Printer Ink 4u

It’s been an interesting ride. In December of 2002, Lexmark, maker of Lexmark printers and Lexmark printer cartridges, filed suit again Static Control Components. The contention of the printer manufacturing giant was that Static Control was violating the Digital Millennium Copyright Act by producing and selling computer chips that used computer code developed by Lexmark. The Smartek chip produced by Static Control allows third party printer cartridges to operate with Lexmark printers.

The code, which Static Control admits was copied directly from Lexmark’s own chips, is designed to ensure that only Lexmark printer cartridges can be used with Lexmark printers. What seems on the surface a fairly simple, cut and dried case of copyright infringement has bounced back and forth from court to court for the past two-and-a-half years. The implications of any rulings made in the case, it seems, extend far beyond the right of third party manufacturers to create printer cartridges that can replace Lexmark printer cartridges in Lexmark printers. It extends beyond the right of printer manufacturers to protect their profits in the lucrative printer supplies market – which conservative estimates place at over 50% of the profits in the entire photo imaging field. According to expert commentators on both sides of the case, what is at stake is a free, open and competitive marketplace – not just for Lexmark printer cartridges, but for ALL products.

You see, the case hinges on a little computer chip that Lexmark installs on some of its printers and some Lexmark printer cartridges. The chip contains a program that allows the printer and cartridge to communicate with each other – more specifically, it allows the cartridge to tell the printer, “Hey, I’m a real Lexmark printer cartridge!” And without that little piece of plastic and metal on the cartridge, the printer won’t work.

In other words, it’s a computer chip that Lexmark installed for the specific purpose of not allowing any third party printer cartridges to work with its printer. And what Static Control did was copy that code for its own computer chips and sell them to third party manufacturers so that their printer cartridges would work in Lexmark printers just as well as Lexmark printer cartridges. Lexmark claims that that is an infringement of its copyright under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act that is meant to protect intellectual property. Static Control claims that the DMCA wasn’t meant to enable manufacturers to make it impossible for third parties to create equipment that can be used in their products.

And therein lies the crux of the matter. If the courts rule in Lexmark’s favor, say many critics, they are essentially setting a precedent whereby any manufacturer of any product can use similar technology to prevent competition for end-user business. The eventual outcome, they say, could be a Ford auto chip that locks the wheels on a Ford automobile if the car owner tries to use any tires other than Ford tires.

So far, both sides have claimed victories in the case – small victories. The court originally issued an injunction to stop Static Control from selling the Smartek chip. The Copyright Office refused to issue a guideline that protects the right of third party manufacturers to ‘reverse engineer’ software stating that the right is already protected by a provision that allows for software to be reverse engineered if the purpose is to make it work with other products.

Static Control has since written its own software that interacts with three Lexmark printer cartridges (one more Lexmark printer cartridge than it had provided before). The new software contains no code written by Lexmark, but interacts with the Lexmark printers the same as the chip that’s embedded in a Lexmark printer cartridge. It could make the whole suit moot. Whether Lexmark continues with the suit in light of this new development, the winners are consumers who will have a choice when it’s time to replace their Lexmark printer cartridge.

What exactly does ