Designed to fail

Posted in: OEM, blog by CW on 19 August 2010

You may notice that with some manufacturer’s cartridges, our refills don’t behave the same way the originals did when you first install them.

Several manufacturers have decided the best way to keep you buying only original cartridges from them, thus insuring a steady flow of profits into their coffers, is to make your experience with after-market cartridges as unpleasant and difficult as possible. The leader in this effort is Lexmark, but the other companies aren’t far behind.

Lexmark has a series of cartridges labeled “Return Program Cartridge”. This indicates a cartridge purchased for a couple of dollars less than the non-return program version, but one which obliges you to return the cartridge to Lexmark when it is empty. To ensure you do this they disable a portion of the electronic strip on the front of the cartridge when you first install it. Any attempt to reuse that cartridge in the future will produce an error and the printer won’t accept it. The only solution to this is to purchase the “A” version of the cartridge. For example, Lexmark has a #36 cartridge (Return Program) and a #36A cartridge (non-Return Program). Same ink, same ink volume, but the #36A can be reused where the #36 cannot.

Other manufacturers have taken a less drastic but potentially just as effective approach to their loss of profits. Some, like Canon and HP, have elected to put a chip on their cartridge that resets the page counter in the printer when it’s first installed. Inkjet printers have no way to measure the actual ink level inside the cartridge. Instead, every time you install a new cartridge, a page counter inside the printer is reset to zero. It then counts pages based on an algorithm devised by the manufacturer; so much print equals a page’s worth of ink. The industry standard is 5% page coverage equals one page’s worth of ink. Click here for examples of page coverage. By disabling the printer’s ink-level indicator the manufacturers hope to discourage their customers from using anything but cartridges sold by them. We have chip resetters for the majority of chipped cartridges on the market so this ploy doesn’t work all that often.

Manufacturers will try every trick they can think of to lock their customers into buying only original cartridges. The reason is simple and obvious: the majority of their profits come from the sale of cartridges. Almost all of the manufacturers are selling their printers at or below cost, knowing that they’ll make up the loss once you start buying cartridges.

There are a few instances where the manufacturer’s “designed to fail” tactic actually works, preventing us from refilling certain cartridges. These instances are few. For the most part we have ways to get around their efforts to restrict the consumer’s choice in purchasing ink and toner cartridges.

HP 920XL

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

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

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

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

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

Printer Shopping Tips from MacWorld

Posted in: Printers, blog by CW on 29 March 2010

Every month it seems printer manufacturers are pushing new models with additional features (and smaller ink supplies) onto the shelves of local office supply and big-box retail stores. Every week we get calls from our customers asking for suggestions as to which printer to buy; which printer has the cheapest cartridges, which one most easily connects to a home or small business wireless network, which printer best meets their printing needs.

Our basic advice has always been to get the printer that does what you need a printer to do and avoid buying one that offers additional functions that you have no use for. For example, if you don’t plan on adding this printer to a SOHO wireless network, save money and don’t buy one with wireless capabilities.

MacWorld recently published an article with their suggestions for printer buyers.

If you’re about to go shopping for a printer, whether in person or online, keep the following tips in mind.

• Set your budget
• Decide on must-have features
• Know your ink and toner costs

They break down printer price-points:

What to expect for your money

• $40 to $80: Curb your expectations.
• $80 to $100: Basic functionality.
• $150: Adequate or better.
• $250: Midrange inkjets and monochrome lasers.
• $400: The best inkjets and bare-bones color lasers.
• $500: Basic color lasers and better monochrome lasers.
• $700 to $800: The sweet spot for lasers.
• $1000 or more: First class all the way.

They end up with advice with which we absolutely agree.

Ink and toner costs

The money you pay for any printer doesn’t stop with the hardware purchase; you also have to consider the ongoing costs for replacing the ink or toner supplies. For many inkjet printers, in particular, the cost of replacement cartridges can quickly outstrip the initial cost of the printer. Don’t be tempted by a printer’s features without also checking on its cost of consumables.

