HP 920XL

Posted in: Recycling, blog by Jack on 3 June 2010

I mentioned recently that we can now provide you with an alternative to paying full price for the HP 920 cartridges.

We can also offer the XL version of these, but we need your help. We currently do not have enough empty cores to send to the supplier who refills them and re-chips them for us.

We would appreciate it if you could bring in any empty HP 920XL cartridges you may have laying around so that we can send them in for re-manufacturing. The more of them we receive and the sooner we send them in the sooner we will have them available to you.

Please, help us help you. Recycle your empty cartridges with CW San Diego and we’ll reward your efforts by providing quality cartridges for a substantial savings over the retail cost of originals.

Kodak’s claims challenged by printer manufacturers

Posted in: blog, inkjet by Jack on 24 March 2010

Several times a week a customer will ask us our opinion of Kodak printers and cartridges.

Honestly, we haven’t had an opinion to offer. We don’t refill Kodak cartridges due to their already low price and none of our customers own a Kodak printer or we could ask them for their impressions.

In the April edition of PCWorld magazine there is an article concerning challenges being made by other printer manufacturers to Kodak’s claims that consumers can “save on average $110 per year on ink” with a Kodak printer.

According to HP and an independent consulting firm, consumers would have to print four pages per day to save that much money with a Kodak printer–far more than most home users actually do. Last year HP lodged a grievance against the Kodak ads. In December, the Federal Trade Commission ruled that Kodak could continue the advertising campaign if it slightly changed the wording. As a result, Kodak’s revised ad copy now reads: “Save on average $110 per year on ink based on just four pages per day.”

Even with the tweaked text, however, Kodak’s claims are still beguiling to consumers–according to HP, at least. “The average user in the United States prints about half of what Kodak is using as the basis for their cost-savings claim,” says Andy Binder, HP Inkjet & Web Solutions marketing director.

According to Lyra senior analyst Andrew Lippman, Kodak’s cost-savings claims are far-fetched.

In fact, few consumers would ever achieve the promised cost savings. “You have to be printing 1500 pages per year–well above average for most people–to get the $110 savings that Kodak claims,” Lippman says.

Kodak points out that its revised ads are essentially the same these days, albeit with a minor rewrite. “It’s not anything different than consumers have always heard for the last three years,” says Paula Balik, worldwide communications line manager for Kodak inkjets. The only FTC-mandated change that Kodak had to make, Balik says, was to move “four pages per day,” previously buried in the ads’ footnotes, closer to the headline.

PCWorld seems to dispute Kodak’s claims as well.

According to Senior Editor Melissa Riofrio, who oversees printer testing for PCWorld, Kodak’s inks may be cheaper than those of competitors, but the print quality on plain paper is not as good. On photo paper, the quality is excellent, but the money you save on ink is eaten up by the cost of photo paper.

As for the printers themselves, HP was at the bottom of the list among printer makers in our 2010 Reliability and Service survey; Kodak finished slightly higher. We asked our readers, among other questions, whether their printer had problems upon arrival, how satisfied they were overall with the device’s reliability, and how well the company solved any problems that cropped up. Kodak printer owners said that they had good experiences with the company’s tech support, but they gave the printers poor marks for reliability. HP received five below-average ratings–two in reliability, three in service categories.

The portion of the article that caught my eye though is the description of a problem we have highlighted many times, the high cost of OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) ink cartridges.

Perhaps Kodak’s biggest offense, at least from its competitors’ perspective, is its willingness to call attention to the high cost of printer ink, the industry’s cash cow. “[Printer vendors] charge quite a bit for the ink, and discount the printer hardware,” says Lippman.

The practice, in fact, has led to outrageous situations in which consumers could save money by buying a new printer rather than replacement ink for their current model. Last December, PCWorld contributor Ian Paul spotted a Deskjet D1660 inkjet model for just $30 on HP’s shopping site. The printer came bundled with a black cartridge and a tricolor cartridge offering 200 and 150 pages of output, respectively. In contrast, the replacement-ink pack, which promised a slightly higher yield (165 pages) for the color cartridge, cost $32–two bucks more than the printer itself.

The conclusion of the article relates how Kodak is following the same practice as every other printer manufacturer, raising cartridge prices while at the same time reducing the volume of ink in the cartridge.

Since entering the consumer printer market in 2007, Kodak has undercut the competition on ink costs. The company’s advantage may be shrinking, however, as it recently raised the prices for its new line of cartridges.

But the change isn’t all that obvious to consumers. The company’s new 10B black cartridge, for instance, costs the same as its predecessor ($10) yet contains less ink. And the new 10C cartridge is $3 more than the $15 tank it replaces, but one Kodak ad implies that consumers are getting a better deal than before: “Now prints 10% more pages,” the text reads. The ugly truth? “The 10C color cartridge has a 9 percent higher cost per page, and the 10B black cartridge has a 25 percent higher cost per page” than the cartridges they replace, Lyra’s Lippman says.

