Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Answer to 6 Common Questions About Ink Cartridges

Inkjet printers produce great quality prints, but buying inkjet cartridges can take a big bite out of your budget. The good news is that there are inexpensive ways to maintain the life and quality of your printer. Here are answers to six common questions about printer cartridges and toner cartridges.

1. Do I Have to Buy Brand Name Ink Cartridges?

Printer manufacturers have a vested interest in convincing you that buying brand name inkjet cartridges is the only option. The truth, though, is that compatible inkjet cartridges are a cheaper alternative to branded printer cartridges.

2. What are Compatible Print Cartridges?

Compatible print cartridges are generic ink cartridges that are made with entirely new components. They are manufactured to meet or exceed the standards of brand name cartridges, thereby retaining the quality and reliability of OEM (original equipment manufacturer) inkjet cartridges - at a fraction of the cost.

3. What are Remanufactured Cartridges?

Remanufactured printer cartridges are essentially recycled inkjet cartridges. They have been inspected, cleaned, and refilled with ink. They are typically print tested before they are sold to ensure that they are in excellent working condition. Remanufactured cartridges are usually less expensive than compatible print cartridges, which in turn are less expensive than OEM brand name ink cartridges.

4. Are Compatible and Remanufactured Cartridges Made for All Printers?

The availability of compatible and remanufactured toner cartridges and inkjet cartridges varies, depending upon the brand and model of your printer. Cartridges are made for most models of Epson, Canon, HP, Lexmark, Samsung, Kodak, Brother, Compaq, and Dell printers.

5. Won't Compatible Cartridges Hurt My Printer?

If you select the right supplier of ink cartridges, you can rest assured that the ink cartridges will be rigorously tested and that the ink used is of the highest quality. Compatible cartridges won't harm your printer, and the print life usually meets or exceeds that of OEM cartridges.

6. How Do I Find a Good Source of Ink Cartridges?

If you want to save money by buying compatible or remanufactured cartridges, the best place to look is online. Not all online ink cartridge suppliers provide equal quality, though. Look for a supplier with a track record; one that has been online for at least seven years and that has supplied cartridges to schools and government bodies is a good choice. In addition, make sure that the supplier you choose will guarantee the quality of its products. Further, to save more money, select a supplier that offers free UK delivery and VAT inclusive prices. Finally, look for service that includes same day dispatch, no minimum order, and secure online ordering.


Chris Robertson is an author of Majon International, one of the worlds MOST popular internet marketing companies on the web. Learn more about Common Questions: Ink Cartridges or Majon's Computers directory

Monday, December 17, 2007

Ink Cartridges & Printing Problems - Poor Print Quality

Why are there faint areas or gaps in my print out?

* Unlikely, but your paper may need changing due to its deterioration due to its age.

* Check that the type of paper you are using in your printer matches ('Media Type') the setting in the printer software 'Main Menu' or 'Print' dialog box.

* You may need to clean the print head nozzles. These can be cleaned by employing the 'Head Cleaning' utility from within the printer software interface you get when you want to print or by going via the 'Control Panel' (found via 'My Computer') and selecting the printers section. After the cleaning operations are carried out by the printer, a check pattern will be printed to show that the ink cartridge nozzles are clean. If there are still poor quality areas, repeat the operation.

I have white horizontal lines appearing?

* You may need to clean the print head nozzles - see above

* If your printer has a light flashing indicating low ink levels for a cartridge, then change it.

* Check that the type of paper you are using in your printer ('Media Type') matches the setting in the printer software 'Main Menu' or 'Print' dialog box. The colors are not what I thought they'd be?

* Clean your print head nozzles - see above

* You've not chosen the color option in your printer software interface. This has happened to me many times. By default, my printer software had black selected for all printing.

* Specific types of paper have one side only that can be printed on. Ensure that it is loaded correctly in your printer.

* Check that the type of paper you are using in your printer ('Media Type') matches the setting in the printer software 'Main Menu' or 'Print' dialog box.

* What you see on your monitor will never be identical to what you get on your print out. It shouldn't be that far out, but if it is, then you you may have a color calibration issue between your monitor and software package that you are using.

Finally;

Never buy brand name ink cartridges. Get what are called compatible ink cartridges. They are much cheaper and produce the same quality results. www.ink-cartridge-store.com shows you the range of such products available nowadays.