(Source-MacWorld)

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Print a lot? Go XL

Posted in: Productivity, blog by CW on 4 February 2010

Image by osde8info via Flickr

Many printer manufacturers these days are offering their customers an option when it comes to cartridge volume; newer printers often accept both low yield and high yield cartridges. High yield, sometimes labeled as XL, cartridges contain twice to three times as much ink or toner as the low yield version. If you do a lot of printing, an XL cartridge will last longer and reduce the number of times a month you have to come in for refills.

HP is leading other manufacturers in offering high yield ink and toner cartridges. They currently offer XL versions of their #60, #74 & 75, #88, #901, #920 and #940 ink cartridges and many of their laser cartridges (denoted by an “X” at the end of the cartridge number; C7115x, the high yield version of the C7115A). A few other manufacturers have followed suit, but HP has the largest selection of high yield cartridges.

If you print frequently or in large quantities you should consider purchasing XL or high yield cartridges for your printer if they are available. They may cost a bit more up front, but your overall cost-per-page will be lower. You will also reduce the risk of running out of ink or toner in the middle of a large print job.

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Font selection effects ink conservation

Posted in: Conservation, Recycling, Tips & Tricks, blog by CW on 19 December 2009

Did you ever think that the font you select to print with could effect the number of pages a cartridge can deliver?

Obviously printing a great deal of bold characters on a page will use more ink, but it is also true that the font you use may consume more ink than another font.

Matt Robinson, in collaboration with Tom Wrigglesworth, found a unique way to illustrate the amount of ink each popular font uses. Granted, they are using ink pens to conduct their experiment, but the results are equally applicable to inkjet printing.

A selection of the most commonly used typefaces were compared for how economical they are with the amount of ink which they use at the same point size. Large scale renditions of the typefaces were drawn out with ballpoint pens, allowing the remaining ink levels to display the ink efficiency of each typeface. (Source-matthewrobinson.com)

Click through for images.

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

Posted in: blog by CW on 31 July 2009

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Cartridge Exchanges

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Portable inkjet printers reviewed

Posted in: Printers, Reviews, blog by CW on 21 May 2009

One of our customers inquired today about portable inkjet printers, and while there isn’t a source of reviews comparable to the ones for laser printers that I could find, I did run across the following that I hope will be of some help.

Portable inkjet printers are a compact and lightweight option for use with laptops. They can run on battery or electrical power; some even have an optional adapter to run off a car’s cigarette lighter. Reviews say that portable printers can’t match the speed of desktop printers and cost much more both to buy and to run. They are made for low-volume use. Many portable printers are Bluetooth compatible, which means that they will work with a wireless adapter and can receive input from a PDA or mobile phone.

The Canon Pixma iP100 (*Est. $235) receives great comments from CNet.com’s Justin Yu, who says that its speed and resolution are top notch for a portable printer. Print quality is also praised and text is said to be clean, with Simon Williams of TrustedReviews.com stating that the iP100 is on par with full-sized, desktop inkjet printers.

The iP100 is an update of the Canon Pixma ip90v portable printer, and there are several notable improvements. These include a larger number of printheads, higher color resolution, 50-sheet input capacity (an increase of 20 sheets), faster printing and, according to the CNet.com review, a slight improvement in print quality. Connectivity options include PictBridge, USB and infrared for connection to cell phones. There are no memory card slots and the iP100 printer does not offer Wi-Fi connectivity.

HP’s Officejet H470 portable printer (*Est. $220) does not fare as well at CNet.com, where Justin Yu says problems include “fuzzy” and “blurred” text. Photos print out smooth, Yu says, but colors are flat and lack saturation. PC Magazine’s M. David Stone largely agrees, saying the H470′s text quality is “subpar,” and notes banding when printing in certain modes. U.K.-based PC Advisor sees similar issues, but the reviewer writes that swapping the default black ink cartridge for an optional six-ink photo cartridge resulted in “superb” output on photo paper. Simon Williams of TrustedReviews.com, on the other hand, feels that the H470 performs well for a portable printer, and that its print speeds actually exceed HP’s specifications. He also disagrees with negative assessments of the H470′s text printing, saying that even when reproducing small fonts there is only “slight fuzziness” around the edges.

