Canon Settles Patent Dispute (Buy your stock NOW !)

Canon has settled a dispute with five Japanese companies over patent infringement issues.

The businesses, Ohm Electric Inc., Color Creation Inc., Ninestar Japan Co., Futurewell Holding Ltd. and REV Corp, are all ink cartridge manufacturers as well.

Canon filed an injunction at Tokyo's District Courts last January, claiming that the inkjet cartridges sold by the firms violated Canon's patent on units featuring LED lights.

Following a recommendation from the courts to settle the dispute amicably, the five companies in question agreed to no longer import, sell, deliver or display for sales purposes the products in question.

Accordingly, Canon decided to drop the charges against them.

Under the terms of the settlement, the printing giant has granted the companies a grace period for existing stock and on-order products until the end of February 2010, with the said period for certain inkjet cartridge models extended to March.

This is a note to users of Canon printers to stock up on inventory (if you use third party products) well in advance of the Feb deadline. Future stock of these products will no longer be available from these suppliers.

Sale Canon BCI-21

Metawatch is pleased to announce a pre-christmas sale for its flagship Canon Products.

On Special while quanties last (No Rainchecks)

BCI-21 Bk $1.85 e.a.

BCI-21 Color $ 2.65 e.a.

Memjet Printer

Memjet Printer Prototype in action




Memjet A4/Letter prototype printer vs. a Canon MX7600 color inkjet printer

Back To Schools Specials (Inkjet)

Back To School Deals

Well it's that time of year when we all have to get the kids ready for school, and now it's not only clothes and paper, but computer supplies as well. Thankfully, most of the major retailers are also aware of this and they are also advertising back to school specials.

On-Line Market Offers Deals (Inkjet)

It was only a Matter of time before the on-line discount market got on the bandwagon, and offered deals for Back To School. Metawatch Inkjet Supplies for one has been offering discounts for back to schoolers for years and has now just recently reduced their prices literally across the board for Epson, HP, and Canon Inkjet Cartridge products.

Discounts for highly discounted products.

Just when everyone thought that they could already get great deals on-line, along comes this highly discounted product (Inkjet Cartridges), and their distributors manage to cut their prices for back to school specials. Why do they do it ? Well, typically stock starts to pool during the summer months due the the large volume of consumers on vacation, so their market is somewhat slow in getting back into the fray. Offering back to school specials provides for a foot in the door into the newly purchased printer market for thrifty shoppers.Its your best time of year to stock up on supplies as the prices tend to be the lowest of the year !

Canon Cli-8 with chips ink cartridge

Well, it was bound to happen.

It has been three years since Canon introduced its CLI-8 ink tanks, but only a very limited number of third-party products have been available for these Canon SKUs due to the complex chip sets the tanks employ.

We are starting to see manfacturers providing the Canon CLi-8 cartridges with "chips".

Up until lately, the only available options available were for clients to use their old chips by removing them from their existing OEM cartridges.

Manufacturers who have announced their availablity so far are

First Ink Manufacturing Ltd
RICHENG

Remanufactured products are also available from

Office Depot

We'll let you know when we are carring compatible/remanufactured products in stock.

Finally Low Cost Inkjet Supplies available across Canada

Published on Wednesday, May 21, 2008 Pointe-Fortune, May 21, 2008- Metawatch , a supplier specializing in third party (Epson, Canon and HP compatible and Remanufactured cartridges) Inkjet supplies continues to expand its customer base across Canada.

Metawatch, initially founded in response to high inkjet cartridge pricing, has now evolved into a fully independent, self supporting operational infrastructure with distribution capability across Canada.

Metawatch prides itself on supplying high quality, reliable products across Canada at some of the lowest prices available in the inkjet market backed by a 100% SATISFACTION guarantee makes them a safe choice for your investment in inkjet supplies.

To offset the high cost of shipping product across Canada they offer several price points to their customers.

Orders over $50.00 have free shipping while orders under $20.00 will cost you $10.99. Orders of $20-$30 are $8.50 and orders between $30-$50 will cost you $7.50 for delivery.

As products typically have a 2 year expiry date, clients are encouraged to purchase a 1 years supply (or more than $50.00) to maximize their savings.

Operating as an E-Commerce Mail order company, Metawatch has been able to keep operational costs at a minimum, and bring those savings directly back to their internet based clientele.

To protect its clients against industry product quality and supply issues Metawatch maintains strict quality standards and redundant supplier capabilities. This ensures the capability to provide product to its clients without interruption regardless of industry product availability or quality issues.