In my experience, if you use your ink cartridges infrequently, then you will find yourself having to use the cleaning utilities practically every time you do use them. So I suggest printing out a b/w and color text page (say, 200 words with black, red, blue and yellow colors) on a regular basis (once a week?) even if you are not using the printer. You will save ink in the long run as the cleaning utility will use a lot more than your weekly maintenance pages.

This article may be reproduced in its entirety provided the resource paragraph below is included with the url kept active.

About the Author

(c) Paul Curran, CEO of Cuzcom Internet Publishing Group and webmaster at Ink Cartridge Store, providing discount ink cartridge supplies and laser toner products.

Paul Curran

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Thursday, December 13, 2007

Computer-Free Photo Printing

PC Magazine, April, 2005 by Laarni Almendrala Ragaza

So you've just snapped that perfect shot of Junior taking his first steps. You're dying to get a printout, only you don't want to wait to download the image to your computer or haul your camera off to the nearest drugstore photo kiosk. No worries. A photo printer may just be exactly what you need.

Many people, particularly digital photo novices, assume that in order to print your photos, you need to have a computer. Not so with the photo printers we've rounded up here. All five feature PictBridge, a mass-industry technology that lets you print photos directly from your camera to your printer, regardless of brand, provided that both devices are PictBridge-compatible. Moreover, all these printers can also produce outputs directly from memory cards.

All these printers have LCD screens, but what they show on them differs. The Canon Pixma iP6000D, for in-stance, lets you preview photos before printing, while the HP Photosmart 8150 features kiosk-style options on its screen that allow you to crop, sharpen, adjust the brightness, and so on. And the Lexmark P915 can even show you ink-loading instructions on its LCD. The Dell Photo Printer 540 is small enough to carry around (it's just 3.2 by 7.5 by 5.4 inches, HWD) and print photos anywhere you can find outlet. And the Epson Stylus Photo R320 can print directly on printable optical disks (of course, in order to use this feature you'll have to connect it to your computer).

Only two of the printers—the Pixma iP6000D and R320—have a cartridge for each of its six ink colors while the Lexmark and HP printers have tri-color cartridges and the Dell has one cartridge (it also only prints three colors). This is an important consideration, as replacing an ink color for your printer may end up costing you more for models that have tri-color cartridges, especially if you haven't used up the other colors in that particular cartridge. And if you're also planning to use your printer for general-purpose printing, it's important to note that the Dell only accepts a maximum paper size of 4-by-6 inches, while the other four can take up to legal size paper. Whichever you choose, one of these five photo printers is sure to simplify and speed your image delivery.

For more on what factors to consider when purchasing a photo printer, read our Photo Printer Buying Guide.

In this roundup:

Canon Pixma iP6000D It's a reasonable choice if you want a second printer specifically for photos.

Dell Photo Printer 540 It prints from computers, cameras, and memory cards. It's a little faster than most other thermal-dye photo printers, and it offers a lower price per print.

Epson Stylus Photo R320 This printer offers better output quality across the board than most ink jets.

HP Photosmart 8150 Photo Printer What really distinguishes it is kiosk-style features for direct printing, with options to crop, sharpen, adjust brightness, apply digital flash, and more.

Lexmark P915 Home Photo Printer It offers reasonable, but not outstanding, speed for the price, along with some nice ease-of-use features.

Check out the features that differentiate these photo printers in our comparison table.

Copyright © 2005 Ziff Davis Media Inc. All Rights Reserved. Originally appearing in PC Magazine.

Article source: findarticles.com

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Buying a Photo Printer

As more and more of us have turned to digital photography there has been a huge surge in demand for printers that can deliver photo print quality reproduction that we have been used to with a developer shop. With the development of improved technology delivering a wider range of printing options you will find a bedazzling array of photo quality printers to choose from so here we shall give you some sound advice as to what you should be looking for in a new photo printer.

Compact Photo Printers

These are portable and will connect directly to your digital camera or PC as well as having a slot for the memory card to be directly inserted into them and allow download and printing of the photos directly.

A drawback is that they are limited in what they can produce. The size of the photo print created is usually a lot smaller than that of a desktop printer but they do print photo quality prints faster.

Check the compatibility between the photo printer and your camera to ensure they will operate together properly.

