THE NEWS IN PRINT

Consumers have been complaining of soaring ink prices and the returns they fetch. Inks are expensive and it hurts when it's wasted. Well, wastage not in terms of printing unwanted material but the hidden wastes that no printer manufacturers project.

Here's a fact about inkjet printers that all consumers should know. During the lifecycle of printing, it seems that all the ink contained in the cartridge is not deposited on paper but elsewhere. The video embedded below shows that there's a significant amount of ink that is deposited into a waste ink container while it performs head cleaning; a criminal waste really.

There is nothing much one can do about this wasted ink as all inkjet printers are guilty of wasting ink in a similar manner. I hope that in the future, the ink squirted for keeping the nozzle clean could be reused.

In an ever-improving effort to reduce the printing costs, a new solution seems to be in place by a third party vendor. Jon Cone, who produces BW inks for Epson has announced the arrival of cheaper ink-sets for Epson Stylus Pro 4800, 7800 and 9800 printers. The new ink system consists of transparent refillable ink cartridge along with refill inks.

ConeColor Inks as it's called are formulated to match Ultrachrome K3 printers. The new set of inks can be used along with the existing Epson's ICC profiles.

Refillable cartridge systems are easy to use and fill. At a glance you can see your ink levels and you never have to waste ink as you do with standard cartridges which when thrown away still contain valuable ink. The impact of this on the environment comes with the added benefit of reducing the amount of toxic and carcinogenic materials that are required in the manufacturer of semiconductor chips which are required for use in EPSON printers.

The ConeColor inks also add in saving our environment. The amount of inks saved along with the ink containers will definitely help in the cause.

More importantly, the manufacturer claims that a consumer will save up to 65% of ink costs by going with ConeColor. 1 liter of ConeColor ink costs £92 while the standard ink costs £255 for the same quantity.

The ConeColor ink is definitely a valuable replacement for the perennial problem of rising print prices. Before professionals can accept it, it needs to thoroughly tested for quality and durability. Note that this ink will not work on Epson's Stylus Pro printers that use Vivid Magenta inks.

Kodak's introduction into the printer market has thrown other printer manufacturers into tantrums. Kodak has climbed the ladder quite easily but a leader for years under the banner of HP has been a fierce competitor presently.

Computer World's national correspondent, Robert Mitchell has perhaps conducted the most detailed comparison between HP and Kodak printers for cost per page deduction. He pitted HP Photosmart C5180 All-in-One printer against Kodak Easyshare 5300 All-in-One printer.

Robert decided to use low grade paper for testing from the respective companies as low grade papers tend to use less ink. He used HP's Everyday paper for testing with 5180 and Kodak's Photo paper along with the 5300.

The difference between the quality of prints between the compared printers was minimal. The Kodak cost per page for black prints was £1.5 for 100 pages while HP was doubly expensive at £3. Kodak won the battle hands down for colour prints. Kodak's cost per page for colour prints was at £3.5 for 100 pages while HP measured at £12.

However, both printers have its share of pros and cons and would make it hard to find a single winner.

Printer manufacturers make peanuts selling printers when compared to the ink cartridge sales. Selling a printer is a one time deal but ink cartridges are sold regularly based on the usage. Printer companies have been waging a losing battle against third party cartridge manufacturers. Here is something to cheer about; a chip that allows printers work with its designated cartridges alone.

Cryptography Research Inc. (CRI), a San Francisco company, is developing chip technology aimed at helping printer manufacturers protect this primary source of profit. The company's chips use cryptography designed to make it harder for printers to use off-brand and counterfeit cartridges.

Cryptography is a technology which encrypts the data communication between the printer and the cartridge. Hence, the printer will only recognize the original cartridge associated with it and others would be rejected. As a result, the consumer is forced to buy branded cartridges and would be left with no other alternatives. This brings in huge profits to printer manufacturers but consumers are exposed to face the brunt.

If the developer is smart, the hacker has traditionally been smarter. There have been numerous products which were claimed to be unhackable that have been hacked. It would be a matter of time before hackers find a way past cryptography.

Via CNET

How do people satisfy their hunger of printing personal documents if they can't afford ink cartridges or if they do not wish to spend on it? Very simple, use office printers. The era of sneaking pen and other stationery has transformed into ink sneaking in the offices today. In my previous post, I talked about the reduced consumption of printing at homes as a resultant of steep ink prices; here's a workaround scripted, acted and directed by home printer users themselves.

60% of office goers who own a printer at home print personal documents at offices with 70% of them claiming to print personal documents after office hours. More than half of them print at offices citing the prices while the rest have blamed the printing speed.

What are ink sneaks printing? The survey reports that maps and directions (60%) and online research or web site information (49%) are the two types of personal printing documents most often inked at work. Other personal printing done on the job include:
-- Personal office correspondence (42%)
-- Travel itineraries (42%)
-- Articles from online news sources (35%)
-- Photos (20%); Recipes (18%), Online shopping receipts (17%)

It is pathetic that co-workers who witness the horrendous crime of printing personal documents at work don't bother to inform the people in charge.

The concluding part to this sequel is interesting and is based on individuals rather a sample.

via Yahoo Biz