Marketing Contact Ken Flack - Metawatch
T: 450-612-
E: kflack@metawatch.ca
http://www.metwatch.ca

Canon wins recycled inkjet cartridge suit

Canon wins inkjet cartridge suit

Kyodo News

Canon Inc. prevailed Thursday in a lawsuit against a seller of recycled versions of its inkjet printer cartridges in a Supreme Court rejection of a lower court ruling that favored the defendant firm.

This was the top court's first decision ever on whether a manufacturer can have patent rights on recycled versions of its own patented products.

Canon filed the suit against Recycle Assist Co., which sold recycled ink cartridges imported from a Chinese contractor that bored holes in used Canon ink cartridges and poured ink into them made by a different company.

The recycled versions sold for ¥600 to ¥700, compared with between ¥800 and ¥1,000 for genuine Canon ink cartridges.

The Tokyo District Court in December 2004 rejected Canon's suit on grounds that its patent rights did not cover recycled goods that could be categorized as repaired goods.

In January 2006, however, the Intellectual Property High Court upheld the suit, ruling that alteration or replacement of any essential component of a patented product constituted a patent infringement.

The Supreme Court sided with this decision Thursday.

Laser printers may pose health risks

Emissions from office laser printers can be as unhealthy as cigarette smoke

An Australian professor is now calling for regulations to limit printer emissions.

Office workers no longer breathing easy

Since smoking was banned in public places in the U.S. and U.K. . You can start worrying again, according to research from the Queensland University of Technology's Air Quality and Health Program, led by physics professor Lidia Morawska.

The average laser 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.

62 Laser Printers Tested

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.

Chance Discovery

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.

Time to pack up your laser and start using inkjet printers ?

Epson pushes single-ink cartridges

Epson pushes single-ink cartridges

Three and five-colour ink cartridges 'wasteful', according to research

Multi-ink cartridges waste more ink than single ink cartridges, according to research commissioned by printer manufacturer Epson.


Research shows single ink Cartridges Best

Research carried out by TUV Rhineland found a difference of 43 per cent between the two types of cartridge.

Single ink cartridges waste just under 19 per cent of ink as opposed to the 64 per cent wasted by some multi-ink cartridges.


Cartridge Weight doesn't lie..

The research involved testing printers with one, three and five colour ink cartridges from companies including HP, Canon and Kodak by printing a range of photographs until the “out of ink” warning appeared. The weight of the cartridge was taken before and after the tests to see how much ink each was left.

Kodaks 5 color cartridge printers end up being least efficient

Kodak’s Easyhare 5300 printer, which uses a five-colour cartridge system, was accused by Hartmut Muller-Gerbes, spokesman for TUV, as being the “worst performer of the test for ecological ink efficiency” wasting three-quarters (74 per cent) of its ink.

Epson's R360 single inkjet cartridge model and HP's Photosmart D7160, however, were only found to waste nine per cent and 17 per cent of ink respectively.

Three and five colour models were wasteful

Muller-Gerbes said three and five colour models were wasteful because if one colour runs out then the whole cartridge must be changed even if the other colours are untouched.

“Single ink cartridges have economical advantages in comparison to tri and five colour ones as the separate inks can be changed accordingly,” he said at an Epson press conference in Spain.

Environmental Concerns

He also pointed out that multi-ink cartridges could have a significant impact on the environment. “More and more multi-ink cartridges are being discarded as consumers listen to 'low ink' warnings and throw them away,” he said.

“Sustainability is important now with environmental concerns, TUV [therefore] expects manufactures to consider this and make their printers more economically friendly.”


Epson Study

Although Epson - who only supplies printers with single cartridge inkjet capabilities - has claimed this research was the “first of its kind” it is certainly not the first time the single versus multi inkjet cartridges debate has arisen.

Conclusion

Although Epson did not use the latest international standards for defining page print capabilities, their study remains valid in the context that it was performed. As most users do print using a particular color in a greater frequency than that of others it only goes to show that a multi color inkjet cartridge would be wasteful of ink. The international measurement test(s) are performed using a specific printout that doesn't take these potential color variations into consideration.

Need Cartridges Now, shop at Metawatch Inkjet Supplies

Epson strikes back as Ink Sales suffer

Epson strikes back at Calidad inks as Ink Sales suffer

"Tests show Calidad inks not suitable for printing photographs" screamed the headline from an Epson press release.Third party ink suppliers are estimated to be at approximately 30% of after market ink cartridge sales, printer manufacturers like Epson are waging a PR war against cut price competitors.

