вторник, 22 марта 2011 г.

How to Refill Your Ink Cartridge and Recycle It

The best way to re-fill an ink cartridge is to buy an ink re-filling kit. This can be bought from any online store selling ink cartridges. Along with this kit you would be provided with the necessary tools along with a set of instructions on how to go about filling-the-empty-ink-cartridge.




Here are a few simple instructions that could be followed to refill your cartridge and it's not very complicated.



1. Draw the ink of any one colour with the help of the syringe provided in the re-fill kit. Ideally, this should be done over the sink. This is to make sure that even if some of it spills over no documents, clothes etc. gets ruined. The amount of ink each printer holds usually varies depending upon its manufacturers. For example, in most Epson printers the black cartridge holds about 17ml of ink and the colour cartridges hold approximately 8ml. Please refer to the instructions on your refill kit to check how much ink should be injected into the cartridge.



2. A small hole needs to be made on top of the cartridge (Could be done with a ball point pen), one for each colour chamber. The hole should be at the top of the cartridge near the label. The needle should be pushed into the hole and the ink injected slowly. If the ink is not injected slowly, it could result in foaming and air bubbles could be formed. If this happens, the re-filled cartridge might not be able to print.



Caution: If this happens, hold the cartridge over a waste paper basket upside down and swing upwards and stop suddenly. This could rectify the problem. If it doesn't then you could clean the ink heads with cleaner or try soaking the heads. This could remove any dry ink that is clogging the ink heads and allow the ink to flow freely again.



3. The re-fill holes need not be sealed, as there are already breather holes on top of the cartridge.



4. Any ink that is left over in the syringe can be returned to the bottle. The syringe needs to be cleaned with water and dried properly before using it for another colour. It might be handy to use different syringes for different colours.



5. Once the refilled cartridge is placed back in the printer, run the cleaning cycle 1 to 3 times. If there is any gap in printing, the cycle could be run a few more times till the problem is rectified.



Before placing the refilled cartridge back into the printer, you could hold it upside down just to make sure ink is not dripping out of the sponge.



Here are a few things that must be kept in mind before re-filling a cartridge



1. The cartridge needs to be refilled before it is completely empty. If this is not done, the cartridge can dry out completely and get clogged.



2. It might be a good idea to place the refilled cartridge into the printer and leave it alone overnight so that the pressure in the cartridge can stabilize.



3. While making the holes at the top of the cartridge, to inject ink, please make sure you do not hit it too hard or it might crack open the cartridge and make it worthless. It might also make a hairline crack and allow some air in, which in turn would dry the ink out prematurely.



4. Some of the newer models of printers have a green chip in their cartridges. Looking at the cartridge closely one can spot this chip. They are usually known as "Intellidge" cartridges. The chip keeps track of the ink levels in the cartridge and notifies the computer when the ink levels are low. A resetting chip can be used to reset the memory on the chip. With the help of this chip, the printer recognizes the cartridge as being full and allows the refilled cartridge to print.



A refill kit is considerably cheaper than a new cartridge and obviously promises more than just one re-fill. It is therefore, easier on the pocket, keeps us from adding more useless plastic to the environment and increases the life of a cartridge.



A re-fill kit typically contains:



1. Bottles of Ink



2. A bottle of cleaning solution



3. A 2 part syringe



4. A users manual



Something to look out for before buying refilled cartridges



There are some cartridges sold with the "Single Use Only" tag. It is illegal to refill these cartridges with any other ink. This is usually found in Lexmark cartridges. If these cartridges are sent for refilling or refilled cartridges are bought, technically one could face legal charges for doing so. The cartridges that are not marked "Single Use Only" usually come at a higher price.



For such cartridges Lexmark offers a 20% reduction in price if the customer agrees to send the cartridges back to Lexmark.



This does not mean that using refilled cartridges is illegal in any way. All one needs to watch out for is whether the maker has prevented a third party refilling for their own cartridges. This can be understood easily by looking out for any labels such as "Single Use Only". If there is no such obvious label, it is absolutely all right to go ahead with refilling the empty ink cartridges.

The Essential Guide to Inkjet Cartridges

Do Not Buy Another Ink jet Cartridge Until You Have Read This Report

or

What You Don't Know About Ink jet Cartridges

Table of Contents

1.Introduction

2.OEM cartridges (Original Equipment Manufacturers)

a. Digital Millennium Copyright Act

b. Business Models

c. Lexmark and Static Control Components

d. Epson succeeds

3.Compatible cartridges

4.Remanufactured cartridges.

