HP Ink Copycats On the Prowl
Imagine this scenario: your printer is out of ink and, hoping to save money, you take a trip to your local mom and pop store instead of a big chain. There, you find a lot of HP ink at an incredible value, at several dollars off the regular store price. Too good to be true, right? You buy a few cartridges, take them home and then discover that yes, indeed, it was too good to be true. The ink cartridges either don”t work or, even worse, damage your printer! So what happened? Did the seemingly innocent mom and pop back at the discount store pull one over on you?
The truth is that they were probably just as unaware as you were that the ink was no good. International media outlets have been reporting recent upsurges in ink counterfeiting. This first became a major problem in 2007, when it”s estimated that Hewlett Packard lost one billion dollars in sales due to ink counterfeiting.
Since then, the company has had australian pokies online a secretive team of ink detectives on the prowl, searching for ink scammers. They”ve certainly had their hands busy: in 2010, HP sued several companies for ink counterfeiting after a rash of high jacking incidents in Asia, where several trucks transporting the company”s ink cartridges were pulled over and robbed. Soon after, some companies began selling those exact same cartridges under their own names, or instead sold them at a sharp discount to smaller outlets. In fact, some sources state that as many as one in twenty ink cartridges on any given store shelf may be fake!
So what does this mean for you as a consumer? Unfortunately, in the short term this will probably lead to higher prices, as the company loses in profits and has to spend more on its ink detectives. Fortunately, as the international community becomes more aware of the problem and more counterfeiters get shut down, prices should be able to lower again.
HP ink and the Recession
It looks like theres no sector that the economic downturn isnt affecting in this day and age. Stocks are down, jobs are scarce and, apparently, people are printing less. Major media are reporting that the printing business is particularly hard hit in the current economic climate, meaning that stock in HP ink is going down in accordance with a decrease in demand.
Analysts say that the drop in printing (and, as a result, ink usage) is only to be expected. After all, when major companies have laid off thousands of employees, there are simply fewer people around to use the printers; it doesnt take a rocket scientist to figure that one out. Of course, companies are also encouraging staff to develop a paper-less office environment, and to work with documents as much as possible on the computer, as opposed to on paper. This is often in the guise of environmentalism, but its the bottom line that counts: cash-strapped businesses are desperate to save money on paper and ink, one of an offices greatest costs at a reported $8,000 per gallon (more than prices fetched by both oil and human blood).
But printer and ink companies beg to differ. Hewlett Packard claims that, despite the numbers, the truth online gambling casino is that people are printing just as much as they always did. Sales numbers have been going down not because people dont want to print anymore, but because companies arent stocking up on ink cartridges like that used to. In the old days, office managers might buy ink supplies to last for an entire year all in one go. Now that budgets are growing increasingly precarious, however, offices resort to buying small, short-term orders, which may temporarily drive sales figures down, but in appearance only.
Worse than the recession is the problem of ink piracy, says HP. Stealing HP cartridges and reselling them at a small discount, or reselling them at a steeply reduced price under a different name altogether, has become an increasing problem for the major ink companies. In fact, HP loses billions of dollars in sales each year just due to these counterfeiting problems, recession or no recession.
If you want to learn more about the differences between counterfeits and compatibles, genuine oem and remanufactured products, check out www.inktechnologies.com/blog. There you can find several articles to help you become a better-informed consumer.
Forget HP ink: Print Some Ice!
So here”s a brief run-down of printing as most of us know it: you type something up on your computer, press the print button, go over to your printer and grab the sheets of paper that are the result of this operation. In the mundane course of your day-to-day responsibilities, do you ever wish that printing could be something more exciting? Something more like, say, Star Trek, where you could type something into your computer, and instead of just getting a 2-D print-out, you could print the actual object? Well, although you probably won”t want to scrap your paper and HP ink just yet, technological advances may slowly be getting you closer and closer to your dream.
At McGill University in Montreal, Canada, a futuristic three-dimensional printer has been equipped with the power to print out ice sculptures. Yes, you read that right ice sculpture. A class of designing and engineering students came up with the concept by aussie pokie equipping an already existing 3-D printer with a special system to transport and freeze water.