Desktop Photo Printers

These printers are capable of stand alone operation or work in conjunction with your computer. They tend to provide a wider range of print size options as well as they are larger and tend to offer more paper handling options than their compact brothers. You'll find that they are more expensive but for the extra you get higher printing resolution and a faster operation speed than a regular desktop printer. Indeed, it is not unusual to find that they have all the functional capabilities of a regular desktop printer.

What is DPI?

DPI or dots-per-inch is the measure of a printers resolution capability with a higher dpi meaning that there are more dots, smaller in size and giving an image that is sharper as it is more difficult to distinguish between the individual dots than with a printer that has a lower dpi. For photo print quality you will be looking for a dpi of 600 while typically a printer will offer a dpi of anything between 300 and 3500 dpi. Aside from dpi, the other factor you need to consider in producing good quality reproduction prints is the quality of the paper that you use and the number of colors the printer is using.

Color Management

Usually you will see a photo printer using three to six color combinations to reproduce color prints. The more colors that the printer is using the better the finished article as you tend to get a blurring or fogging of darker colors if you use three colors only. More color cartridges however means more expense as a rule, so keep an eye on the cost of these consumables when you are looking at buying a photo printer.

Printer Type

You have a general choice from two types of printer that are differentiated by how they apply the printer ink to the paper. Laser printers use heat to force the ink through the print head and onto the paper but they produce dots of differing sizes which in turn leads to a less sharp image being reproduced. An ink jet printer will spray the ink onto the paper in a gradual series of layers that results in a uniform dot size and a much sharper image being reproduced. You will tend to find that the better quality photo printers use ink jet technology though laser printers are improving a great deal.

Grant Lithgow is a leading person in printer ink For a full range of printer cartridges for your inkjet printer at discounted prices please visit http://www.easyinkz.co.uk/


Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Grant_Lithgow

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Fax Machines Guide-Some guidelines about Fax Machines

by: Anuj Sharma


A telecommunication tool that sends and receives documents or graphics via telephone lines is known as ‘fax machine’. Fax machine is basically a package of image scanner, a modem and a computer printer. Scanner is used to convert the content of physical documents into digital image whereas modem sends image data via phone line and printer is used to make a duplicate of original document.

Sometimes fax machines are used to scan documents into a computer and to take a print of documents from computer. Fax machines converts a picture into zeros and ones format so that data can be easily transmitted like normal computer data while on the other side it reads the data and translates zeros and ones back into dots and reprints the picture.

Fax machines are affordable and easy to use devices. Fax machines transmit data at speed from 4,800 bps to 28,800 bps. Fax machines with a speed of 9,600 bps transmit one page within 10-20 seconds. Several fax machines use thermal printer that needs special paper to print the best pictures. Thermal paper mostly comes in two sizes such as 8.5 inches wide and 10.1 inches wide.

Some fax machines come with vast variety of dialing features. It enables you to set a program to send a document at future time. Another important feature of fax machine is that you can send multi page document without feeding each and every page manually in the machine.

Latest fax machines are a bit faster than the old ones. You should determine quality, price and other important features at the time of purchasing a fax machine. You can select ‘fax modem’ in case you want to send faxes but not receive them. Choice of fax machines depends on your requirements.

About The Author


Anuj Sharma owns a website on Fax Machines http://www.123faxmachines.com/. Website provides information about cheap fax machines, best fax machines, fax machines reviews, and history of fax machines. Get all information about fax machines from his site http://www.cheapfaxmachines.info/.

Monday, December 10, 2007

All About Toner Cartridges

Toner is a dry powder that is used in laser printers and photocopiers to structure the text and clear images on available printed-paper. Earlier it was just a carbon powder. Then, to develop the excellence of the printout the carbon was combined with a polymer. Toner cartridges elements are melted by the heat of the fuser result them to attach to the paper. The exact polymer used differs by producer but could be a Styrene Acryl ate Copolymer or could be a Polyester Resin. Toner cartridges formulations differ from producer to producer and even from one machine to another machine. Typically formulation, grain size and melt point differ the most.

The actual particle size of toner comes about 12 micrometers. When image resolution was enhanced to 600 dots per inch, any how, the particle dimension was condensed to 8 micrometers. Further reductions in size would be essential for developments in resolution. Toner cartridges manufacturers preserve an excellence control standard for actual particle size in order to create a powder appropriate for use in their printers; the actual particle size in the product is not really allowed to vary too much from the essential dimension.

