laser toner cartridge manufacturer inkjet cartridge exporter

HP Q2612A toner cartridge china manufacturer exporter

2008-10-27T03:19:00.001-07:00

Make sure to evaluate every matched system of components in search of the perfect combination for performance that meets or exceeds the OEM specifications. The cartridges contain new and recycled components. UltraPrecise dual-polymer toner and; helical roller drive work together in a system to provide reliable, cost-effective performance. And finally, HP printers that use the Q2612A toner cartridges also have systems that refresh certain imaging system components with every cartridge you install.
If you are doing comparison shopping for a printer you will see a vast amount of printers that are high priced and low priced. These are not the factors you should look for when shopping for a new printer. You should look at the ratings these printers receive from PC magazine. If the printers receive high ratings in PC magazine and they are compatible with your PC then I suggest that you purchase one of these printers. UltraPrecise dual polymer toner cartridges and helical roller drives work together to deliver sharp text and smooth grayscale transitions with highly precise components that match colors and text. In your printers imaging system some of your critical components will be refreshed every time that you install a new toner cartridge.
In order for a company to earn a PC magazine #1 rating their are some very strict quality standards that are in place.
If you have a toner cartridge that has spots, links and other quality problems when you make a printout the cartridge that you have is most likely broken or defective. Using a refill kit will not repair the toner. If this happens you will have to buy a new toner. All you need is the MICR toner, blank check stock and the MICR font installed on your printer. If you want high quality prints then I suggest to make sure your toner is not defective and that you purchase high quality toners that are rated #1 in PC magazine for quality and service.
When printing with a toner the typical price for a print is in the range of 2 to 3 cents per print. Ultraprecise, dual-polymer toner produces sharp text characters, smooth grayscale transitions and deep blacks. A helical roller drive ensures smooth grayscale transitions and deep blacks. Both of which are very high quality and are sure to provide you with extremely high quality prints.
QIP’s largest market is North America, where it sells primarily through wholesalers, office products dealers, OEMs, computer products dealers and printer service technicians. Ink and toner cartridges are either professionally remanufactured or compatible cartridges made and tested to work perfectly in your inkjet printer or laser toner printer. Bring out the best in your printer and your work - by using Hewlett-Packard printer accessories and supplies. They’re designed and manufactured to meet the same high standards as your HP Laserjet Toner Q2612A printer.
Many printer manufacturers will state that using any compatible cartridge in your printer will void the warranty. However, compatible Laser Cartridge are popular with consumers because of the lower cost to purchase, compared to an OEM cartridge.

Oki Toners- Cheaper But With Good Performance

2008-10-23T19:13:00.001-07:00

Small business owners know that even the printer toner or cost copier can affect their profits. Many of the owners do not know that there are some toner cartridges that do not have a brand name but are cheaper and reliable for use in the printer. Oki C5100 modelThere are some remanufactured and compatible laser printers that are cost effective. One of them is Oki C5100. It is not a branded printer but cheaper and with good performance. There is only one drawback that it is a bit larger and shall cover your desk space. Apart from the size, this model is liked by many.Features of Oki modelThe Oki model has several features. It has one pass engine that can print up to 20 black and white pages per minute and 12 color pages per minute. This has made it the fastest printer. It has 250 sheet folders and an auto duplex option. Further there are the features of an USB2.0 port and 10/100 Ethernet network port.There are four toner cartridges available for this printer. It includes the ink of following colors:-• Cyan• Black• Magenta• YellowThe latest technology of single replacement tank as used in canon is also used in these Oki models. It helps you to replace the tank of particular color in spite of the entire cartridge. The Oki toner cost up to $150. It yields less number of pages than a branded toner. The branded items generally have a higher price. They produce the solid ink. But the restructured toners are preferred as they are cost effective and have a good performance. Oki 5300The Oki 5300 is also produced by the Oki brands. The printer has the double processing speed than the old model and it has twice the RAM’s capacity. But it has the same printing speed. It prints the colored pages at a speed of 12 per minute and black and white at the speed of 20 per minute.Though the initial investment plays a major role, but the cost of ink should also be considered. In reality, they guarantee their high quality assurance and hundred percent compatibility but with lower cost. These companies use the same ink and electronic components and have also passed the quality assurance tests as the branded companies. Cost effectiveIt uses the Canon’s latest technology and blew away the competition as they have reached to the method that reduces maintenance costs and upfront cost. It is a solution to increase profit and avoid an unneeded cost.

All About Re-manufactured and Compatible Inkjet Cartridges

2008-10-23T19:10:00.000-07:00

Inkjet cartridges are tremendously in style: most of the computer users are well-known with inkjet printers, as they offer comparatively high quality printing and could be used in an assortment of industries. The principle that inkjet cartridges use is extremely clear-cut and quite easy to understand. Inkjet cartridges are reservoirs of ink which unite to a series of small nozzles known as the print head, which are used to make very small dots of ink. In a single color such as black, the nozzles could as well be used to form text. The colors in the inkjet cartridges could moreover be pooled to form a color image.Most color inkjet cartridges and toner cartridges follow the Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Key, or Black (CMYK) color model. The four colors are held in break up reservoirs, at times within a single ink cartridge and sometimes also sold alone as separate inkjet cartridges. They could be mixed in exact amounts to form hundreds of possible colors, making lush and consistently toned color images on a huge variety of papers. When a user prints a text, the data sent from the computer to the printer comprises the specific CMYK formula for each pixel in the image and the print head reproduces it with hundreds of tiny nozzles that fire simultaneously.Many ink and toner cartridges maker make inkjet cartridges with a built in print head. That is because print head is one of the most greatly used parts in the printer: by counting it with inkjet cartridges, producers make sure that the print head is replaced often, allowing high print quality. The print head allows ink out by using heat or vibration. Thermal print heads vaporize the ink, turning it into a small bubble that is forced out of the nozzle and on to the document paper. Vibrating print heads allows ink out with slow movement.Print excellence could differ hugely with inkjet printers, as most users are aware. Several factors could as well influence print excellence, beginning with the resolution. The higher the resolution, the higher would be the image superiority, because the resolution refers to how many dots per inch (DPI) the printer has to produce. Images that look gritty or ragged are offered on low DPI printers. The paper used could also influence excellence, as low grade paper tends to permit ink to scatter on the paper, blurring the edges of the dots. High excellence printer paper does not allow this, meaning that each dot remains crisp and distinct.

We Supply Toner and Inkjet Cartridges With Highest Quality and Satisfactory Customer Service

2008-10-23T18:39:00.000-07:00

Parkin Macao Co., Ltd is a well-known enterprise, which devotes to manufacturing printer consumables. Based on premium quality and excellent service, the output for “Parkin” products including inkjet cartridge, ink, toner cartridge, refill ink kits, CISS, photo papers series products, which are 100% compatible with the printers of HP?EPSON?CANON?LEXMARK?SAMSUNG etc. And the products have such advantages: high quality, environmental protection and economical. The reasonable price and premium print quality, far exceed the other toner and ink cartridge factories. So our products win good reputation in the consumables market. Our factory has advanced production technology, comprehensive test devices, mature quality-control measurement. The technology always is in the first line of the field, fully meet customers’ demands. Simultaneously, our company research and develop new products, and make reasonable price, supply OEM service for all brands of compatible consumables home and abroad. Our persistent aim is to let our customers be happy to buy and relieved to use.
Now in order to exploit overseas market, we call on distributors from all over the world heartfully. Both sides should be in the principle of sharing resources mutually, mutual help, mutual benefit, long-term cooperation and development together, devoting to build in global sales network of “Parkin” branded consumables
1, Qualifications of agents 1), Good credit standing and business ethics without bad business background 2), Support the enterprise’s principle of development strategy and management faith. 3), Be competent to establish marketing sales team. 4), Strong concept to promote our brand and exploit the market together
2, Advantages of Agent 1), Uniform Parkin propagandistic files: product information, Poster, advertisement, small gift etc. 2), Join in sales promotion activities which are held by Parkin aperiodically, and discount, presents etc, so as to improve dealers’ profit and attract local customers. 3), In order to promote agent’s sales cycle, and steady market; Build up excellent brand image, company will equip professional technique engineer to settle after-sales technology trouble.
3, Product Guarantee 1), Parkin promised that the our ink cartridges and toner cartridge products, once it appears problem during usage, all can be returned provided there is over 1/5 ink and carton powder left. 2), All agents don’t need to worry about the quality at all. Since Parkin can be able to responsible for all our products’ quality problem.
Welcome your visit and suggestion anytime! Welcome colleague to contact us!!Develop Together and set up splendid future!!!
For more information, pls visit www.imagingabc.com freely or contact us at sales@imagingabc.com.

Laser Toners

2008-10-23T18:38:00.003-07:00

Most of us are aware of the significance of the laser toners in a printer. More or less a laser toner is the key part in any laser printer. With invent of the laser printer, we can get high quality prints in a blink of an eye and that too in a very cost effective manner. The quality of the prints depends on the quality of the laser toner, as a laser toner is actually the ink for laser printers. The laser toner is an extremely fine synthetic powder packed into a cartridge. This cartridge is then inserted into your laser printer according to the manufacturer’s instructions. And this is where the role of a laser toner comes into picture. Let us understand in short the role of a laser toner as soon as a page is inserted in the printer. There are a few steps in printing a page with the help of a laser toner: • In the first step, printer receives an image to be printed from your computer.• The lasers project the image onto an electromagnetic drum inside the laser printer. • According to the image, the drum is charged positively and negatively, and at varying levels of charge. • The drum in turn attracts ink from the toner in the cartridge according to the charges the colors are attracted to.• The drum rolls the image onto a page of paper, the page goes through a heating device to melt or burn the color onto the page, and the page is ejected.This is when laser toner is used in the laser printer. Most of the toners are designed to print a few thousand pages before needing to be replaced. Similarly, the drum also wears out from all the positive and negative charges it gives off, and needs to be replaced every 10,000 – 30,000 pages. Some printers are made with cartridge-and-drum replacement units in mind, while other printers are designed to separate the cartridge and drum. This way, when the cartridge runs out of toner, you don’t have to replace the longer lasting drum with it. This saves you money.There is a huge ongoing debate on the use of compatible laser toners. They are widely used besides the printer companies regular warnings on the illegal aspects and the harms they can cause to the printer. However, besides such warnings, the compatible laser toners are now a days common forcing the companies to change their stance and to launch economically priced laser toners. Most manufacturers, and some third-party distributors, will give you money or discounts in exchange for your old laser toner cartridges. They in turn replace the guts of the cartridge, refill it with toner, and resell it at a big discount.

Choose the Xerox 7300 Toner for the Best Results

2008-10-23T18:38:00.001-07:00

Most people look at the pricing of a printer before making a choice and are therefore inclined towards buying inkjet printers. However, if you carefully analyze the cost efficiency of using laser printers and cartridges you will arrive at the conclusion that the most expensive printers save money in the long run. Laser printers and toner cartridges may cost more than their inkjet alternatives but they certainly produce more with less usage. Furthermore, the high quality Xerox Phaser 7300 toner guarantees the finest laser print jobs. At imagetoner.com you can purchase the Xerox 7300 toner for your office or home printing needs. When looking to purchase a printer most people are faced with a dilemma: inkjet or laser? The average cost of an inkjet printer varies between $200 and $300 dollars while laser printers cost twice as much. The same goes for the toner cartridges – an ink cartridge is priced around $30 dollars while a laser toner cartridge is far pricier. Given these figures, you might be inclined towards the inkjet alternative. However, before making a choice, you need to be completely aware of the estimated consumption of each printer and of the quality of prints they produce. An inkjet cartridge will print about one thousand pages – that’s six times less than a laser toner cartridge, such as the Xerox Phaser 7300 toner. Laser printing, also known as electrostatic printing, is substantially different from inkjet printing. The process of laser printing consists of light photons being discharged onto the cylindrical transparent drum, causing letters and images to be transferred onto the paper. Laser printers have become more and more popular over the past few years due to their superior speed, quality and cost efficiency. Although laser printers might be somewhat more expensive than inkjet printers, they are certainly indispensable in an office environment where printing is a highly frequent activity. The Xerox 7300 toner is the perfect choice for smooth and reliable printing. Once you’ve purchased a Xerox Phaser 7300 toner all you have to do is replace your old one and you can start printing. Black and white toners are easy to change while with color toners you can ask for the advice of a specialist. The first thing you have to do when replacing your old toner is to turn the printer off. Next, you need to open the cover of the printer and dislodge the old cartridge. Before placing the new cartridge into your printer remember to remove its protective strip. Once you’ve placed the new toner into the correct position you should print out a test page to see if everything is perfectly functional. Purchase a Xerox 7300 toner at imagetoner.com and you’ll get maximum efficiency from your Xerox printer. These days, printing has become an indispensable activity in office environments as well as at home. It’s especially important that you choose a printer and cartridge that has maximum cost efficiency on the long run. Laser toner cartridges, such as the Xerox Phaser 7300 toner, offer great reliability and impeccable printing for an extended period of time. The new Xerox 7300 cartridge set from imagetoner.com is the best investment you can make for your printer at a very reasonable price.

Recyceled Ink and Toner Cartrdiges Vs. Brand New Cartridges

2008-10-23T18:35:00.004-07:00

Recycled ink and toners cartridges vs. Brand New Cartridges
Also Entitled Refilled vs. OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer)

First off you may have heard or read the term OEM. This means (Original Equipment Manufacturer) referring to the Brand Name original product manufacturer and their original ink and toner cartridge products. This term is used in other industries and has similar connotations.

In the office world or should I say the cartridge world of today there is many flavors of cartridges and many names for the flavors which I will get into soon enough. There is an addional 10,000 or more different manufacturers some homegrown operations and some small brick and mortar to the large corporate entities that are offering recycled ink and toners.

Quality controls standards are not existent industry wide per say, nor is there any standards for the words or definitions used to describe such products. While this may be the case many manufactures implement high quality control standards and check to make sure their product is sound, and there are standards in general for quality control in any manufacturing, it is not industry wide for this particular industry, yet!

I hope within this article I bring to light the missing data about Recycled vs. OEM.

All cartridges are not created equal, as I have already alluded to. The terms used to market cartridges have changed just as the technology that allows near perfect recycling has.

Yester years “DRILL AND FILL” is long gone or should be. Today’s quality replacement parts along with modern technologies make it easy to perform the processes that are needed for perfect quality.

Now we have these terms: Recycle, Re-fill, Remanufactured, Reconditioned, and Compatible. What the heck?

You may ask what is the difference? Here it is:
While not all companies involved follow such guidelines I have the following now defined:

1.Recyceled: A cartridge that has been cleaned and refilled and has an unknown or unspecified number of the imaging components replaced. While it may be tested the above is the case.
2. Refilled: A cartridge that has been cleaned and refilled and tested.
3.Remanufactured: A cartridge that has had all of the imaging components replaced and the cartridge tested.
4.Reconditioned: is only defined as made to be like new, which would lead one to believe that this would be also defined as Remanufactured.
5.Compatible: This term can mean any of the above, and is miss-used a lot. It is supposed to mean Brand New manufactured with no recycled parts. Designed to work like the original but cost a little less. This term is used by some to reinvent the over used terms like recycled, refilled, remanufactured, reconditioned cartridge.

Well so far we have only defined some words and terms, we are yet to discuss the meat of the matter. I always like to say ‘The Proof Is In The Print”.

It really boils down to this not all cartridge are created equal while the original equipment manufacture’s cartridge only has a reported 2% failure rate and you can buy it at retail. The Recycle, Re-fill, Remanufactured, Reconditioned, or Compatible replacement cartridge may save you 50-70% depending on the vendor, and additionally may have a 2% or higher failure rate. The saving can out weigh the trouble. It really boils down to the service you get and the confidence you have in your supplier to replace any cartridge you have a problem with free of charge. Well this should be the case for any defective product. You would want to settle down with one that has both price and a good product. If you get to many defective cartridges it will interrupt your workflow and cost you a “Hidden” bundle.