The fruits of their labor? Some whimsical, ambiguously shaped sculptures and a giant beer mug (these are, after all, college students; oversized beer mugs seem very important at that age). Admittedly, for the moment, this project doesnt appear to have very much use-value, apart from a draw for tourism. And hey, local liquor establishments would probably be glad to have a drinking vessel guaranteed to keep beer ice cold.
Well, whoever said the future of printing had to be useful. It”s still pretty cool! At least it gives you something to daydream about the next time you have to spend an afternoon photocopying and printing some plain old paperwork or less-than scintillating brochures at your office”s regular 2-D printer. One thing”s for sure: you wouldn”t want to be printing out those important contracts as an ice sculpture, so count yourself lucky that the ink-and-paper model of printer hasn”t gone out the window quite yet. And until it does, you can get quality printer supplies at www.inktechnologies.com!
Konica-Minolta bizhub 360
The Konica-Minolta bizhub 360 is an exceptional black and white office printer. This model is perfect for the larger office that requires a printer that is capable of performing under pressure. The 360 has all the important features that are usually required in the high production office. Fast printing? It has one of the fastest printing speeds around. Fast Scanning? The scanning speed is very impressive. Large hard disk drive? It has a hard disk drive that is big enough to satisfy the largest workgroup or business office.
The Konica-Minolta 360 is admired for the professional results and fast production. The print/copy/scan production is at 36 ppm. This is fast enough to get noticed by others looking for a high output model. This is the perfect model to enhance and improve work production in the office. The bizhub 360 is one device that is able to handle any workload.
Set up this work horse and be prepared to experience high-powered production. The 360 easily scans up to 70 pages per minute. This feature will save production time and money. Add the 40 GB hard drive to immediately improve the production in the office. Extra impressive features include the ability to scan to email, scan to ftp, scan to PC. These are exceptional features not normally offered in other comparable models. The Konica-Minolta bizhub 360 has strong security features to protect important files. These include password protection and authentication.
Canon NP7130
The printer model Canon NP7130 is a popular choice for consumers. The printer comes with laser and high speed printing. The mechanisms in the printer allow for intricate detailed images. Printed texts are clearer when using the high quality inks and toners that are made for the NP7130. This high performance copier is a major investment for business owners and personal consumers. The benefits consumers, both business and personal, gain with a copier purchase override any amount spent.
The Canon NP7130 has plenty of uses for the type of inkjet ink they use. Inkjet is best used for personal use outside of work. The vibrant colored images from using inkjet are mainly for invitations, cards, and crafts. The craft items that are printed from the NP7130 shows brighter colors and very bold black lettering. Customers love the efficiency of this unit for their home use. Its popularity continues to rise in the world of technology because of their many benefit factors.
The NP7130 also prints with laser toner. The toner is mainly used in offices, companies, and businesses of all sizes. All these places gain plenty of benefits from purchasing the Canon NP7130 for their business. It has an Energy Star electronic mechanism that is built in to the copier when manufactured. This sneaky little device saves businesses, companies, and offices a lot of money on their energy bills. This electronic mechanism helps office locations ensure the maximum power usage available. The purchase benefits that business locations receive are numerous.
Lanier LD132
Companies that want a machine that will help employees increase their productivity should consider multifunctional devices. The Lanier LD132 is a good example of a multifunctional copier that makes the workplace better for everyone.
The Lanier LD132 is a good machine because it is fast. This is always important in big companies. Lots of people in the workforce need to get things done fast. The Lanier LD132 can generate 32 pages per minute. That makes it effective for lots of employees that don’t have time to wait for reports.
The Lanier LD132 is a machine that delivers with such high quality. People can also minimize the amount of paper that is used. This machine allows double-sided printing and this allows companies to save paper and cut down on careless paper usage.