Razor Blade Model

As most consumers of inkjet printers probably know, printing manufacturers like Epson, Lexmark, HP, Canon that most inkjets now sold are more or less disposable products retailing at ridiculously low prices where they recoup their costs woth overpriced inkjet cartridges. Similar things are happening in the emerging color laser printer space.

3rd Part Inks Thrive

There is a healthy and growing market for third party ink suppliers which sell replacement ink cartridges significantly below the prices of OEM cartridges. This has the effect of eating into the after market ink sales of printing manufacturers and it also lengthens the printer replacement cycle as consumers will tend to keep printers longer if they can source reasonably priced ink refills.

Political Wars

Faced with a challenge to their business models by third party after market ink sales, OEM suppliers are becoming more aggressive in their anti-third party rhetoric.Epson warned against the use of third party inks in its printers with the release of "independent test results" which purport to show that one of Australia and New Zealand's best known third-party ink brands, Calidad, has one of the poorest results for print life ever measured.

Epson Claims

"The Calidad ink cartridges appear to contain low-stability dye-based substitutes for Epson high-stability DURABrite pigment inks. The Calidad inks have poor resistance to atmospheric ozone that may be present in homes and offices, and the Calidad inks also give up waterfastness when printed on plain paper," Mr Wilhelm said.

"When Epson users see these results they should be in no doubt that using third party inks in their Epson printers will lead to rapid fading and loss of their precious photographs," Epson's Marketing Communications Director, Mike Pleasants said.

"I am sure that no parents would want to give or receive as a gift a framed photograph of treasured children, friends or relatives, or that special occasion, that can suffer significant fading in less than a year," Pleasants said.

3rd Party Manufacturers fight back

Despite the claims from Epson, however, the third party market has hit back with its own report which refutes any suggestions that third party ink products are inferior to the more expensive OEM products.

A new survey by Lyra Research and published in Recharger Magazine revealed that

48% of respondents who had used non-OEM supplies said that they have never had a problem with a non-printer-brand cartridge.
6% have had many problems, defined as more than 10 percent of the time, and
44% have had “just a few problems,” defined as less than 10% of the time.

Overall, 93% of color laser printer users and 92% of color inkjet users said they either have had no problems with aftermarket cartridges or have had “just a few” problems, according to the survey.

Third Party Inkjet Cartridge Product Reliability and Warranty

Satisfaction Guarantee
Most third party products offer expiry dates of 3 years from the date of manufacture. Longer than many people keep their printers. Although most Third Party manufacturers only offer 30-90 days of satisfaction guarantee it is not because they experience a higher failure rate thereafter but simply so that they do not have to keep inordanite amounts of funds reserved for futre potential claims.

Warranty

Most companies set aside x # of $ for warranty purposes and in effect it would not make sense for them to carry forward multiple years of sales percentages for the product. Our statistics shows less than 1 in x thousands of cartridges fails, and most of these failures are attributable to user related or printer equipment problems. Similarily 30-90 days is sufficient to allow for new clients to properly evaluate their satisfaction levels with the product.

We have never refused a warranty claim for any failed product in the company history for any reason (attributable to the product, or delivery) regardless of date. I am sure not all companies can attest to that claim.

Note: We review our suppliers and track failure rates extensively. We routinely test products from various manufacturers and select only those products offering the highest overall reiliability.

Not all inkjet Cartridges are made the same
Some 3rd party manufacturers have lesser quality ink formulas that can dry out resulting in clogged heads and premature replacement of inkjet cartridges. (See our earlier article on Npyrol). Similarily, the manufacture of the cartridge itself will determine its fit within the printer and its overall seal. Thirdly many cartridges are refillable by using a cartridge resetter. Not all Third Party manufacturers use chips that support being reset.How can you as the end user determine who makes the best inkjet cartridge?

Check out Newsgroups
Customer Feedback Sites
Research how inkjet products work so that you understand what you are buying
The length of time the company has been in business
Feedback from friends

Manufacturers Warranty
No inkjet manufacturer will void their warrany for their printer simply because you use 3rd party inkjet products (Its illegal)

What products have the highest failure rates
Something that none of the inkjet manufactures will ever tell you or publish you can find out here.

Worst

The 3rd party market for Lexmark Remanufactured cartridges definately offers the lowest reliability. As Dell uses Lexmark manufactured products (To their Specification) we'll let you decide where they stand.