Toner has usually been made by compounding the ingredients and making a slab that was broken or palletized and then turned it into a fine dry toner powder with a controlled actual particle size variety by air jet milling. This procedure resulted in toner cartridge a granule that, if looked via microscope, displayed different sizes and jagged shapes. To get a best print, some ink/toner companies are using a chemical procedure to grow toner particles. This results in size that is more consistent and consistent shapes of toner cartridges particles. The resulting lesser uniform shapes allow more precise color reproduction and well-organized toner use.

In earlier toner cartridge machines toner was poured by the user from a bottle into a tank in the machine. Modern toner machines feed straight from a cartridge. Empty toner cartridges are frequently refilled by third party vendors.

Toner could even be washed off skin or garments with chill water. Hot or warm water would soften the toner, causing it blend to the toner material it is on. Toner fused to skin would weaken in time, or could be partly removed using rough hand cleaners. Toner fused to clothing cannot normally be removed.

Chris victor is an author of LowerPriceUSA.com , one of the worlds MOST popular company for selling Lexmark inkjet cartridges toner cartridges and laser printer cartridges on the web. He has written many articles about ink cartridges, printer cartridges etc. Contact him at chris.seocopywriter@gmail.com

Sunday, December 9, 2007

How To Choose A Printer That Will Do The Job For You

These days, the printer has evolved to a very noticeable extent. Printers started with the dot matrix type that was very hard to use. Dot matrix printers are the ones that print very loudly and it is difficult to feed the paper into them.

Now, laser printers and inkjet printers have replaced dot matrix printers. How do you choose the perfect printer for the job? Below are five of the most important qualities you should look for when choosing a printer.

The most important factor to be considered is the resolution. Resolution is the number of dots a printer prints in a square inch. Your old dot matrix printer could not print in a high resolution. Ink jet printers are perfect for this. A good quality printer with high resolution can produce 1440 by 720 dpi. The operating cost of the printer should also be considered. The speed of the printer is very important especially if you are using it in the office. Laser printers are perfect in this respect, 80 to 100 page documents can be printed in a very short time. Laser printers are also very cost effective to operate since their cartridges are not replaced very often.

Printers that have photo lab quality are essential if you are looking for a printer that can print high-resolution images in photo paper. Those who often use printers for printing pictures should get printers of the dye-sublimation type. With this type of printer, the dots are softer, thereby making the images appear sharper.

The volume of printout per minute is essential if you are printing large numbers of documents in black and white. There are printers with a lower resolution of about 400 by 400 dpi that can print about 70 pages in black and white within a minute.

The size of the printout is also to be considered. There are certain printers that can print all sizes of documents, big or small. The usual paper size is the 8.5 by 11 but for these types of printers, you can print enveloped size to tabloid-sized documents. To be able to select the perfect printer for your needs, you should first determine where the printer would be used. If you are keen on printing photos, then a photo printer is necessary, but if you are more interested in printing documents, then heavy duty printers with speed printing are appropriate to use. High resolution is important, however it should fit the speed, quality and price of the printout. Keeping the above specifications in mind, you will be able to purchase the right printer that would meet your requirements.

Gregg Hall is an author living in Navarre Florida. Find more about printers and get Canon Inkjet Cartridges at http://www.inkjetcartridgeplus.com

Friday, December 7, 2007

Choosing an Office Printer

The modern day office increasingly relies on computer and online based distribution of documents to function efficiently. While it is not uncommon for companies to communicate solely via electronic means, there is still a demand for hard copies of documents for most businesses. Contracts and other legal documents are good examples of where the need for physical copies is a must and so it is important for a business to have a printer of some kind that can handle the work load of the office and be economical for the business at the same time.

Choosing a printer for an office is a matter of assessing the printing needs of your business and then looking at the wide range of printers available to see which most aptly suits those needs while remaining within budget restraints. Questions a business should ask themselves include does the company produce a large volume of printed materials? Will the printer need to be part of a network? Is there a need for colour or high quality photo printing? Will you need to print on paper larger than A4?

Once the assessment of the companies needs has been completed, it is time to look at the variety of printer types.