5.Recycling

6.Laser Toner Cartridge

7.Photo Cartridges Ink jet

8.Conclusion

1. Introduction

Thank you for buying this guide i hope i have presented the information in a clear,concise and easy to understand way. I hope you will find it informative and that it will aid any future decisions that you make when making your next purchase of a printer or ink jet cartridges. This Guide to Ink jet Cartridges has been written to try and explain clearly the differences between different types of ink cartridges, and to set out clearly the advantages and disadvantages of each particular type. These ink jet printer cartridges can be categorized in to three types, mainly




1.OEM cartridges (Original Equipment Manufacturers)

2.Compatible cartridges

3.Remanufactured cartridges.

2. OEM cartridges (Original Equipment Manufacturers)

Original cartridges are the brands of the printer manufacturers, many of the cheaper models are only half-filled or even less. Original Equipment Manufacturer(OEM) A brand name ink jet carries the brand name of the manufacturer on it, usually the same as the printer manufacturer, for example, Epson, Canon, Hewlett Packard, etc. The manufacturer sell the printers he makes very cheaply knowing that he will make much more money from the replacement cartridges that must be bought to make the printer work. He can charge whatever he wants to for the cartridge. In the life time of a printer the cartridge might be changed seventy times dependent on its use. This is of great advantage to printer manufacturers.

2a. Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA)

This act was signed into law by the American Congress 28/10/1998 to update the copyright laws for the digital era and basically makes it illegal to circumvent anti-piracy measures that are built into commercial software or to make or sell devices that can crack the anti-piracy measures and therefore copy the software. It also limits the liability of Internet Service Providers that are only transmitting the information, but they must immediately take down material that seems to infringe copyright

2b. Business Models

The printer manufacturing industry has chosen for its business model the Gillette business model that is it sells its products very cheaply or if necessary at a loss to ensure the after market sales of its blades. Cartridges can be worth many times more than the cost of the printer over the life of the printer. This is why manufacturers often contend with companies who they see as eating into their profits and are always trying to push them out.

2c. Lexmark and Static Control Components

Lexmark the second largest manufacturer of printers claimed that Static Control Components had reverse engineered their chip in order to provide lower priced cartridges. They cited that the DMCA covered their chips copyright and Static Control Components chip was therefore illegal. The copyright office of the United States ruled that a company cannot use DMCA to shield itself from healthy competition.

2d. Epson Succeeds

Epson is one of the largest manufacturers, if not the largest in the world. It too like lexmark has its own interest at heart when it also goes for the aftermarket inkjet manufacturers , but unlike Lexmark and other manufacturers it is not pursuing the DMCA route. What Epson is doing is simply charging these companies with patent infringement of two of their patents namely 7,008,053 and 7,011,397. which cover minor technical changes in the way that the cartridges are produced, todate they are having a lot of success as many companies are choosing to settle rather than fight it out. which is not good news for the consumer and may sound the death knell for inexpensive cartridges. Epsons vice president recently said "We will continue to pursue the ITC action and the pending District Court lawsuit vigorously and take whatever other action may be necessary to protect Epson from unfair competition through patent infringement or the distribution of counterfeit ink cartridges." It will not be long before the other manufacturers follow this line.

3. Compatible cartridges

Compatible cartridges are generic ink jet cartridges which are manufactured to meet or even exceed original equipment manufacturer (OEM) standards. Compatible cartridges are extremely popular most computer users are familiar with ink jet printers, as they provide relatively high quality printing and can be used in a variety of industries. Compatible cartridges are reservoirs of ink which connect to a series of small nozzles called the print head that are used to create very small dots of ink. Compatible cartridges cartridges are much smaller than toner cartridges and operate a different technology. Compatible cartridges allow higher quality images to be produced than toner cartridges for a lower unit cost. Compatible cartridges are a genuine economical alternative to the expensive OEM ink jet cartridges on the UK market today. Compatible cartridges may also contain a chip (like the original); these are called Chipped Compatible Cartridges. Compatible cartridges are mainly available for printers that use simple reservoirs as ink cartridges Compatible cartridges are not available for every printer; if a Compatible cartridge is not available then a remanufactured one maybe. Compatible cartridges are those not manufactured or sanctioned by the printer makers. for a great selection of compatible ink cartridges at prices to go to court and sue for DMCA infringement. You will get at least the same number of printed pages from compatible Ink jet cartridges as you will get from an OEM Ink jet cartridge (such as Canon and Epsom)