Reviews that contrast the HP Officejet H470 with the Canon Pixma iP100 are inconclusive as to which is the superior product. M. David Stone at PC Magazine notes that while the iP100 is superior in speed and some aspects of print quality, the H470 wins out in such areas as ink cartridge yields. Both printers have some similar costly, optional add-ons, such as Bluetooth adapters and lithium-ion rechargeable batteries.

If you are searching for a portable printer, there are some key differences in features between the Canon Pixma iP100 and HP Officejet H470 that may help you choose the best model. Most notably, HP’s H470 offers Wi-Fi connectivity and memory card slots. It also costs less to equip and operate; for instance, the H470′s optional battery costs around $50, while the iP100′s is twice as expensive. HP even offers a soft carrying case — a frill missing with the Pixma iP100. If you do not need these options and value print quality above all else, however, reviews indicate that Canon’s Pixma iP100 is the better performing portable printer. (Source – Consumer Search)

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Color laser printers reviewed

Posted in: blog, laser by CW on

In January, PC World Magazine reviewed some of the newer color laser printers on the market and gave their top marks to the Dell 3130CN.

B&W Pages per Min.: B&W PPM:31, Color Pages per Min.: Color PPM:26, Max. B&W dpi: 600-by-600, Max. Color dpi: 600-by-600, Tray Capacity, pages: 400
Bottom Line: Spoil your small workgroup with this printer’s speed, great output quality, and cheap toner.

The printers they have reviewed are intended for use in small to medium businesses. They are still a bit too expensive for the average home user. For example, the Dell 3130CN retails for around $520 0nline while at Staples the cartridges are priced at $142 for black, $253 each for the colors. That’s $901 for a full round of cartridges. Unfortunately at present we are unable to remanufacture these cartridges.

PC World’s second favorite color laser printer is the Brother HL-4040CN. These printers cost around $350, though refurbished models are available for $100 less. 

B&W Pages per Min.: B&W PPM:21, Color Pages per Min.: Color PPM:21, Max. B&W dpi: 2400-by-600, Max. Color dpi: 2400-by-600, Tray Capacity, pages: 300
Bottom Line: This competent printer balances good pricing, speed, and print quality with a sometimes-awkward design.

Consumables for this printer at retail will run you $91 for the black cartridge and $128 for each color cartridge (price reflects the high yield TN-115), a total of $475 for each full cartridge change. We charge $49 for the black and $69 for each color cartridge, bring the cost of a full set down to $256. 

The third highest overall score was earned by another Dell, the 2130cn.

B&W Pages per Min.: B&W PPM:20, Color Pages per Min.: Color PPM:16, Max. B&W dpi: 600-by-600, Max. Color dpi: 600-by-600, Tray Capacity, pages: 250,
Bottom Line: Your small workgroup will enjoy this capable color laser until it’s time to buy more toner (especially since we cannot yet remanufacture these cartridges).

If your needs are best met with a monochrome laser, here are PC World’s top picks in that category:

Dell 1720dn - Bottom Line:This fast, well-equipped laser can handle both SOHO and workgroup needs, and it has room to grow.

HP Laserjet P1505 - Bottom Line: Cheaply priced but also cheaply designed, this printer’s saving grace is its speed.

Samsung ML-1630 - Sleek and shiny-black, the ML-1630 has miles of style and adequate performance for personal use.

Oki Printing Solutions B4400n - Bottom Line: This sturdily built, solid performer is overshadowed by lower-cost competitors with similar specs.

Lexmark E352dn - Bottom Line: The price may be high, but this printer offers speed and features galore, plus expandability.

These reviews and more information on printers and cartridges can be found on the PC World website.
 

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HP 80 wide format ink cartridges

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

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

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

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

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