on coated paper than on standard paper.

Courtesy from inkject cartridge world
Tags: inkjet, inkjet cartridge, inkjet refill, HP, Epson, Canon, Lexmark

Different Types of Inkjet Printers

2005-06-21T10:57:00.000+08:00

Inkjet printers

Advantages:

Small
Inexpensive
Quiet
Good for personal use
Able to print in color

Disadvantages:

Slow (might be a thing in the past)
Pages can smear if handled too soon.

Laser Printers

Advantages:

Fast
Sharp printouts
Professional quality
Many have built in memory for fancy graphics and fonts

Disadvantages:

Expensive
Most cannot print in colour

Multifunction Printer:

Advantages:

Convenient
Relatively inexpensive
Save desk space
Efficient

Disadvantages:

Don't do any single task particularly well
Whole machine can become useless if one element malfunctions

Portable printers

Advantages:

Lightweight
Very small
Travel easily

Disadvantages:

Ink cartridges need replacing frequently
Expensive batteries need charging after about 90 pages

Tags: inkjet, inkjet cartridge, inkjet refill, HP, Epson, Canon, Lexmark

Continuous Ink Supply System

2005-06-17T13:53:00.000+08:00

For other people which are thinking of using the Continuous Ink Supply System, Here is some unbiased advise from an end use like me.

Continuous Ink Supply System. (Advantages)
- The Cost of printing will go cheaper the more you print.
- Suitable for large and continuous printout.
- Decrease the downtime for changing the cartridge

Continuous Ink Supply System (Disadvantages)
- Initial installement cost is high.
- You must be technical savvy and have a good knowledge of your printer mechanisms.
- Good priming is needed for the tubing for the initial installation and the re-inking if the bulk ink tank is finished.

Anyway, all this is up to the end-user to see if they would be interested to use the continuous ink supply system. but for me, personally i would not be getting this type of printer. unless i am printing a lot of photos, which i dont need it anyway.

Tags: inkjet, inkjet cartridge, inkjet refill, HP, Epson, Canon, Lexmark

Inkjet Cartridges Recycling Program

2005-06-16T16:24:00.000+08:00

Hello, just came to wonder who really does recycle their original inkjet cartridge (either laser or inkjet) after they have use finish it. This is what i have found out from a source that there are a few programs out the by the Original Manufacturers

Epson_-_cooperation with Funding Factory, recently launched a free recycling program for its customers. Schools and businesses can get points for collecting and remitting empty cartridges to Epson. However, the cartridges are not remanufactured or refilled. They are incinerated. To be fair, mention must be made that the incineration is at an environmentally friendly waste-to-energy plant; however, it’s easy to see that Epson is the big winner in this recycling effort. Their recycling plan takes cartridges out of the hands of remanufacturing plants that can offer less expensive remanufactured compatible cartridges to the consumer.

Hewlett Packard_-_More than 1.8 million HP inkjet cartridges were recycled in 2003. Unfortunately, for the consumer, plastics and metal from the HP cartridges are also disassembled and made into new products. Other components are “used to generate energy or are disposed of in an environmentally responsible manner.”

Canon_-_They have several options for recycling toner cartridges, including a single return option, an up-to-eight multiple return option, and a bulk return option. Whichever you choose, a shipping label can be downloaded directly from their website. Return shipping via UPS is pre-paid by the company. It appears from many recycling and other eco-friendly programs displayed on their website, that Canon is a leader in environmental stewardship, however to date they have no recycling program in place for inkjet cartridges.

Lexmark_-_Their recycling program is 100% free, as are the other printer manufacturer recycling programs. Customers request a kit using an online order form. Lexmark pays the postage both ways.However, there is one major difference between Lexmark’s program and the programs of the other print giants. Lexmark works with Planet Ark and Close the Loop in Australia to ensure every collected cartridge is remanufactured or recycled. In addition, they have similar recycling programs in Latin American and South Africa. In Europe, every purchase of a Lexmark high-volume cartridge comes with a postage-paid recycling bag included.

Although all these big companies have great programs for recycling the cartridges and save our big O Mother nature. But i think they are just wasting their resources. Their cartridges are still good to use for another dont know how many round for god sake.

From my point of view, everyone must do their part in helping to save the enviroment. Re-use the original cartridges and use it till the cartridges is not able to perform. Then you will be looking into how to recycle that useless piece of plastic.