4. Remanufactured

Remanufactured cartridges are recycled ink jet cartridges that have been disassembled, inspected, cleaned, reassembled, refilled with ink and individually print tested to meet or even exceed original printer cartridge specifications. The majority of re manufactured hp ink jet cartridges are refilled to maximum capacity and contain more ink than the original hp ink jet cartridges. Remanufactured toner and ink jet cartridges offer clear advantages over new cartridges in cost, waste reduction, and sometimes even in product quality. Remanufactured cartridges commonly cost 30 to 50 percent less than new cartridges. this therefore has spawned a whole industry specializing in third party replacement printer cartridges these can be classified into two different types compatible ink jet cartridges such as epson ink cartridges or recycled or remanufactured . Recent research by the Rochester Institute of Technology, released in November 2004, found remanufactured printer cartridges provide the same print quality and page output as new cartridges. Buying locally remanufactured toner and inkjet cartridges, and recycling empty cartridges, is an easy way for government agencies and public institutions to reduce the environmental impact of these discarded products, while also making substantial savings and bolstering the local economy. Buying remanufactured cartridges saved the country a considerable amount of money in these budget conscious times. Primarily you will only find remanufactured Ink jet cartridges for Hewlett Packard, Lexmark and some Canon printers, as they have patented their inkjet cartridge designs. By using our remanufactured or recycled HP ink jet cartridges, you can help to save environment by conserving the natural resources and by reducing the pollution.

5. Recycling

In the UK alone it is estimated that more than 30 million empty ink jet cartridges are thrown into landfill sites every year. Start by saving your own empty ink jet cartridges and by asking all your friends to do the same. Find an empty box and simply save each empty cartridge as and when they become empty. Most people given the choice, would rather dispose of their empty cartridges in a way that would benefit the environment. Help the environment and save on your next ink cartridge purchase by recycling your ink jet cartridges. Recycling ink jet cartridges decreases the amount of waste that is put into our landfills. Recycling is a good thing and so is raising money for your cause. Recycling cartridges is environmentally friendly and you can feel good about supporting sustainable development for the planet's limited natural resources and not adding to our already overloaded landfills. Recycling ink jet cartridges and mobile phones is free, it wont cost you a penny and will help raise money for charities such as Tommy's, Save the Children, Handicap International, The British Heart Foundation and many more. Recycling cartridges allows you to help charities, reduce the amount of natural resources required to make new cartridges, helps reduce the amount of space taken up by landfill, reduces CO2 emissions and you even save money from your own pocket. Recycling or reusing our ink jet cartridges is something that all of us can do quite easily to make a difference and it needn't require a lot of effort, its simply a matter of choosing to do the right thing. Did you know that by recycling one cartridge you are helping to save three quarts of oil and reduce waste. In the last six months alone, ink jet cartridge recycling has saved more than 50 million liters of oil. Ink jet cartridge recycling helps reduce carbon emissions as well as to conserve resources and reduce waste. Ink jet Recycling Fact: It takes about a gallon of oil to make a new laser cartridge. In less than one year, recycling cartridges in Canada could save more oil than the 11,000,000 gallons spilled by the Exxon Valdez oil tanker into Prince William Sound in Alaska in 1989. This year, HP will produce more than 4 million ink jet cartridges using recycling plastic from used HP cartridges. Printer cartridge recycling industry analysts estimate that used ink jet and toner cartridges can be recycled and reused between 4 and 7 times. Remember, recycling ink jet cartridges, toner cartridges, and cell phones will reduce toxic waste in our nation's landfills. Http://www.columbusinksupply.co.uk If you are tired of the high cost of replacement cartridges and ink jet supplies, then look no further. As an industry leader of ink jet cartridges, we are proud to provide you with an economical alternative to the high cost ink cartridges manufactured by the original equipment manufacturers (OEM). We offer an extensive collection of cheap Canon ink cartridges, Dell printer cartridges and affordable Lex mark ink cartridges as well as a broad range of Brother printer cartridges. However, we've spent considerable time and effort in the research and testing of many brands of ink jet printer cartridges and only use what in our opinion are high quality ink cartridges and laser toner cartridges for your printers. Our mission is to offer quality printer ink cartridges to UK homes and businesses. As an industry leader of ink jet cartridges, we are proud to provide you with an economical alternative to the high cost ink cartridges manufactured by the original equipment manufacturers (OEM). Ink jet cartridges are a replaceable item on an ink jet printer. Ink jet Cartridges can make an ideal gift to students in college, or a friend setting up a small business from home. Thousands of people regularly buy their ink jet printer supplies from us every day, because our compatible ink jet cartridges are 100% guaranteed and are the highest quality online. We are dedicated to supplying the highest quality printer supplies, including ink jet cartridges, laser toner cartridges, ink jet printer refill kits and ink jet photo paper, to individuals, businesses, government and educational institutions worldwide.