Non – OEM ink and toner cartridge are designed to last just as long and work just as good.
You do not have to worry about it voiding your warranty and as a matter of fact it is illegal for any OEM to say you must only use their brand of Ink and Toner. This would be a direct violation of the Magnussson-Moss Warranty Act.

There you have a clear and fresh perspective on the subject, I hope.

For more information on high quality ink and toner cartridges at prices we can all live with, check out http://www.imagingabc.com/ the online Ink and Toner Superstore!

Top Ten Toner Brands

2008-10-23T18:35:00.003-07:00

A toner is a result of electrically charged dry ink powder that can produce images. Normally, it has negative charges and papers have a positive charge. The two charges react and produce an image in form of a print out. They are used on photocopying machines as well as printers. Toners can be either black and white or colored depending on the purpose for which they are intended. Toner brands are toners manufactured by different companies for different models of printers or photocopiers. There are very many toner brands. Some of the best toners that have even been ranked top ten include –

HP Toner Cartridges
This is among the most popular toner brand there is in the market today. Both their original and remanufactured toners have proved to be quality-printing supplies
Apple Toner Cartridges
The Apple toner is widely known for good quality. Their toners are made using new drums, doctor blades and wipers. They are ranked among the most popular toner brands.

Dell Toner Cartridges
Dell toner cartridges are ranked third most popular toner brands. They are reasonably priced and can be used repeatedly.
Epson Toner Cartridges
Used on photocopiers and printers, this toner brand has been in existence for a long time and has rapidly gained popularity. It comes with a money back guarantee, which makes it very convenient for people to buy.
Gestetner Toner Cartridges
Remanufactured Gestetner cartridges are a perfect alternative to the original toner cartridges. They serve the same purpose only at a cheaper price. The new versions are made from new material, which makes the cartridges more reliable.

Brother Toner Cartridges
Most of these toners can produce up to twenty thousand pages. This makes it economical and reliable to use.

Cannon Toner Cartridges
These toners are compatible with many other printer models other than Cannon. Remanufactured cannon toners are very reliable. They can print up to twenty thousand pages in black and white ink.
Konica Minolta QMS
It is a remanufactured toner with new parts and is 100% compatible. The cartridge is certain to work as well or better than new or original toners. This means that users have an option of either getting new or remanufactured.

Lanier Toner Cartridges
Lanier toner cartridges are ranked the tenth in popularity. They can be either remanufactured or brand new. All material used is new and this goes to increase the reliability of the toner. They are affordable and easy to use.

Toners are an essential part of life for many people. The best toners are those that serve the purpose they are manufactured to serve and do it in the shortest time possible. Many toner brands have come up with ways to ensure that their toners are most popular. One of them is to come up with a money back guarantee as well as offer good customer service. This assures customers that the toner they are buying will not only serve them well but also ensure that it does not seem like a swindle. Some toners only produce half as much as they were supposed to. With the best toner brands, the customer has the option of taking the toner back and having it replaced with a new one.

The High Quality Xerox 7300 Toner

2008-10-23T18:35:00.001-07:00

The quality of the materials, equipment and substances we use and work with is of the greatest importance. Business owners are especially aware of the fact that investing in high quality items will pay off over time. Reliable pieces of equipment, materials and accessories guarantee safety and fluidity in any workplace. If you’ve already invested in a top of the line laser printer you probably know just how important using high quality cartridges are. A Xerox Phaser 7300 toner helps you achieve maximum performance levels and offers great reliability. At imagetoner.com you can purchase any professional Xerox 7300 toner. These days, it has become bluntly clear that the companies with the most success are the ones which concentrate on maximizing efficiency in all areas. The printers and printing supplies that we use have a direct impact on our level of work efficiency. A low quality cartridge is just as bad as a slow printer, reducing workplace performance and professionalism. High quality printer toners offer complete reliability regardless of how frequently you print. The Xerox Phaser 7300 toner is the best solution for your Xerox printer. With the new Xerox 7300 toner you won’t have to worry about getting anything less than perfection. The laser toner cartridge is probably the most important part of your printer – it’s what keeps your printer functioning efficiently. The typical laser cartridge contains a powder toner and is made from hard plastic. The powder toner is responsible for releasing the ink to create prints on your paper. Laser cartridges are easy to install and allow you to print images in high detail. Original equipment manufacturer (OEM) laser toners are specifically designed by the printer’s manufacturer and will only function with that specific printer brand. OEM laser toner cartridges are more expensive than the cartridges assembled from recycled parts but they offer the highest quality of printing. At imagetoner.com you can purchase a Xerox Phaser 7300 toner that meets the OEM standards. Laser toner cartridges are usually preferred to ink toner cartridges because of their superior quality in printing. A Xerox 7300 toner has the capacity of yielding over 4000 pages with 5% coverage. Laser printers generally use four colors of toners: magenta, black, yellow and cyan. The great thing about having four toners is that when one of them is used up the other three can continue printing. Purchasing all four toners in a single set is a possibility offered by most printer product manufacturers. Laser toner cartridges also allow you to print lively colors and high detail pages. The Xerox Phaser 7300 toner is the perfect choice for professional printing. If you’ve already purchased one or more laser printers you already know how important the quality of the cartridge is to its performance. The Xerox Phaser 7300 toner is an indispensable instrument for any company that requires fast, high quality printing. This toner can also be used at home, adding color to any of your family’s printing projects. Just remember to make sure your toner meets all of the OEM standards. At imagetoner.com you can order the high quality Xerox 7300 toner.

The Most Affordable Compatible Samsung Laser Toner

2008-10-23T18:34:00.002-07:00

The Compatible Samsung SCX-4215D3 Black Laser Toner Cartridge is an alternative toner exclusively engineered to meet the highest standard of quality containing new parts of OPC drums, wiper blades and other internal parts to offer big savings over branded name.The Compatible Samsung SCX-4216D3 Black Laser Toner Cartridge is an alternative toner over expensive branded names. It performs efficient with Samsung Laser Printer. It is a substitute product of Samsung SCX-4216D3 Laser Toner Cartridge. The SCX-4216D3 is the generic name as compatible replacement to the original and expensive Samsung Toner. This replacement toner is specifically engineered to meet the highest standard of quality to exceed Original Equipment Manufacturer to meet the standard for the SCX4216D3 and resulting maximum quality printing. This toner contains new parts including OPC drums, Wiper Blades and other interior parts. The company produces same outlook and toner features to lessen the stress of consumer finding low price of ink to match their printer model. These are the economical substitute to the expensive Samsung Laser Toner Cartridges. The SCX4216D3 offers a big savings compare to the original branded names. All Products and quality are approved by ISO-9001 and certified made in Korea wherein the genuine Samsung Toners is same made of Korea and an approved ISO-9001 similar. Your printer warranty will not be void by using compatible replacement toner. The SCX-4216D3 imports the product only to pass savings right to your printing purposes. The printer warranty cannot void you just because you use a non-original toner, unless the manufacturer proven the usage of compatible product causes damage to your printer. In this case, the manufacturer will choose not to repair your printer but your warranty will continue on other issues. This company offers a 100% quality guarantee satisfaction. It offers a high quality color and precise printing finished.The SCX-4216D3 has a page yield to approximate the number of standard pages can be printed in one cartridge. The 5% page coverage and 5% is a standard 8.5 by 11 inch page with a light letterhead containing address and three-text paragraph double-spaced. If the page coverage is closer to 15% with a print of mixed text, graphics and web pages, the number of the printed pages on the cartridge will be less. If you are printing photos of 100% full coverage, you have a less than amount of number pages you will be able to print. Printing a standard text documents will have more number of pages to run on the printer.For Samsung - SCX Printers, the following generics are available as compatible replacement toner cartridge model number:SCX-4116SCX-4216SCX-4216FFor Samsung - SF PrintersSF-560, the following generics are available as compatible replacement toner cartridge model number:SF-565PSF-750SF-755PSee the manual enclosed on this package to accompany proper usage instruction.The Package includes 30 milliliters of toner laser cartridge, a manual with a warranty documents. The shelf life Capacity is 24 to 36 months time. With Color Instruction of N/A BlackHere are some of the compatible Samsung laser toner products made for you to have a lot of choices and variation of choosing an affordable kind of a toner that guarantees not to break your bank.ORIGINAL REPLACEMENTFor Samsung ML1650D8Samsung Compatible ML-1650D8 Black Toner Cartridge for Samsung Laser ML-1650, ML-1652P, ML-1653 Printers3-Packs of Samsung Compatible ML-1650D8 Black Toner Cartridge Combo for Samsung Laser ML-1650, ML-1651N, ML-1652P, ML-1653S Printers - replace Samsung ML-1650D8 Packs of Samsung Compatible ML-1650D8 Black Toner Cartridge Combo for Samsung Laser ML-1650, ML-1651N, ML-1652P, ML-1653S Printers - replace Samsung ML-1650D8Samsung Toner Cartridge & Combo ML-1650D8Samsung Compatible ML-1650D8 Black Toner Cartridge for Samsung Laser ML-1650, ML � Samsung Compatible ML-1650D8 Black Toner Cartridge for Samsung Laser3-Pack of Samsung Compatible ML-1650D8 Black Toner Cartridge Combo for Samsung Laser ML-1650, ML-1651N, ML-1652P, ML-1653S Printers - replacement for Samsung ML-1650D8Samsung ML-1652P Printer Toner Cartridges3-Pack of Samsung Compatible ML-1650D8 Black Toner Cartridge Combo for Samsung Laser ML � 3-Pack Samsung Compatible ML-1650D8 Black Toner Cartridge Combo for ... Samsung Laser ML-1650, ML-1651N, ML-1652P, ML-1653S Printers replacement for Samsung ML-1650D8Genuine Laser Toner Cartridge for Samsung ML-1650D8 (ML1650D8) OEMSamsung Compatible ML-1650D8 Black and cheap Samsung ML-1650D8 OEM Genuine Laser Toner Cartridge for Samsung Laser ML-1650, ML-1651N, ML-1652P, ML-1653SCheapest Samsung Laser Toner Cartridge ML-1650D8 for Samsung Laser MLSamsung Compatible ML-1650D8 Black Toner Cartridge for Samsung Laser ML-1650, ML-1651N, ML-1652P, ML-1653S Printers - replaces Samsung ML-1650D8 and 3-Pack of Samsung Compatible ML-1650D8 Black Toner Cartridge Combo .5-Pack of Samsung ML-1650D8 Compatible Black Toner Cartridge Combo5-Pack of Samsung Compatible ML-1650D8 Black Toner Cartridge Combo for Samsung Laser ML-1650, ML-1651N, ML-1652P, ML-1653S Printers - replacement for Samsung ML-1650 D8Samsung ML-1652P Printer Toner Cartridges3-Pack of Samsung Compatible ML-1650D8 Black Toner Cartridge Combo for Samsung Laser ML-1650, ML-1651N, ML-1652P, ML-1653S Printers - replacement for Samsung ML-1650D8Samsung ML-1653S Toner Cartridges3-Pack of Samsung Compatible ML-1650D8 Black Toner Cartridge Combo for Samsung Laser ML-1650, ML-1651N, ML-1652P, ML-1653S Printers - replacement for Samsung ML-1650D83-Pack of Samsung ML-1650D8 Compatible Black Toner Cartridge Combo3-Pack of Samsung Compatible ML-1650D8 Black Toner Cartridge Combo for Samsung Laser ML-1650, ML-1651N, ML-1652P, ML-1653S Printers - replacement for Samsung ML-1650D8

Ink Cartridges

2008-10-23T18:34:00.001-07:00

Printing is a routine activity in our day-to-day official lives. In all sizes of business printing is involved at almost every level. You may be printing your routine documents, brochures, pamphlets or an image or a photograph, printing is required at each step. The most important part of printing is its quality as if the quality is not good the purpose of printing is not fulfilled. Lexmark toner cartridges are good quality toner cartridges that deliver good results. Why should you choose Lexmark toner cartridges?The biggest advantage that an OEM Lexmark toner cartridge offers you is better technology, which is responsible for the amazing print results that the cartridges produce. The amazing Lexmark’s technologyLexmark is different from other printer manufacturers; it owns the primary technology. The technology includes the toner formulation in the laser cartridge to print management software installed on its network server. This technology ownership allows Lexmark to get proper feedback that can be used in the improvisation of the technology leading to faster innovation. The laser printer and toner technology used by Lexmark was pioneered in 1990 and Lexmark was the first company to offer printers such as 600x600 dots per inch monochrome laser printer, 1200x1200 dots per inch monochrome laser printer along with a 12 page per minute colour laser printer. Lexmark toner cartridges guaranteesWhen you purchase an OEM Lexmark toner cartridge or the Lexmark laser printer the company guarantees that it will replace the defected piece with a new one. Lexmark International is committed towards making the life easier for its customers and businesses along with the commitment towards environment. It is one of the leading manufacturer, developer, and supplier of printing and imaging solutions. Choose the brand if you relish premium products at awesome prices.Tonik offers a vast variety of laser toner and inkjet toner cartridges from renowned brands. Some of the brands are Dell, Epson, Canon, Lexmark, Dell, Apple, and Brother. These toner cartridges are durable, efficient and economical, what else you can ask for! These laser as well as inkjet printer cartridges can be ordered online. Lexmark products come with the assurance of quality, durability and efficiency, choose the brand if you want a trouble free printing experience.

How to Remanufacture 1600/2600n Color Laser Printer Toner?

2008-10-23T18:33:00.001-07:00

This is one of the first color laser printer toner where HP/Canon really seems to have gone out of its way to make a toner cartridge very difficult to remanufacture. The waste chamber, which consists of the waste chamber, OPC drum, PCR, wiper and recovery blades, is plastic welded/glued together. The drum axle/bushings are permanently attached to the waste chamber. The only way to get them off is to physically break or cut the cartridge apart. New replacement waste chambers are now available that include the waste chamber, new removable drum axles/bushings, foam seals, electrical contacts and PCR holders. The kit will also contain the screws, springs and plastic pins that will be needed to reassemble the cartridge. If you want to reuse any of the above parts, you will have to cut the OEM chamber apart. The waste chamber for 2600n color laser printer toner is also very small. The aftermarket toner will have to be very efficient to prevent leakage due to the waste overflowing.When you refill 2600n hp color laserjet toner, you should notice following factors to guarantee the quality:1) Mitsubishi toner is one of the best choice to remanufacture hp 2600n hp color laserjet toner, physical toner powder is more suitable for refilling color laser printer toner cartridge.2) High quality toner cartridge smartchip can guarantee the page yield of the color laserjet toner.3) New Hanp opc drum is value to consider, because the opc drum is easily worn out.For more informations about color laser printer toner and toner powder, chips for remanufacturing, please refer the web http://www.imagingabc.com

Toner Cartridges for Hp Laser Printer

2008-10-23T18:30:00.000-07:00

Printer toner cartridges for laser printers are definitely the most elite features related with high-quality, laser productions. Most laser systems use four colors in toner cartridges, with each color selected inside toner cartridge for simple use and accurate functionality. There are as well laser printers that uses one color and which are known to be monochrome printers. Laser printers work in the similar way as any copier machines, in that a laser ray is used to make an electrical charge on a drum that is passed by way of a toner color cartridge. The color that is in fact picked up in the process is then rolled onto paper making heat set color applications. Laser productions are recognized for their superior quality and slick exterior free from the more absorbent look of inkjet printing cartridges. HP laser printers are all effective, high-speed, high-volume printers. These printers are usually known to be more reliable and more famous than other available brands. To purchase a toner cartridge for an HP laser printer you can follow the following steps. The process is quite easy once you take into consideration cost and quality. Step OneBefore you even start of research on how you would like to replace your existing toner cartridges, pick up your owner’s manual for your HP laser printer. Get the information on disposing, buying and installing hp printer toner cartridge into that particular hp model. Step TwoGo online and research on other available media options for buying hp laser printer toner cartridge. Your owner’s manual may even ask you to buy an hp toner cartridge, but it is not actually necessary. Step ThreeNext you have to decide whether you would like to buy an OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) toner cartridge, toner refills, compatible cartridges or remanufactured cartridges according to you need. Step FourFind an outlet that is ready to supply your toner cartridges. You should always consider using online store to find a best deals before you start to shop. Step FiveThe last step is to purchase your toner cartridge. Again, pick out your owner’s manual to correctly install the cartridge. Also follow the instruction given on the cartridge package. Tips & Warnings• Even though HP toner cartridges have its own advantages of obviously being made by the same company who made your computer, there are as well other enough options. • Find out what are apt toner cartridges compatible with your HP laser printer. Many toner cartridges do the job for HP laser printers on less than the cost of an OEM cartridge. • Make sure the toner cartridge you purchase is well-matched with your printer if it is not an HP cartridge. Using non-compatible cartridges would surely damage your printer.

Fax Toner Cartridges

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The fax machine has become the ubiquitous part of the office stationery for the last few years. It combines the facility of the phone and printing message anywhere across the world. Till emails became popular fax machines were the best option to receive information without the trouble of courier and hard copies. The fax copy is as good as original and is a good substitute. It works with the same formula as the printer does. The fax machine works o similar lines where a black toner cartridge is the main mechanism with which the print out is taken out. A fax roll is a special paper that is able to print the message or series of sheets. One can use the ink cartridge, fax ribbon or refill as the ink dries up.

There are many companies that are producing good quality fax toner cartridges and also refills for regular use. Since cost wise the refills are cheaper, they are in frequent use after the OEM (original equipment manufacturer) toner needs refilling. Bottled toner kits are available in the market at lower rates. Normally they are used to bring down the cost. Just as one time ink and ball point pens were refilled so do the fax machine toners can be refilled. The process is more advanced and the quality of printing is also better. One can also get remanufactured copier toners that also do a great job. These refilled toners are also environmentally friendly when they have to be disposed.

Fax Toner Cartridges

2008-10-23T18:28:00.001-07:00

Lower Cost Laser Toner Cartridges

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Many buyers usually visit stores that offer great discounts when it comes to buying printer cartridges. Any one who has been purchasing printing supplies would consider that there are many types of cartridges classified as lower cost laser-toner cartridges. The manufacturers strive to offer the best products in the market and laser toner cartridges are economical and convenient for use. One has to identify the laser printer and the corresponding manufacturers that would reliably give compatible cartridges to their consumers. Low cost laser toner cartridges move hand in hand with value for money for superb results in the hard copy print.

A shopper would find it economical to buy the products from online stores who offer relatively affordable printers supply at highly acceptable rates. There are thousands of online suppliers giving attractive discounts for genuine laser toner cartridges. Such sites have brands that compete well with other competitors. Their money back guarantees are impressive and what a client would want from the printers lies in their lower cost laser toner cartridges. A buyer would have a thirty day guarantee for bulk purchase and frequent access to the stores. Low prices and excellent customer care and after-sale-service would help a client get the desired printing supply at fair rates. Selling strategies of the manufacturers have unbeatable product performances that are at the same time compatible cartridges with reference to laser printers. It is the worth of lower cost laser toner cartridges. This would help alleviate the possibility of jamming in the printer.

Laser toner cartridges are available at the retailers’ stores. To acquire the product at lower costs, one would have to find the varieties of HP, Samsung, Epson, Brother, Xerox, Minolta, Panasonic, Canon, and other manufacturers’ products. Lower cost laser toner cartridges come with bonus and a cut on costs during special seasons. It is recommended that a customer gets the products from the genuine suppliers who do not include overhead costs. Remanufactured cartridges tend to be cheaper as compared to brand new, genuine laser toners. The packaging would allow one to differentiate between the ones that have gone through cartridge refill and original cases. There exist offers that are running online for the consumers who are out to buy lower cost laser toner cartridges. Hot deals available in the official websites of the manufacturers are aids to cutting down the expenditure. There are options for recycled cartridges that relatively sell at very cheap prices while serving the goal.

There are special discount coupons that are open for clients and users to help them get the best quality lower cost laser toner cartridges at their malls. These are available online with their relevant codes. A buyer has to get the updates on which brands of laser toners are on special features or volume discounts. It is easy to get lower cost laser-toner cartridges but caution has to be taken to avoid the counterfeit products that flood the market.

Cost-Effective Alternatives for Replacing and Refilling Your HP LaserJet Toner Cartridge

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Hewlett Packard hardware products are world renowned for their reliability, good performance and durability. By combining professionalism and high quality with affordability and ease to use, HP has quickly become a very popular brand, nowadays being one of the leading producers of a wide range of competitive hardware components. Undoubtedly, the most requested and appreciated products ever released on the market by Hewlett Packard are HP printers. Efficient and user-friendly, HP printers are a very good option for both home users and companies, being equally adequate for extended, draft printing and casual, home printing.

HP has always taken full advantage of the pronounced technological advance characteristic to the last few decades, permanently looking to satisfy their customers with new, state of the art and reliable printer models. Although there are a wide range of HP printer models that have become true symbols for the professionalism of their manufacturers, the HP LaserJet printer series is nowadays the most appreciated and highly-regarded category of printers in the world. HP LaserJet printers are easy to use and account for a wide range of features that render them suitable for inexperienced and professional users as well.

HP LaserJet printers combine high-quality printing with features such as high-speed and draft printing, they are highly competitive and have a long period of life, requiring little maintenance. However, regardless of the model, HP LaserJet printers also have some disadvantages. The main problem with HP LaserJet models is the high cost of replacing or refilling the toner cartridge. Furthermore, in some cases it can be very difficult for HP LaserJet printer owners to find compatible toner cartridges, especially for older printer models. Due to the high costs of replacing or recharging their toner cartridge and due to the difficulty of finding appropriate, compatible toner cartridges in the first place, to have an HP LaserJet printer can be very frustrating and demanding. However, there are various companies that account for these issues and provide customers with the best services regarding HP printer toner cartridge refilling and replacement in exchange for the lowest prices on the market.

The cheapest and safest way to refill or replace the toner cartridge of your printer is to request the services of a specialized, professional company. With the help of a reliable company that specializes in cartridge refilling and replacement, you will be able to save a lot of effort, money and time. In order to ensure that you will benefit from high-standard services, all you have to do is do a little research on the Internet and find the company that best satisfies your needs. Once you have found what you are looking for, you are guaranteed to receive the best toner cartridges and other printer-related products for only a small part of their actual cost.

Whether you are interested in buying remanufactured toner cartridges, compatible toner cartridges, refilled toner cartridges, laser printer toner or inkjet cartridges, the best thing to do is rely on a company that specializes in providing such services for their customers. Regardless of the brand, series and model of your printer, you are guaranteed to find what you are looking for! Ask for the services of a solid company that specializes in toner cartridge refilling and replacement and you will definitely be satisfied!

If you want to find out more information about HP LaserJet you can follow this link. You will find great resources about Toner Cartridge and other printer accesories, too.

Laser Toner Cartridges

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Laser toner cartridges are capable of giving the best printing quality. The picture quality is sharp and more life like. There are many original toner cartridges, refills and compatible ones that the suppliers give. Every printer model is different and gives out different quality printing. Some of the most popular laser toner cartridges are sold by HP, Dell and Brother. The most sought after models include the Brother TN-350 black toner cartridge, Dell X5015 310-5417, HP-92A C4092A, HP -3A Q2613A. These can be used on the original printers of these branded companies. One can browse online for all the printing solutions. Color laser jets are also available in many models. One can get discounted priced laser toners, lower price ones also online. China is also a large market place for these cartridges but to get the best quality verified suppliers should be contacted.

Laser toner cartridges are better than inkjet cartridges as they are faster and quality of printing is better. One can take out many print outs of the same quality unlike inkjet models which are slower in performance. The fusing process bonds the laser printer directly o the paper. It is an advanced printing technique. It gives the embossed feel to the paper. These toner printers should be used with care or smudging takes place as quickly and wastes the paper. There are different types of paper that will give best results on laser toners. A rough surfaced paper does not give good results on laser toner cartridges.

Toner Cartridges – a Buyers Guide

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Toner Cartridges are replaceable apparatus that work with printer supplies. They play the role as ink which is used to copy or print hard copies of documents. This facility is fond commonly in the offices and as equipment that works with fax machines, laser printing supplies, or copiers. It is important for a buyer to know the type of machine that he or she uses. This would help identify the compatible cartridges that can work well with a machine. It s recommended that any buyer who aims at buying the apparatus identify with a manufacturer that has wide technological expertise. One would have to weight the costs and the corresponding benefits that the appliance comes with...

This guide would be handy in providing facts to consider before and when buying toner cartridges. Many stores stock various types of toner cartridges that come with different prices. It is appropriate to find cheaper and even better toners that would ensure the best results form a soft copy. This is because the cost of a compatible cartridge would often be expensive as compared to the overall cost of operation. The type of toner that one opts to buy would get along with the cartridge cases. The apparatus has complex segments that are usually in plastic containers and are easily available as compared to the bottled toners. The toner cartridges may seem alike but they greatly vary terms of makeup and properties. It is often better to get useful information and advice of experts and dealers that offer popular generic versions of toners.

Many vendors have the products that pertain to office use. The best places to get the desired stuff would be stores that deal in office supply, computer stores, dealers in office equipment, and dealers in toners. They do have the compatible cartridges that would give what one requires from hard copies. Toner cartridges vary in sizes and developers. It is wise to get the true and exact product that is required by particular machines. One would not wish to get an inferior result in the image. This problem can be contained by having the quality that would ensure the ink is safe and regulated when the operations are running. One can easily assess the performance of any toner by evaluating the number of pages that are produced. A comparison with previous out put would give the quality and the capacity of a cartridge.

An average toner cartridge would cost about $ 120.00 from the manufacturers. A buyer can shop around from dealers and alternate cartridges suppliers. One must be careful not to get in to bogus deals with online mail orders. There are guarantees that a buyer can check from, many stores have different printer supply brands that as well offer opportunity for comparison and bargains. There are several toner cartridges that are under recycled cartridges, they are very cheap and a buyer would save over $ 30.00. There is information online on how a buyer can always take extra caution before spending on buying toner cartridges.

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How to Remanufacture Toner Cartridges

2008-10-23T18:26:00.001-07:00

Are you familiar with toner cartridges? These are the containers which hold powder-like substance in copiers, fax machines and printers. This cartridge has a fuser which is responsible in melting the powder to create prints on a page. Laser toners are usually black, there are also several color laser but these are very expensive compared with inkjet cartridges.

There are more and more users of laser printers these days because it has more advantages compared when using inkjet printers. One of which is the cost per piece using the laser printer. With the laser printer, there are more outputs made and cheaper cost per piece. Another is that it is faster with regards to its printing time and lastly, it is compatible to most types of papers. The initial costing for the laser printer is usually high but in the long run, it turns out to be more economical and practical in terms of printing.

There are several types of toner cartridges. These are OEM laser printer, compatible toner cartridges, remanufactured toner cartridges and toner refills. Among these types, remanufactured ones are the most widely used types these days. There are already several companies that are into remanufacturing and recycling the cartridges.

These companies have been undergoing several steps which are important in recycling the laser cartridges. Here are the steps that they follow to ensure that they produce the best remanufactured cartridges.

Disassemble the cartridge apart and check each piece individually. Ensure that all damaged and worn-out pieces are removed and disregarded.

Remove old toner inside the cartridge by vacuuming it. With the use of an ultrasound, clean all major parts properly.

Change all worn-out pieces and components.

Change the photo drum. This is the piece which is responsible in transferring data from the memory to the paper. This is a very important to check component very well because a small tear can affect the output. It is a sensitive part, it only works efficiently for one to two uses.

Add new sets of cleaning and regulating blades. These are the 'windshield wiper' of the cartridge. These are very important parts. The regulating blade is responsible in controlling the toner that reaches the drum while the cleaning blades are responsible in scraping the excess toner that comes from the drum.

Fill the toner cartridge with quality toner.

With the use of gasket, cover the toner cartridge to prevent the powder from spilling into the printer.

Test print using each cartridge which was refilled. Make sure that each functions well.

Put label and date of manufacture in each toner cartridge. Seal with anti-static light blocking bag, this is usually the black bag.

Put it on its individual box. Include additional inserts to keep it safe during shipping. Sample test print and installation procedures are also included inside the box.

With these detailed steps, it is ensured that the output from these companies passed the quality that is required of them. All the remanufactured toner cartridges can function as well as the original laser cartridges, originally installed in the machines.

Laser Toner Cartridges: an Introduction

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Earlier, using laser printers was an expensive proposition. They were more expansive than that of inkjet printers. However, technological advancements and reducing prices have resulted into reduction in the price of laser printers and its essential ingredients. Resultantly, a greater number of individuals have accepted to laser printers for quality printing for day-to-day use.

Cartridges of Laser Toner:

Laser toner cartridges offer faster printout facility and are capable of providing good quality output. The fastest laser toner cartridge has the capacity to yield about 100 pages per minutes (6000 pages per hour). Cartridges for laser toner come in four major colors including:

• Magenta

• Black

• Yellow

• Cyan

Talking about the feature of the laser cartridges, it is important to know that laser toner works in a longer run. If one toner is used up, you can continue satisfying your printing requirement with other three. In case, if a particular printer runs out of the service, you can open the printer, take out the cartridge and shake it well and place it in its position. Many a times, toner gets settled in the cartridges, which can be used after shaking. Therefore, laser toner works longer as compared to inkjet printers.

Laser Toner: How economical they are to use?

The use of the laser printer toner cartridge decides its life. In normal circumstances, it can serve a user for at least five years. However, due to their high costs, many people are not bale to afford laser printer cartridges. Buying refurbished laser toner cartridges can be a wise choice that can help you to enjoy great quality printing in affordable range.

For example, you need to buy branded toner cartridges-from the store, undoubtedly they're high priced that may not suit your pocket-size. A refurbished cartridge is a convenient solution, refilled with the ink that you prefer. However, one must be cautious while using a refurbished cartridge.

How to Dispose of Printer Toner Cartridges

2008-10-23T18:25:00.001-07:00

It is a fact that most printer toner cartridges used by consumers contain harmful components. If not disposed of properly, printer toner cartridges pose a great threat to animal and plant life. Many consumers use electronic devices and forget all about them as soon as they outlive their usefulness. Mostly, after printer supplies are finished, they are discarded. The plastics in which the printer toner cartridges are contained are materials that can be utilized well and enhance the safety of the environment. One will have to ensure that the whole container is completely used and is empty.

To dispose of printer toner cartridges, one has to remove the toner or the ink cartridge from the printer. This would facilitate the process of disposal. Any printer repairs of printing supplies would make it easy to establish the effectiveness of printer toner cartridges. If the cartridges are from authentic dealers or manufacturers, there should always be safety measures that come with the manuals on what to do with printer supplies. Normally, information on how to dispose of empty printer toner cartridges effectively as well as ways of recycling is enclosed on purchase of the printer. There are disposal services that are available online and in the yellow pages and are rendered by organs such as TheGreenPC.com who recycle printers at some affordable fee ranging from $ 5.00 to $ 10.00 inclusive of shipping.