Employees that are using the Lanier LD132 will be impressed by the toner cartridge. This is a compact piece to the printer that fits easily and allows people to get a lot of documents produced. The Lanier LD132 is perfect for the medium-sized office with about 11,000 pages printed. There are lots of workers that are favoring the Lanier LD132 over other office machines.
Companies that are using the Lanier LD132 will certainly get a real value for their money. This machine installs fast and everyone that uses it will benefit from how well it works. There is a user friendly interface that makes this machine appealing to lots of office workers. Secretaries that may not be technically savvy will still be able to use this machine efficiently for all tasks. That is what most companies look for. All companies want their employees to have a good printer that is easy to use. Machines that are complicated cut down on productivity and become much less appealing for workers.
Canon imageRUNNER 2030
Whether you have decided that you want to take the step towards working from home or you prefer the idea of having your own small business, it is time for you to think about checking out the Canon imageRUNNER 2030. This multifunction work machine has a great deal of potential when you want to stay on track, and its reliability and its speed make it a perfect choice for the office whose needs are limited to printing out things like order forms, tax documents and advertising copy.
This is a machine that is easily networked, allowing you to do all of your printing from the comfort of your own desk. Many small businesses work in constrained spaces, and with that in mind, you will relish the opportunity to do all of your work without needing to go and hover over a machine that is across the building. The Canon imageRUNNER 2030 takes advantage of Canon’s High Compression technology, making it capable of minimizing the size of your images impressively while still maintaining a high degree of resolution. The rapid fusing technology employed in the production of the toner and drum also allows you to keep the start-up time quite low. If you are sharing the machine with others, this prevents long lines at the printer. At the same time, this function keeps your energy costs low.
Take advantage of the machine’s 1,080paper capacity. If you are someone who hates reloading paper into your copier or printer, this can help you keep the printer’s down time limited. One of the best reasons to pick up this machine is that it is designed to help a small business keep up with the larger ones in terms of percentage of output. The speed and reliability of the Canon imageRUNNER 2030 means that it is one of the high performers in a competitive field.
Lexmark Z614
The Lexmark Z614 is a printer that offers different capabilities, and whether or not it would be a good printer depends on one thing–you. This means that it will depend on what you plan on using the machine for.
For example, the Lexmark Z614
would not make a very good hardcore machine because there are too many limitations that would hold you back. However, for someone who only needs it for everyday ordinary uses, they might not have any problem with using this machine.
The good about the Lexmark Z614
The first thing that you will notice about this machine is that it prints off very quickly. You can get up to 8 pages per minute with color and 13 pages per minute in black-and-white. For some who just needs fast prints, this is the machine for you. Another nice thing about the Lexmark Z614 is that the ink cartridges are relatively inexpensive.
The Lexmark Z614 Has Its Demons
However, keep in mind that this Lexmark model suffers from many of the same fatal flaws as the other Lexmarks. For example, even though the ink cartridges are relatively inexpensive, the ink cartridges tend to run out much quicker than with the average machine. Another thing that might deter buyers is that the paper capacity limit is exceptionally low, sitting at only 100 pages. For someone who needs to print off a lot of paper, they will constantly be having to refill the paper tray which can get annoying.
Is the Lexmark Z614 the printer for you? Well, that would largely depend on how you plan to use it. Overall, this would not make a good machine for an office that needs to print off paper regularly; however, it might be exceptional for that one person who just wants a machine that gets the job done quickly and efficiently.
HP Photosmart A444
Hp Photosmart A444 is the ideal camera and printer for anyone. The M447 camera that is included will give you high quality shots that you will absolutely love. With 5 megapixels, 3x optical, and 5x digital zoom, your photos will look as if they w
ere taken professionally. It comes with a 2.4 inch LCD display that allows you to easily review the pictures in the camera. You can review and edit pictures at anytime for your convenience. You can also remove that pesky red eye that ruins many great pictures. The M447 includes built in flash and is installed with and supports a SD memory card, SDCH memory card, and a multimedia card.
