Frank’s ink cartridge, toner cartridge, printer & photo paper news!

Canon’s PIXMA iP6320D photo printer boasts 4800 x 1200 dpi printing as well as direct printing from compatible memory cards, digital cameras and mobile phones.

It features a 2.5 inch LCD screen to preview photos and basic photo editing functions such as red eye removal and retouching. Chromalife inks ensure that prints are long lasting.

Dot size is a as low as 2 picolitre and 6 different colour inks make photos and prints look great.

The PIXMA iP6320D prints borderless photos up to A4.

Interfaces include:
PC: USB 2.0 Hi-Speed, Bluetooth printing with optional BU-20 adaptor and Bluetooth enabled computer
Camera Direct: Direct Print Port (PictBridge)
Mobile Phone: IrDA 1.2 (JPEG only), Bluetooth Ver. 1.2 with optional BU-20 adaptor (JPEG only)

Canon PIXMA iP6320D ink cartridges include the Canon CL-41, Canon CL-51 and Canon CL-52 Photo Ink.

Del.icio.us

Cosmos

Digg

Slashdot

Update below original story

…Found this on a US website today, which was quite interesting:

“Thank you for visiting our website…

Unfortunately, there are no compatible brand cartridges available for the following Canon printers:

iP1600, iP4200, iP6210D, iP6220D, iP5200, iP5200R, iP6600D, MP150, MP170, MP450, MP500, MP800, MP950

We have recently inspected the new Canon cartridges for the printers listed above and spoken to the compatible brand manufacturers. Canon now has proprietary (patented) parts on the cartridges meaning no one except Canon can make the cartridges or work around the patented parts, at least not at this time.

There is a distinct possibility new non-genuine compatible brand cartridges may never be available for any of the Canon printers listed above. We are still hopeful the compatible brand cartridge manufacturers will find a way to make the ink cartridges in the future.

What this also means is that you can only buy the expensive Canon brand ink cartridges. For example, the Canon iP1600 printer costs about $50.00. One black and one color cartridge cost $45.00, nearly the price of the printer itself. Also, the iP1600, MP150, MP170, MP450, iP6210D, iP6220D have tri-color cartridges, which means if you run out of only one of the three colors in the cartridge you have to replace the cartridge, even though you may not be out of the other colors.

Fortunately, Epson and Brother have not gone this way yet. Epson and Brother printers have inexpensive compatible brand ink cartridges readily available, which we carry.

At this point, we will more than likely be suggesting that customers consider selling or possibly not purchasing the newer Canon printers, if possible and buy an Epson, Brother or one of the few remaining Canon printers that have compatibles available. Depending on how may cartridges you plan on using, purchasing another printer that has compatible brand cartridges available can save a considerable amount of money over the life of the printer. ”

When they say patented parts, of course they mean the proprietary chip which measures the ink levels. I believe there will be compatibles made for these however they may not have the chip in them. All this would means is that the printer will detect non-genuine cartridges, give you a warning that Canon’s warranty does not cover damage caused by refills, and then disables the low ink warning. You will need to frequently visually check the level of ink in the cartridges because if the ink runs out it will fry the printhead (and of course this will not be covered by warranty as you have acknowledged that you used compatible cartridges!). Watch this space.

Update

Several companies are now offering compatible cartridges for the iP4200 - with one problem. As the chips are still copyrighted, they are not supplied with the compatible cartridges (and they won’t work without the chip) (see update below). This means you have to prise the chips off the empty originals and stick them onto the compatible. If you damage the chip, you will need to buy a new original cartridge.

Also when you change the chip you will get a warning message and the ink indicators will no longer work (which could result in burning the heads out). Be careful!

 Further Update

Compatible cartridges with chips are now freely available. If buying compatibles, clarify with the seller whether the chips are included or not.

Del.icio.us

Cosmos

Digg

Slashdot

Yes, recommended retail for this printer is just $49!

For a cheap printer, the specs are surprising, but that comes down to Canon’s new range of FINE printer cartridges. Print speed is 11 pages per minute in both black and colour, with printing up to 4800 x 1200 dpi. The printer comes with a 3 colour cartridge as standard but you can also use a black cartridge if you are doing mainly black and white printing.