Even though throwing away the used cartridges is not in the laws, disposing printer toner cartridges in a proper way would be a modest move for a clean and safe environment. For printers, a consumer would dispose empty printer toner cartridges by giving them out to organizations and agencies that deal in collections and disposal. In case of repairs, it is convenient to contact institutional stores personnel who deal in delivery of printer toner cartridges. Most often, a consumer would be advised on what to do with the toner bottles. Printer toner cartridges from companies such as Toshiba toners can be disposed of in trash box or green buckets since they are not harmful. Most of the manufacturers have particular plans that are put in place on how to recycle used printer toner cartridges and old electronics.

For the consumers who would want to recycle printer toner cartridges, there are guidelines that regard the checks and instructions on which materials can be re-used. Any remanufactured cartridge would have to pass a quality inspection before it is re-used. Most quality printing supplies are often recommended for use by the buyers simply because they have been subjected to standards that make them environmentally friendly. This is the same with printer toner cartridges. It is wise to switch on the printers before removing the cartridges, once it is unplugged from the machine, it would then be safe to switch off the printer.

Learning how to dispose of printer toner cartridges is both beneficial to people and the environment. Recycled printer toner cartridges are also essential in making other products using the same material. Since the ink is no longer there, the outer covering can be used for something beneficial.

Compatible Versus Genuine Toner Cartridges

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Compatible means that the toner cartridge can be used in your specific equipment and also that it is not the Genuine Brand. Refilling toner cartridges is big business in the US and the world. Many companies choose to purchase the compatible version instead of the Original Equipment Manufacturer, OEM. Compatible can also mean completely brand new but generic.

In the beginning of refill cartridges there were not many options. Toner and internal replacement parts were not readily available, so the quality was not as high as one would like. In the recent years all that has changed. One of the most important components that should be replaced is the drum and the drum blade. These were designed to only last the life of the toner being used from the cartridge. If you were to reuse the original drum it would cause many print defects such as light print, marks and several other image defects. The drum blade would also create streaking and line type image defects. Think of the drum blade as a windshield wiper. When it wears out certain areas are not being cleaned and it makes it hard to see through the window! In the same way certain areas are not being wiped off and you then have lines on the printed pages. We now have access to not only drums and blades but many other components that wear out and need to be replaced inside the toner cartridge. When selecting a company that refills or sells compatible toner cartridges, I would make sure that they do in fact replace the drum and drum blade, or it will not last and you will have wasted your time and money on something that was supposed to save you money in the first place.

False assumptions: OEMs never fail

Having been in this business for over twenty years it seems that most people believe that if it is the original (OEM) toner cartridge that it will never fail. This is just not true. I have seen many OEM cartridges fail. Some from defect and some from customer induced causes. Here is a list of causes induced by customer neglect or error. Staples paper clips, paper dust, stickyback labels and placing the cartridge down on an unsafe position causing damage to drum.

False Assumptions: Refills always leak

Here again we have an assumption that is just not true. In my experience, the number one cause for a leaking cartridge is paper or labels stuck up inside the drum area. This is caused by using inferior labels or dog-eared paper. There are some refilled cartridges that have not been refurbished in a correct manner. Inside the cartridge is a part that is called a recovery blade. It is a thin Mylar that does exactly what it is named for. It recovers the excess toner and keeps it in the waste toner tank. If the recovery blade is old and warped, toner will fall down into the paper path and some how end up on your brand new shirt. Ever since then you swore to never use these darn refills any more!

If you run across a toner cartridge and the price is unbelievably low it may be because the company that refilled it didn’t replace all of the components that we mentioned earlier. Try and stay away from these kind of deals if you can help it. In this industry there are standards. One question to ask is if they are an ISO 9001 facility. An ISO 9001 facility has the highest standards and you can trust that they install all major components and are put together the right way. This is important, next time you are purchasing toner cartridges just ask them if they are. If they look at you kind of strange or if there is a long pause and they don’t know what you are talking about, stay away from buying from them. There may be some good rechargers out there that are not ISO 9001 but for the most part this will help weed out the bad ones.

Pros and Cons of Compatible and Genuine Toner Cartridges

Compatible Pros: Cost, the average savings can be 50% to 70% from OEM retail prices. If you make several thousand prints, this can really add up. Recycling benefits our world because it reduces the amount that we put in our landfills.

Compatible Cons: You will have to make sure you buy quality compatibles or you may get a bad cartridge.

OEM Pros: Consistency, toner yields, new parts, knowing were it came from and that it was created by the OEM.

OEM Cons: Cost, toner cartridges can be much more expensive.

Looking for a Good Quality Ink Cartridge? Go for Hp Toner Cartridges!

2008-10-23T18:23:00.005-07:00

Every time that we do some type of office related work we find that we may need to print certain documents in monochrome color – black and white. These documents can be printed in single lots or we can print them in large batches. Regardless of the final amount of documents that we need, the printer or copier that we will be using needs a good quality ink cartridge. To answer this demand we can use an Hp toner cartridge.

This is one brand of copier cartridge that is known to give good value for your money. Now for the many people who use black and white documents for certain professional situations the Hp toner cartridge is an excellent item to choose. To make our lives easier – or difficult as you want to see the point, there are different types of Hp toner cartridges that we can buy.

These toner cartridges can be of the refill variety or you can choose to buy the regular Hp toner cartridge. To have your copier working in top condition besides servicing the copier often you should also make sure that you have selected an Hp toner cartridge that will give you the print quality that you demand of the copier. The best way to see if you have a toner cartridge that is most suited for your copier you should look at the copier itself.

From the information that you can gather you will be able to see what type of Hp toner cartridge is required for your copier. Once you know the type of Hp toner cartridge that is needed, your next step is to find a reputed office supply dealer who can sell you quality cartridges that are compatible with an Hp copier.

You can find these stores without much difficulty but you will have to see if you are getting the Hp toner cartridge that you have selected. You must also check that you are getting good quality cartridges. Now when you are looking to see the various makes of Hp toner cartridges the box label can give you some help.

Since there are sometimes different Hp toner cartridges that you can buy for the same copier you may want to explore all the avenues that are present. Once you have seen the many types that you can buy and their prices, all that you will need to do is see how many of these toner cartridges that you will buy and when.

Looking for a Good Quality Ink Cartridge? Go for Hp Toner Cartridges!

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Toner Cartridges a Right Decision

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We have reached at a consensus that there is a conspiracy afloat. Every kind of printers from the inkjet printers to the toner printers is incredibly inexpensive. There seems to be more and more of a need for these toner cartridges in the market. Though cartridges are costly they have some compound technology in them that would make them cheaper over-all than it would be to keep restoring the printer heads.

There are three major classifications of inkjet and toner cartridges available in the market. They are Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) cartridges, re-manufactured cartridges, and compatible cartridges. OEM cartridges are those we normally find in our office supply stores. While compatible cartridges meet the specification as per the manufacturer for the ink or tone, re-manufactured cartridges are essentially, OEM cartridges that have been used, cleaned, refilled, and quality checked. .

Toner cartridges are designed to deliver professional quality black image and text printing. The output is far superior to other printing solutions. There are certain misconceptions about the compatible toner cartridges; this article focuses on clarifying them.•

• Compatible Toner cartridges are cheap cartridges.
A cheap toner cartridge doesn’t mean that there is a compromise with the quality. These manufactured by the third party contain the exact toner required for the printer.

• Printer warranty will be void if a Compatible toner cartridge is used.
The government has passed legislation to ensure that it is illegal for a manufacturer to force you to buy certain supplies. This would lead to monopoly with high prices and lack of competition if allowed.

• A compatible toner cartridge will damage the printer.
It is highly unlikely but possible sometimes, for a toner cartridge to leak and cause streaking on the paper. This can be resolved by a simple cleaning and replacement of the toner cartridge.

To cut your printing budget in half and continue to get a high quality print, find reputable online toner merchant who provides accurate information about printer accessories which will help you get your projects done and printed accurately.

Common Mistakes Made When Choosing Toner Cartridges

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Many businesses are quality oriented. The choice of the right toner cartridges is thus important when working. Finding the correct printer supplies and especially the right toner cartridges can be difficult. However, it is important to take the time and sort through these printer supplies in order to get the correct toner cartridges for the particular use they are intended. Many companies that manufacture printers rate themselves highly as the best way to go in the acquisition of printers and printer supplies. With the advent of all these options, it becomes increasingly hard to tell the best from the low quality ones.

It is here that most individuals begin to make some common mistakes in the acquisition of printer supplies like choosing toner cartridges. The first mistake that most people make is when trying to sort what companies are creating hype and those that are not, mostly people end up going with the hype creators. This proves detrimental since the printer supplies that are acquired like toner cartridges are of a lower quality. The truth however, is that the right toner cartridges plus the correct printer supplies serve to increase the life of the printer and its reliability.

The other common mistake is that most people choose the wrong toner cartridge. This can have some damaging effects to the overall performance of the printer. The right choice of toner cartridges also serve to increase the printer’s capacity. Additionally, the right choice of toner cartridges reduce the overall downtime or the time that the printer is not producing and yield a larger number of printouts a process called page yield.

It is very important that one does not make the mistake of choosing the wrong toner cartridges; this can have some far reaching consequences. Paper jams and prematurely worn rollers can be the origin of wrong choice of toner cartridges. These problems can also be essentially being made worse by choosing the wrong toner cartridges and purchasing the wrong printer supplies.

By not using the right toner cartridges and instead using generic toners, one can cause leaking causing smudges and aggravate output problems. The printer supplies one installs in their printer determine the quality and quantity of the printer. The choice of the wrong toner cartridges unfortunately causes the greatest problems rendering one’s printer not viable for a long period of time. This can be a very troubling effect assuming the printer is a source that greatly determines the direction of the business. In essence such common mistakes can have such far reaching consequences. This can hence cause the entire business grinding to a stop causing some serious financial problems.

The costs of downtime can be high and one of the most important ways that one can avoid these added up costs is by choosing the right toner cartridges and printer supplies. Though the initial acquisition costs are high acquiring the right toner cartridges ensures that in the long run the costs are spread out making it highly economical in the long run

Laser Toner Cartridges:your Questions Answered

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Long an essential tool for businesses, laser printers are becoming more and more popular with home users because of their speed, accuracy and precision. Laser printers are increasingly affordable, too. If you're contemplating buying a laser printer, here are the answers to the common questions about the all-important subject of laser toner cartridges.

How Long Do Laser Toner Cartridges Last?

Laser printer toner cartridge life is measured in terms of yield. This measurement has two numbers, the first is the number of pages that can be printed with that cartridge. The second is a percentage which refers to the ratio of the page that is printed on. For example, a yield of "35000 pages, 5%", indicates that the cartridge will print 3500 average quality pages with text that covers five percent of each page.

One good thing about laser printers is that not using the machine doesn't result in reduced cartridge life. This is because laser toner is powder. So unlike the liquid ink in inkjet cartridges, it doesn't dry up if unused for a long time.

What Are My Options For Replacement Cartridges?

Your first option is to get what are called OEM cartridges. These are made by the printer manufacturer and tend to be very expensive. This is because the printers themselves are sold as loss leaders. So the manufacturers need to make up their profit on the sale of replacement toner cartridges. With your laser printer having a life of around five years, you'll probably spend up to seven times the cost of the unit on replacement OEM cartridges.

An alternative is to get what are called "compatible cartridges". These are new toner cartridges but manufactured by a third party. As they are made to the specification of the manufacturer, the quality is generally very high, especially with the application of ISO 9001 in recent years. However, they are much cheaper. The price of these compatible cartridges are usually less than half that the OEM item. These are your best option.

You can also find what are called remanufactured cartridges. These are different from compatible cartridges in that they are used OEM cartridges that have been refilled. Good remanufactured cartridges consist of more than simply filling a used cartridge with ink or toner, though. Reputable manufacturers also clean and quality check the cartridges, too.

One good thing about remanufactured laser toner cartridges is that they're environmentally-friendly. Just think, UK users alone throw away over two million printer cartridges each year. In fact, many organizations now pay you for returning used laser cartridges.

Where's The Best Place To Buy Replacement Cartridges?

You have a number of options here. Your high street discount chain will have a wide selection but prices tend to be very high. Likewise for the office supply chains. Then there's ordering from an online supplier which offers many benefits. For one thing, as these online dealers don't have the expense of maintaining a shop or showroom, they can offer you very attractive prices.
(Better still, they're not caught in the loss leader trap so they don't need to mark up their prices so much). What's more, reputable suppliers will have online catalogues so you can browse conveniently and order from the comfort of your home. Plus, delivery is very fast. Orders are usually shipped within 48 hours.

But not all online suppliers are created equal so there are a number of caveats. Firstly, you should be wary of companies that offer their laser toner cartridges at well below market prices. Check, too, to make sure that the supplier guarantees that their compatible cartridges match the life and print quality of the OEM items.

Laser printing is becoming increasingly popular and by judicious shopping you can make it very affordable. By shopping online for your laser toner cartridges, you can get the fastest, quality printing done at prices that don't break the bank.

Do You Want to Learn About Toner Cartridges?

2008-10-23T18:22:00.001-07:00

Laser printers were more expensive than inkjet printers, but now the cost has reduced a lot. There is not much difference between the cost of laser printer and the inkjet printer. The people are enjoying the high quality publications with these laser printers.

Laser toner cartridges

Laser toner cartridges were more expensive than the inkjet toner cartridges but they are capable of good quality output. They have the capacity to yield 4000 pages with coverage of 5%. Four toners are generally used in laser printers of various colors. These are

• Magenta

• Black

• Yellow

• Cyan

The important feature of it is that if one toner is used up, the other three can continue printing and no wastage of toner is there. A common effective trick that can be used is if particular toner cartridge appears to run out, open the printer, take out the cartridge, shake it well and then place it at its position, it will print hundred of copies for you. It is because sometimes the toner settles in the cartridge, which can be used after shaking. It extends the life of cartridges.

Are they cheaper?

If properly cared, the life of printer is considered to be about 5 years. Several people bring an identical printer along with the set of toner cartridges, which reduces their cost. The high quality, cost and sped are some of the major factors that has made it popular. These were expensive but now they are affordable. Though the initial investment of laser printer is greater than the inkjet printer

Anatomy of a toner cartridge

A laser toner cartridge contains the powder toner that releases ink and create prints on paper. These are generally made up of hard plastic and installed inside the rack.

Are they original?

Original equipment manufacturer (OEM) toner cartridges are designed by printer manufacturer. It functions only with some specific models of printer. These come with new laser printer. There are several compatible toner cartridges that use OEM parts. They meet the standards for OEM cartridges at a cheaper price. But they are made only for some specific brand.

Sometime recycle cartridge parts are assembled to form remanufactured laser toner cartridges. They are the cheapest cartridges but they are less reliable in terms of quality.

What to choose?

Few years ago, only the OEM toner cartridges were sold in the market but as the cheaper cartridges became available, people preferred to go for remanufactured and compatible laser toners. But it is said that OEM cartridges are best to use.

Why You Should Use Branded Printer Toner Cartridges Only?

2008-10-23T18:21:00.000-07:00

Toner is alternative to ink used in the printer. It is a powder-like material that is usually used in laser printers and in photocopy machines. The covering in which toner is packed is called a toner cartridge.

Earlier, toner was made in a very simple way. Carbon and other substances accumulated from manufacturing plants were used to be refined and then filled in toner cartridges. But the printing quality was not of a high quality. But nowadays, the toner is being manufactured in some advanced manner so that it can provide the better quality of the prints.

A printer toner cartridge is not very expensive. It is a reusable printer part. There are a lot of computer, electronic, and printing companies offer services to refill them. The refilling cost is not very high and in case it’s done through a reputed store, such as HP, Canon, Epson etc., they guarantees on the refills as well.

However, there is a drawback as well. The toner cartridges are best for quality black text and image only. When it comes to printing colorful text and images, inkjet cartridges are the best.