6. Laser Toner Cartridges

Laser printers were once far more expensive than ink jet printers but now the cost of these items are very much reduced, so much so that they now compete with ink jet printer in terms of cost, and once when only a business with very large printing requirements could reasonably afford to buy one the cost is now such that they are within the budget of most people and home offices can enjoy high quality professional publications. Electrostatic Printing is what we normally call laser printing and the technology used to produce the printed page is vastly different from ink jet printing electrical charges are used to produce the images that are seen. Light photons are discharged onto the cylindrical transparent drum. a laser light is shone onto the drum, letters and images are sent from the computer as electrical charges. The drum is then coated with a toner which carries a positive electrical charge. Negatively charged paper is then rolled across the drum and the positively charged image is transferred to the paper. The toner cartridges are initially more expensive than the ink jet cartridges but are capable of much greater output a typical high capacity cartridge will yield approximately 4000 pages with 5% coverage. four toners are used they are cyan magenta yellow and black, the good thing is when one toner is used up you can still print using the other three colours, and every last bit of toner can be used. A common trick to get more out of the toner cartridge is when the toner cartridge appears to have run out open the printer remove the cartridge shake it and replace it into the printer this will result in a few more hundred copies being produced, i have done this myself a couple of times when i thought the toner was out and found that the toner settles in the cartridge and by shaking and replacing i am therefore able to extend the life of the cartridge. The life of most printers will be about 5 years if looked after properly and the cost of the toner cartridges is prohibitive they can be in excess of 25% of the initial purchase price of the laser printer which means you will pay many times over the original cost of the laser printer. To help to defray costs you might do as i did frustrated by the high cost of ownership i simply bought another identical laser printer with a full set of toner cartridges which incredibly worked out at a price 50% cheaper than a set of toner cartridges for the laser printer. Http://www.columbusinksupply.co.uk The reason these types of printer are so popular now in the home office market is the quality speed and cost. These once very expensive laser printers are today very affordable and the situation described above no longer exists. Over the long term they will prove to be more economical then the ink jet although the initial investment will be greater than the ink jet. They use less and are cheaper also they can be recycled which helps to ease landfill problems. How recycling issues can be effectively addressed is discussed in recycling ink jet cartridges at the following address http://ezinearticles.com/?Recycling-Inkjet-Cartridges&id=751450 When looking to purchase a laser printer be sure to compare prices from a number of different sources as prices can vary considerably, depending on your needs you might consider laser printer that is not the latest model manufacturers frequently update models to reflect the rapidly changing pace in the electronics areas, or you might enquire about display models a these are often sold at reduced prices. These laser copiers are excellent machines and are available in a number of different sizes A4, A3 sizes depending on your requirement the quality of printing is so high that on some laser copies you are warned that you are not allowed to copy bank notes passports and other legal types of documents and to do so is a criminal offence that carries heavy penalties. Some of the advantages of toner cartridges: More cost effective Print more quickly does not include warm up time Longer print cycle