Once you have taken your high quality photos and edited them to your liking you don’t have to go to your PC to get your photos. The photosmart A444 allows you to instantly print your photos. You can browse and review your photos while your are printing out other photos. Dock the camera to print out your photos, the camera will sit at an angle to allow you to view the photos better. The inkjet printer will allow you to print beautiful 4 x 6 photos that will come out dry and look like lab quality.
This printer and camera combination is small and can easily be taken with you. If you are a person on the go and want exceptional quality photos quickly without the use of a PC, than this product is perfect for you.
HP Officejet J4660
The Officejet J4660 from HP is a thermal inkjet printer with multifunction options that can provide professional quality prints for a small office. Faxing, copying and scanning capabilities are available with sharp resolution and solid print spee
ds. The J4660 can handle a number of media types and paper sizes for maximum flexibility.
The J4660 is compatible with Windows platforms including Vista and Windows 7. Mac OS X operating systems are supported as well, up to version 10.6. Connectivity is handled through the built in USB 2.0 port for direct PC or laptop printing. The user interface with LED display provides menu information and print status with the easy to use touchpad.
Small offices can rely on the paper handling capability of the J4660 for most everyday printing needs. Envelopes, transparencies and label sheets can be quickly processed and printed. Several paper types can be handled including legal, executive and plain, allowing businesses to print documents for specific needs. Resolution levels range from 600 dpi for black ink up to an optimized 4800 x 1200 dpi for color images using HP photo paper.
Businesses can quickly make as many as 100 copies from a single original with the touch of a button. Sales flyers or promotional sheets can be made quickly and easily. Original documents can be digitally enhanced up to 400 percent or reduced down to 25 percent.
The scan mode of the J4660 includes a built in image editor and OCR software that can enhance image resolution up to 19200 dpi. Users can be ensured of a sharp and accurate result for each printout. Paper waste can be reduced thanks to the automatic conversion of scanned text into an editable document. Faxes can be sent or received in either color or black and white with resolutions up to 300 dpi.
HP PhotoSmart D7145
For an inkjet printer that can handle all your printing needs, the HP PhotoSmart D7145 is there for you. Specifically built with photo printing in mind, this model is a moderately priced, powerful machine.
For good picture printing, the high
est quality is needed. With a maximum resolution of 4800×1200 dpi, you can rest assured that all images printed will look pristine and detailed. Since photos sometimes come in different sizes, it allows printing in many different standard sizes such as 5” x 7” and more. Whether it is pictures of the family vacation or a wedding, for a standard album or a special collage, this machine has you covered.
Though the printer is powerful, it is not too bulky or heavy. It weighs less than 20 pounds and has a moderately sized base which allows it to be placed wherever you need. You will not find yourself replacing the paper in the tray every other time it is used, due to its 110 sheet tray capacity.
With a memory card slot and USB connectivity, it can be easily installed and widely used. With its PictBridge feature, you are able to print directly from a digital camera without having to connect the camera itself to the PC. This makes it easy and effortless to print your picture collection.
For other printing, the device’s print speed of just over 30 pages per minute means you will not have to wait long to see the results. Fast, high-quality and reliable printing is all part of the package. For a great printer, look no further than HP PhotoSmart D7145 Photo Printer.
HP Deskjet 882
The HP Deskjet 882 is a very compact and workable printer that is ideally used in situations that might come along with the needs of moderate projects where speed is not an issue. One of the main benefits that come along with working with this
particular kind of printer is that it is able to handle a large quantity all at once without expending too much of the ink that is in the jet. Anyone who is working with moderate sized projects that need attention to each item that is being printed would do well to take this particular HP Deskjet model into consideration.
Once of the main things that many people have an issue with is the speed of the printer. If the project that one is working on is time sensitive, they can often be frustrated by the speed at which this model produces the printed materials. Though the quality of each individual page is going to be relatively high, especially when coloring is not used, for the most part, the pages will take a long time individually to work through the printing process and become completed.
Another issue that might come along with this particular model is the lack of a high resolution color capability. It is capable of printing in color, but when a lot of colors are used on a single page, it becomes jumbled and often will result in the color being faded. Though this is not an issue when the projects are done in the best resolution, the higher resolution that is chosen, the longer the printer will take to print that item out. For some projects, it can take many minutes even for a single picture to print off. Though this printer is compact and great for moderate projects, it is slow and poor with color.
