HP takes on Kodak in printer campaign

California electronics heavyweight HP and underdog Eastman Kodak Co. are in a marketing brawl.

Round One went to Kodak, which launched its All-in-One inkjet printer line in 2007, when it started comparing its printing cost per page to companies such as HP and Canon Inc. in a "Print and Prosper" advertising campaign.

Now, in Round Two, Hewlett-Packard is punching back with a marketing campaign of its own. HP cites its own statistics to claim that Kodak's savings fall short of what's promised and that Kodak has no printer cartridge recycling program.

The campaign also points out that users of an HP inkjet printer have to replace only one color cartridge when that color runs out, while the Kodak printers — which use an ink manufactured at Eastman Business Park — have all the color inks in one $15 cartridge, so if one color runs out, all the colors need replacing.

And HP takes a shot at Kodak by pointing out that Moody's, the credit rating agency, has said there is a chance Kodak could face bankruptcy while HP was recently lauded in Fortune magazine.

Kodak and HP have a tangled history. Kodak CEO Antonio M. Perez came to the company in 2001 after a long career as a Hewlett-Packard executive.

HP, meanwhile, is the king of the jungle in the desktop inkjet world, commanding close to 50 percent of the market worldwide, said Tom Ashley, director of digital printing consulting firm Pivotal Resources USA.
Kodak hopes to ship around 1 million All-in-One printers this year — which would represent perhaps 2 percent of the industry's sales.

The company's printers seem to have better penetration with people who do lots of high-end printing such as photographs, meaning more ink cartridges sold, Ashley said.
HP "is still the market leader, but it sounded like Kodak must be making real inroads if you feel obliged to knock them like that," Ashley said.

Photographer Andrew Darlow Announces Full-Day Fine-Art Inkjet Printing Workshops

301 Inkjet Tips and Techniques: An Essential Printing Resource for Photographers

New Jersey Media Center LLC will host two separate full-day workshops, entitled Fine-Art Inkjet Printing: How to Prepare Files and Make Gallery-Quality Prints on Saturday, January 9, 2009 and Sunday, January 10, 2009 from 10:00am-5:00pm. The workshops, held at Nancy Ori Studios in Berkley Heights, NJ and conducted by photographer and consultant Andrew Darlow, are designed for professional and amateur photographers, as well as other artists.

The workshops, each limited to just five participants, will cover the following: an overview of pro-quality printers from Canon, Epson and HP; a description of more than 20 recommended inkjet papers (including glossy, fiber gloss, and watercolor); color management hardware and software options (including a demonstration of how to make custom monitor and printer profiles); and tips for optimizing workflow and print quality with specific papers and printers in Adobe Lightroom 2, Photoshop CS2/CS3/CS4, and other programs.

Selected prints output from Canon, Epson and HP printers will be demonstrated and discussed, and each attendee will have at least two prints made of their work on a pigment-based inkjet printer (13-inch-wide Epson and HP printers will be used). Participants will receive more than 30 letter-sized blank sheets of high-end inkjet papers for testing, and a class binder detailing the contents of the presentation, as well as the step-by-step print workflow covered in the workshop will be provided to each participant. Each attendee will also receive a 30 minute private phone follow-up consultation with Andrew Darlow.

Andrew Darlow notes, "I'm very pleased to have the opportunity to teach these workshops at New Jersey Media Center after having such great experiences at the previous ten full-day workshops that I've conducted there over the last six months. Working with each attendee to make prints of their inspiring work during the class has been a real joy."

A two-page PDF brochure with pricing and information can be found at www.imagingbuffet.com/workshops.

Registration information:

Nancy Ori Studio: (908) 790-8820 or e-mail Nancy Ori at nancyori@comcast.net

About Andrew Darlow:Andrew Darlow: Andrew Darlow is photographer, writer and digital imaging consultant. He is the former Editorial Director of Digital Imaging Techniques Magazine, and the current editor of ImagingBuffet.com, an online imaging magazine and podcast. He has appeared on WOR Radio (NYC) and Inside Digital Photography TV, and his work has been featured in numerous magazines and websites, including Photo District News, PDN Gear Guide, Popular Photography, Rangefinder, Studio Photography and iMagazine (Japan).

Over the past 15 years, he has taught thousands how to improve their photography, workflow and digital print output at conferences, industry events, and educational institutions, including the PDN PhotoPlus Expo, PhotoImaging & Design Expo, the Arles Photo Festival (Arles, France), the School of Visual Arts, Columbia University, and the International Center of Photography (ICP) in New York.His book, 301 Inkjet Tips and Techniques: An Essential Printing Resource for Photographers, (Course Technology PTR), is a resource that covers many aspects of digital printmaking, and includes the imagery and advice of over 20 photographers and other artists. He also publishes the Inkjet & Imaging Tips Newsletter, available free to subscribers at www.imagingbuffet.com.

About the Book: 301 Inkjet Tips and Techniques

“301 Inkjet Tips and Techniques,” is a comprehensive, how-to guide to high-quality digital output that shows photographers of all levels how to make high-quality prints through detailed instructions and hundreds of full-color examples from more than 20 professional photographers and other artists.

The book was recently chosen as the winner in the 'Photography: Instructional/How-To' category of The National Best Books 2008 Awards, sponsored by USA Book News.Book information:ISBN-10: 1598632043ISBN-13: 978-1598632040Published by: Course Technology PTR 528 pages, 7.4x9 inches (Paperback)

Website: www.inkjettips.com

Media Contact:Nancy OriDirector, NJ Media Center LLC(908) 790-8820

nancyori@comcast.net

Andrew Darlow Piscataway, NJ Phone : 732-742-0123

Companion Site for 301 Inkjet Tips and Techniques

Book Title : 301 Inkjet Tips and Techniques: An Essential Printing Resource for Photographers

Journalists - Click here for a Review Copy of 301 Inkjet Tips and Techniques: An Essential Printing Resource for Photographers

Order 301 Inkjet Tips and Techniques: An Essential Printing Resource for Photographers
Contact Andrew Darlow

HP releases new All-in-One

Hewlett Packard (HP) has introduced its Photosmart C4580 All-in-One .

It can handle up to 30 pages per minute in black print and can also get through 23 every minute for colour documents. The printer can hold 100 sheets of paper at any one time and features HP Thermal Inkjet technology, while it offers up to 1200 x 2400 dpi hardware scanning resolution.

HP said that with the new "versatile" printer can "easily connect" to wireless networks and print from a number of PCs or notebooks.The model forms part of the manufacturer's C4500 All-in-One Printer series that "is designed for home users with wireless networks who print everything from documents and web pages to photos", according to HP.

Earlier this month, the company announced it had resolved its dispute with LexJet Corporation and LexJet Southern California over inks employed in some remanufactured HP large-format cartridges.

It also dismissed a lawsuit over a patent infringement with the same companies.

Home kidney dialysis

Hewlett-Packard said Wednesday that it has reached an agreement with the manufacturer of a home kidney dialysis system that will use some of the applications from HP's inkjet printers.

The dialysis system applies "fluid management" concepts that were developed to mix and apply different colored inks, using them instead to mix water and concentrated salt and electrolyte solution in a formula prescribed by the patient's doctor. It also uses HP memory-chip technology to monitor the mixture and ensure that the correct formula is used.

Home Dialysis Plus, the private company developing the system, says its device will cause less physical stress for patients because they can use it every night while they sleep, in a pattern that more closely resembles the function of healthy kidneys, rather than visiting a dialysis center three times a week.

It's not the first time that HP has licensed its inkjet patents for medical applications, but executives say the system being developed by Home Dialysis Plus may be the first medical product using HP's patents that comes to market.

Home Dialysis Plus executive Michael Baker said he hopes to have the equipment for sale by the end of 2010. HP had previously announced an agreement with an Irish company that wants to devise a skin patch for administering medication, using HP's inkjet system to measure exact amounts of drugs that would be injected through microscopic needles.

HP laying off in Corvallis

Layoff Notices Issued

A Eugene television station KVAL reports that employees at HP's Corvallis plant began receiving layoff notices .

HP, based in Palo Alto, Calif., declined to comment. In a statement, the company said its imaging and printing group announced in June its plans to “realign and streamline” by reducing its business units from five to three. Some parts of the imaging and printing group “will experience reductions while investments will be made in high growth segments of the business,” the company said.

HP is believed to employ about 2,500 people in Corvallis, and 1,000 in Vancouver, Wash. These two locations, along with a site in Boise, Idaho, are part of HP’s imaging and printing group.

Recent reports in The Oregonian and The Columbian have said HP plans to lay off as many as 300 people in Corvallis, and that some engineers and marketing employees in Vancouver could be told to find work with other HP divisions.

Property on the Market for Sale

HP is also reported to have put its 174-acre Vancouver campus up for sale, with plans to lease it back. HP declined to comment the matter.

Revenue for HP’s printing and imaging division was $14.9 million in the six months ending April 30, or nearly 26 percent of HP’s total revenue. The division was profitable, earning nearly $2.4 million from operations.

HP Lawsuits

Reports say that HP’s inkjet business is troubled, with falling sales of inkjet printers and cartridges.In addition HP faces several class action lawsuits around its inkjet business. Several actions in the United States and Canada allege that the company’s inkjet color printers shut down printing prematurely, preventing customers from using all the toner in the cartridge. Another suit alleges that HP designed its printers to unnecessarily use color ink in addition to black ink when printing black and white images and text.

European Commission Investigates

The European Commission has been investigating printer and supply sales in the European Union since May 2002, and HP is part of that investigation.

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 !

HP increases Inkjet prices

HP increases prices by up to 10%.

Effective 1st August 2008 Hewlett Packard has increased the price of their printing consumables by up to ten percent.

In a letter to Channel Partners dated 19th July 2008, Hewlwtt Packard advised their Channel Partners that prices would increase by up to ten percent as of 1st August 2008. Laserjet print cartridges and attached long life consumables will increase by in price by eight percent. Ink cartridges will increase by up to ten percent , but average four point three percent.

Hewlett Packard cites the rising costs of petroleum, plastic and transportation for the increases. These price increases apply to all regions where they invoice in Dollars. Pricing in Euros is unaffected at this time.

Inkjet Printhead life

One of the most critical components of an inkjet machine is the printhead.

On average, every nozzle is expected to produce 20-50 billion ink drops during its lifetime (WOW) . This is considered to be the case for piezoelectric (piezo) heads; the type commonly used in Epson brand printers.

The other major brands (HP, Lexmark,DELL,and Brother) all use the thermal print head designs and the lifetime for thermal printing heads is substantially lower.

Resolution makes all the difference.

The frequency of ink drop production is directly linked to resolution and speed. For example, to print at a speed of 0.3 meter per second with a resolution of 1,000 dpi (the starting point for a graphic application), the head must fire with a frequency of 12,000 ink drops per second.

Assuming a “best case” average life expectancy of 50 billion total ink drops, the head then should be able to operate for approximately 1,150 total hours before needing to be replaced.

(Earlier for thermal heads)

What does that mean in terms of years of use, or paper use ?

1,150 hours relates to @ 10 pages per minute to about 690,000 pages or 1380 reams of 500 pages.

Or ,if you print for 1 hours every day ( 650 pages/day) your printer head would last you about 3.1 years.

Most people, print under 20 pages/day so that would work out to approx 102 years of life on your print head.

In effect, you more likely to have a power supply failure,break in the carriage motor, or other failure.

So why do so many people complain about head failures ?

Printer heads can and will fail if

a) the printer is operated without ink.

Ink in reality is a lubricant for the head assembly and without it the print head overheats and burns itself out. Just like your car need water in the radiator, you print head needs ink to keep it cool and conduct the heat away.

b) the ink is allowed to dry in the print head.

Ink, although specially formulated not to evaporate, is still prone to evaporate over time, and as a result the remaining (pigment, or dye) becomes concentrated and can eventually clog the heads. If you want to keep you printer running smoothly make sure you use your ink with 6 months of opening, and use the print head cleaning cycle on the printer at least once a month.

You printer needs ongoing maintenance just like your car, and that means the heads need to be flushed at regular intervals. Leaving your printer either out of ink, or with old ink in it is a formula for failure.

Ultra Violet inkjet OLEDs

Polymertronics is a technology enabler for organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs).

They were set up in 2006 to develop technology to produce inkjet-printable, ultra-violet (UV) curable organic light-emitting diode fluids. OLEDs that can be printed on standard UV-inkjet equipment have many advantages.

They are much quicker and cheaper to produce than standard OLEDs, they can be designed and manufactured with very short lead times, they can be printed on to a range of exotic surfaces including flexible ones

What are UV-inkjet OLEDs?

OLEDs were first invented by Eastman Kodak in the early 1980s and development since then has been impressive. OLEDs are used routinely in many display screens, such as those for mobile phones and for low-level lighting of dashboards. Recently, substantial investment has been made in research for developing OLEDs to replace incandescent and fluorescent light bulbs as a primary lighting source.

OLEDs are produced by blending chemicals containing a light-emissive component with a UVcurable polymer. When printed, this mixture is then exposed to a UV light source and cured to a flexible solid within four seconds. The purpose they serve is for bespoke product displays such as 7-segment displays and the like.

The benefits of organic technology are numerous.

For both non-UV curable OLEDs and UV curable OLEDs, there are common benefits:

1. Printing on flexible and rigid media such as plastics, vinyl, glass and metal
2. Immediate product demand - zero lead time
3. Flexible media
4. Fast response to applied voltage for rapid changing graphics
5. Wide viewing angle of OLED devices
6. Very high definition for display

Beyond the common advantages, UV-inkjet OLEDs have further advantages:

1. Simple, fast manufacture
2. Low product waste results in a 'green' technology
3. Instant curing following printing
4. Print-on-demand technology
5. Zero product-volume loss during process

Where Can UV-Inkjet OLEDs Be Used?


OLEDs will add new and unparalleled layers of safety to consumer products. For example, it will reassure consumers that products and brands are genuine, that they have not been tampered with, and that they are within their use-by date.


According to the UK's National Health Service, unclear packaging and labelling contributes to 25% of medication errors. The University of London has studied people reading packaging and found that 25% of fullsighted people have difficulty reading packets and other instructions.

Difficulty with reading information on packaging arises for a number of reasons. The label design or legal requirements may necessitate a smaller font to fit all of the information on the label. Integrating OLEDs into the packaging could highlight the most important details of a drug through an interactive display.

In the interests of sterility, many medical devices are used only once. For this to be viable, such devices must be cheap to produce. Inkjet printing enables a component of a medical device to be manufactured quickly and with significantly less tooling than is presently required. Further, medical devices are often sealed until they are used.

Advertisements can already be backlit, but with printed OLEDs the illumination can be incorporated into the advertisement itself relatively cheaply. There is no tooling required and print designs can be executed quickly. For a fast-paced industry such as advertising, this reduction in lead-time offers a substantial advantage.

Printed OLEDs could be extremely valuable in aiding anti-counterfeiting measures and in tracking goods in transit. Embedded customised data presents fraudsters with a new hurdle. Furthermore, tampering can be quickly and easily detected and data can be changed often to keep ahead of criminals.


What's Next?

Inkjet testing of the OLED fluid has shown that further refinement of the OLED chemistry is required to enable fluid to be inkjet printed by Epson, or HP printer-heads, for when the formulation is for thin (bright) devices.

HP Technology to Create Industry-first Skin Patch for “Smart” Drug Delivery

Fusion of high-tech and biotech improves safety, efficacy and ease-of-use for patients

PALO ALTO, Calif., Sept. 11, 2007

Inkjet based skin patch

HP and Crospon, a medical device developer based in Galway, Ireland, today announced they have entered a licensing agreement for a drug delivery platform that enables painless, controlled release of one or more drugs in a single patch applied to the skin.

Under the agreement, HP will license its intellectual property to Crospon in return for royalty payments. Crospon will commercialize the patch, which was invented by HP Labs, the company’s central research facility, and make it available to pharmaceutical companies to use in various therapeutic areas.

Crospon, which recently announced the finalization of €2.3 million in seed financing, will manufacture the skin patch and manage all marketing, sales and support of the technology.

The patch delivers medication intradermally

The patch delivers medication intradermally – just below the surface of the skin – and enables precise control of dosage timing, access to dosage history, patient activation mechanisms and inherent safety protocols for preventing adverse drug interactions.

Transdermal patches (which rely on absorption through the skin) for nicotine delivery have become a mainstay for smoking cessation programs; however, they have not been a widely effective delivery mechanism for many drugs because the skin acts as a natural barrier.

Micro Needles

The HP-developed skin patch uses microneedles that barely penetrate the skin; this radically reduces discomfort compared to traditional hypodermic needles and enables the technique to be used with a much wider variety of drugs and biopharmaceuticals. The microneedles allow medication to quickly enter the bloodstream, resulting in the potential delivery of lower and more precise dosages.

HP initially developed the drug delivery technology as a way to repurpose its inkjet technology for use in new markets. The technology in the skin patch is similar to that employed in HP’s patented process for its inkjet cartridges.

“This industry-first skin patch invented by HP allows Crospon to offer a superior drug delivery platform for doctors and patients,” said John O’Dea, chief executive officer, Crospon. “We look forward to working with our pharmaceutical customers to bring this breakthrough solution to the market.”

Presto (granny-mail machine)

Computer illiterate
Most of us have a relatives or friends who have never joined the wired Internet world. They haven't gotten around to buying a computer, or even learning to use one.

Not to worry, you can still jump on the email bandwagon with this latest printer from HP.

Granny Mail Machine (GMM)

A GMM is a single-purpose computer that handles e-mail only, over a dialup connection, and requires minimal technical skill . (A term coined by Mike Himowitz of the Baltimore Sun)


A10 Printing Mailbox



Hewlett-Packard and a startup called Presto.com have joined forces with a one-way e-mail service and a stand-alone GMM that Hewlett Packard calls the A10 Printing Mailbox.
(You can pick one up at Best Buy, or Walmart online)

HP Printing Mailbox Product Details

Features

Prints email, including photo attachments sent from almost any email program.
Automatically retrieves and prints pages.

Simple installation—just plug into power and standard phone line.

Specifics

Hewlett-Packard Thermal Inkjet Technology.

Paper Tray - Letter size (8.5 x 1-inch).
Input Capacity—50 sheets.
Output Capacity—25 sheets.
Print Cartridge— - HP 95 or 97 Tri-Color Inkjet Print Cartridge recommended.
Print Quality—600 x 600 dpi.
Print Speed—10 pages per minute (max).
Phone Connection—Standard phone line (no separate line required; does not work with VOIP).
Modem—56K data modem.
Length—18.4 inches.
Width—15 inches.
Height—6.5 inches.
Weight—13 pounds.

Service and Support

One-year limited hardware warranty.
HP Customer Care service and support for hardware.
Free support from Presto via toll-free number.

How Much and How does it work ?




The A10 is a $100 color inkjet printer with built-in computing modem to dial Presto's servers automatically up to five times a day, and download awaiting messages and print them automatically. It will also print photographs attached to the e-mail.

Easy to Use

Send email just like you do from your regular email account and the HP Printing Mailbox will print it. The Printing Mailbox user just has to pick up their mail—like an indoor mailbox. It's that easy


Presto Service Costs

The Presto Service costs $10 a month, or $99 for a full year

• Presto automatically formats the messages into beautiful designs

• No spam—Presto only delivers messages sent by approved family and friends
• Send unlimited messages to the HP Printing Mailbox.