But one aspect you need to be careful about is that whenever you buy an ink cartridge; buy an original ink cartridge only. The impact of a quality ink cartridge cannot be ruled out since to get the best quality images and text prints in color, a good quality ink cartridge is must.

Whether it is a personal letter or some important news written for news paper and magazines or it may be an illustration, the quality of prints out depends upon the quality of ink cartridge you use.

There are three different types of ink cartridges that are usually used in inkjet printers. The first is thermal cartridge. These ink cartridges use a heating element to force ink through heating the ink through the cartridge head. Another is the continuous ink release method. And finally, there is the piezoelectric system. This uses a crystal which changes the shape to a tiny droplet of ink on paper.

There are many reputed companies that offer ink cartridges. Some of then are HP, Epson, Dell, Brother, BT, Canon etc. These are the most popular brands in ink cartridges. These are the companies that produce the some of the best and cheapest ink cartridges in the market.

The quality of print outs of texts and images of their ink is excellent. It gives the clearest images. Apart from this the ink from these companies offers wide choices of colors.

Because of these reasons, it’s very obvious that why the ink cartridges from these companies such as HP, Epson, Canon, Dell, BT etc are so popular in the market. This is the reason behind loyalty of people towards these companies.

Finally, it can be said safely that if you get ink cartridges from these companies, you are bound to be satisfied with the quality of print results as well as you will be able to reduce the overall running cost substantially.

Fax Toner Cartridges

2008-10-22T19:46:00.000-07:00

Lower Cost Laser Toner Cartridges

2008-10-22T18:09:00.001-07:00

Cost-Effective Alternatives for Replacing and Refilling Your HP LaserJet Toner Cartridge

2008-10-22T18:00:00.003-07:00

Laser Toner Cartridges

2008-10-22T18:00:00.001-07:00

Toner Cartridges – a Buyers Guide

2008-10-22T17:59:00.005-07:00

How to Remanufacture Toner Cartridges

2008-10-22T17:59:00.003-07:00

Laser Toner Cartridges: an Introduction

2008-10-22T17:59:00.001-07:00

How to Dispose of Printer Toner Cartridges

2008-10-22T17:58:00.004-07:00

Compatible Versus Genuine Toner Cartridges

2008-10-22T17:58:00.003-07:00

Looking for a Good Quality Ink Cartridge? Go for Hp Toner Cartridges!

2008-10-22T17:58:00.001-07:00

Toner Cartridges a Right Decision

2008-10-22T17:57:00.005-07:00

Common Mistakes Made When Choosing Toner Cartridges

2008-10-22T17:57:00.003-07:00

Laser Toner Cartridges:your Questions Answered

2008-10-22T17:57:00.001-07:00

Do You Want to Learn About Toner Cartridges?

2008-10-22T17:56:00.002-07:00

Why You Should Use Branded Printer Toner Cartridges Only?

2008-10-22T17:56:00.001-07:00

New Toner Cartridge Vs. Refills

2008-10-22T17:55:00.005-07:00

The dream of a paperless office has proved elusive in this information age. In many offices and homes, printing documents is still an essential part of transferring and storing information. As a result, computer printers are now used on a wider scale. With so much printing to do, some wonder if the recent availability of refilled cartridges will still give the same quality of work as new toner cartridges and if it is worth the price tag.

For one thing, refilled cartridges cost much less than new toner cartridges. Refills can cost less than 60% of the price of new toner cartridges. This has made refilled cartridges to be very competitive with new ones. Environmental activists also have had a say claiming refilled cartridges reduce the number of empty cartridges going to the trashcan. Reconditioning of these cartridges is also cost effective for the manufacturers and with improvement of this art; refilled cartridges may prove to be very economical for these companies.

Refilling cartridges requires mechanical ability and skill. Thus, it can be a challenge to an average printer user who is not used to opening up a printer and locating the toner cartridge, leave alone opening it up and doing the refill. If not done properly, a refilled cartridge can have leakages. Another reason for a leakage could be over-refilling the cartridge or not securely fastening the enclosing rubber plug found on most cartridges.

Refilled cartridges also have a problem of erratic nozzle checks. This problem occurs if the vent holes have blockages. This is a very common problem in refilled cartridges and usually gets worse with each refill. Sometimes if a refill is done too fast, the foam that is found in the cartridge is not saturated and may need a couple of hours to become saturated. Eventually though, a replacement will need to be done. New toner cartridges rarely experience this problem. Dealing with the toner directly can be quite messy sometimes. Ink spills and other inconveniences are usually part of the process and as a result. That is why the manufacturer or a dedicated workshop individual does refills.

New cartridge toner provides higher quality printing compared to refilled cartridges. Color print-outs using refills tend to fade quicker and do not have the same sharpness as brand new ink. As a result of this observation, many people stick to using brand new toner cartridges when doing high quality print-outs and color printing and revert back to refilled cartridges only when printing office work that does not demand high quality.

With the quality of refills continuously improving and the price of new toner cartridges dropping steadily, the battle between refilled cartridges and brand new toner cartridges is tight and hard to call. In the meantime, some industry experts suggest a dual partnership, where a printer is loaded with both types of cartridges, one for high quality documents like company brochures, important photos meant to last for a long time and for everything else, use of refills, which may prove to be cheaper.

Why You Should Use Branded Printer Toner Cartridges Only

2008-10-22T17:55:00.003-07:00

Printers are part of office equipment and have become very necessary. The high demand for printers has resulted to an even higher demand for a printer cartridge. Printer cartridge being one of the most important parts of printers since it holds and controls the ink, is the reason why a person should use branded printer toner cartridges only. Branded printer toner cartridges are known to produce quality and very fast jobs which make them the ideal investment for an organization or even individual. These cartridges yield professional printing which is of very good quality but also at a very low density. It is a good reason to use branded printer toner cartridges is that these printer cartridges have a guarantee of output, which is of good quality.

Branded toner cartridges are ideal to use because they are of high quality and are still affordable. They are original and are designed by the printer manufacture. A specific branded printer functions with their compatible cartridges. It is possible to recycle certain parts of the cartridges to make remanufactured toner cartridges. With continuous printing, one keeps changing, cleaning and refilling printer cartridges. To avoid repairing the printer cartridges many times one can use the branded printer toner cartridges. Printer toner cartridges, which are branded rarely, have scratches, streaks or any visible problems. Incase they have such problems which is a rare case then one can easily get a refund.

Convenience is a good reason to choose branded printer cartridges because they are readily available in most of the retail outlets which range from online retailers to physical retailers. One can check online for branded printer toner cartridges to get the most excellent selection for the lowest price. Discounts are available especially from online stores and big orders yield greater savings. One other reason to prefer using printer cartridges, which are branded is that when one of the inkjet refill kit appears to be running out, it can be taken out of the cartridge, shaken well and then placed back in its position and will print very many more copies. This greatly extends the usage of a toner refill.

A printer cartridge will inevitably need toner refill and most consumers have certain budgets that make them to opt for remanufactured cartridges, which are much cheaper but not always the best quality compared to the branded ones. Inkjet compatible cartridges are affordable and ensure that one makes significant savings. Another way of economizing, through branded printer cartridges is by using compatible cartridges which also make the price very practical since these branded compatible cartridges work well with the branded printer models. Toner cartridges are designed by printer manufacturers to function with only specific printer branders and models which is a good reason to use them with their printer brands. In conclusion a printer and cartridge model determines the toner that is used to replace a cartridge when it is empty. Since each printer has a unique model it also uses a cartridge that is compatible with its brand.

Oki Toner Cartridges Offering Stunning Printing Effect

2008-10-22T17:55:00.001-07:00

OKI- a well reputed name in the UK produces large amount of printers and printer accessories. Oki toner cartridges are manufactured with the latest techniques and are widely used to take printouts of text documents, images, map drawings etc. It is known to offer outstanding print quality. This toner cartridge acts an essential support for Oki laser printers that are known to yield more duty cycles. These toner cartridges are filled with special kind of ink that dries very quickly and are suitable for laser printing. Oki toner cartridges have high page yield capacity and hence greater life span.

Oki laser toner can be easily installed in the Oki laser printers and the print quality is much sharper than ordinary ink cartridges. Images printed with these toner cartridges are also distinct and bright and its effect is stunning. The black and white output is also impressive because there is never any case of smudging or overlapping. It never gives strain to eyes while reading the printout taken from Oki toner cartridges. The print out taken from this toner is fast and has accurate control over the printing functionalities. This printout can be preserved for longer period of time.

Oki data toner cartridges provide the best results in black text and graphics. Easy-to-replace Oki data toner generates optimum output, giving the top performance and prolonging the life of the printer. Produced specially to work with the Oki data printing devices, Oki toner cartridges provide impressive copying quality every time. Oki offers high-yield, and long-lasting laser toners that need fewer replacements for less copier downtime and hence more productivity.

Oki toner cartridges are the highest quality toner offered by Oki data. This toner is in-house tested for quality performance and durability. Oki toners are ISO certified, which ensures best printing result for your Oki printers. Designed for exact compatibility with OKI products, only OKI consumables ensure maximum performance, longevity and ultimate cost-effectiveness. OKI's ribbon cassettes, inkjet heads, toner and EP cartridges and other consumables are an integral part of the fundamental design of its printer and fax products, combining with other key elements of their design to deliver optimum durability, reliability and print quality.

Oki data toner cartridges are manufactured as per ISO-9001 specifications. These toners are guaranteed to deliver optimal performance and a high quality product and fanatical customer service to all the customers. This is available at a fraction of the cost. 100% quality satisfaction is guaranteed with Oki data toner cartridges. Oki data available at the unbelievable price saves considerable amount of money without compromising on the quality of the product. Oki toner cartridges are specially engineered to meet the highest standards of quality, reliability and high yields that meet to exceed OEM Standards and are known for high-quality printing results. If one is looking for optimum print performance, reliability and dramatic savings, Oki toner cartridge is the best choice providing 100% satisfaction.

Lexmark invokes DMCA in toner suit

2008-10-21T18:35:00.001-07:00

Printer maker Lexmark has found an unusual weapon to thwart rivals from selling replacement toner cartridges: the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.
A federal judge in Kentucky has scheduled a hearing for Thursday in the case, which Lexmark filed against Static Control Components in an effort to slam the brakes on the toner cartridge remanufacturing industry. Lexmark is the No. 2 printer maker in the United States, behind Hewlett-Packard, and manufactures printers under the Dell Computer brand.

This lawsuit is the latest of several recent DMCA cases--both civil and criminal--that have tested the limits of the 1998 copyright law, in which Congress intended to limit Internet piracy. Eight movie studios wielded it to force 2600 magazine to delete a DVD-descrambling utility from its Web site, but the Justice Department lost a case last month against a Russian company that created a program that cracked Adobe's electronic books.

Lexmark claims that Static Control violated the DMCA by selling its Smartek chips to companies that refill toner cartridges and undercut Lexmark's prices.

The legal action escalates what has been a technological cold war, pitting the aftermarket ink and toner industry against printer manufacturers who try to prevent customers from buying products from third parties. In an essay titled "OEM Warfare," Static Control CEO Ed Swartz says: "The OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) will continue to escalate their technologies to erect barrier after barrier to our industry. Each barrier will require an ever growing amount of time, money, talent and effort to overcome."

Under section 1201 of the DMCA, it is generally unlawful to circumvent technology that restricts access to a copyrighted work.

In a 17-page complaint filed on Dec. 30, 2002, the company claims the Smartek chip mimics the authentication sequence used by Lexmark chips and unlawfully tricks the printer into accepting an aftermarket cartridge. That "circumvents the technological measure that controls access to the Toner Loading Program and the Printer Engine Program," the complaint says. The Toner Loading Program checks toner levels in the cartridge, and the Printer Engine Program controls operations such as paper feed and the actual transfer of the dry ink to paper.

Lexmark is asking U.S. District Judge Karl Forester to order Static Control to "deliver up for destruction" all Smartek chips and to cease selling them. Static Control could not be reached Wednesday for comment.

Jessica Litman, a professor at Wayne State University who specializes in copyright law, said it's likely that Lexmark would not have been able to succeed in its lawsuit without the DMCA, but stands a good chance with it.

Pre-DMCA cases involving video game consoles concluded that it was legal to copy code for the purposes of interoperability, Litman said. In Sony v. Connectix, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals concluded that it was legal for Connectix to copy the Sony PlayStation's BIOS for the purpose of interoperability.

"I think they almost certainly would have skated were it not for the existence of the DMCA," Litman said of Static Control. "I would have expected the eastern district of Kentucky to follow the 9th Circuit to say that reverse engineering and copying of the code was fair use because it was enabling interoperability."

Cindy Cohn, an attorney at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a civil liberties group in San Francisco that's one of the chief critics of section 1201 of the DMCA, said she expected more cases like the one brought by Lexmark.

"We have long said that the DMCA's potential use as an anticompetitive tool has been great," Cohn said. "Now we're seeing it happen."

Lexmark's complaint also alleges traditional copyright infringement, saying the Smartek chips contain "unauthorized, identical copies of Lexmark's copyrighted Toner Loading Programs."

Toner company fights DMCA lawsuit

2008-10-21T18:34:00.002-07:00

In a final round of skirmishing prior to a court hearing Friday, a North Carolina company argued that a controversial copyright law does not prevent it from selling computer chips that allow toner cartridges to be reused.
Static Control Components said in a legal brief filed this week that Lexmark, the No. 2 printer maker in the United States, is trying to bilk customers and stifle competition by invoking the 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).

U.S. District Judge Karl Forester has set a hearing on Lexmark's request for a preliminary injunction for Friday in Lexington, Ky., in the case, which is the first to pit the long-established right to reverse-engineer against copyright law.

In December 2002, Lexmark sued Static Control, a family-owned business in Sanford, N.C., claiming that its Smartek chips sold to toner cartridge remanufacturers violate the DMCA. The Smartek chip "circumvents the technological measure" that the printer uses to verify the cartridge is original and not remanufacturered, Lexmark claims.

On Jan. 10, Forester accepted Static Control's offer to temporarily cease manufacturing the Smartek chip until a hearing could be scheduled.

In an interview with CNET News.com on Wednesday, a top Hewlett-Packard executive slammed the printer rival for wielding the DMCA against the remanufacturing industry. "We think it is stretching it," HP Senior Vice President Pradeep Jotwani said. "The DMCA was put in place (to protect) things like movies, music and software applications."

Static Control's 41-page brief warns that if Lexmark's claims were successful, they would set a worrying precedent and cause DMCA-protected chips to sprout in many consumer products. "One readily could envision, for example, an automobile manufacturer applying technological measures...to prevent competition in the aftermarket for replacement tires, wiper blades or other automotive parts; camera manufacturers attempting to foreclose the use of competitors' lenses or brands of film; a ball-point pen manufacturer using a technological measure and an 'ink low' program to shut out replacement ink refills; or a cell phone manufacturer applying technological measures to replacement batteries," the brief says.

This lawsuit is the latest of several recent DMCA cases--both civil and criminal--that have tested the limits of the 1998 copyright law, which Congress intended to limit Internet piracy. Eight movie studios wielded it to force 2600 magazine to delete a DVD-descrambling utility from its Web site, but the U.S. Justice Department recently lost a criminal case against a Russian firm that created a program that cracked Adobe's electronic books.

Under section 1201 of the DMCA, it is generally unlawful to circumvent technology that restricts access to a copyrighted work or sell a device that can do so. But Congress also included exemptions in the DMCA explicitly permitting activities such as law-enforcement purposes, encryption research, security testing and interoperability.

Static Control has seized on the last exemption, which permits reverse-engineering "for the purpose of enabling interoperability of an independently created computer program with other programs," and says its creation of the Smartek chip is also protected by traditional fair use rights enshrined in U.S. copyright law.