Generally speaking, for a business with occasional print needs such as monthly reports and maybe fax functionality, one of the many low-cost multifunction printers will suffice. As the company expands, this printer can be replaced safe in the knowledge that the money lost due to depreciation won't cause too much of a dent in the company finances. Multifunction printers are inexpensive yet produce good quality prints but should not be used for companies who do more than mentioned above as the cost of consumables and repairs may make the whole venture uneconomic compared to buying a more robust printer in the first place.

If your company does need a sturdier printer that can produce large amounts of documents at a relatively low cost, an actual office laser printer should be looked into. These printers can take much more wear and tear than cheaper multifunction printers and through the utilisation of toner cartridges, the running costs can be greatly reduced. The typical monochrome office laser printer can produce approximately one thousand pages on one toner cartridge.

Something to bear in mind when choosing an office printer is the capacity of it's paper feed tray. Too small a tray will result in continual trips to refill the tray - not exactly what is needed in a busy office as it wastes time and results in queues for printing. A busy office where the printer is in regular use through out day might need a printer whose tray holds at least 250 sheets. A useful alternative is to source a printer that has two trays that can take different sizes. One tray can carry standard A4 paper and the other tray can carry a different paper size such as legal letter paper or A3.

The amount of memory the printer has is also a consideration that needs to be taken into account. If your office needs to reproduce finely detailed images or documents of large size, the more memory the printer has, the easier it will be to print these documents in one run.

Connecting your printer to a network is essential for any office what has just one central printer but many computer terminals. Almost all modern printers have a networking function so that multiple computers can access and print from it. The step up from this is a printer that can connect to all the computers in an office via the Local Area Network (LAN) of the company. Thus the printer can be used by any computer in the office or building regardless of location.

In addition to the aforementioned aspects of modern printers, companies that need to reproduce colour or graphical documents would need to look at the colour printing and art reproductive qualities of a printer.

If an office needs a colour printer, a high quality colour laser printer should be considered. It may even be worth having a colour laser printer dedicated to colour work and then a cheaper monochrome printer for printing text documents or anything that does not need to be printed at as high a quality.

The other consideration is using a colour inkjet printer for photography printing. Even though inkjet printers are considered by most to be old fashioned, inkjet printers work much more effectively when used in conjunction with high-gloss photo paper.

Robin Kemp is a Freelance writer living and working in Brighton.

For more information on Printers visit www.Ameiva.co.uk

Thursday, December 6, 2007

Advantages of A Laser Printer

Does a laser printer have enough advantages that it is worth a splurge or should you spend your hard earned money on a cheaper inkjet printer instead? Before you make your decision it might be worth your while to look at some of the advantages offered by laser printers.

First of all laser printers are known for their speed. A laser can move very quickly so it can transfer information incredibly quickly to the paper. Rather than just print a section of a page as an inkjet printer does, a laser printer allows you to print an entire page at a time. This makes it much easier to print graphics mixed with text that are designed with a computer program.

Another benefit of using a laser printer is that it is more precise then other types of printers, but especially inkjet and impact style printers. This is because the laser beam transfers the image to be replicated very precisely on to the paper, which saves the spilling of any extra ink.

Another benefit of laser printers is that many of them are very modern and energy efficient. It doesn’t cost as much to keep the machine running. In terms of cost, the use of toner in a laser printer is much cheaper than the ink cartridges that are used in inkjet printers over the long run. This is because expensive ink cartridges can be used up very quickly, especially if you are printing in color.

Yet another convenience when it comes to using laser printers is that they are less messy to deal with this. You can easily refill or replace the toner cartridges that are filled with a fine powder. This fine powder is much easier to clean up then ink that can be spilled everywhere as you attempt to fill the cartridge from an ink jet printer.

In general laser printers can often hold more ink and can go longer without needing any kind of toner cartridge change or paper filling. This means that it is a lot freer and that it can practically serve more people at one time if they are all working together in a small office.

Color laser printers also offer their users more potential for creativity and design then a simple black and white printer. Suddenly it is possible to brand every piece of stationary you have with your own logo or colorful promotional designs. Formerly expensive printing jobs such as the printing of posters, postcards, business cards or invitations can now be simply done in the office instead of being farmed out.

Laser printers also give designers and artist a lot more control over their final product before it is submitted to a printer as the pages that are spewed out of a color laser printer can closely approximate the finished product. This makes the reading, correcting and approval of any final proofs a much simpler and easier job!