Presto Newsstand

Your Presto subscription gives you free access to articles, recipes, games, puzzles, and more from major publishers. Including Dow Jones, Better Homes & Gardens, and the Wall Street Journal. And it's absolutely free, delivered to the Printing Mailbox at no extra charge.

Arts and Entertainment
Astrology
Automotive
Crosswords and Puzzles
Food and Recipes
Health and Fitness
Hobbies and Crafts
Home and Garden
Humor
Living and Lifestyle
Personal Finance
Travel


Print Quality

A10's print quality is nothing to e-mail home about. Although text is readable and photos recognizable, HP has used its three-color print cartridge (HP 95 Tri-Color Inkjet Print Cartridge ) technology on this machine.

It produces black from the 3 colors so photos look slightly faded. Today's modern inkjets use at least three colors plus a black cartridge. So don't expect to send photo-quality prints - you would be disappointed.

Note: Presto supports only a few basic photo attachment formats (such as JPEGs). No PDFs

A Niche Market that needed filling

A great gift for an elderly person who you want to keep up to date with the latest family happenings.You never to old to get email anymore....

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.

HP Unveils Innovative Inkjet Supplies Strategy

More Inkjet Cartridge Options
(Media-Newswire.com) - HP is changing the way it delivers inkjet cartridges to customers to offer them more choice, greater value and a simplified shopping experience, both in-store and online.Beginning this year, most new HP consumer printers worldwide will be introduced with multiple inkjet cartridge offerings that are designed to provide customers with options that better meet their printing needs.

Red, Blue, Green Color Coding
In addition, the new cartridge options will deliver value by offering low purchase prices to customers who print a little, and lower cost-per-page to customers who print a lot.In conjunction with these new cartridge offerings, HP is rolling out a new color-coded packaging system across its entire inkjet cartridge portfolio. Three color-coded categories � standard ( blue ), value ( green ) and specialty ( red ) � will allow customers to walk into a retail store or log on to hp.com and quickly and easily scan their options to find the right cartridge that offers the best value for their printing needs. All three categories deliver the superior reliability and print quality customers expect from HP.

Whats Best for you
For the majority of new HP printers, the inkjet cartridge options will be: �Standard� cartridges ( blue packaging ), which have a lower purchase price, are designed for customers who print a small number of pages on a weekly or monthly basis. Beginning in 2007, HP will introduce an increasing number of standard cartridge offerings in the $14.99 price range for those customers who still want access to high-quality printing, but don�t want to pay a lot at the point of purchase. �Value� cartridges ( green packaging ), which are designed for customers with higher volume printing needs, offer a lower cost per page compared to standard cartridges. This line will include new high-yield �XL� cartridges that provide customers approximately 30-45 percent savings on a cost-per-page basis, print up to three times more pages, and require fewer cartridge replacements compared to standard cartridges. Customers can easily identify the new value option by looking for the green packaging and the letters �XL� next to their cartridge number. �Specialty� cartridges ( red packaging ), which offer additional performance features compared to HP�s standard ink formulations, are ideal for customers with special applications and printing jobs, such as professional-quality photographs. �

Multiple Options
For more than 25 years, many HP printers offered customers only one cartridge choice. Now, the majority of our printers will offer customers multiple options,� said Pradeep Jotwani, senior vice president, Supplies, Imaging and Printing Group, HP. �Delivering customer choice and value is critical for driving continued growth, and the unprecedented level of innovation HP is applying toward the customer experience is as important as the innovation behind the technology that goes into our high-performance ink and paper products.�Improved shopping experience To improve the customer purchasing experience, HP has extended its color-coded system to point-of-sale materials, such as updated ink selection guides. The changes will attract shoppers� attention in retail aisles and direct them to the appropriate supplies � helping to educate people about their choices and increasing overall customer satisfaction. Similar point-of-sale tools and the new look and feel will be employed online at www.hpshopping.com to quickly guide customers to the right supplies for their printer and printing requirements. Downloadable photos of HP�s new inkjet cartridge offerings, as well as a video showcasing HP�s retail and online makeover, are available online at www.hp.com/go/supplieschoice. About HPHP focuses on simplifying technology experiences for all of its customers � from individual consumers to the largest businesses. With a portfolio that spans printing, personal computing, software, services and IT infrastructure, HP is among the world�s largest IT companies, with revenue totaling $94.1 billion for the four fiscal quarters ended Jan. 31, 2007. More information about HP ( NYSE: HPQ ) is available at http://www.hp.com.
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This news release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions. If such risks or uncertainties materialize or such assumptions prove incorrect, the results of HP and its consolidated subsidiaries could differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements and assumptions. All statements other than statements of historical fact are statements that could be deemed forward-looking statements, including but not limited to statements of the plans, strategies and objectives of management for future operations; any statements concerning expected development, performance or market share relating to products and services; anticipated operational and financial results; any statements of expectation or belief; and any statements of assumptions underlying any of the foregoing. Risks, uncertainties and assumptions include the achievement of expected results and other risks that are described from time to time in HP�s Securities and Exchange Commission reports, including but not limited to the risks described in HP�s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended Jan. 31, 2007. HP assumes no obligation and does not intend to update these forward-looking statements.� 2007 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. The information contained herein is subject to change without notice. The only warranties for HP products and services are set forth in the express warranty statements accompanying such products and services. Nothing herein should be construed as constituting an additional warranty. HP shall not be liable for technical or editorial errors or omissions contained herein.

HP announced that it has resolved ink cartridge patent violation issues with China-based Ninestar

In July 2006, HP notified Ninestar of alleged patent infringements of its replacement "clone" cartridges that are compatible with many of HP's printers.

The complaint was originally filed by Hewlett-Packard with the U.S. International Trade Commission against five ink cartridge suppliers in a Aug. 1 filing and was classified as “pending” until Dec 2006.

Named in the filing were NineStar Technology of China and California, one of the worlds largest inkjet cartridge manufacturers, as well as four other companies representing dealers of NineStar products, butterflyinkjet.com, iowaink.com, PrintMicro.com and Inkandbeyond.com.

The complaint alleged violations under section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended, involving IP infringement and other unfair acts. HP requested that the USITC institute an investigation and issue a “permanent limited exclusion order and permanent cease and desist orders,” according to official papers submitted.

Today HP announced that it has resolved ink cartridge patent violation issues with China-based Ninestar. As part of the resulting settlement, Ninestar formally acknowledges the validity of HP's patents and has agreed to stop selling the the cartridges in question in the United States and other countries where such patents are held.

MFPs rule

Multi Function Printer(s) take the lead

The movement towards MFPs and all-in-one units was a big trend that most of the printer vendors took notice of this year.

There has been a major progression of individuals and consumers buying all-in-ones instead of single function technology according to HP Canada.

An analyst with IDC Canada said "18 months ago the shipments of MFPs were equal to that of single-function printers. Now twice as many MFPs as single function printers are being sold in the inkjet realm in the last few of quarters. The cost of MFPs have come down where there is a marginal difference between a single function printer and a MFP ".

The single-function printer inkjet market is steadily declining with inkjet color MFPs taking over with about 550,000 units being shipped for the first three quarters of the year. HP has dominated the market with about 51 per cent of market share followed by Canon at about 24 per cent .

Whats coming in 2007 ?

For 2007, expectations are that the demand for single-function printers will decline and they will become more of a niche product for high-end photography or specialized business tasks.

According to the major printer vendors, it is more of the same with all of the companies focusing on bringing products to market that will continue on the trend of color printing and MFPs.

A product specialist working at Brother Canada said "Any manufacturer that wants to remain competitive knows that color is where we are going with all categories of products," A product specialist working at Brother Canada.

2007 will be an interesting year for printer manufacturers due to HP releasing an entry-level color ink machine that is said to rival the speeds of a laser printer.

"As far as everything else, inkjet and lower-end laser machines are going to dominate.

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.