Ink Shopper: News and Reviews

Free Printer Ink Day At Click2ink

Mon, 14 Apr 2008 15:09:08 EST

April 14, 2008 • News

Wednesday, May 7, 2008 is Free Printer Ink Day at Click2ink, one of the leading online stores for ink cartridges and toner in the U.S. For one day only, Click2ink will provide one ink cartridge per household for free.

To qualify for the free cartridge, visitors must sign up for Click2ink's newsletter before May 1, 2008. A coupon will be sent which can be used on May 7 to claim the free ink cartridge.

In addition to the free cartridge offer, Click2ink offers free shipping on orders over $55 US within the continental United States. Use coupon code SAS5 to get 5% off any order with no minimum purchase necessary.

Related Links:
Full Press Release at PR Web

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Free Inkjet Cartridge Recycling Through USPS

Wed, 26 Mar 2008 15:26:15 EST

March 26, 2008 • Green Ink

Recently we reported on the thINK FOOD program which allows Canadians to donate to local food banks by recycling inkjet cartridges and cell phones. Now the United States Postal Service has announced the Mail Back program allowing U.S. citizens in select cities to mail their used inkjet cartridges, mp3 players, Blackberries, digital cameras, and other electronics to be recycled.

The program is being tested in ten cities, including Washington, D.C., Chicago, Los Angeles and San Diego, and may be expanded if the program is successful. Citizens can pick up free mailing envelopes at USPS Post Offices. The used electronics will be shipped to Clover Technologies Group who will recycle the parts and sell remanufactured products.

From the press release:

Postage is paid for by Clover Technologies Group, a nationally recognized company that recycles, remanufactures and remarkets inkjet cartridges, laser cartridges and small electronics. If the electronic item or cartridges cannot be refurbished and resold, its component parts are reused to refurbish other items, or the parts are broken down further and the materials are recycled. Clover Technologies Group has a “zero waste to landfill” policy: it does everything it can to avoid contributing any materials to the nation’s landfills.

In a recent report by the Associated Press, it was claimed that over 300,000 tons of electronics are collected each year for recycling in the United States, and that over 50% is shipped to other countries like China and India to be recycled or disposed of in landfills. In poor work conditions, overseas workers are exposed to toxic chemicals.

China bans the import of electronics waste, but exporters get around the laws by claiming that the waste is in good working condition. Customs officials cannot inspect all goods to verify the quality of the electronics, so much of the electronics is allowed into the country, where most is disposed of as waste.

The Mail Back program aims to reduce used electronics devices that end up in American and overseas landfills at no expense to American consumers.

Related Sources:
USPS Mail Back Program Press Release
Clover Technologies Group
Daily Tech: USPS Pilot Program Offers Free Mail-in Electronics Recycling
Komotv.com: America ships electronic waste overseas

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HP Shows Latex Ink and Web Press

Mon, 17 Mar 2008 17:30:48 EST

March 17, 2008 • News

HP is showing off the technology behind its forthcoming product lines. PC World reports on two innovations that HP is demonstrating even before it has products with which to sell them.

First is HP's latex ink, a water-based ink designed to withstand weather. Products using latex ink will be targeted at businesses who create outdoor displays, such as billboards and signs. The ink will survive for up to three years outdoors and unlaminated, and up to five years indoors and under direct sunlight. Whether latex ink will be used in consumer products was not announced.

Lastly, HP introduced the Inkjet Web Press, marketed as a high-speed, large format printer. It is capable of printing 2,600 A4 color documents a minute, and can print on pages up to 30 inches (76.2 centimeters) wide. The Web Press is designed to replace traditional offset presses, which need physical plates to be manufactured before printing jobs can begin. With the Web Press, large format print jobs, such as newspapers, can be run on-demand without the need for physical plates.

For complete details, see the full article at PCWorld:
HP Shows Off New Printing Technologies

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Popular Science: Ink More Expensive Than Oil

Sat, 08 Mar 2008 12:38:45 EST

March 07, 2008 • News

Jon Chase at Popular Science wrote a blog post denouncing the ink cartridge business for gouging customers with prices that are more expensive than oil when prices by volume. From the post:

"And wouldn’t you know, it turns out that printer ink, especially for photos, is probably the most expensive substance per volume you’ll ever buy — more expensive than gold, oil, perfume, even blood in most cases. If you’re buying name-brand ink cartridges, which typically hold a few milliliters of ink, you’re shelling out the equivalent of between $3,000 and $5,000 per gallon."

Chase's response is to abandon home-printing altogether, a decision which ignores the value of home printers for their many other good uses, such as document printing and scanning. As Rhodri Marsden at The Independent points out, a better solution would be to try refurbished or generic brand ink cartridges, or to refill cartridges yourself with refill kits that include much larger volumes of ink at prices lower than the ink cartridges themselves.