HP Deskjet D4155
The HP Deskjet D4155 is the perfect printer solution for your simple printing needs. It is made by HP, so you know that you will be investing in a good quality printer. This is an inkjet printer, so you will need cartridges in order to print. Thi
s saves you money from having to buy the toner used in inkjet printers without sacrificing print quality. In fact, you can print up to 30 ppm in black and 23 ppm in color. Furthermore, its lightweight construction and small frame makes it perfect for offices, dorm rooms, and home use.
A great feature of the HP Deskjet D4155 is the versatility of print modes that can be selected from, depending on the use of what you are printing. These modes are fast draft, fast normal, normal, best, and maximum dpi. If you are using documents for your personal use, you can set the printer to fast draft in order to save on ink and maximize the amount of documents that you can print on one cartridge. The quality of the printing gets progressively better until you get to the maximum dpi setting. This can be used when trying to impress a potential employer with your resume, or when printing handouts for an audience listening to your presentation.
Another feature that you can take advantage of with the HP Deskjet D4155 is its ability to print standard and custom sized photos. You can bypass saving the pictures onto your computer, as you can directly upload them to the printer from your digital camera or Flash drive using the printer’s USB port. After this, you would be ready to print great quality photos using an HP 348 Photo inkjet Cartrige.
With this HP printer, you will not be disappointed, and you will be enjoying all of its features for years to come.
Dell 810
The Dell 810 All-In-One Printer provides a balanced option for anyone at home or in the office. The Dell 810 offers capability for black and white printing, color printing, copying and scanning and more with just one touch of a button. A compac
t and small, lightweight machine, it will print 13 pages in one minute. Because it is small in size, it does not take up much desk space leaving plenty of room for other items you need on your desk.
The Dell 810 comes with a nice software picture package that allows one to print pictures and edit pictures. Pictures can be scanned from an outside source directly into your Dell 810 allowing editing and changes. Copying can be done on the Dell 810 without ever having to turn your computer on and provides a crisp, clear image when copying. Greeting cards, photos, brochures and much more can be printed from your home or office quickly on the Dell 810.
The machine is equipped with a tray that holds up to 100 sheets of paper so you don’t have to constantly replace the paper. It’s very easy to install at home or at your office with a convenient plug and play. Color cartridges are easy to find at many office supply locations in cyan, magenta and yellow. The machine is designed to keep track of the level of ink left and will give you an alert when you are getting low as well as a link to the website for Dell if you want to get your printing supplies from Dell.
Okidata C9800
The Okidata C9800 printer uses LED technology to print color and black-and-white tasks and is specifically designed for large-scale color jobs. This is a good printer for businesses or individuals who create promotional items, presentations, ma
rketing brochures, advertising mockups or detailed reports with color pictures or graphics.
The Okidata printer produces around 40 pages per minute for black-and-white pages and around 35 pages per minute for color printing. The resolution for black-and-white printing as well as color prints is 1200 by 1200dpi.
Overall, the printer can hold over 750 sheets of paper and has a monthly duty cycle of over 100,000 pages. The first page prints in less than 10 seconds and the printer uses Adobe PostScript 3, OCRA and B, as well as PCL 5C and 6.
The internal hard drive size is 2080 MB with Ethernet and 1 GB memory and an overall processor speed of 1.024 GHz.
Operating systems include both PC and Mac and the printer is about 26 inches wide, 24 inches deep and 18 inches high. Since the Okidata printer weighs over 150 pounds, permanent installation is recommended. A one-year warranty is included with the purchase of the printer.
This printer is best suited for large offices or businesses, although individuals with a home business that involves plenty of color printing will appreciate the capabilities of the machine as well. Since the printer is so large, it may not be suited to smaller offices or home business areas. Nevertheless, those with high-quality color printing needs will enjoy the LED capability and large-scale printing ability.