Its attorneys cite the landmark 1993 Sega v. Accolade decision from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. In that case, the court said: "Where disassembly is the only way to gain access to the ideas and functional elements embodied in a copyrighted computer program and where there is a legitimate reason for seeking such access, disassembly is a fair use of the copyrighted work, as a matter of law."

Static Control also claims that Lexmark's code allegedly protected by the DMCA is nothing more than "than bare-bones implementations of mathematical formulae and scientific observations that cannot be protected by copyright." Lexmark uses the government-standard Secure Hash Algorithm-1 (SHA-1) to calculate a "hash" value as a way to verify that the cartridges are original.

Lexmark could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

Toner firm gets key support in DMCA spat

2008-10-21T18:34:00.001-07:00

The U.S. Copyright Office has sided with Static Control Components in a high-profile lawsuit over whether the company may sell chips that permit Lexmark International toner cartridges to be refilled.
As part of a 198-page opinion released late Tuesday, the office said Lexmark's invocation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) in its lawsuit against Static Control was invalid. Lexmark is the No. 2 printer maker in the United States, behind Hewlett-Packard, and manufactures printers under the Dell brand.

The opinion is not binding on the judges who are considering the case, which is now before the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati, Ohio, but it is expected to be influential. In February, U.S. District Judge Karl Forester granted Lexmark a preliminary injunction ordering Static Control to cease selling its Smartek chip.

Static Control CEO Ed Swartz on Wednesday said the opinion was so sweeping that he may begin selling a second chip with similar functionality that would not be covered by the injunction. "It gave us a clear-cut legal path to create a chip that there are no legal issues with," he said. "We think we've done that, but we're going back and double-checking everything."

William "Skip" London, the company's general counsel, said: "We have developed code for such a chip. We've shown this code to Lexmark. Lexmark has taken the position that we can't sell it." Swartz said that he has not made a final decision on public sales yet. Static Control is a small Sanford, N.C.-based company that sells printer parts and other business supplies.

Lexmark did not respond to repeated requests for comment.

When enacting the DMCA in 1998, Congress ordered the Copyright Office to conduct regular reviews of one portion of the law. The Library of Congress, which oversees the Copyright Office and reports to Congress, was permitted to exempt specific groups from being covered by part of the DMCA.

During the October 2000 round, two exemptions were set: Filtering researchers could study blacklisting techniques, and obsolete copy-protection schemes could be legally bypassed. Those exemptions were due to expire this month, but the Copyright Office renewed them and added two additional ones covering e-books and hardware dongles.

In an unusual move, the Copyright Office said that Static Control did not need a specific exemption for selling toner chips, because other parts of the DMCA already permitted it. "It appears that the congressional scheme sufficiently enables the non-infringing uses sought without requiring the assistance of an exemption in this rulemaking," the Copyright Office said.

That portion of the DMCA says engineers may bypass a technological measure "for the sole purpose of identifying and analyzing those elements of the program that are necessary to achieve interoperability" with other computer programs. Under a section of the DMCA, it is generally unlawful to circumvent technology that restricts access to a copyrighted work.

In hopes of boosting sales of its own brand of toner cartridges for its T-series laser printers, Lexmark embedded a technological measure that prevents third-party remanufacturing and consumer use of its remanufactured "Prebate" toner cartridges. Inside those cartridges is a simple software program called the Toner Loading Program designed to let the printer estimate how much toner remains. Before a T-series printer permits a cartridge to be used, it insists on performing a secret handshake, a kind of authentication, with the Toner Loading Program.

This system created a problem for consumers who wished to refill their own cartridges, but an opportunity for Static Control, which sold its Smartek chip that mimicked the authentication sequence used in Lexmark chips and tricked the printer into accepting aftermarket cartridges.

Swartz of Static Control said the Copyright Office was trying to send a signal to the courts. "They're not going to allow anyone to use the DMCA as a means to gain an electronic monopoly," he said. "They think the DMCA applies to entertainment, not products."

In addition to raising the DMCA claim, Lexmark's original complaint also alleged traditional copyright infringement, saying the Smartek chips contain "unauthorized, identical copies of Lexmark's copyrighted Toner Loading Programs."

If that allegation were proven to be true, the Copyright Office was careful to say, the existence of the DMCA loophole might not save Static Control from liability. "The wholesale copying of a copyrightable computer program is likely to be an infringing use," the office noted.

Lexmark wins injunction in DMCA case

2008-10-21T18:22:00.002-07:00

Printer maker Lexmark International won a preliminary injunction Thursday in efforts to prevent a company from selling computer chips that allow printers to use unauthorized recycled toner cartridges.
Judge Karl Forester of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky issued the pretrial injunction against Static Control Components, a small Sanford, N.C.-based company that sells printer parts and other business supplies.

The order prohibits the company from selling its Smartek chip. When installed in compatible Lexmark printers, the chips allow the printers to use cheaper recycled toner cartridges that would otherwise be rejected by the printer's sensors.

Lexmark filed the suit late last year, alleging the Smartek chip violates the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, which prohibits the dismantling of devices intended to protect intellectual property rights.

Printer makers have employed a variety of technological means in recent years to undercut the market for recycled toner and ink cartridges, which typically sell for much less than original items. Most printer makers sell their printers at or near cost, making their profit from sales of supplies.

Lexmark is the No. 2 seller of printers in the United States, behind Hewlett-Packard, and manufactures printers under the Dell Computer brand.

Anti-circumvention language in the DMCA has been a foundation for a number of recent copyright actions, including the Justice Department's crackdown earlier this week on a site distributing "mod chips" for Microsoft's Xbox video game console.

Lexmark wins injunction in DMCA case

2008-10-21T18:22:00.001-07:00

Lexmark launches recycling program

2008-10-21T18:21:00.003-07:00

Lexmark International on Wednesday announced the start of a new program for recycling used printers and related supplies.
For more than a decade, Lexmark said, it has recovered and reused or recycled spent toner cartridges to help address issues of resource consumption and solid waste disposal. Now, it is extending its services to also take back obsolete printers.

The company is not charging for the recycling service itself, but customers will have to pay to ship the spent equipment. Empty cartridges may also be returned through participating Lexmark resellers. Only Lexmark-branded printers may be returned.

Hardware makers in recent years have been under pressure from environmental groups and some governments to assume responsibility for proper disposal of their used products. For their part, companies like Dell, IBM, Sony and Hewlett-Packard have either begun new recycling programs for consumers and businesses or built upon existing ones. Those programs generally accept PCs, monitors and printers, often regardless of the manufacturer, and costs to the customer range from nothing to about $30.

"Our customers want to do the right thing when it comes to the environment," Paul Curlander, chairman and chief executive officer of Lexmark, said in a statement. "The program provides our customers with a safe and simple way to discard their used printers without harming the environment."

DMCA defendant to stop making chip

2008-10-21T18:21:00.001-07:00

A federal judge has agreed to Static Control Components' offer to temporarily cease manufacturing a toner cartridge chip that drew a lawsuit under a controversial copyright law.
In an order made public Friday, U.S. District Judge Karl Forester accepted Static Control's proposal to halt sales of its Smartek chip until a hearing can be scheduled. A representative for the judge on Thursday said the hearing would happen soon.

Lexmark International Group, the No. 2 manufacturer of printers in the United States, sued Static Control in December 2002 for allegedly violating the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) by selling the Smartek chip. Aftermarket toner makers use the Smartek chip to trick Lexmark printers into accepting their cartridges.

The lawsuit is one of the first brought under the DMCA, which is backed by copyright holders but has drawn fire from academics and programmers for restricting tinkering with software and hardware. Rep. Rick Boucher, R-Va., and three other members of Congress reintroduced a bill this week that would repeal key portions of the 1998 law.

A particular section of the DMCA makes it generally unlawful to circumvent technology that restricts access to a copyrighted work.

In a 17-page complaint filed Dec. 30, Lexmark claimed the Smartek chip mimics a technology used by Lexmark chips and unlawfully tricks the printer into accepting an aftermarket cartridge. That "circumvents the technological measure that controls access" to Lexmark's software, the complaint said.

Lexmark said Thursday that it expects fourth-quarter earnings of 88 cents to 90 cents per share, more than the 70 cents to 80 cents per share it had projected in October. The company said sales were up 5 percent to 6 percent compared with the prior year.

Short Take: HP ups toner production

2008-10-21T18:20:00.005-07:00

Hewlett-Packard plans to triple production of toner cartridges used in the LaserJet 5Si family of network printers to alleviate a temporary shortage of the cartridges in the United States. HP attributes the shortage to sales and use of the LaserJet 5Si and 5Si MX network printers that exceed forecasts. To deal with the shortage, HP is working with its supplier to add additional production lines and shifts.

How your printer tricks you into buying ink and toner when you don't need it

2008-10-21T18:20:00.003-07:00

Slate recently published a great article Take That, Stupid Printer! How to fight back against the lying, infuriating, evil ink-and-toner cabal by Farhad Manjoo. The title is a bit meaner than the article, which makes for interesting reading.

If you own a Brother HL-2040 printer, the article is especially relevant. The author suspected that the printer was lying about being out of toner and he figured out how to lie back to it, making it think there was a new cartridge. Sure enough the printer had lots of toner left, as Mr. Manjoo puts it "At least eight months have passed. I've printed hundreds of pages since, and the text still hasn't begun to fade."

Brother is not the only company wringing profits out of way-too-early warnings out being out of ink/toner. The good news, according to the article is that "... instructions for fooling different laser printers into thinking you've installed a new cartridge are easy to come by ... If you're at all skilled at searching the Web, you can probably find out how to do it .... Just Google some combination of your printer's model number and the words toner, override, cheap, and perhaps lying bastards."

My HP LaserJet 1320 is well-mannered; it warns when it thinks the toner is running low, but doesn't do anything other than warn. And, it's reasonably accurate, giving me time to order a new cartridge before it really runs out of toner. Apparently, I'm lucky.

Or, it may be that the more expensive the printer is up-front, the less the manufacturer feels the need to play tricks with the ink/toner. If that appeals to you, see Kodak's consumer printers aim to chop ink costs.

Are you a perpetrator of workplace printer abuse?

2008-10-21T18:20:00.001-07:00

According to a new survey released today, about 60 percent of the Canadian workforce is making personal use of their office printer.

The survey, conducted by Angus Reid Strategies for Samsung Electronics revealed that a large majority of Canadians who work in offices with high volume laser printers aren't using them for memos and work-related e-mails, but rather for personal letters, color photos, and even *gasp* resumes! The study breaks down the percentage of people that print out random documents:

Samsung CLP-315W printer yields disappointing results

2008-10-21T18:19:00.001-07:00

The Samsung CLP-315W is designed for working professionals and entrepreneurs who want a laser printer for speed but also need to print out documents, photos, and presentations in full color. This version also has a wireless print server built into the device, a convenient feature if you have several computers attached to the same network that will share the same printer. Unfortunately, the CLP-315W is not without its serious flaws.

First, the quality of the printouts are simply unacceptable. The printer has trouble separating subtle gradations in color and tends to blur together close sections on the color gamut. Also, forget about printing even the lowest-quality photos with the printer--in our experience, even small portraits on a presentation slide look smeared in some spots. We do like the small footprint, the easy wireless setup, and the separate color toner cartridges, but the output quality and sluggish print speeds take the overall score down to just an OK 2.5 stars.

HP's print cartridge packaging goes green

2008-10-21T18:10:00.003-07:00

Hewlett-Packard announced on Thursday that it has redesigned the packaging for its printer cartridges to make it friendlier to the environment.
The redesigns feature smaller and lighter packaging that contains more recycled content. These changes, according to HP, will cut down on 15 million pounds of materials over the course of 2007, including 6.8 million pounds of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic.

Overall, the company estimated that it will reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 37 million pounds. Because shipping containers will be able to accommodate many more packages, truck traffic for cartridge shipments is expected to be cut down by 1.5 million miles this year. Company calculations indicated that is the equivalent impact of 3,600 cars operating over the same period.

For example, HP LaserJet toner cartridges now use 45 percent of the packaging material that they once did, and a shipping container can now accommodate an average of 203 of them instead of 144. The reduced container size not only cuts down on the number of emission-producing vehicles needed to ship the cartridges to retailers, it also frees up more shelf space for retailers.

HP, which entered an initiative with the World Wildlife Fund in November to cut back on greenhouse gas emissions, added in a statement that this is by no means the first step the company has taken toward tweaking its product packaging with environmental sustainability in mind. The overall package weight for its inkjet cartridge multipacks, for example, has been reduced by 80 percent since 2003.

Thus far, the eco-friendly redesigns apply only to ink and toner print cartridges shipped throughout North America.

Printer makers back cartridge test standard

2008-10-21T18:10:00.001-07:00

There may soon be a way to determine how many printed pages you really get out of an inkjet printer cartridge.
A group of leading printer manufacturers, including Kodak, Canon and Hewlett-Packard, said Wednesday it's backing a recent standard published by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).

Standard ISO/IEC 24711:2006, which still needs industry adoption, establishes how ink and toner cartridges for inkjet printers and all-in-one printers must be tested.

The standard cites how many cartridges must be tested to determine an average lifetime (nine of them), what constitutes a standard test document (five pages printed with default printer settings) and the kind of machine on which the cartridge must be tested.

Analysts agree that there has been a longstanding need for this kind of standardization in the industry, but they're not sure it will make much difference to consumers.

"It'll make a difference to those consumers who actually look at that info, but I think the vast majority of consumers don't look at that," said John Shane, director of communications supplies consulting service at InfoTrends. "For that small percentage who does, this will be a good way to help them compare."

Currently, each manufacturer applies its own standards for determining cartridge life, according to Bob Palmer, InfoTrend's director of printer research. This makes it hard for consumers to comparison shop adequately when deciding on a printer or printer cartridge.

"They do it themselves and say 'We based it on 15 percent coverage,' but one vendor's definition could be a page that's all red or all text, and another can use photographic content," Palmer said. "So the way they did it before was providing their own spec. (The new ISO recommendation) says they may submit them to the standards committee, (the committee) will give them a rating, and then they can put this rating on the product."

The announcement coincides with Kodak's release of its own inkjet printer line and an assertion that it will offer ink prices at 50 percent of its competitors. Critics contend that until Kodak provides how many milliliters of ink are in each cartridge, it's hard to determine whether its claim is accurate.

Members of the industry group supporting the standard--the International Committee for Information Technology Standards--include industry heavyweights Dell, Epson, IBM, Lexmark, Okidata, Pitney Bowes, QualityLogic, Ricoh, Spencer Lab and Xerox (in addition to the aforementioned Kodak, Canon and HP). But there's no word on when these companies plan to implement the standard, or when consumers, if they care to look, can expect to see an ISO rating on cartridge packaging.

"I don't think consumers will know the difference," said Andrew Lippman, a research analyst for inkjet cartridges at Lyra. "It's more for the industry competitive fairness practices. It's really to have everyone on an even keel in terms of comparing specifications."

Lippman said that the quality of cartridges used by a printer is only one of many things to consider when choosing a printer. Plus, even if a cartridge standard is established, as with other printing standards, there will still be debates among manufacturers.

"They have standards for the speed of a printer, and there are other standards like image permanence (how long an image from an inkjet photo printer will last)," Lippmann said. "The standard for the time in printing a photo is something that Kodak has debated with others. The standard currently quotes the 'draft speed' of a 4x6. Kodak and others say that there is no way you want to print in draft mode, as you will get poor quality."

"Printer cartridges have gained a lot of attention, with the Kodak printing announcement--which pushed the issue of cost-per-page and point-of-purchase price of a cartridge at retail--but there are debates over what the actual cost per page is," Lippmann added. "Each manufacturer has their own claim."