Just a 2 cents of my views

Tags: inkjet, inkjet cartridge, inkjet refill, HP, Epson, Canon, Lexmark

Cost per Print for Inkjet & Laser Printer

2005-06-09T15:58:00.000+08:00

Dear All,

After i have done all this information search on the pros and cons on the net regarding Laser printer. It has come across my mind whether Laser printer is really that good or not. Therefore, i have done a research between HP laser Printer and HP Inkjet Printer to see whether which is more viable for me.

Since i will be mostly using black and white printout for my work. For my convenience, i will be looking around the same specs and price.
Situation 1
HP LaserJet 1020 Printer_-_Cost $USD $179.99/-
Black print speed_-_Up to 15 ppm (Page Per Minute)
Black print resolution_-_Up to 600 x 600 dpi (1200 dpi effective output)=============================================
Cartridge_-_HP LaserJet Q2612A Black Print Cartridge_-_Cost $USD $69.99/-
Average cartridge yield (letter)_-_2,000 standard pages (Based on 5% coverage)
Cost per Print_-_USD $0.034995/-

Situation 2
HP Deskjet 6840 Printer_-_Cost USD $179.99/-
Black print speed_-_Up to 30 ppm (Page Per Minute)
Black print resolution_-_Up to 1200 rendered dpi black
=============================================
Cartridge_-_HP 96 Black Inkjet Print Cartridge with Vivera Ink (C8767WN)_-_USD $29.99/-A
verage cartridge yield (letter)_-_800 standard pages (Based on 5% coverage)
Cost per Print_-_USD $0.0374875/-

Therefore, after i have done a research like this, the only think i have found that, the cost of printing is roughly the same for both type of printer. The difference is laser printer can print more paper. But it also cost more to buy one laser toner cartridge.

So, for the inkjet wise, to print 2,000 standard pages, the cost will be USD $74.975/-
hmmm....given a situation like this. the costing will be somehow the same. but that is in theory. In Practical terms, i would have to get 3 HP 96 cartridges in order to get 2,400 pages of standard printout. Which means my cost will be USD $89.97/-

Given another senerio, i would buy 3rd party ink and pump it into my original cartridge. (Which i believe the printhead wouldnt gave up on me so easily)

hm....after checking through the net, searching for a better alternative that can give me the best "value" for money.So...i bought an automatic refill system (one time cost) which it will couple an ink tank which can roughly fill my original cartridge 2.476 time. This will cost me around USD $50/-So with this, i calculate my cost.

1 Original HP 96 Cartridge cost_-_USD $29.99/-
The Auto Refill System cost_-_USD $50.00/-
Total costing_-_USD $79.99/-

Total ink i have HP 96 (21ml) + refill ink Tank (52ml) = 73mlML (mililitres per standard page)_-_0.02625
Therefore, i could print 2,780 pages

Cost per Print_-_USD $0.028763527/- (!!!!!!WOW!!!!!!)

In this aspect, i would have save much much more per printout as compared to the laser printer. As usual, i would say that this is from my personal view on how i could try to save on my own cost. If you have a better ways to get around to a problem. Feel free give me feedbacks. I would love to hear from you. As you know, who wouldn't want to save cost?

Tags: inkjet, inkjet cartridge, inkjet refill, HP, Epson, Canon, Lexmark

InkCycle gives HP some money

2005-06-09T15:16:00.000+08:00

Read this from ZDNet:

InkCycle said it has paid HP an undisclosed sum as part of the settlement. The patents cover the ink found in refurbished cartridges that are compatible with HP cartridges numbered 49, 57 and 78. HP initially filed the lawsuit in March after it discovered that refilled inkjet cartridges sold under the Staples brand contained patent-infringing ink.

The article lists the following numbers of HP-owned patents:

9,000 patents related to imaging and printing
4,000 of them for consumable supplies such as ink and cartridges
200 patents with specifics on ink

This is an amazing number of patents! And all along, I thought that carbon + water + color pigment = ink.

Tags: inkjet, inkjet cartridge, inkjet refill, HP, Epson, Canon, Lexmark, InkCycle, patent

What bad is there in when using Laser Printer?

2005-06-09T10:41:00.000+08:00

I am using Laser Printer in the office and found that while printing, there's a smell coming out from the printer. Wondering whether it is good for health. i done a search through the net and this is what i found. (up to individual to believe)

The smells is classified into 3 things:

(a) mutagenic and/or carcinogenic compounds contained (and thereby released into the atmosphere) in the toner;

"Material Safety Data Sheets" from one particular Printer company. (i do not wish to name) These list under "hazardous ingredients" Ferrosoferricoxide, Styrene Acryic resin, "dye" and carbon black.