Another perk to owning a laser printer is that you can buy them as part of an all-in-one type machine that also includes a copier and fax in one unit. This is a great innovation as it allows you to streamline a couple of major appliances into one appliance. As this one machine now uses the same paper and cartridge for many different uses and functions you also find yourself saving on computer ink and paper as you do not have to buy as many different brands or types of supplies for it as you would for three or four machines. Thankfully these types of laser printers are dropping in price so that they are now not that much more expensive then a quality inkjet printer.

Have you ever wondered how laser printers work? Or what types of laser printers are available? Visit our site at Laser Printers Etc and find out.

For laser toners, ink cartridges, visit a1toners.com for free overnight shipping.

Wednesday, December 5, 2007

Copier Machines - A Technological Marvel

For many, many years now, copier machines have been a standard fixture in any office or school. They have been around even before computers became popular. Copier machines were primarily used to create black and white duplicates of documents or practically anything that is on paper.

The first copier machines produced were large, bulky contraptions, but because of technological developments, there are many copier machines today that are very compact and yet have much more features than their predecessors.

Copier machines have evolved tremendously over the years. Aside from making duplicates, today's copier machines can also be used for scanning images, collating documents, sending facsimiles, and so many other functions. Here are only a few of the common uses of copier machines today:

1. Copier machines can make colored copies of documents or images.

2. They can enlarge or reduce the size of your document according to your preference.

3. They can print page numbers of the duplicates that you are making.

4. They can also print on a variety of paper sizes and colors.

5. Many presentations and brochures today are printed from copier machines.

With these features and so much more, there is absolutely no doubt that copier machines are vital in making office work much faster and more organized.

Although copier machines seem to be able to do it all, they still need the right kind of maintenance to function well. Minor repairs like fixing paper jams and changing toner cartridges can be handled by anyone in the office.

However, a copier machine technician has to take care of the major problems. The technician also needs to check your copier machine at least once a year.

It is really amazing when you think about how far copier machines have advanced over the decades. If you think they are just for making copies of your paperwork, think again. With all their capabilities, it is not surprising if offices of the future will be revolving around them.

You can also find more info on Copier Toner and Copier Cartridges. Copiers-guide.com is a comprehensive resource to know about Copier and it's Accessories like Cartridges, Toner, Ink, and more.

A1Toners.com has a large selection of copier supplies, copy machine toners, drums, ink and more. We carry copier toners for all brand name copy machines, like Xerox, Canon, Sharp, Lanier, Ricoh, Toshiba and more. Visit us at www.a1toners.com.

Tuesday, December 4, 2007

The "New Look" Fax Machine

If you have an urgent message to send, fax it. That is what we have been doing for ages now. The fax machine has been a great invention and it has helped businesses carry out important communications with clients and employees that are located elsewhere. Information that cannot be effectively communicated over the phone can easily be sent by fax in real time.

Of course, times are changing now. However, while faxing remains just as popular as before, the process is being given a facelift, if we can call it that. The fax machine is slowly being ousted from the scene. And what is taking its place? Our computers, of course. Our desktops and laptops with Internet connections are coming to the forefront and offering their services as fax machines. All that we have to do is to subscribe to an Internet faxing service provider and get a fax number. Then we can receive faxes in our mailbox and send them out as easily as we would send email.

This would mean that we would no longer have to worry about being greeted by a busy signal. The email option assures us that the fax will be sent almost instantly. The speed of this mode of faxing is what is drawing more and more people to make use of it. Yet another time-saving feature of Internet faxing is the fact that we do not have to wait in long queues in order to send out a single fax. Public fax machines always present that problem. But subscribing to an efficient Internet faxing service could eliminate it. Couple this with the fact that worrying about busy signals will be a thing of the past, and you have a problem-free faxing option. That certainly sounds great, doesn't it?

And wait, there is more. The fact that the faxes come straight into your mailbox rather than into the tray of a public fax machine is yet another boon. This ensures that the confidentiality of the information is not at risk. You will be freed from the anxiety of having inquisitive people try to make sense of the info in your fax. When it comes into your own personal mailbox, only you have access to the restricted information.

Moreover, this option of Internet faxing also reduces the number of papers the clutter your desk. Only if you need a hard copy do you need to run a print. If not, you can just relax and rejoice at the fact that we are living in a relatively paperless world.

