Portable inkjet printers reviewed

Posted in: Printers, Reviews, blog by Jack on 21 May 2009

One of our customers inquired today about portable inkjet printers, and while there isn’t a source of reviews comparable to the ones for laser printers that I could find, I did run across the following that I hope will be of some help.

Portable inkjet printers are a compact and lightweight option for use with laptops. They can run on battery or electrical power; some even have an optional adapter to run off a car’s cigarette lighter. Reviews say that portable printers can’t match the speed of desktop printers and cost much more both to buy and to run. They are made for low-volume use. Many portable printers are Bluetooth compatible, which means that they will work with a wireless adapter and can receive input from a PDA or mobile phone.

The Canon Pixma iP100 (*Est. $235) receives great comments from CNet.com’s Justin Yu, who says that its speed and resolution are top notch for a portable printer. Print quality is also praised and text is said to be clean, with Simon Williams of TrustedReviews.com stating that the iP100 is on par with full-sized, desktop inkjet printers.

The iP100 is an update of the Canon Pixma ip90v portable printer, and there are several notable improvements. These include a larger number of printheads, higher color resolution, 50-sheet input capacity (an increase of 20 sheets), faster printing and, according to the CNet.com review, a slight improvement in print quality. Connectivity options include PictBridge, USB and infrared for connection to cell phones. There are no memory card slots and the iP100 printer does not offer Wi-Fi connectivity.

HP’s Officejet H470 portable printer (*Est. $220) does not fare as well at CNet.com, where Justin Yu says problems include “fuzzy” and “blurred” text. Photos print out smooth, Yu says, but colors are flat and lack saturation. PC Magazine’s M. David Stone largely agrees, saying the H470′s text quality is “subpar,” and notes banding when printing in certain modes. U.K.-based PC Advisor sees similar issues, but the reviewer writes that swapping the default black ink cartridge for an optional six-ink photo cartridge resulted in “superb” output on photo paper. Simon Williams of TrustedReviews.com, on the other hand, feels that the H470 performs well for a portable printer, and that its print speeds actually exceed HP’s specifications. He also disagrees with negative assessments of the H470′s text printing, saying that even when reproducing small fonts there is only “slight fuzziness” around the edges.

Reviews that contrast the HP Officejet H470 with the Canon Pixma iP100 are inconclusive as to which is the superior product. M. David Stone at PC Magazine notes that while the iP100 is superior in speed and some aspects of print quality, the H470 wins out in such areas as ink cartridge yields. Both printers have some similar costly, optional add-ons, such as Bluetooth adapters and lithium-ion rechargeable batteries.

If you are searching for a portable printer, there are some key differences in features between the Canon Pixma iP100 and HP Officejet H470 that may help you choose the best model. Most notably, HP’s H470 offers Wi-Fi connectivity and memory card slots. It also costs less to equip and operate; for instance, the H470′s optional battery costs around $50, while the iP100′s is twice as expensive. HP even offers a soft carrying case — a frill missing with the Pixma iP100. If you do not need these options and value print quality above all else, however, reviews indicate that Canon’s Pixma iP100 is the better performing portable printer. (Source – Consumer Search)

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Color laser printers reviewed

Posted in: blog, laser by Jack on

In January, PC World Magazine reviewed some of the newer color laser printers on the market and gave their top marks to the Dell 3130CN.

B&W Pages per Min.: B&W PPM:31, Color Pages per Min.: Color PPM:26, Max. B&W dpi: 600-by-600, Max. Color dpi: 600-by-600, Tray Capacity, pages: 400
Bottom Line: Spoil your small workgroup with this printer’s speed, great output quality, and cheap toner.

The printers they have reviewed are intended for use in small to medium businesses. They are still a bit too expensive for the average home user. For example, the Dell 3130CN retails for around $520 0nline while at Staples the cartridges are priced at $142 for black, $253 each for the colors. That’s $901 for a full round of cartridges. Unfortunately at present we are unable to remanufacture these cartridges.

PC World’s second favorite color laser printer is the Brother HL-4040CN. These printers cost around $350, though refurbished models are available for $100 less. 

B&W Pages per Min.: B&W PPM:21, Color Pages per Min.: Color PPM:21, Max. B&W dpi: 2400-by-600, Max. Color dpi: 2400-by-600, Tray Capacity, pages: 300
Bottom Line: This competent printer balances good pricing, speed, and print quality with a sometimes-awkward design.