This printer is great for students or for homes with low volume printing needs. Photos come out decent however without the ability to use a photo cartridge you won’t get those subtle hues and skin tones.

The only interface available with this printer is USB.

The Canon PIXMA iP1300 ink cartridges are the CL-41 and the PG-40 black.

Del.icio.us

Cosmos

Digg

Slashdot

Although this study dates back to September 2005, I was reminded about it by regular reader Randall Philips. Randall has tried a lot of refilled inks for his HP and has had some disasters with a few cartridges but he has persevered because he is trying to save money.
The HP study, conducted by an independent body, tests the reliability of refilled cartridges bought over the counter and represents various vendors. Quality Logic, the testing company, found refilled inks just didn’t match with HP quality. Some problems they found with refills were leaking cartridges, poor quality printing, premature failure and low yields.

I have to say that even though some cartridges were classed as poor quality, they weren’t too bad and a lot of people would be happy with that quality considering the amount of money they will save by buying a refilled cartridge.

Del.icio.us

Cosmos

Digg

Slashdot

Based on its own case study, Hewlett-Packard recently evaluated its inkjet products in the Chinese marketplace as:

• There is significant price difference between original cartridge and alternatives
• The Chinese market is very sensitive to price
• Resulting in declining share of HP original cartridge

Hewlett Packard’s Singapore-based vice-president for the supplies business of the company’s Imaging and Printing Group in Asia Pacific/Japan, John Solomon, has revealed that its research labs had developed a new black ink cartridge called `Simple Black’ to address what it has found to be the widest application of consumer ink jets: monochrome documents printed using the economical `draft’ mode of its printers.

“We introduced the `Simple Black’ in China, with great success and by the end of this year we plan to offer it in India, our other big market in Asia, where customers are very price conscious,” Mr. Solomon said. It will be priced at around Rs. 500 (US$10.90 or A$14.66) — which will make it only a little costlier than a refilled or third party cartridge, but about half what an original `black’ for a HP printer costs today.

Del.icio.us

Cosmos

Digg

Slashdot

For those interested, there is a guide to refilling Canon iP4200 cartridges at WhatCartridge.

Covers refilling PGI-5BK, CLI-8BK, CLI-8C, CLI-8M and CLI-8Y cartridges for Canon Pixma iP4200, iP5200, iP5200r printers, MP500, MP800 and MP950 multifunctions.

Del.icio.us

Cosmos

Digg

Slashdot

Cartridge World is one of the big success stories in Australian franchising. Cartridge World specialises in refilling ink and toner cartridges, and from one small store in Adelaide they have grown to 1,000 stores worldwide in 9 years. Can this phenomenal success continue? Unless Cartridge World evolves, the answer is no. There are several reasons for this:

The OEM Manufacturers
The major printer manufacturers have a vested interest in making sure that refillers such as Cartridge World don’t succeed. HP, Canon, Epson and Lexmark make alot of money from printer cartridges, and although refillers have only a slice of the market this represents billions of dollars in lost sales. HP last year let off a warning shot over Cartridge World’s bows by issuing a warning that some franchisees were using inks that infringed HP’s patents. (More on this later in the article). Canon recently successfully sued a company which was refilling it’s cartridges. Epson has been stopping companies from making compatibles of it’s cartridges that infringe it’s patents (Cartridge World has it’s own line of compatible Epson and Canon cartridges).

