HP issues a fill notice for #93 and #75 cartridges

Posted in: OEM, blog by Jack on 22 March 2010

The color mix in a small portion of HP 93 (C9361) and 75 (CB337) Tri-color Ink Cartridges is incorrect, with some color chambers being over filled and the balance under filled. Print quality is not affected, but depending upon individual use, a small number of purchasers may receive fewer pages than HP intended.

While only a small amount of cartridges was impacted, HP is offering a rebate to all customers who purchased a potentially affected cartridge in the U.S. or Canada during the relevant time period. Potentially impacted cartridges include the HP 75 and HP 93 – in both their regular and promotional versions — with the “Warranty End” date that falls between May 1, 2011 and August 31, 2011, which can be found printed on the HP print cartridge. Additionally, a small number of cartridges that shipped with Deskjet D4360 Printers and Photosmart C4500 and C4400 All-in-One Printers in this timeframe were potentially impacted.

Customers who purchased HP 75 and HP 93 cartridges meeting the criteria above can contact HP directly to obtain a 10 percent rebate off the Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) of the ink pack. Customers that received these cartridges in the printer box can contact HP to obtain a $2 rebate. To obtain the rebate or for more information on rebate options in North America, customers can visit www.hp.com/go/inkrebate. (Source – HP)

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Ink costs more than blood

Posted in: blog, store by Jack on 13 January 2010

Ink is the most expensive component in a printer cartridge.

Even our replacement ink, manufactured by Cartridge World specifically for its franchise locations, costs us over $100 a gallon.

Now the price of ink is increasing again, and while we regret having to do this, we are finding it necessary to slightly increase our prices to cover the additional cost.

Up until now we have been able to keep the majority of our prices static for the six years we’ve been open. Even as costs were increasing we preferred to reduce profit margins rather than raise prices. We could afford to do that because of the increased volume of sales we were enjoying, due in large part to the word-of-mouth recommendations from our current customers.

But now we’ve reached a point where we simply have to add a dollar or two to the price of a wider range of our cartridges just to cover the cost of materials.

We still offer a substantial savings over the cost of OEM cartridges from an office supply store or directly from the printer manufacturer. There’s simply no need to pay for your printer over again every time you buy a round of cartridges.

Not only do we offer you cartridges that are guaranteed to work to your satisfaction but we offer you a savings of between 30 and 50% off retail prices, depending on the cartridges you purchase.

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Why we can’t pay top price for your unused OEMs

Posted in: blog by Jack on 31 July 2009

Several times a week we get calls from folks asking if we’ll buy their unopened OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) cartridges.

Usually it’s because they have been keeping a few backup cartridges on-hand. When their printer dies, they have a few unopened and unused original cartridges. They often paid full retail price for these and are looking for a way to recover a portion of their purchase price.

There are several reasons we cannot buy these at or near their full retail price.

• They are often past the pull date printed on the box
• We cannot know how they were stored or what condition the cartridge may be in
• We cannot resell them as new cartridges since we can’t determine their condition
• We have approved and authorized channels through which we purchase OEM cartridges when we need them, which isn’t often.

People shop at CW San Diego expecting to find quality refilled and remanufactured cartridges at a substantial savings. We seldom get customers looking for OEM product.

As a result, the only value an OEM cartridge has for us is the external shell. To use any OEM cartridge, we first have to clean out all the original manufacturer’s ink or toner before filling it with our own. We do purchase empty cartridges from a variety of sources. Those cartridges we need and that are in excellent condition we give store credits for in the amount of $1 (inkjet) or $3 (laser).

If you have unused OEM cartridges that you’re looking to recoup more than that from selling, we suggest you list them on Craigslist or perhaps your business’s internal bulletin board. There may be someone who would jump at the chance to save a couple of dollars for an original cartridge for their printer.

Cartridge Exchanges

Posted in: Recycling, blog, store by Jack on 11 June 2009

Some of our new customers get confused about how we work, especially when it comes to exchanging cartridges. Let me see if I can clarify how it works.

When you buy a refilled or remanufactured cartridge from us, we need to replace the cartridge you’re buying in order to keep our prices as low as they are.

One way for us to replenish our stock of empty cartridges is to buy them from brokers or our customers. We generally pay $1 for empty ink cartridges and $3 for empty laser cartridges.

If you come in to buy a cartridge without an empty one to exchange, we have to add the cost of replacing that cartridge to your purchase. For example, if you’re buying an HP 56 black ink cartridge without an exchange, the cost to you is $12.99, a dollar more than it would be with an empty cartridge to exchange. If you bought an HP Laserjet 2600 cartridge for $49.99 without an empty to exchange, the actual cost before tax would be $52.99 ($49.99 + $3 core charge).

It’s really no different than when you buy a car battery. Without an old battery to exchange for the core, a core charge is added on in order to replace the battery you’re purchasing.

To encourage recycling, we also buy empty cartridges that are in good shape, are original cores and ones that we need. So if you came in to buy an HP 21 black ink cartridge and you had 3 empty cartridges with you, we would consider one to be an exchange for the one you’re buying and we’d give you an additional $2 off for the extra cartridges.

We don’t always purchase empty cartridges (in many cases we already have plenty of empty cores) but we are always willing to recycle any you have. This prevents them from winding up in our local landfill. We prefer to reuse cartridges, but if we can’t reuse we want to at least recycle.

If you ever have any questions regarding what we do or how we do it, and your questions aren’t answered on this website, please call us, send an email or drop by. We’d be happy to answer any question you may have.

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Color laser printers reviewed

Posted in: blog, laser by Jack on 21 May 2009

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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How an inkjet cartridge works

Posted in: blog by Jack on 2 April 2008

Courtesy of Hewlett-Packard.