Consumables for this printer at retail will run you $91 for the black cartridge and $128 for each color cartridge (price reflects the high yield TN-115), a total of $475 for each full cartridge change. We charge $49 for the black and $69 for each color cartridge, bring the cost of a full set down to $256. 

The third highest overall score was earned by another Dell, the 2130cn.

B&W Pages per Min.: B&W PPM:20, Color Pages per Min.: Color PPM:16, Max. B&W dpi: 600-by-600, Max. Color dpi: 600-by-600, Tray Capacity, pages: 250,
Bottom Line: Your small workgroup will enjoy this capable color laser until it’s time to buy more toner (especially since we cannot yet remanufacture these cartridges).

If your needs are best met with a monochrome laser, here are PC World’s top picks in that category:

Dell 1720dn - Bottom Line:This fast, well-equipped laser can handle both SOHO and workgroup needs, and it has room to grow.

HP Laserjet P1505 - Bottom Line: Cheaply priced but also cheaply designed, this printer’s saving grace is its speed.

Samsung ML-1630 - Sleek and shiny-black, the ML-1630 has miles of style and adequate performance for personal use.

Oki Printing Solutions B4400n - Bottom Line: This sturdily built, solid performer is overshadowed by lower-cost competitors with similar specs.

Lexmark E352dn - Bottom Line: The price may be high, but this printer offers speed and features galore, plus expandability.

These reviews and more information on printers and cartridges can be found on the PC World website.
 

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Ink levels and page counts

Posted in: blog by Jack on 11 May 2009

Question: So how does an inkjet printer know exactly how much ink is left inside a cartridge?

Answer: It doesn’t. It approximates.

Courtesy of Hewlett-Packard)

Printer manufacturers install firmware (so called because it’s the software that controls a piece of hardward) into every printer they sell. The firmware contains drivers and the interface between the user and their printer. It’s what determines the ink level in the cartridge.

But how does it do that? There’s no float or other mechanical means of measuring the ink remaining in a cartridge. It is able to accomplish this by using an algorithm and counting pages.

If you took all the content on an 8½x11 printed page and condensed it into a solid block it would cover 5% of the page.

The image to the left illustrates 5% page coverage. As you can see, it’s a fairly average amount of text for a letter.

So every time your printer uses enough ink to cover 5% of a page an internal counter ticks off one page. When the counter reaches page number 150, 495 or however many pages the manufacturer has rated the cartridge to produce you’ll be notified your cartridge is out of ink. It may or may not really be out of ink, but your printer thinks it is.

Your printer may not allow you to continue printing until you replace the cartridge, even though it may still contain a small volume of ink. This is something else that’s coded into the firmware.

Not all cartridges are created (or filled) equally and as a result yield different page counts.

For example, the HP 02 series of color ink cartridges come in three ink volumes, but only two are obvious. There’s a physical difference in the shape of the HP 02 cyan and the HP 02XL cyan. However, if you buy an HP 02 cartridge bundled with photo paper you’ll be getting a cartridge identical in appearance with the standard 02 cartridge but with less ink inside. Staples includes a disclaimer, “Value ink cartridges are smaller in size than single cartridges” on the description page of these underfilled cartridges. They aren’t truly “smaller in size”, but rather smaller in ink volume. Some HP cartridges will have a number on them similar to “CC604FN” or “C8773WN”. “FN” generally indicates a low yield HP ink cartridge while “WN” indicates a standard or high yield cartridge.

When we refill these cartridges we use the quantity of ink required for the high yield or “WN” cartridge. When you purchase these cartridges, whether new or refilled, it pays to be sure what ink level you’re getting and how many pages you should expect from them.

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Recycle your unwanted electronics

Posted in: Printers, Recycling, San Diego, blog by Jack on 1 May 2009

Recycle San Diego is accepting electronics for recycling over the next two weekends.

FREE eWASTE DROP OFF EVENT – SAN DIEGO
Saturday, May 2, 2009
10am-1pm
Recycle San Diego Parking Lot
8222 Ronson Road, San Diego, CA 92111

Saturday, May 9, 2009
10am-1pm
Recycle San Diego Parking Lot
8222 Ronson Road, San Diego, CA 92111

Recycle San Diego is hosting a FREE electronics recycling event which is open to the general public. Bring any amount of eWASTE to have it recycled for free.

Directions to their facility and more information can be found on their website.