The toxicity of the oxide is described as zero. That of the resin as being rendered biologically inert by the polymerisation process. The "dye" is not discussed. Carbon black has been subject to toxicity and carcinogenic exposure experiments. One view is that while carbon black particulates contain some molecules of carcinogenic materials, the carcinogens areapparently held tightly and are not eluted by water, gastric juices orblood plasma.

Using a bacterial assay technique, extracts from several different photocopies were shown to be mutagenic. The evidence, they suggest, is that compounds in the toners used are responsible for this mutagenic activity.

(b) poisonous compounds on the drum; and

Not much on the drum compounds. Describes thepossible hazards associated with the use of photocopiers, and presentsrecommendations. Among subjects considered is the photoconductor (selenium).

(c) toxic gasses generated by the high electrical discharges involved.

Several people pointed to the dangers inherent in the production of ozone and oxygen radicals. Someone mentioned that the CaXXX LBP-8 engine uses a copper wool catalytic filter. Besides warning of the possible health hazards of chemicals used in toners (carbon black with aromatic polycyclic hydrocarbons and nitropyrenes,thermoplastic resins) and the evidence for mutagenic and carcinogeniceffects of these toners, also covers the effects of ozone, seleniumand organic solvents on health.

God Bless to all Office Worker and Users

Tags: inkjet, inkjet cartridge, inkjet refill, HP, Epson, Canon, Lexmark, laser printer

Mozilla Firefox

2005-06-09T09:51:00.000+08:00

Been using Firefox, check on their uses and decided to think that it is much much betther than using the microsoft version.

Similarities:

Using about the same stuff (interface is roughly the same, the function is also the same)

Why Switch?

Security - Microsoft Internet Explorer is the main target for hackers and virus writer. Therefore, microsoft has been issuingpatches after patches,updates after updates to upgrade its security loopholes and it vulnerabilities. What this will post for the end-users is the constant upgrade is needed. (Which most of them do not have the time or the awareness to do that.)
Focus - This doesnt means that Firefox browser is safe. Just that the hackers do not focus their attention on it. But if Firefox ever comes to be popular, this situation might be different.
Tabbed Browsing - Most noticeable difference for the Firefox. Minimise the desktop space. Very good
Built-in pop-up blocker - This is also a very niche features for the Firefox. This has become so good that microsoft also copy their concept and have put it up on the patches in the window updates section.
Cross-platform application - Can use with any Operating System. Good ley!
Firefox extensions - This means the browser has an almost unlimited number of features. (Upgradeable)
No security zones, no digital signatures, no active X controls. ha...isnt it good?

Tags: inkjet, inkjet cartridge, inkjet refill, HP, Epson, Canon, Lexmark, Mozilla, Firefox

Lenovo: Dell talks trash

2005-06-02T16:13:00.000+08:00

Lenovo hit back at Dell for something that one of Dell's employee said:

According to China Daily, an English-language newspaper based in Beijing, a Dell account manager named "Chris" sent an email to a customer saying that sales of IBM machines are "directly supporting/funding the Chinese government."

Apparently, every Chinese and their toddlers got into a frenzy over this.

Lenovo receives subsidies from the Chinese government, Dell receives trade favors from the U.S. government. I think it's all a case of the pot calling the kettle black, but I'm not saying who's the pot and who's the kettle.

All I'm saying is this:
I WANT MY FRIGGIN' CHEAP INKJET CARTRIDGES!!!

Tags: inkjet, inkjet cartridge, inkjet refill, HP, Epson, Canon, Lexmark

Epson hard to crack cartridge design

2005-05-31T11:44:00.000+08:00

Wao,

I just went to have a visit to Epson Website to have a detail look on their ink cartridges constructions. They have used so much "heart and "passion" for their product.

Formless Cartridges
Smart Valve Control

After settling with a testing of their original cartridge. I have to say that they have really done a great job in makijng their cartridge uncrackable. The intelligent chip that is embedded on the cartridge is another additional problem. I would be glad if someone could provide me the solution to crack the technology behind this cartridge.

Tags: inkjet, inkjet cartridge, inkjet refill, HP, Epson, Canon, Lexmark

Hewlett-Packard has plans for a new printer

2005-05-30T15:50:00.000+08:00

The Albany Democrat-Herald has an article about a hush-hush HP project:

"We're going to have a really big announcement about a whole new printing platform we've been developing over the last five years," (Steve Nigro) promised in an interview. "It focuses on taking inkjet to a whole new level in terms of speed, quality and cost of operation."