7.Photo Cartridges Ink jet

Colour photo ink jet printing is done using primarily three colours other than black:cyan, magenta and yellow, known as CMYK. Clear colour rich prints are very affordable with this high quality glossy paper. Statistics suggest that, on average, 60% of the documents that are printed in businesses are A4 mono, 20% A4 colour, 17% photocopies and just 3% are A3. Dye based ink have high brilliance and wide colour gamut, but are not light fast or water-fast enough. The former is generally better suited to straightforward monochrome printing, while the latter is used for colour. With colour printing, because different inks are mixed, they need to dry as quickly as possible to avoid blurring. If slow-drying ink is used for colour printing, the colours tend to bleed into one another before they've dried. Combined cartridges will have all of the colours in one cartridge. Some cartridge systems have 4, 5 and 6 colour systems. The whole cartridge must be replaced when one colour runs out. Today's modern printers need specific formulations to produce the photo quality of the original manufacturers cartridges. When it comes to photo printers, the Epson 1290 Photo is an excellent photo printer and produces amazing graphics on paper right up to A3 paper size. it should be noted that a key factor in inkjet printing is the quality of the inkjet paper by using paper which is specifically designed for use by ink jet printers rather than standard office photocopying paper the quality of the printed results are dramatically improved. Many printers are geared toward producing high quality, high speed text, others are designed for digital photo printing. The resolution of these printers varies significantly from those geared towards high speed text printing at resolutions of 360 or 600 dpi ranging to those printing high quality digital photographs at 4800 or 5760dpi. The quality of the printouts is excellent and you are printing out all your photographs from your digital camera. The modern advances in photographic equipment now means we can have photos printed on Ink jet Photo Papers whenever we need them. Those of you who need extremely high quality printing graphic artists, and photographers , can by trial-and-error find different generic cartridge products, which provides the quality results you required. There are several color models used in computer graphics, the two color systems that you are probably most familiar with are called. Subtractive colors or reflective colors, And Additive colors When printing your color photos you may have noticed the difference in the colors that you see on the screen and those that are printed by the printer, In printing a color document from a computer display, the printer must translate additive colors into corresponding combinations of subtractive colors. Even though each of the Additive Colors has its corresponding complement in the Subtractive Colors there isn't a direct correlation in converting one to the other. Additive colors are those that when mixed together create white, they are used for computer displays, they are the colors inherent in light Red Green and Blue (RGB) and are the colors that all other colors are created.In RGB, the overlapping of additive colors (red, green and blue) results in the subtractive colors Cyan, Magenta and Yellow. Http://www.columbusinksupply.co.uk In the computer world, printers use subtractive colors they are used in the printing trades as dyes, inks, and pigments. Subtractive colors reflect their own color, while absorbing or "subtracting" all other colors present in white light, when mixed together they produce black because the more of each color you add the darker or less reflective it becomes. This system is known as CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black).The CMYK printing method is also known as "four-color process" or simply "process" color. If your images will be printed, then convert them to CMYK before printing

8.Conclusion

The prevailing business model in the printer manufacturing business has long been hinged on ink and toner sales, and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future,but printer manufacturers have seen their profits shrink as third parties move in to sell ink and toner products closer to their own manufacturing costs. Forty per cent of all homes in the UK are now with a PC and future growth seems very likely as PC prices continue to fall, in addition to those in businesses, schools, colleges and hospitals. In the personal and small business computer market, inkjet printers currently predominate. Many successful businesses order back up supplies so that if they are printing an important job and the ink runs out they simply go to the supply room and get a replacement cartridge. In general, aftermarket generic and new compatible or remanufactured printer cartridge products are an excellent way to cut significant costs from your every day small business or personal printing expense, while maintaining quality printing results, but if printer manufacturers like Epson begin to claw back what they have lost to the third party after market manufacturers and recent decisions are upheld on appeal in the courts, then it would seem to signify that the end of the cheap generic cartridge is in sight. As the demand for inkjet cartridges increase as people see a return to the high priced cartridges of the past as imminent many home businesses will begin to also stock up with inkjet cartridges which might lead to shortages and price rises in the future. A new technology for printing is urgently required and with the huge advances in the electronics arena in recent years do not be surprised to see this new technology emerging quickly, Necessity is the mother of invention.

суббота, 12 марта 2011 г.

Recycle Printer Cartridges

Want to help and save the earth? Why not recycle printer cartridges? You can do this by purchasing recycled printer cartridges at a variety of different outlets, including those online. By choosing to recycle printer cartridges you will get the same quality cartridge as you normally get with your printer, and the same quality ink but you do not have to continue to litter landfills with the empty plastic cartridges.




In order to recycle printer cartridges and get the best deal, follow these tips:




Know your product number



Make sure that you know the number of your printer or the type of cartridges that your printer takes. You still have to use the same cartridge, but the ink will be refilled. If you are not sure about the type of printer that you have, take a look on the back and look at the number that is listed on your printer. You can also look at the cartridge and see if there is a number. This will help you figure out which type of recycled printer cartridge that you need.



Get the cartridges for your printer




Beware of places that offer to sell you generic printer cartridges. Many of these will not work with your printer and you end up throwing your money away. You can save money when you choose to recycle printer cartridges by getting the authentic cartridges that have been recycled. This way, they are sure to work.



Shop online for the best price




You will be shocked at the prices when you recycle printer cartridges. Not only are you doing your best for the environment, but you are also saving yourself quite a bit of money. If you are used to spending over $50 for one brand new cartridge, you will be pleased to see that you will only pay a fraction of that cost when you choose to recycle printer cartridges.



When you recycle printer cartridges, you are doing the wise thing for both the environment as well as yourself. There is no reason to throw away the entire plastic casing every time your printer cartridge runs out of ink. By choosing to recycle printer cartridges, you will save money and also be doing the right thing for the environment.