Manufacturers are making it difficult for refillers in 3 other ways:
1) By placing chips and other proprietary designs on the cartridge to make it more difficult or time-consuming to refill cartridges;
2) By making the cartridges a lot smaller and a lot cheaper thus making it uneconomical to refill - for instance some new HP cartridges cost just $10 - and if you factor in the cost of labour, rent, franchise and advertising fees and utilities (plus the inevitable failures) the average Cartridge World franchisee would be lucky to break even when they refill one of these.
Other Epson and Canon cartridges are time consuming and difficult to refill. The newest Canon cartridges even let the printer know they have been refilled and if a user inserts refilled cartridges into their machine they are prompted with a warning message that says their warranty won’t cover damage by these cartridges, and the printer disables the ‘ink low’ warning which may result in the printheads burning out;
3) Creating vastly superior inks and toners that are difficult to replicate. For instance, toners used to be manufactured by making a ‘porridge’ of toner then drying it out and crushing it to a fine powder. This was very efficient, however this process resulted in toner particles which varied in size by up to 1000%, and particles which looked like chipped pieces of rock under a microscope. These days OEM manufacturers’ toner is made to the finest tolerances, and they have patented processes to make the particles a spherical shape. See an article here about the different processes. Presently replacement toner of such quality is difficult to obtain, resulting in print quality from newer type remanufactured cartridges being noticeably lower quality. Colour inks too are becoming more and more complex and difficult to duplicate. A lot of newer inks are covered by patents so anything close to the original just can’t be used to refill ink cartridges. Even though most ink formulations are covered by patent, at the time of writing Cartridge World stated on their site:

“We use premium inks that have exactly the same chemical and physical properties as the original inks. Our inks are specially formulated for your printer.” (my italics).

If the inks are exactly the same, Cartridge World can expect more warning letters not only from HP but also Canon, Epson and the rest.

The rise of digital photography
The fuel for the latest burst of activity in the printing industry is the huge growth of digital photography. Consumers are printing out literally millions of photos on their home printers and consumers demand photo quality prints. This requires not only quality ink but also quality paper. This market will continue to grow. Unfortunately Cartridge World has positioned itself on price, not on quality. The OEM’s have the upper hand here. HP, Canon and Epson all advertise that best printing results are achieved by using genuine inks and paper, and when people want to print photos they think OEM ink. While refill inks can produce brilliant prints if of a high quality, Cartridge World just doesn’t seem to have entered the digital printing world. None of the Cartridge World corporate websites even mention that printing quality photos is possible with their refilled cartridges. Cartridge World inks have not been tested for permanence by Henry Wilhelm. (09/06/2006 UPDATE: They have now been tested). Cartridge World does not mention that photo prints can be produced at half the price using their refilled cartridges. The corporation psych seems to have ignored the future of printing!

Color laser printing
Another strong growth area is color laser printing. Color laser printers have dropped substantially over the past 2 years and machines can be had for less than $500. However, this poses problems for Cartridge World. As their own website says:

“At present, continual research and development has yet to produce a toner which can be used successfully in the reloading of a colour laser cartridge.”

The reasons are here on a story about color laser cartridge refilling.

This will only cut into the “pool” of cartridges that can be refilled, reducing Cartridge World’s market further.

Competition
Cartridge World have been fortunate in that there is no real large scale competitors to their business. That will change of course. Caboodle Cartridge, although comparitavely small with 44 stores, is set to expand because consumers don’t even have to wait for their cartridge to be refilled, they have ones on hand. And there are the big chains: Walgreens - opening ink refill stations at 1,500 of their stores; OfficeMax , installing 900+ ink refill stations across America; and Office Depot is trialling a similar ink refill service in 15 stores in Chicago.

Can the refill market grow to absorb these new competitors? While awareness can increase the refill market, the OEM’s will not tolerate losing market share - every 1% increase in refill sales hurts their sales by $3 billion. This is the real competition for Cartridge World - a squeeze on one side from new entrants to the refill market, and a squeeze on the other side from the big manufacturers (through upscaled marketing, deep discounting or legal action).

What to do?
Cartridge World will need to add value to avoid the squeeze.

• As mentioned, digital photo printing is huge and marketing efforts, quality control and staff training can help Cartridge World become “digital printing experts”, offering a total print solution. A range of quality photo papers and displays of printed samples would make this an easy proposition to sell.
• This one may be controversial as it may ruffle some feathers. Team up with a printer niche player such as Sharp, Xerox or Olivetti to offer a range of Cartridge World brand printers (with easy to refill inks and toners of course). With a large enough installed base this could be the product that ensures Cartridge World’s continued growth and survival. And what better salespeople are there than the ones already giving advice to customers about which printer to buy, and ink and toners?
• Misc: Keep being innovative and staying ahead of the pack - use whatever means possible to differentiate itself from the competition. Build the technical skills of Cartridge World operators with training on a regular basis (not just 2 weeks at the start). Ensure standards are set out and stores are following those standards. Find out why the best franchisees are successful and apply that wherever possible to other franchisees. Encourage forward thinking at head office, who should be thinking about the state of the industry in 3-5 years time.