Wow, I'm quaking in my shoes. Half the price of laser printers with the same output? HP, thy (inkjet) cup doth runneth over. No matter what new cartridge gizmo you come up with, I'll still be using cheaper refills.

But where there's hope, there's also doom. In the same article,

The company has been trumpeting a severance program that is carving 1,905 jobs out of its imaging and printing business, including 570 in Corvallis, both as a cost-saving measure and as a way to refocus its work force on promising new product lines.

Ouch. Now these laid-off HPers will have to rely on the cheaper inkjet refills too!

Tags: inkjet, inkjet cartridge, inkjet refill, HP, Epson, Canon, Lexmark

Vivera on the loose? what is it all about?

2005-05-30T15:14:00.000+08:00

Extracted from CNET

Promoting Vivera inks could help HP fend off competition from lower-end ink sellers ... Hewlett-Packard's imaging and printing group contributes the lion's share of the company's overall profits. Printing accessories are, in a way, more important to the company than the printers they're used on. ... Cheaper ink can be found on the market. For example, office supply retailer Staples sells two cartridges with a total of 84 milliliters of black ink compatible with HP printers for $45.04--less than a third of the price per milliliter.

Vivera.. .. .. A bit too expensive. Would really like to know what does it really do to help me in the printing? How different is the ink from other company?

Tags: inkjet, inkjet cartridge, inkjet refill, HP, Epson, Canon, Lexmark, Vivera

The PC Show this coming weekend

2005-05-30T09:16:00.000+08:00

I have heard that the PC show is coming up at this weekend in Singapore Expo. Who might be going? Another of my friends will be there for his part time work. Do come and support him and if you seen anything you like. Feel free to talk to him. He will be at the Booth7028.

I was wondering what new stuff they would be putting up in the Show.

Tags: inkjet, inkjet cartridge, inkjet refill, HP, Epson, Canon, Lexmark, PC Show

HP and Snapfish

2005-05-27T11:01:00.000+08:00

Taken from BusinessWeek:

After years of trying to boost short-term profits to keep Wall St. happy, the company has slashed printer prices in a margin-sapping crusade to take back market share. While painful, that should boost sales of its hugely profitable ink cartridges for years to come--including from shutterbugs who are willing to pay more to print a pic right now, rather than wait a few days for Fedex to deliver prints ordered online.

In the end, it's all about the ink, isn't it? Even the acquisition of a photo service is used to saturate the market with more inkjet cartridges.

The author, Peter Burrows, later says: " more-costly-than-crude printer ink". Haha, good one! You hear that? It's cheaper to drive an SUV than print your vacation photo!

Tags: inkjet, inkjet cartridge, inkjet refill, HP, Epson, Canon, Lexmark, Snapfish

Anyone Using HP 45 Cartridge?

2005-05-27T09:48:00.000+08:00

Dear all viewers,

I have been exposed to this HP 45 cartridge for quite some time and decided to look for anyone out there who has the same feelings as i have. "Zhen De Shi Wang Tian Bu Fu You Xin Ren" (Opps, sorry, my pc cant allow Chinese Character) You can access this links for details information on how this net friend came to review his printer and the cartridge he is using. (I have to thanks a friend of mine for all this valuable information.)

Hope all this can help the people out there.
Regards
friend+

Tags: inkjet, inkjet cartridge, inkjet refill, HP, Epson, Canon, Lexmark

Special Occassion on the (TAIPEI 101 Observatory Trivia)

2005-05-26T15:00:00.000+08:00

Wao! ! !
Just a few moments ago, i have heard that one of my good friends is headding down to the Taipei for an exhibitions. Hope he can bring back some good stuffs and innovative materials for us to browse through. Better yet! Some souvenirs for us. ^_^

By the way, if you happen to be there also. why not go and have a look and say hi to my good friends over in Taipei. I believe that they would be more than glad to talk to you. You can access this link for more information on their event. (arghhs..would have love to put up pictures on the blog but my pc is too unqualified for the upload. sucks!)

Regards
Workaholics?

