Chance that the Printer is Working

Posted in: Printers by Jack on 24 September 2008

Be prepared.

Today’s Word of Advice

Posted in: Printers, blog by Jack on 19 September 2008

If you live with a cat, you may want to keep your printer on an elevated shelf. Here’s why.

Printer Ink: How Do You Define ‘Empty’?

Posted in: blog by Jack on 18 September 2008

Steve Bass finds 20 percent of the ink he paid for left in supposedly empty cartridges, but Brother has a logical (if not legal) explanation.

“I’m out of ink. Feed me.” That was what my Brother 640CW multifunction printer demanded recently. I checked and there was still enough fluid in its cartridge for goodness knows how many more pages.

I examined all three allegedly empty cartridges–cyan, yellow, and magenta. From the top to bottom, they measured 1 1/8 inches. There was still roughly 1/4 inch of fluid at the bottom of each one. That’s about a fifth of the cartridge’s capacity, so my loss in ink was roughly $2.25 per cartridge. That’s not exactly big bucks, but enough to make me feel like I was being scammed. (Oh, right, what printing manufacturer would do that, eh?)

I was fuming.

Brother Says: Oh, That’s Normal

I used my pull and fired a note off to Brother’s PR person. My question was simple: Is there a mechanical reason to leave fluid in the cartridge?

Brother’s rep had a logical answer, of course. Here it is, verbatim–make sure to slip on a pair of hip boots so you don’t get splattered with anything.

“First, we would like to assure you that Brother stands behind our product and the information disclosure that we provide to the consumer. It is always our policy to provide such information to consumers to help them understand both the product and the conditions under which the product operates.

“To address your specific question regarding ink volume, the rated yield for each cartridge follows the industry standard of that period which was based on 5% page coverage. So regardless of what small ink volume you may see remaining in an ink cartridge when it needs to be replaced, we guarantee that the ink volume that was provided and ‘used’ meets this industry standard calculation. Any additional ink volume left in a cartridge at that time was not put into the rated yield calculation that is guaranteed by Brother.

“Importantly, there is a technical and performance reason for why the small amount of ink is remaining in a cartridge that is identified as ‘empty.’ As mentioned in the User Manual, ‘even though the machine informs you that an ink cartridge is empty, there will be a small amount of ink remaining in the ink cartridge. It is necessary to keep some ink in the ink cartridge to prevent air from drying out and damaging the print head assembly.’ By doing so, the machine is protected and consistent print quality is ensured to satisfy the consumer. In effect, remaining ink should not be viewed as waste, but as Brother’s affirmative action to provide ongoing high quality output and performance of the machine.”

Horsepucky, says I. Granted, the printer may need a small amount of ink to keep the printer heads from drying out, but the volume left in the cartridge isn’t what I’d call small. And I’m not interested in the industry standard of 5 percent coverage. What I know is that even with minimal printing, the Brother needs a new cartridge way too often–and I want every last drop of ink.

Epson’s WorkForce printers aimed at ‘micro-businesses’

Posted in: Printers, blog by Jack on 12 September 2008

The flagship WorkForce 600 AIO features built-in Wi-Fi and Ethernet networking capabilities, and can output 27 pages per minute (PPM) color and 19 PPM black and white. It features a 2.5-inch tilt LCD display and built-in 30-page Automatic Document Feeder (ADF), and has built-in copy, scan and fax capabilities. The WorkForce 600 will be available this month for $199.99.

The WorkForce 40 and WorkForce 30 are single-function printers that output up to 27 PPM in default mode. The WorkForce 40 prints color text at up to 19 PPM and offers built-in Wi-Fi and wired networking. The WorkForce 30 outputs color text at up to 11 PPM in default mode, and includes a dual black ink cartridge system. The WorkForce 40 is coming in September for $129.99; the WorkForce 30 will be available in August for $69.99.

The WorkForce 500 is another AIO that features photo printing and volume document printing capabilities. It has a 30-page ADF, faxes at up to three seconds per page, and prints at up to 33 PPM in black and white or color. It also has a 2.5-inch tilt LCD display, built-in memory card slots and PictBridge support, which enables the printer to output digital photos from PictBridge-compatible cameras without needing to use a PC or Mac. The WorkForce 500 is coming this month for $129.99.  (Source – Macworld)

*This article is for informational purposes only. Cartridge World San Diego does not endorse or recommend any particular printer or manufacturer. Always purchase the printer that offers the functionality you need.