Judge delays hearing in toner DMCA case

2008-10-21T18:09:00.004-07:00

A federal judge has postponed a hearing scheduled for Thursday afternoon in a copyright lawsuit against Static Control Components, a company that makes replacement toner cartridges. U.S. District Judge Karl Forester has not set a new date for the hearing on Lexmark's request for a preliminary injunction under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), but a representative for the judge said it will take place soon.
In a novel use of the controversial 1998 copyright law, Lexmark sued Static Control, alleging that the company's Smartek chip unlawfully tricks Lexmark printers into accepting aftermarket toner cartridges. The lawsuit was filed in the eastern district of Kentucky. Lexmark is the No. 2 printer maker in the United States, behind Hewlett-Packard, and manufactures printers under the Dell Computer brand.

Ruling on refilled printer cartridges touches DMCA

2008-10-21T18:09:00.003-07:00

In a closely watched case involving the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, a federal court has ruled that a small North Carolina company can continue selling a chip that makes it possible to use refilled toner cartridges in Lexmark printers.
A federal appeals court overturned on Tuesday a preliminary injunction that barred Sanford, N.C.-based Static Control from selling its Smartek chip.

Static, which sells printer parts and other business supplies, has been defending a lawsuit brought by Lexmark, the No. 2 maker of printers in the United States. The suit claims the Smartek chip violates the DMCA, and Lexmark hopes the case will slam the brakes on the toner cartridge remanufacturing industry and compel consumers to buy its cartridges.

Print on the cheap with ultra-compact HP LaserJet P1005, $50

2008-10-21T18:09:00.001-07:00

Need a tiny laser printer for your tiny den, dorm room, or office? The HP LaserJet P1005 is about as compact as they come, measuring just 14 inches by 9 inches by 8 inches. HP sells them for $129.99, but Newegg is letting 'em go for just $49.99 (plus $9.99 for shipping).

This is a 600-dpi laser that churns out 15 pages per minute. It has a 150-sheet input tray and a USB interface (cable not included). It's compatible with Windows and Mac systems. HP supplies a starter toner cartridge that should yield about 750 pages; replacement cartridges will give you double that number.

And, yes, I know the toner is expensive: printer consumables always are. You can't change that, but you can try to get the best possible deal on the printer itself. Fifty bucks for a laser? That's tough to beat.

Update: Use coupon code EMCAHCKBC to get free shipping! Thanks to reader steelbottle for the tip.

Originally posted at Crave

HP cracks down on cartridge refill industry

2008-10-21T18:08:00.004-07:00

Hewlett-Packard on Thursday accused a national cartridge reseller of refilling used printer cartridges with ink that relies on a formula for an HP-patented ink brand.
In its letter to Cartridge World, HP asked the company to stop using inks with the same chemical composition that's found in its patented brand of Vivera inks. HP holds 9,000 patents related to imaging and printing, 4,000 of them for consumable supplies such as ink and cartridges.

Although not an official legal action, the letter to Cartridge World is part of a broader attempt to crack down on the ink cartridge refill industry, HP said.

"HP spends millions of dollars annually in R&D to create innovations that benefit our customers, and we are rigorous in our protection of this investment," Pradeep Jotwani, senior vice president of supplies in HP's Imaging and Printing Group, said in a statement. "HP hopes that Cartridge World North America will assist its franchisees in quickly complying with the law."

Palo Alto, Calif.-based HP said it found multiple instances of cartridges filled with the infringing ink at Cartridge World's U.S. franchises. The cartridges replace a handful of HP printer cartridges, including those numbered 56, 57 and 78, and would be used in HP's DeskJet consumer printers.

Representatives with Cartridge World North America in Emeryville, Calif., and its home office in Adelaide, South Australia, were not immediately available to comment on the accusations.

Cartridge World, commonly found in strip malls and in business parks, refills empty inkjet cartridges from printer makers such as HP, Epson, Canon and Lexmark International and sells them at heavily discounted rates. For example, Cartridge World sells an HP 56-compatible cartridge for $17.72 instead of its usual retail price of $35.35. A discounted HP 78-compatible cartridge that retails for $53.07 sells for $26.57 under Cartridge World pricing.

Separately, HP said it settled its false-advertising lawsuit against Rhinotek Computer Products of Carson, Calif.

Rhinotek acquires used HP ink cartridges and refills them with generic ink prior to resale. HP's suit alleged that Rhinotek's packaging failed to tell consumers that the "compatible" products are used.

Rhinotek has denied any wrongdoing, but has agreed, among other things, to modify its packaging. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

HP said it is using the Cartridge World and Rhinotek cases to draw attention to its intellectual-property rights.

"HP has lost more than most of the other vendors in the aftermarket because they sell more than any other vendor," said John Shane, a director at InfoTrends/CAP Ventures and an industry expert on the ink and toner market.

The estimated retail value for cartridges used in HP inkjet machines in the United States in 2004 was about $6.3 billion, according to Shane. That's just more than half the $12 billion Shane estimates as the amount for all cartridges for all machines used for desktops last year.

And even though HP printer cartridges make up the majority, the company itself controls only 88 percent of the retail value. The remaining portion of that cartridge demand goes to refilling companies such as Cartridge World, InkCycle and Rhinotek.

"HP products tend to be a little more difficult to recreate in the generic market because the refilling companies can't make print heads, but a good portion of HP's cartridge business is getting eaten up," Shane said.

The case draws many similarities to one that filed the lawsuit in March 2005 after it discovered that refilled inkjet cartridges sold under the Staples brand contained patent-infringing ink. HP filed the lawsuit, but reached the settlement before going to court. InkCycle eventually changed its ink formula.

HP posts another solid quarter

2008-10-21T18:08:00.003-07:00

Hewlett-Packard beat Wall Street earnings estimates this quarter, lead by strong notebook sales growth.

HP reported third-quarter earnings of $2.03 billion, or 86 cents per share, excluding one-time charges. Analysts were expecting earnings of 83 cents per share. The company's third-quarter results reflect 14 percent growth over the same quarter a year ago, when HP reported earnings of $1.78 billion and 66 cents per share.

There were fears leading up to the announcement that slowing demand for PCs in Western nations and a strengthening dollar could mean HP had peaked this year already. But HP is forecasting 95 cents to 97 cents per share for the fourth quarter, and for the full year predicts earnings of $30.2 to $30.3 billion. None of that takes into account the company's acquisition of EDS.

HP Chairman and CEO Mark Hurd batted away reporters' repeated questions about whether he saw any weakening demand for PCs in the US or globally. He would only allow that "We didn't see much of a change from Q2 to Q3."

The US accounts for roughly 30 percent of HP's sales, but Hurd declined to talk about the specific dynamics of international global markets. He described Europe as "a mixed bag" when it came to growth opportunities for his company, and said there was some strength in Asia as well.

Either way, all sectors of HP's business grew last quarter. The Personal Systems Group, which is responsible for the laptop and desktop business, grew sales 15 percent in the last year. Notebook sales increased 26 percent since the same quarter a year ago, and the company remains the top PC provider worldwide.

The Imaging and Printing Group--which is trying to compete in a world where people no longer print photos or documents like they used to--was hit and miss. While year-over-year revenue was up 3 percent, consumer hardware sales (that's printers, cameras, etc.) were down 14 percent. But supplies, which refers to ink and toner cartridges, increased 11 percent in the last year.

Software and servers also helped push up HP's numbers: blades revenue was up 66 percent, and software revenue increased 29 percent to $731 million this quarter.

Color laser printer goes for $99.98 shipped (after rebate)

2008-10-21T18:08:00.001-07:00

Remember the Samsung CLP-300 compact color laser printer from a couple months back? It was a refurbished unit for around $125. Now, Staples has the Samsung CLP-300 new for $99.98 shipped (after a $150 mail-in rebate).

Yeah, that's a pretty hefty rebate to wait on, though I think Staples has a pretty good reputation in that department (you can submit the form online, and you don't need to hassle with UPC stickers or anything like that). The bigger caveat is that the printer itself is just mediocre, according to CNET's review and the reviews of other Staples customers. Apparently it prints slowly and jams easily. That said, a new color laser printer for under $100 is rarer than a controversy-free presidential election, so this could be a good choice if you have modest printing needs. Plus, it's compatible with Windows, Mac, and Linux systems.

One last note: As with most color lasers, consumables for this printer will cost you more than the printer itself. A black toner cartridge runs about $60, while the three color cartridges sell for around $45 apiece (when purchased together). That's a toner bill of about $200--ouch!

Add a Wi-Fi laser printer to your office for $99.99 shipped

2008-10-21T18:07:00.000-07:00

As I've mentioned in the past, wireless printers rock. No, they rawk. For the last couple months I've been beaming documents through the Wi-Fi ether to a Brother HL-2170W, and let me tell you: I'm through with USB. It's just so liberating to stick a printer wherever the heck you want instead of having it tethered to your desk.

The HL-2170W lists for $150 and sells on the e-street for around $130, but you can snag one from Newegg for $99.99 shipped. CNET rated the printer 7.3 out of 10, but three users gave it an average score of 9 (I'm one of them).

Designed for homes and small offices, the HL-2170W offers Ethernet and Wi-Fi connectivity, a rated print speed of 23 pages per minute, and an extremely small footprint. When I click print, it starts churning out pages in a matter of seconds. The paper tray holds 250 sheets (letter-size only; Newegg's product description mistakenly says it handles legal, too), and there's a bypass slot for feeding all kinds of other paper (including envelopes).

Note that the included toner cartridge is good for about 1,000 pages; a high-yield replacement cartridge (2,600 pages) will run you around $45.

If you're in the market for a new small-office laser, give this Brother a look. It's quick, compact, and gloriously wireless.

Marketing firm helping to green companies--and their images, too

2008-10-21T18:06:00.003-07:00

This post was updated at 11:55 a.m. PDT to better describe the scope of TCG's work. It was also updated at 12:52 p.m. PDT with the corrected spelling on Clare Munn's name. We also corrected the photo credit and Sandhu Gurkirpal's title, both of which had been provided incorrectly by a company representative.

The Communication Group, a San Francisco-based marketing firm, isn't just about touting its clients' environmental friendliness. It's about showing them how to be more environmentally friendly.

TCG CEO Clare Munn

(Credit: Clinton Fein)The firm, also known as TCG, is helping corporations take their first green steps through what it calls its Green Prepare program, a 12-step process for companies to become greener. The program was the brainchild of TCG Chief Executive Clare Munn, who had run a similar type of eco-labeling program for companies in Zimbabwe before the country's economy collapsed. After starting TCG and going through the tedious green certification process, she realized that there might be a market for eco-labeling here, too.

In the first stage of the Green Prepare program, a TCG consultant does a walk-through of a client's office or workplace and comes up with 12 steps for sparing the environment. The steps might include simple fixes like, for offices, making sure printers are set on double-sided printing and using recycled paper, and that there's a cartridge toner/battery recycling system in place. Other steps might be using filters on water taps for getting drinking water rather than buying water in plastic bottles, or using energy-efficient light bulbs. Nothing revolutionary, but still things that might be neglected in many workplaces.

When the company has completed 6 of the 12 steps, it signs TCG's "Blue Step Promise" to strive to complete the rest and is awarded a certificate and logo in return that the company can then display.

The idea is that the Green Prepare program might also serve as the first step for corporations that want to become green-certified through other regional programs, Munn said.

Livermore, Calif.-based skincare product company GS Cosmeceutical, which used TCG to develop its Web site, recently got involved in the Green Prepare program.

"It has been an eye-opener," said Sandhu Gurkirpal, the company's chief operating officer. He became more aware, for example, that computers should be disposed of via certified green network recyclers.

Gurkirpal is also considering changing the company's cleaning process for the pots used in making its skin care products. Today the pots are boiled, but they might as well be high-pressure steamed, he said, which could save both water and energy.

GS Cosmeceutical has also become a supporting member of OASIS, or the Organic and Sustainable Industry Standards, which helps determine when products can be called organic. Gurkipal emphasized that the company's recent efforts are about more than image and helping the environment. "We wouldn't be doing this if we didn't think we could save money."

The next step for him is to figure out what TCG calls the company's "green story"--something a company already does for the environment that can be used as part of its overall communications strategy. Maybe it's using energy from renewable sources or furniture from recycled material, or maybe it's creating an incentive program that encourages employees to identify practices that aren't environmentally sound.

While all the Green Prepare services up to this point are free, TCG will charge for creating and communicating the green stories. These, however, are not compulsory to create.

Can tech make chemistry greener?

2008-10-21T18:06:00.001-07:00

BOSTON--To many people, the term "green chemistry" is either a contradiction or a fancy name for long-held sensible chemistry practices.

All chemical products won't become benign overnight but they can get greener, even taking small steps, said Rich Engler, the program manager for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Green Chemistry Program.

Engler gave an overview of green chemistry at the CTSI Clean Technology conference here on Monday, where he said that most of what qualifies as green chemistry is focused on reducing the amount of hazards that chemicals introduce.

The impact of the green chemistry movement is substantial: The winners of last year's EPA Green Chemistry award program have prevented 200 million pounds per year of hazardous substances, he said. Since the program started, over 1 billion pounds of hazardous substances have been kept out of the environment.

"We recognize that there is an incremental nature to green chemistry. You can't take a year or two and make the chemistry industry completely benign. It's really a question of what is greener," he said.

Venture capitalists, including famed investor Vinod Khosla, have made green chemistry one their investment themes. In many case, green chemistry companies make better materials, such as Hycrete which makes a water-resistant concrete that is more durable.

Engler said that investing in new innovations costs chemical companies more. But there are a number of financial benefits, including cheaper and recyclable raw materials and less regulatory burden.

A company called Battelle, for example, developed a binding agent for printer cartridges that is made from glycerin, a by-product of biodiesel production. The process means that it has a cheap feedstock and lowers the energy production needed to make the toner binder.

In another case, Columbia Forest Products has started using a wood adhesive that uses a protein found in ocean mussels. The company uses soy flour rather than formaldehyde to make its adhesive.

In general, the focus of most green chemistry techniques is choosing renewable feedstocks that obviate the need for hazardous compounds, Engler said.

"Green chemistry is pollution prevention at the molecular level," he said.

Study: Laser printers may pose health risks

2008-10-21T18:05:00.003-07:00

Emissions from office laser printers can be as unhealthy as cigarette smoke, according to an Australian professor who is now calling for regulations to limit printer emissions.
Office workers breathing easy since smoking was banned in public places in the United States and the United Kingdom have new reason to worry, according to research from the Queensland University of Technology's Air Quality and Health Program, led by physics professor Lidia Morawska.

The average printer releases toner particles that can get deep into the lungs and cause respiratory problems and cardiovascular trouble, according to Morawska's team, part of the International Laboratory for Air Quality and Health, and specialists in atmospheric particles.

The team tested 62 laser printer models--all relatively new--and found that 17 of them were "high emitters" of toner particles. Despite using similar technology, office photocopiers do not emit particles, the team found.

The particles have not had a full chemical analysis, but some are potential carcinogens, according to a report in The Sydney Morning Herald. Several of the high emitters were Hewlett-Packard LaserJet models, such as the 1320 and 4250, although eight HP LaserJet 4050 series printers were shown to have no emissions, according to reports.

The printer emissions data were discovered by chance when an investigation of office ventilation systems, carried out jointly between the university and the Queensland Department of Public Works, found five times as many particles indoors as those produced by traffic outdoors. Using an electronic sniffer, researchers traced the emissions to printers. The emissions were found to increase during the day, when printers were left on standby or in full operation.

Following the revelation, Morawska's team tested their own printers and moved the unhealthy ones away from people. The researchers are now calling for regulations on printer emissions. The study included Canon, HP LaserJet, Ricoh and Toshiba printers. The university had not released comprehensive results by the time this story was published.