Tags: inkjet, inkjet cartridge, inkjet refill, HP, Epson, Canon, Lexmark

Another Amazing Innovation By HP

2005-05-26T14:11:00.000+08:00

May 26, 2005 (FinancialWire) HP have announced the availability of instant printing capabilities for HP Designjet series printers with Autodesk DWF Viewer, a free, downloadable viewer for 2D and 3D design workflows, and DWF Composer software that enables users to review, mark up and revise drawings.
HP Instant Printing for Autodesk applications offers extended project teams the click printing of large-format, highly detailed drawings, plans and maps from a software application.
"Autodesk and HP are delivering solutions to help designers accelerate productivity and experience more efficient design review processes," said Amar Hanspal, vice president, Autodesk Collaboration Services. "As leaders in our respective technology categories, Autodesk and HP are bringing together the best resources for our customers to maintain the full integrity of the design throughout the engineering workflow, including collaboration with partners and sub-contractors, as well as clients -- regardless of partners' or customers' technology investments."
"Together, Autodesk and HP are transforming the overall productivity of project teams through dependable design and printing technology," said Enrique Lores, vice president and general manager, Inkjet Commercial Division, HP. "HP Instant Printing for Autodesk applications helps improve team efficiency by making it simpler and more reliable than ever before to print digital DWF files on any supported HP Designjet printer."

Tags: inkjet, inkjet cartridge, inkjet refill, HP, Epson, Canon, Lexmark

Feedback Rally

2005-05-26T10:11:00.000+08:00

Hello there,

First of all, I have to thank mike hunter for giving me this priviledge to have some say in this blog. Let me introduce myself. I'm working hard and working smart, i found this website given by a friend and i requested mike for clearance. ha. funny thing is that this blog topic is similiar to what i am dealing with my everyday work.

So, i decided to "kay poh" and sink in one of my smelly leg into this blog. Since i am so free, i decided to see what kind of good information i could share with the mass out there. ^_^

Anyway, from what mike said, i fully agreed wit what mike has mentioned on the HP printers using back to their same old cartridge or maybe the smae ink?! (Who knows). From my personal point of view, this is a very good strategy by the HP guys. They are catering different printer specifications for specific needs. This is where their hearts comes in. they innovate, invent and benefits the public. Which also incidentally benefits the Ink refills industries.

Not like Epson, selling their printers at such a high price. I have to confess that their printing quality for the photo is superb. but they are selling at such a price only the so called " elite" are able to afford. Also i think they are bery "kiasu" la...keep changing their cartridge models that it is hard for the manual refills or compatible cartridges to keep up with. Yo..they so "chek ark".

Anyway, using the same cartridge models is not a very big deal. I would live to use the same cartridge if the black printout is good. Especially from HP. if my company is using many inkjet printers, i would be very happy if all were using the same cartridges. Ha! easy refills or remanufactured cartridges for me. (Can help my company to save money some more.)

Tags: inkjet, inkjet cartridge, inkjet refill, HP, Epson, Canon, Lexmark

HP's new SMB printers

2005-05-25T14:04:00.000+08:00

HP introduces new printers for small and medium businesses. Of the 5, only 2 are inkjet printers.

The thing about most printers by any company is that they use the same ol' cartridges. WTF??? That means the ink is the same, the way the ink is delivered is the same, etc etc. And when it comes to print-outs, it's all about the ink.

Printers today -- many models, same ideas.

Tags: inkjet, inkjet cartridge, inkjet refill, HP, Epson, Canon, Lexmark

HP slashes jobs!

2005-05-24T15:59:00.000+08:00

Layoffs afoot at HP. 5-10% of its employees will be without steady paychecks soon.

Without money, these hundreds (thousands?) of ex-HPers won't be able to eat their own dog food.

Interestingly,

After delivering his first quarterly results, Hurd said he would continue the cuts, and indicated that HP's storage business could see a rapid reduction in headcount, along with the cuts already planned for the very profitable printing and imaging division, where (CEO Mark) Hurd wants even higher profits.

Tags: inkjet, inkjet cartridge, inkjet refill, HP, Epson, Canon, Lexmark

hp plans to localise inkjet printers

2005-05-18T11:49:00.000+08:00

interesting strategy by hp, check it here.

new exciting series from inké

2005-05-17T17:10:00.000+08:00

air systems - i thought it was a new shoe from nike. anyway, air stands for automatic inkjet refilling. pretty cool. now wouldn't it be great if they sell this refill solution in a coffee-maker (or desktop computer) in the form of a franchise? i mean, everyone, including me (an inkjet novice) can jump on the bandwagon riding on a multi-billion dollar industry.

an excerpt from the press release:

All models will be on display at the INKE booth (West No.1) at Tokyo BigSight (Tokyo International Exhibition Center), Exhibition Hall 0-12, 3-21-1Ariake, Koto-ku, Tokyo 135-0063, Japan from 18th -- 20th May 2005.
According to INKE VP-Sales, Mr. Tan Kong Cheok "We are very excited about the new series. In particular for our ColorBox systems for Canon Color cartridges, with a standard docking base, users can use the various color box according to the color cartridge they need to refill allowing flexibility and ease of use. Users can now have a total integrated refilling solution at their fingertips."

but i love this bit:

The inkjet supplies market is estimated at US$30 billion annually at retail.

please let me be a franchisee!!!

gwen stefani 2nd rate to u2?