It’s been fun…
…dissecting Cartridge World. There is a comments box below, use it! I would especially love to hear from Cartridge World people. Do you think this assessment is accurate? Have I made any factual errors you would like to see corrected? I will approve all comments (except frivolous, repetitive or abusive posts). Cheers!

Del.icio.us

Cosmos

Digg

Slashdot

Do you have an Epson ink printer? Did you know you may be eligible for a $25 refund check and a $20 credit at the Epson store, or a $45 credit at the Epson store? Recently Epson agreed to settle a class action suit brought in the Los Angeles Superior Court. The suit alleged that Epson was short changing customers as the printer software said the cartridges were empty and needed replacing when in fact they still had a substantial amount of ink in them.

Epson has denied all wrongdoing and rejects the claims, however to avoid a costly and lengthy lawsuit Epson have agreed to settle out of court. If you bought or leased one of the qualifying printers between April 8, 1999 and May 8, 2006, bought genuine Epson ink cartridges in that time, and are a citizen of the US (or a corporation etc), you are entitled to the refund/credit. I think just about every Epson ink printer is included but you can go to the claim page and see if your printer is listed and fill out the claim form.

The full details of the settlement can be found here.

Del.icio.us

Cosmos

Digg

Slashdot

The time taken for a print to dry depends on several factors:

• The amount of ink printed which in turn depends on the density of the image.
• The type of photo paper used.
• The humidity and temperature of the surrounding air.
• The brand of ink and printer.
• The air circulation in the room.

For best results:

• Use the same brand of paper as the printer.
• If you use other brands of paper such as Ilford or Celcast, make sure it is suitable for your printer.
• If you use generic or other brands of paper you may need to test several different types with your printer.
• If using refilled or generic cartridges and the photos dry too slowly, try using genuine cartridges
• Carefully remove the print from the printer once it has finished printing and place it flat in a warm dry environment with good air circulation.

Del.icio.us

Cosmos

Digg

Slashdot

Epson has announced a new lawsuit against another 24 companies which manufacture Epson compatible ink cartridges. Epson alleges copyright infringement of their cartridge design. Epson has for several years been adamant that they are not against aftermarket cartridges for their printers per se, only aftermarket cartridges which infringe copyright. The newest batch of companies targetted by Epson includes companies that manufacture in China, Germany, Korea and Mexico, as well as some U.S. companies that import cartridges.

Manufacturers include Butterfly Print Image, Ink Lab, Mipo International, Nine Star Image, Zhuhai Gree Magneto-Electric, Tully Imaging Supplies, Wellink Trading Co., Ribbon Tree (Macao), Artech GmbH, Ink Tec (Korea) and Master Ink Co.

Importers include some very well known companies - Glory South Software, Nectron International, Mipo America, Nine Star Technology, Town Sky Inc., MMC Consumables, Inkjetwarehouse.com, Ribbon Tree (USA) Apex, Inc Tec (America), Dataproducts USA, Rhinotek and Acujet.

If Epson is successful these companies may be liable for large damages payouts to Epson, as well as lost sales in the millions of dollars. It is unlikely that end users will be involved any sort of litigation for using these cartridges, however consumers that use these cartridges and are happy with them will need to use different brands which don’t infringe copyright.

As can be seen from the list of importers and manufacturers, if Epson is successful they will effectively remove some of the best performing compatibles from the market, making the remaining non-infringing aftermarket cartridges the only substitute to genuine. Of course the non-infringing designs are vastly inferior to the genuine Epson ink cartridges , making the genuine product much more attractive.

Whether we see Epson taking action against Australian importers of non-genuine cartridges remains to be seen.

Del.icio.us

Cosmos

Digg

Slashdot