Monday, December 3, 2007

The Benefits of Inkjet Printers

There are several different types of printers on the market today, but the inkjet printer is the dominant force. This is largely to do with inkjet printers being the more affordable option while still being able to produce a good quality output.

It may interest you to know that printer manufacturers do not actually make any profit or sometimes very little profit on the printers they sell. At first this probably sounds crazy, but is a well used business model that can be seen in practice in many other industries. This type of business practice was first used by Gillette to sell its razor blades. The reason the printer companies sell you the printers at a loss is that they aim to make their profits by selling you the ink for the printer. The printer companies have a huge mark up on the ink cartridges. This also explains why they are so keen to discourage consumers from buying replica ink cartridges.

How they work

The vast majority of home inkjet printers will use a thermal inkjet. Inkjet ink cartridges are pretty ingenious examples of modern technology in action. Without getting too technical lets take a look at how they actually work. Within the ink cartridge will be a series of electrically heated chambers. Ink is dispelled from the ink cartridge as an electric current is passed through the heating elements. This process causes a droplet of ink to be forced from the ink cartridge and onto the paper, with any surplus ink being sucked back into the chamber. This process is replicated many times over at high speed in order to print your chosen documents.

The thermal inkjet method is not the only method used. There are two other designs of called piezoelectric ink jets and continuous ink jet. These designs tend to be seen in more industrial or commercial printers.

Advantages

Ink jet printers are a fantastic invention. They are able to provide consumers with high quality prints at a very reasonable price. Do you remember the old dot matrix and daisywheel printers? If you do you will surely remember the amount of noise they used to make and the standard of print. In comparison ink jet printers are much quieter and also produce much higher quality. You can buy an inkjet printer that will produce photo quality picture prints, something that would have been impossible with a dot matrix!

Disadvantages

As we previously mentioned one drawback of the ink jet printer is the cost of printer cartridges, which can be quite expensive. The design of the ink cartridges does also mean that they are prone to clogging. As the ink used is water soluble it is also important to avoid even small amounts of water coming into contact with your finished document, as this will easily cause smudging. Another disadvantage is the possibility of an affect called bleeding. This is when the ink is carried side ways and results in a smudged document.

Consumer Tips

Buy non-branded ink cartridges. These are often less than half the price of the printer manufacturers ink cartridges, but just as good.

Buy an ink refill kit. This is another cheap way of buying ink, although you should only refill your ink cartridges a few times.

Buy your ink over the internet as you will find some fantastic offers.

Steve Jones now writes articles for http://www.a1printerink.com

Sunday, December 2, 2007

To Lease a Copier or to Purchase a Copier?

To Lease a Copier or to Purchase a Copier - Which Is The Better Option?

If you are setting up an office, whether in a commercial building or at home, you will probably need a copier machine. One of the important decisions you will be making is whether you will go for a copier lease, or purchase one for yourself?

Unless you will be needing multiple copies of documents everyday, generally, the better and more economical choice is a copier lease. Here are some of the reasons why:

- Maintenance and repair of your own copier machine could turn out to be costlier and more time-consuming than you think. If you have a copier lease, regular maintenance will be provided for you and if you need the machine to be fixed, all you have to do is call the vendor and they will send a repair guy to you right away.

- In the same way, when a part of your copier needs to be replaced, you may have to go to several stores before you find the exact part that you need...and then you have to install it yourself. If you have a copier lease, they will be the ones to look for a high-quality but low-cost copier part. True, you will have to pay for the part, but installation services are free.

In addition, some copier leases also give you the benefit of free minor parts and free installation. Most companies will also provide you with a temporary unit while your own copier is undergoing repairs.

- When the time comes when you want to change to a more advanced model, it will be very easy if you have a copier lease. Leasing companies are always willing to modify your lease and exchange your current machine with a newer model.

On the other hand, if your copier machine was purchased, and you want to buy a new one, you will end up with two copier machines. Unless you have sufficient storage space, you will have the burden of looking for a buyer for your old unit, or dispose of it in some other way.

In most cases, copier leases are really the more practical choice. It saves you money and is hassle-free.

You can also find more info on Copier Printers and Copier Rentals. Copiers-guide.com is a comprehensive resource to know about Copier and it's Accessories like Cartridges, Toner, Ink, and more.