Brother HL-3070
The Brother HL-3070 is an amazing digital color printer that is ideal for any small work group or office. Equipped with wireless networking technologies, the Brother HL-3070 produces high-quality pictures that many competitors can’t even come c
lose to. Printing at more than 17 pages per minute, the Brother HL-3070 prints high-quality images that look as if a professional print shop had done the job at half the cost.
Anyone that currently owns a small office or needs a printer that can print high-quality colorful images, this is a printer that should be on your list. With a 250-sheet capacity paper tray as well as a manual fee slot for envelopes, the Brother HL-3070 is ideal for those that need to print everything from colorful brochures to colorful letterhead with your logo on it. The nice thing about these colorful print jobs is that not only does it have some of highest rated toners on the market, you can be assured that you’re not going to have to replace your toner each and every month after a handful of jobs.
With a compact size, the Brother HL-3070 can fit in just about any corner of the room. Not only does this printer not have to be near a computer due to its wireless technology, the printer also features a USB interface allowing you to plug in the USB and print anything directly from the USB itself.
While technology has become more advanced in today’s day and age, the Brother HL-3070 makes it very easy to use for any skill level. There is no more running networking cables throughout your room or even messing with drivers or installation guides. All you’re going to have to do is take it straight from the box, connect it to your network and this blazing fast printer is going to be shooting out high-quality based images in no time flat.
HP LaserJet 1500
Are you looking for a good printer that is not too costly? Perhaps you have one of those common inkjet printers and you want it replaced by a better and faster one. Then you ought to try the HP LaserJet 1500. It may not be as good as othe
r cost
lier printers but it is much better than all inkjets.
The Laserjet 1500 prints in color, although you can choose the monochrome option to print in black and white only. The monochrome era is over and people want to see some color in ever print. This feature therefore makes the HP Laserjet 1500 more preferable to monochrome printers. The color printing is done distinctively. The print outs usually have fine detail and seem realistic in both color shade and render. However, you may notice the slightly dotty texture of the print outs, although this is a minor ignorable thing.
The HP Laserjet 1500 prints at a speed of 10.9 color pages per minute. This is reasonably fast for its price tag. If you want faster printers, you are going to have to cough up some more money. This speed is especially sufficient when being used as a standalone. In fact, the Laserjet 1500 was built to be a stand alone. It has a single USB 2.0 port and no ethernet ports. This discourages direct networking of the printer. However, the networking process is possible using the administrator computer within a network.
The paper tray holds 125 sheets. This is efficient for standalone printing but is obviously inefficient within a network. You may upgrade the paper tray and install one with more capacity but this comes at an extra cost.
That is the only thing that can be changed within the Laserjet 1500 apart from the occasional cartridge replacement. Even its 16 MB memory cannot be upgraded.
All in all the HP Laserjet 1500 is a good printer within its price range. It is especially recommended for someone who wants to use it as a standalone.
Wikipedia Article on HP Ink for Photographers
You might want to go to a wikipedia article for some additional information if you know that you are a photographer who would ideally like to print out all of your own digital photographs
. This is a very convenient thing to do if you are absolutely sick of having to go out to a remote printing facility each and every time you would like to share one of your digital images with others. You will find that this is something that is quite beneficial because the moment you capture a fantastic image, you will be able to have it in tangible form.
The other thing to note about printing if you are a photographer is that it is going to be very important for you to make sure that you are using compatible cartridges at all times. If you are someone who loves to take close up images of nature, for instance, then you are going to need to feel confident that these images are going to look stellar before you ever put then up in an art gallery.
Speed is also important if you are printing out some photographs, especially if you know you are going to have to print out high volume for an upcoming art show in town. Do not change the setting on your printer from anything but top quality. You are going to want to feel confident that you are printing out photographs that clearly indicate the time and attention you spent taking it in the first place.
Finally, keep in mind that the best photography is often printed out on a different kind of high gloss paper that you would not use for an ordinary document. However, this paper is definitely going to serve to make your prints look much better, and they are going to seem as realistic as prints that might have been printed out on some expensive film.