2005-05-17T12:25:00.000+08:00

check this report out. no offense to u2 but i think gwen's right up there with them in terms of music. commercially definitely not but sometimes, gwen's tight.

the camera's real cool too but gwen's gotta grow out of the japan craze thing cause it's getting old.

Technorati tags: Gwen Stefani, U2

hp versus dell

2005-05-17T09:37:00.000+08:00

was reading this interesting article. the last bit is especially interesting:

Neff summed up this feeling earlier this month: "As Mark Hurd takes the reins of HP, we have some suggestions for an action plan: Be bold. Get (out of) PCs. Rationalize the enterprise business... In short, don't spin-off printers but de-emphasize the rest."

hurd will have to have big balls to do what neff suggested. nuff' said.

bluetooth and your inkjet printer

2005-05-16T14:44:00.000+08:00

the wonders of modern tech... printing from your cell phone may not be so far off. check out how bluetooth can be incorporated in your printer, if it doesn't already have the capability.

lexmark (australia) rolls out a new printer

2005-05-16T14:37:00.000+08:00

check out the details here.

very important:

While the P6250 is ideal for amateur photographers, connoisseurs will find that a dedicated photo printer produces more detailed prints, while the hefty ink cartridge costs common to Lexmark printers ($43.99, $37.99 and $42.99 for photograph, colour and black cartridges respectively) are another deterrent.

hurd listens

2005-05-16T14:32:00.000+08:00

it pays to listen.

hurd's probably got a lot of things on his mind: he inherited a company that's out of shape but strangely, for the past quarter, dell seemed to have done worse than hp.

business students, this post's for you

2005-05-12T14:05:00.000+08:00

power struggle in the industry is inevitable. read this to find out how they are slugging it out.

check this bit out:

But the landscape is changing. Dell in particular has taken aim at HP. Through aggressive pricing and promotion, the computer giant has amassed $1 billion in printer sales in only about a year in the business. "The result of this profit-free business plan is to quickly increase market share and drive down prices throughout the industry, thereby driving down the profits of all competitors, especially HP," said Peter Grant, an analyst with market research firm Gartner.

The article goes on to hype about how hp is going to go after bric (brazil, russia, india, china) with their older, core products. the next 2 years are going to be very important as well because dell can't continue a break-even business.

very educational report.

Tags: inkjet, inkjet cartridge, inkjet refill, HP, Epson, Canon, Lexmark

rest easy

2005-05-12T13:53:00.000+08:00

been a lot of hype bout kodak joining the industry recently, the latest being this one.

this is the killer part about it that has all the giants shaking:

One indication that the company may be headed in that direction is the announcement Wednesday of a CEO shift, with Daniel Carp out and former Hewlett-Packard Co. executive Antonio Perez now in the top spot. "Perez has intimate knowledge of the inkjet market from his time at HP," said Jim Forrest, a senior analyst at Lyra Research Inc. "That might not be the only reason they chose him, but it certainly won't hurt when they make a play in that market."

one interesting fact though is that kodak manufactures some of lexmark's ink in the past! the article also points out quite directly that epson could be the most affected company. i guess we'll have to wait and see.

Tags: inkjet, inkjet cartridge, inkjet refill, HP, Epson, Canon, Lexmark

Her Royal Hotness, Mandy Fujiko Amano! (sidetrack)

2005-05-11T15:08:00.000+08:00

I have discovered a babe in techland, and her name is Mandy Fujiko Amano.

Just watch her jiggle...

Tags: Mandy Fujiko Amano, inkjet, inkjet cartridge, inkjet refill, HP, Epson, Canon, Lexmark

kodak going to manufacture inkjet printers

2005-05-11T12:25:00.000+08:00

kodak, the company associated with traditional film photos, is going into the inkjet industry. check out the details here! and here too.