Better

HP has a well established market and proven technology. We'll give them a passing grade and you can be confident with the industries re-manufactured products. Again not all remanufactured products are put through the same testing /cleaning prior to being refilled so beware of extreemenly low cost, or fly by night companies.

Best

Canon and Epson compatible cartridges are by far the best overall third party products on the market. Due to their simpler design (No Heads) there is less to fail. They are the overall winner in any customer satisfaction survey, and we wouldn't hesitate to promote them to anyone.

An insiders peek at the inkjet market

Manufacturers

The top manufacturers of inkjet printers are

Epson, Canon, HP, Dell, Lexmark, and Brother

The inkjet market can be further divided into the cartridge technologies utilized.

Fixed Head with Removable Cartridge.

The print head is a permanent fixture of the printer and is not removable. Cartridges are simply plastic repositories with (electronic registers) for remaining ink measurement.
(Canon and Epson printers fall into this category)

Disposable Head/Cartridge assemblies

The print head is part of the ink cartridge assembly, and is replaced as part of a new cartridge. (Dell, HP, and Lexmark Printers fall into this category.)
Note: HP is transitioning to a fixed head philosophy in many of its newer printer model lines.

Advantages / Disadvantages

(Print Head Replacement)
Although many have said that there is an advantage to replacing the print head assembly with each cartridge change, we, as ink distributors have never seen any degradation in print quality of printers from Canon or Epson printers even after many years of operation

(Third Party Generic Cartridges)
Third party generic Cartridges are only available for printers using a fixed print head. All third party cartridges are simply plastic repositories with (electronic registers) for remaining ink measurement. As this is the area where most cost savings can be identified, we recommend that your selection of printer manufacturer be limited to Canon or Epson.

(Remanufactured Cartridges)
There is a significant third party market that exists for the purposes of Re-cycling integrated Print Head/Cartridge assemblies. They clean and electronically test each re-manufactured cartridge for re-sale. Unfortunately these cartridges suffer from a higher overall reject/failure rate versus that of a new cartridge, and offer little savings versus that of a new original cartridge. These cartridges can be found for the HP, Lexmark, and Dell printers.

Our Recommendations

As we are all aware that the printer manufacturers all follow a Business Strategy first adoptedby Gillette. Offer a product (Razor Handles) at little or no cost and charging a higher rate of return for replacement parts (Razor Blades).

The printer manufactures do the same, offer their printers at cost or below, and then maximize profits via the sale of inkjet replacement cartridges.

You can beat the manufactures at their own game by ensuring that you select a printer/model that offers 3rd party replacement cartridges where you can purchase replacement cartridges at approximately 60%-75% less than New OEM cartridges.

I.E. A full set of replacement cartridges for Canon or Epson Printers are in the order of $22-$32 cdn.

A replacement set of OEM cartridges for an HP printer are in the Order of $80.00.

What if you already have an HP or Lexmark Printer?

Believe it or not we recommend that you purchase a NEW replacement printer (Canon, or Epson) that offer 3rd party cartridge capability.

Yes, that right, you can purchase a New replacement printer, in most cases for less than you can purchase replacement cartridges for an HP, Lexmark, or Dell printer.

Not only do you get a new printer, but the new printer comes with a set of inkjet cartridges (Although normally partially filled).

Typically you can purchase a new Photo or Multifunction printer with Cartridges from Canon or Epson for less than the cost of a set of cartridges from HP, Lexmark or Dell.

I.E. Future Shop has weekly sales for printers such as


Epson All-In-One Multifunction Centre (CX4200)



Curently selling for $69.99 cdn after rebates.






Conclusion

If you have the capability to purchase a new Canon or Epson printer On Sale from a reputable supplier that is supported by 3rd party Inkjet cartridge manufacturers, you will reap the benefits of lower costs cartridges by anywhere from 60-75% savings per purchase.

In effect, you will have saved the cost of the new printer purchase after the first set of cartridges purchased.

Supplementary Information

What are the third party cartridges and models supported for Canon and Epson Printers?

Canon

Epson

Would you like to find more information out about printer designs and function?

Inkjet Printers demystified

Note: All numeric representations of savings were accurate at the time of publication. As prices are subject to change without notice we can not guarantee these statements will hold true forward in time.

All coments in this blog are personal opinions only and should not in any way be representated as fact(s) or as a statement by Metawatch with respect to product and or quality of independant product suppliers.