Don't give up on home printing. Find cheaper ink alternatives here at Ink Shopper.

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Canon MX7600 Brings Pigment Ink To The Small Office

Wed, 05 Mar 2008 09:00:00 EST

March 05, 2008 • New Products

Canon released the new PIXMA MX7600 All-In-One printer this month. The MX7600 brings Canon's PgR (Pigment Reaction) technology to the small office, where typical print volumes are low, requirements are high, and paper quality is low. PgR promises to deliver high-quality printing to low-quality paper, reducing page curl and ink bleeding, thanks to the PGI-9 clear ink which creates a coating on the paper before the black and color inks are applied.

At a suggested retail price of $400 US, the MX7600 includes high resolution color printing up to 4800 x 1200, copying, scanning, color fax, photo card support, an ethernet port, expanded memory, two paper trays, and automatic document feeder with support for two-sided printing. It uses six individual ink cartridges: PGI-7 (black pigment ink) and PGI-9 (black, cyan, magenta, yellow, and clear reactor ink).

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Recycle Cartridges For Your Local Food Bank

Mon, 03 Mar 2008 12:58:34 EST

March 03, 2008 • Green Ink

Canadians have an easy way to recycle inkjet cartridges and cell phones while donating to their local food banks at the same time. The thINK FOOD program accepts donations of used inkjet cartridges at drop-off locations throughout most towns and cities. Along with the Phones-for-Food program, cartridges and cell phones are sold to the remanufacturing industry and funds go directly to the food bank in the local community.

According to the thINK-FOOD website, "300 million laser and inkjet cartridges go to landfills every year in North America." The program ensures that the entire cartridge is refurbished to become a new cartridge, wasting nothing. Since the program brings in money for local food banks, the benefits of the program are twofold.

With no cost to the consumer, and free shipping labels for those outside of serviced areas, Canadians have little excuse for throwing away their used ink cartridges.

Partnerships with companies like Purolator, Petro-Canada, and Rogers have helped to bring thINK FOOD and Phones-for-Food to communities throughout Canada. Rogers locations accept cell phone donations, and many local community centres, schools, and government offices have drop-off boxes for inkjet cartridges. Find a drop-off location in your community at the thINK FOOD website. Free-shipping mailing labels are available for download for those without a nearby drop-off location.

The thINK FOOD and Phones-for-Food programs are managed by the Canadian Association of Food Banks.

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PC Magazine: Why Monochrome Laser Beats Inkjet

Sat, 01 Mar 2008 14:39:28 EST

March 01, 2008 • Reviews

For homes and small offices that don't need color printing, monochrome laser printers are superior to inkjet printers, says PC Magazine in a recent article by M. David Stone.

The article points out how printer specifications need to be considered carefully when comparing inkjets to laser printers. The pages-per-minute measurement in particular cannot be directly compared between the two types of printers, due to the fundamental differences between them. Inkjet printers need to perform far more processing on documents, so there are many assumptions being made when the pages-per-minute values are reported.

If speed isn't a concern, then the quality of printed text may be a convincing factor in choosing laser over inkjet. The article points out that laser toner does not produce text that bleeds into the paper the way inkjet ink can.

For those in the market for a monochrome laser printer, visit PC Magazine to read reviews of four printers ranging in price from $180 to $230 (U.S.). Reviewed are the following printers (rating in brackets):
HP LaserJet P1006 Printer (3 out of 5),
HP LaserJet P1505 Printer (4 out of 5),
OKI Printing Solutions B4400 (3 out of 5),
and Samsung ML-1630 (3 out of 5).

Related Links:
A Laser Printer of Your Own [PCMag.com]

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HP Markets To Retailers For Inkjet Growth

Fri, 29 Feb 2008 15:13:07 EST

February 29, 2008 • News

The Associated Press reports that HP is seeking to grow its inkjet revenue by convincing retailers like Costco and Target to use inkjet printers in their photo development labs instead of older chemical-based development technology.

Home computer users have become more savvy regarding home printers. Many who bought home photo printers have come to realize that it is often cheaper and more convenient to develop large quantities of photographs at retailers. Retailers in turn have made it easier to do so, providing user-friendly websites with which to upload photos and have them developed for pick-up or delivery by mail.

HP sees this as an opportunity for growth for its inkjet technology. If HP is successful, retailers large and small will abandon old technology for HP inkjet products.

For more information, visit the Association Press: HP Looks to Stores for Inkjet Expansion.

Compare HP inkjet prices at online stores.

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