HP said it was currently assessing the study's findings.

"Vigorous tests under standardized operating conditions are an integral part of HP's research and development, and its strict quality-control procedures," the company said in a statement. "As part of these quality controls, HP assesses its LaserJet printing systems, original HP print cartridges and papers for dust release and possible material emissions to ensure compliance with applicable international health and safety requirements."

Peter Judge and David Meyer of ZDNet UK reported from London.

Which gadgets just keep on ticking?

2008-10-21T18:05:00.001-07:00

CNET is all about the newest gadgets around, but looking around my home office, one beloved dinosaur stands out among the new devices. I still use the first laser printer I ever bought, a Hewlett-Packard LaserJet 5MP. I remember studying reviews in the spring of 1996 and sweating the extra $100 I kicked in to buy the HP printer rather than the slightly less fancy Apple model I was considering. That was an investment that was well-worth the marginal cost.

It's been almost 12 years and that HP LaserJet has produced all the drafts needed for one Ph. D. thesis, two books, one screenplay, and countless thousands of other small projects. It still works great. The only problem is that I haven't dared try to hook it up to my current iMac, so I have kept around an old PowerBook circa 2002 to serve as the printer's liaison. Why not try to hook it up? I hadn't even thought of it much before today. I suppose I could give it a shot (it has USB and may be compatible with Mac OSX) but my old setup has the air of superstition, "it just works, so don't mess with it."

Now I know that planned obsolescence is part of the process with devices (whether or not that is a truly wise idea) but I want HP to know that their great performance with this old LaserJet has led me to buy other HP printers to serve as an inkjet all-in-one. I am thankful that the laser toner cartridges still work in my ancient model. I don't have any expectation of receiving support for repair when things finally do go wrong, but I'll keep using it until it konks out. Ironically, the thing that may give out first is one of the lowest-tech parts: the plastic paper tray, which is developing strange grooves and doesn't like to slide in any more.

Is it just me, or do any of you have critical devices on your desktop that you aren't ready to give up, even if they are awkwardly kluged together to keep them going?

HP printers can't stop, won't stop

2008-10-21T18:04:00.001-07:00

HP is poised and ready to send a barrage of printers to our office, and to that we say, "Bring it on!" This won't be the first time we've been deluged with printers from HP, and we're eager to get back in the ring. Need proof? Just last August, we became a storage shed for HP's massive photo printer rollout. This time around, it's the small and medium business side that gets a product boost with 11 new inkjet and laserjet printers that HP claims will increase flexibility and grab attention at a lower price point. Some of the printers will be released March 1 with the rest following suit in the coming months. Let's size up the beast:

Officejets:

HP Officejet J3680 All-in-One

(Credit: HP)Officejet J3600 All-in-One: This compact Jack of all trades not only prints up to 20 black and white pages per minute, but also features a scanner capable of producing up to 1200dpi, 48-bit color.
Officejet J4580 All-in-One: Although the J4580 takes up a little more desk space, it more than makes up for it with its workhorse print speeds, up to 28 black and 22 color pages per minute. HP also conveniently includes several free templates to create personalized marketing materials.
Officejet J6480 All-in-One: This model includes a triumvirate of connectivity options including a USB port, an Ethernet port, and a Wi-Fi 802.11b/g port to appease even the cord-phobic printing crowd. The J6480 also blazes through black and white prints as a blinding 31 pages per minute. We're anxious to speed-test this baby.
Officejet L7590 All-in-One: Boasting a 50-sheet automatic document feeder and auto duplexing, the L7590 is made for the hardest of the hardcore. Ethernet? Check. High scan resolution? Check. Green-friendly paper saving? Check. Combination hookah and coffee maker? Maybe next time.

Laserjets:

USPS sticker not included

(Credit: HP)Color LaserJet CM1312/CM1312nfi: The CM1312 is HP's lowest priced color laserjet printer. It also incorporates the "Print Cost Estimator," which HP claims will allow you to compare the cost of printing in-house versus using a print shop. We're a little curious as to why HP wouldn't just guarantee a lower cartridge price point or higher ink capacity to market the CM1312, but features are features and we'll be sure to get this one in to test its usefulness. The CM1312 is essentially the same device but throws a fax into the mix
Color LaserJet CP1215: Price is the main selling point of the CP1215--those of you on a budget will appreciate this one: it's HP's lowest priced color laser printer EVER. HP lives up to its promise of quality and price without compromise, but it does so by sacrificing significant style points. If you're looking for a svelte, sexy case, well...this ain't it.
Color LaserJet CP1515n: We can overlook the fact that this thing looks like a mailbox in disguise by focusing on its comprehensive features. This printer incorporates HP's ImageREt, capable of automatically enhancing your prints using "intelligent calibration, Image Mode, HP Smart printing supplies with new HP ColorSphere toner, and automatic media-type sensing."
Color LaserJet CP1518ni: Optimized for the SMB crowd, the CP1518ni promises to increase flexibility by incorporating a photo memory card slot into the body, effectively allowing the user to save time by eliminating the need for a computer. Alternatively, if you have a PictBridge-enabled device such as the Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III or the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T300, you can plug it directly into the built-in USB port.
LaserJet M1319f: Multitasking is made easy with this LaserJet's four-in-one functionality. In addition to a printer, fax, copier, and scanner, the M1319 boosts productivity by drawing its power and memory from the host computer, which lets the printer focus on more complex jobs. One of the more practical features is the "Instant-on" technology that delivers the first copy from power off to finished product in seconds.
LaserJet M1522: Work groups and IT departments will want to check out the LaserJet 1522 for its simple setup design and ease of use. The all in one print cartridge is a spherically shaped toner that seamlessly installs into the device. Multiple users can connect to the machine via a 10/100 wired Ethernet port, and its 450 MHz processor is up to the challenge of even the most graphic-intensive jobs.

HP's newest line of SMB printers are simple and to the point. They aim to provide the most utility and include a comprehensive set of features, while maintaining an affordable price for home and small offices on a budget. Though most of these printers won't win any beauty pageants, we're excited to put them through their paces.

Canon colors its printers green

2008-10-21T17:42:00.001-07:00

Canon printers will soon arrive in stores with a green label flaunting eco-friendly features including energy conservation and recycled materials. The company's "Generation Green" brand will mark Pixma and Selphy photo inkjets as well as the laser ImageClass lines of printers.

"Printers are the one area where you can really improve the environment," said Canon spokesman Justin Joseph. "Their production is a massive undertaking that requires a lot of raw materials, and we've found so many ways to reduce that."

Some inks will be encased in NatureStone biodegradable packs made from limestone rather than wood pulp. User manuals are to be printed on 70 percent recycled paper, and recycled plastics will make up the power supply casings for the Pixma line.

Modular product designs have helped to reduce the size of boxes by 20 percent. Instead of styrofoam, air-filled baggies cushion the products during shipping. The packaging changes alone will halve greenhouse gas emissions, nearly halve the energy needed to make it, and reduce the use of petroleum by 65 percent, according to Canon.

Nine in 10 Canon printers already automatically flip over pages for double sided-printing, saving paper. Canon has offered free mail-in recycling for laser printer toner for several years but lacks a disposal program for inkjet printer cartridges.

The printers comply with the EPA's Energy Star guidelines and with European rules governing the use of toxic materials.

Other than Energy Star, there are no industrywide consumer labels to mark printers and other consumer electronics as eco-friendly. Joseph said the highly competitive nature of the industry largely prevents printer makers from creating a common "green" standard.

From Japan comes the virtual copy repair man

2008-10-21T17:41:00.001-07:00

CHIBA, Japan--Canon wants to take you into a virtual world so you can learn how to change toner cartridges better.

The headgear you see in the photo, along with the cube with the squiggles, is part of a "Mixed Reality Technology" prototype coined by Canon, which showed it off over the weekend during a special future-tech exhibit at Ceatec, the large Japanese trade show here.

It's called mixed reality because virtual and real-world images are mixed into one frame. When you put the goggles on and stare at the cube, you don't see squiggles. Instead, you see a virtual 3D image of a copier. You also see your own hands move around the virtual world. You can lift the lid of a printer or copier, flip switches, etc. It was actually kind of cool.

Bang the drum slowly.

(Credit: Michael Kanellos/CNET News.com)Virtual reality was one of the more prominent themes in the future-tech exhibition. The National Institute of Information and Communications Technology also showed off a virtual device it concocted with the Phantom haptic tech from Sensable Technologies of Woburn, Mass., that combines virtual visual, sound and touch stimuli. Basically, you put on the virtual-reality glasses and see a drum and set of bells. Strike it with a mallet and you hear the appropriate virtual sounds over the headset. The top of the drum also "feels" rubbery, while the side is hard. Sensable did the visual and feel parts, while NICT did the sound part.

That second picture, with the guy sitting in front of what looks like a projector, is the Sensable-NICT project. You can see the virtual image above his head.

Waseda University, meanwhile, showed off something called Interactive View, which lets you manipulate and move virtual objects.

'Tis the season to Crave: Tim Moynihan's picks

2008-10-21T17:40:00.002-07:00

NOTE: To commemorate the holidays, different Crave experts will be posting their Top 10 gadget picks for the season. See what we crave, and maybe you'll get some ideas! Here's the latest installment.

Tim Moynihan is a features editor in the San Francisco office. He spends way too much time using the computer.

(Credit: SkyMall)
10. Dough-Nu-Matic
About halfway through Thanksgiving dinner, I realized that there was no platter of miniature, freshly baked doughnuts on the table. It was almost enough for me to stop eating turkey and cry gently to myself. Almost. I sucked it up and finished the meal, because I'm resilient. But never again will my Thanksgiving horn o' plenty be doughnutless, just as long as I get my hands on the sweet, sweet Dough-Nu-Matic.

9. Celluon LaserKey CL800BT
Smartphones have pretty much replaced PDAs altogether, but I'm thinking about buying a PDA anyway. An old one, too. The only reason for that is so I can use this laser keyboard, which is for some reason only compatible with older PDAs. Our editors gave it a lukewarm review (5.3 out of 10), but it's still a keyboard made out of lasers, and that is the best kind of keyboard imaginable. It projects onto any flat surface, such as a tabletop or a quesadilla, and, as such, may be the only device that lets you type directly on a quesadilla.

8. An assortment of rap action figures
My cubicle is already nicely decorated with small Run DMC action figures, but it'd be nice to round out my collection with other tiny, inanimate versions of my other favorite rap artists. Madvillain (aka MF DOOM) is at the top of the list. Biz Markie is a close second, providing an exception to the rule that nobody beats the Biz. And Public Enemy may be No. 1 in that song, but they're No. 3 on my wish list of rap action-figure needs. That's partially because all you get is Chuck D and the Flav; Terminator X, the S1Ws and Sista Souljah are all sold separately.

7. One Wiffle Ball at-bat against this guy
Maybe I'd get lucky and foul one off. Or get to first on a dropped third strike.

6. Shar Fax Toner Cartridge
I ain't never seen no fax machine that don't need no toner. You show me some better fax toner than Shar Fax Toner, and I'll show you a sham. That's right, I said it.

5. Vudu
Netflix has dramatically raised the bar for laziness. Admit it: You now consider the act of placing DVDs in prepaid envelopes and putting them in the mail to be a serious pain in the ass. For just $400 (and individual rental/purchase fees for each movie), you can eliminate every shred of minor legwork associated with couch potatodom. The Vudu set-top box streams video directly to your TV over a broadband connection, including new releases as soon as they're available on DVD. Gone are the days of ever having to move.

4. Giant cardboard Lego man
It is rare to see a Lego figure too big to even use with Duplo blocks. It is rarer still to see such a figure made entirely out of cardboard. This fellow has created a full-size, tried-and-true, swiveling-and-rotating-in-all-the-right-places, cardboard-and-hot-glue Lego man. Unfortunately, Lego-Gigantor doesn't have a face. Still, I'll take four of these or a couple Asimoes. Your pick.

3. Asimo
I'm not sure whether astronauts or robots are better. But I do know this: Astronaut-shaped nonviolent robot tournament-winning robots are a great compromise. I want a couple of Asimoes in my home, serving me snacks, playing roshambo against one another, re-enacting scenes from 2001: A Space Odyssey, and falling down staircases.

(Credit: GameSpot)
2. Rock Band and three friends
According to GameSpot, the long-awaited full-band music game lives up to all the hemming, hawing, and hype. As expected, the game really shines in multiplayer mode, when you and your friends can play as a full band. The sound of one hand clapping is also the sound of one person playing Rock Band.

1. Land Walker
It looks a little top-heavy, but that's about the only thing wrong with this bipedal, $300,000, tennis-ball-launching robot that looks a lot like ED-209 from RoboCop. Alas, whereas ED-209 was somewhat unstoppable, the Land Walker can be fended off--if not defeated--by an above-average tennis player. One thing is certain: When my upcoming action film Way of the Fist: The Punchening opens in Hollywood, I'm planning on showing up to the premiere in this sweet rig.

'Tis the season to Crave: Tim Moynihan's picks

2008-10-21T17:40:00.001-07:00

Rushing to paint printers green

2008-10-21T17:37:00.000-07:00

Printer companies are under attack as more people become concerned about global warming and toxic pollution.

The solution? "Printer Vendors Need to Greenwash Their Image."

That unfortunate headline was the theme of an e-mail newsletter this morning from Lyra Research, a well-respected firm that tracks the digital imaging industry.

Apparently the writer didn't realize or care that "greenwashing" is a negative term. It describes how companies aiming to appeal to treehuggers are painting a green face, without necessarily cleaning up their act.

Picky consumers detest this trend, which makes it nearly impossible to tell which companies walk the green walk instead of merely spouting a green talk. Earlier this decade, greenwashing wasn't so insidious because most claims of eco-friendliness were made by small enterprises, like, say, your local weaver of organic hemp hacky sacks.

But now that the world's biggest corporations aim to appear green--sincerely or cynically--it's easy to be fooled by multimillion-dollar public relations campaigns.

This year, printer hardware is expected to contribute 1 million tons of solid waste in this country alone, while pulp and paper companies are the fourth-largest toxic polluters of water, according to Lyra.

The Lyra newsletter asked, "What can the industry do to prevent an attack by environmental groups and create a better image for itself?"

To start, the industry could gain some friends by reworking its razor cartridge model of ink replacement. I learned quickly--through reviewing printers for CNET--how much people hate that the cost of ink and toner quickly exceeds the price of the printer itself. Vendors insist that people use their premium-price, branded inks or suffer crummy-looking pages. And disposing of cartridges is a pain, even if you're organized enough to mail them in or bring them to stores, such as Walgreen's, for reuse.

Also, how about better tech support and repair? Fixing gadgets should be no harder than taking a cracked heel to the shoe cobbler. The tech industry overall should make better-quality, longer-lasting hardware. A printer that cranks out one page faster per minute than last season's model is not efficient. A printer that lasts but a year and costs more to fix than replace is not sustainable.

Yes, people at HP and most other printer companies have made sincere efforts to establish responsible recycling programs. They've also made more models Energy Star efficient, experimented with corn-based plastic and modular components, and made it easier to print on two sides of a page to reduce paper waste. You might even argue that personal photo printers are kinder to the planet than traditional lab photofinishing.

Still, what's the secret sauce in all that proprietary ink and toner? Materials safety data sheets that companies are required by law to report do not detail the little-tested toxicity of these chemical cocktails. The information is limited largely because American laws regulating potentially dangerous chemicals are notoriously weak.

It took independent testing by an Australian lab to root out potentially cancerous, asthma-inducing ingredients in laser toner.

I don't want to breathe in that noxious dust at my desk, and I certainly don't want to breathe in the hot air of greenwashing. Let's hope that tech companies boast of small successes in moving toward sustainability without getting ahead of themselves.