Even so, despite the cost increases on the new cartridges, Kodak remains the low-price leader. “There’s no debate that Kodak’s ink is cheaper on average,” Lippman adds. “The debate is over how much you can potentially save.”

(Source-PCWorld)

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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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HP opens online store for web-connected printer

Posted in: blog by Jack on 8 September 2009

In June we posted a story about the latest HP printer technology, a printer that connects directly to the internet. The HP Photosmart Premium with TouchSmart Web, available soon in stores near you comes equipped with a 4.33″ touch-screen and the ability to surf the web like a miniature PC.

Now HP is announcing the opening of their “app store”, similar in nature to Apple’s app store for iPhones. You’ll be able to directly download applications for your printer like maps, weather reports and food and movie reviews. The apps will work with your printer, allowing you to print out movie tickets and dinner reservations. There will even be games you can download and print out.

Justin Yu at Cnet presents an over-view of HP’s app store and has posted a few screen shots as well.

In a similar fashion to Apple’s iPhone App store, HP’s version can also be accessed using the “Get More” button on the large 4.33-inch touch screen. I had a chance to preview the store in a live demo with HP and the layout is very simple, with small icons and a place to submit user ratings, reviews, and suggestions for future applications. The marketplace is already populated with several applications from HP’s partner companies. Some examples include:

• Snapfish: View, edit (lightly), and print your snapshot photos
• Google Maps: Print maps and directions
• Fandango: Buy and print movie tickets
• DreamWorks Animation: Print coloring pages and movie-themed games for the kids
• Weathernews Inc: Print up-to-date weather information
• Web Sudoku: Print out puzzles and games

HP also has the last piece of the puzzle in the form of the HP Software Developers Kit that will eventually give consumers and developers the tools to create their own Apps for submission to the App Studio. In the meantime, HP will continue to update the store with new apps throughout the year.

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Removing ink stains

Posted in: blog by Jack on 3 July 2009

The following information is provided by Hewlett-Packard:

How to remove ink stains from hands and fabric
NOTE: IMMEDIATELY rinse the stained area with cold water, then follow the appropriate instructions.
To remove ink stains from hands Wash hands with an abrasive (gritty) soap.

To remove ink stains from white fabrics If ink from an HP Inkjet print cartridge spills on white fabric, use chlorine bleach and cold water to remove the stain, but act quickly.CAUTION: Use cold water. Warm or hot water will “set” the color into the fabric.

To remove ink stains from colored fabrics Use sudsy ammonia—a dilute mixture of detergent and ammonia—and cold water. Act quickly and test on an inconspicuous area first.

CAUTION: Use cold water. Warm or hot water will “set” the color into the fabric.WARNING: Do not mix ammonia and chlorine bleach; this creates a toxic gas!

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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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HP 80 wide format ink cartridges

Posted in: blog, inkjet by Jack on 23 March 2009

Cartridge World San Diego is now able to refill and re-chip the HP 80 wide format ink cartridges.

There are three color cartridges and one black cartridge, each rated at a yield of 4,400 pages. These retail new for $154 at Staples. Buy them from Cartridge World and  save $60 on each cartridge. Our price for the HP 80 will be $93.99 per cartridge.

We use only uses premium inks developed by Cartridge World for each specific printer model. Our chips are provided by trusted vendors. Every Cartridge World refilled and remanufactured cartridge is fully guaranteed to perform to your satisfaction.

Since this is the first time we’ve been able to refill these HP 80s, we do not have a backstock of empty cartridges. If you have an HP wide format printer and need HP 80 cartridges refilled, please bring your empty cartridges with you. We don’t have any to do up ahead of time, and since this is a rarely requested cartridge, we most likely will not keep refilled cartridges on-hand.

How do injet printers work?

Posted in: blog, inkjet by Jack on 17 March 2009

Different types of inkjet printers form their droplets of ink in different ways. There are two main inkjet technologies currently used by printer manufacturers:

• Thermal bubble – Used by manufacturers such as Canon and Hewlett Packard, this method is commonly referred to as bubble jet. In a thermal inkjet printer, tiny resistors create heat, and this heat vaporizes ink to create a bubble. As the bubble expands, some of the ink is pushed out of a nozzle onto the paper. When the bubble “pops” (collapses), a vacuum is created. This pulls more ink into the print head from the cartridge. A typical bubble jet print head has 300 or 600 tiny nozzles, and all of them can fire a droplet simultaneously.
• Piezoelectric – Patented by Epson, this technology uses piezo crystals. A crystal is located at the back of the ink reservoir of each nozzle.

  

  Image via Wikipedia

  The crystal receives a tiny electric charge that causes it to vibrate. When the crystal vibrates inward, it forces a tiny amount of ink out of the nozzle. When it vibrates out, it pulls some more ink into the reservoir to replace the ink sprayed out.(Source-HowStuffWorks)

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