Tags: inkjet, inkjet cartridge, inkjet refill, HP, Epson, Canon, Lexmark

oh brother

2005-05-09T16:17:00.000+08:00

brother's new releases!

do you really want . . .

2005-05-09T09:56:00.000+08:00

your print-outs to last this long?!

empty cartridges: good money, easy set-up, encourages recycling

2005-05-09T09:45:00.000+08:00

check this article out.

"I'm basically asking for other people's trash, which is the beautiful thing about this," says Mr. Wood, whose business brings in monthly revenue of about
$60,000. Mr. Wood is one in a growing cadre of cartridge brokers that helps nonprofit groups raise funds, encourages recycling and supplies a network of mostly small remanufacturers that offer consumers a lower-cost option for running their printers. It is a win-win proposition in many respects, except for the big printer makers such as Hewlett-Packard Co. and Lexmark International Inc."

this part is cool too:

"In the past five years, the share of the global ink-jet-cartridge market held by remanufactured cartridges has risen to 17 percent from-- percent, says imaging-industry tracker Lyra Research. Lyra expects that to rise to 24 percent by 2008, even though Consumer Reports and other consumer watchdogs consider remanufactured cartridges inferior in quality."

more news on hp

2005-05-09T09:37:00.000+08:00

hp shakes it up.

there seems to be a lot of buzz about hp since the new ceo was appointed. the company seems more focused on its printer business. i hope this means good news and a shift towards making printers that print your cell phone images. i really love for this to happen. with camera-phones becoming more and more popular, i think it's only a matter of time for the big boys to do that sort of printers.

another manufacturer gets sued

2005-05-09T09:28:00.000+08:00

check on link to find out more.

inké

2005-05-06T12:04:00.000+08:00

cute contraption. was reading the web site and learnt that they will be going to computex with their new series the airbox and the colorbox.

if anyone is at the show and can fill me in, much appreciated.

hp slashes jobs

2005-05-06T11:59:00.000+08:00

what's up everybody? seems as though 2 industry giants, namely ibm and hp are undergoing some major shake-ups. first up ibm announced 13000 jobs will be cut. in the us, they will be involuntary and in europe, they will be voluntary. more affected are germany, france and some of the affluent ones. check this out.

from the article:

"Imaging and printing has been HP’s strongest sector. In the quarter that ended in January, imaging and printing earned $932 million, out of overall profits of $1.3 billion. In inkjet printers alone, HP has more than 50 percent market share."

hp derives a massive 70+% from its imaging and printing business. incredible.

still the juggernaut will not stop here for sure.

"Still, HP’s imaging and printing group won’t be going anywhere soon. “There are increasing opportunities, like printing out pictures from cell phone cameras,” said Mr. Bracelin. “We are looking to expand into high-growth areas. We’ve recently acquired Snapfish. Digital photography is going to be huge for us,” added Ms. Sarkar."

expecting to see a tie-up with one of the cell phone makers. my guess is probably either nokia or siemens.

Tags: inkjet, inkjet cartridge, inkjet refill, HP

HP profits going down, cartridge prices going UP?

2005-05-06T11:17:00.000+08:00

From BusinessWeek (May 9, 2005) "Why HP is pruning the printers":

"Revenue growth is expected to slow to 5.7% for the fiscal year ending in October... operating margins will slip to 15% this year... Dell and others are competing harder for HP's customers... HP's share of the U.S. printer market [...] fell six points in 2004, to 47%... a host of cartridge refillers want to horn in on HP's lucrative sales of ink..."

So how is HP going to easily recover its profits and money?

Its cash cow: INKJET CARTRIDGES! You can bet on it. The easiest method is always the one taken immediately.

Like any good capitalist company, HP will always want more money, so I'm not holding my breath for these two things:

Higher prices
Less ink in the bloody cartridges

This is why I need cheaper inkjet cartridges and inkjet refillers. I've discovered two great companies, Inke and Fullmark, and there are tons of others out there too.

When will HP wake up and realise that it's on THE LOSING END???

Tags: inkjet, inkjet cartridge, inkjet refill, HP, Epson, Canon, Lexmark

new printer: hp psc 1610 all-in-one printer

2005-05-05T17:03:00.000+08:00

enjoy reading about hp's latest stream of revenue.

funny how the article conveniently mentions that hp advises all of us to use hp's paper, inkjet supplies and ink to optimise print-out quality. i love this part too:

"For ultimate creative control customers can also purchase other print cartridges from the range and swap them in so they have the right set of inks available for their print job. Inkjet print cartridges not in use can be stored in a print cartridge protector (supplied) to ensure the inks don’t dry out. When printing photos, users can combine the HP No. 343 / 344 Tri-Colour Inkjet Print Cartridge along with the HP No. 348 Photo Inkjet Print Cartridge for a true-to-life photos with accurate skin tones and a wide range of colours.

HP’s Premium Plus Photo Paper offers outstanding image quality, a professional weight of 280 g/m2, and a choice of high-gloss or satin-matt finish for the look and feel of a traditional photo. Printed in combination with HP’s next generation inks, photo prints offer exceptional fade resistance, even surpassing that available with HP’s previous generation of inkjet print cartridges."

for me, nothing surpasses the classic hp cartridge: the hp-45. sure plenty of us have or had this. a behemoth of a cartridge.

end-user reviews are welcomed.

Tags: inkjet, inkjet cartridge, inkjet refill, HP, Epson, Canon, Lexmark

nash checking in

2005-05-05T10:24:00.000+08:00

hi everybody what's up? seems as though this place needs livening up. name's nash and i don't type in caps. so if you see a post entirely without caps, its mine. i'm kinda thinking of going in the ink business so this may be a good site to feel my way around and listen to comments from a global audience. anyway, here's an interesting article from infotrends.

from the article:

"The snapshot printer market is the surprise success story of 2004, up 170% from 2003 to reach 2.2 million units. These dedicated photo printers are designed to do one thing extremely well: print snapshots. Although they make up less than 5% of the total home printer market, they are ideal for photo-intensive users who spend a lot more on print consumables than the average user. Hence many players like Canon, Dell, Epson, Kodak, Lexmark and Sony are now jumping into this space or intensifying efforts, after allowing Hewlett-Packard's inkjet models to dominate the space early on."

nice to see the other players giving the leader some heat for once.

bottomline is it means more profits for these major players. i'm excited about the new features (multifunctions, printing without a computer, fast, high quality) for sure, but i'm not thrilled at the costs involved. kind of like your car and petrol situation. nowadays, it makes perfect economic sense to have 2 printers: a defunct one for printing your boring black text documents and a snazzy one for all your family prints. check out the latest rollout by epson.

i'm a big fan of canon though. separate tanks for separate colors. pure genious. and they're japanese so they can't go wrong.

i'm outta here like my printer's out of ink.

Tags: inkjet, inkjet cartridge, inkjet refill, HP, Epson, Canon, Lexmark

HP ink costs more than precious wines!

2005-01-17T14:33:00.000+08:00

From PC Pro (Feb 2005):

"Yet the price of printer ink has managed to rocket past Vintage Dom Perignon Champagne (23p per ml), way past rare, vintage, super-posh Roederer Cristal Rose 1995 Champagne (33p per ml), and even past a £1,500 bottle of 1951 Macallan Scotch (£2.14 per ml).

Indeed, HP's 343 'standard' capacity ink tank, which costs £18.99 for 7ml, works out at £2.71 per ml. HP may argue that it's coverage that's important, but in our test its photos were among the most expensive."

-- by Nick Ross

Bloody turd HP!!! I should just print with wine!

Tags: inkjet, inkjet cartridge, inkjet refill, HP, Epson, Canon, Lexmark

How to join

2005-01-17T13:25:00.000+08:00

If you want to post to this blog, you'll need to provide me with your email address. Send a blank email to easyinkjetrefills [at] yahoo [dot] com with the words "Add me to easyinkjetrefills blog!" in the subject. I will then add your email address to the list of members of this blog, and you should then be able to post freely.

Tags: inkjet, inkjet cartridge, inkjet refill, HP, Epson, Canon, Lexmark

Let's get this party going!

2005-01-14T17:02:00.000+08:00

Okay, I am sick and tired of the high price of inkjet cartridges. It's starting to put a significant dent in my wallet. And I'm sure there are millions of folks out there who share the same concern, judging by the number of refill kits and websites selling refill kits.

So I setup this blog for everyone to talk about inkjet refills. Post your favourite method or product of refilling inkjet cartridges. Or if you know a way to reduce/prevent the gouging due to buying new inkjet cartridges, let everyone know!

Let's bring the battle to the faceless printer corporations. Eat s**t, HP, Lexmark, Epson, Canon, Brother and all you blood-sucking thieves!

Tags: inkjet, inkjet cartridge, inkjet refill, HP, Epson, Canon, Lexmark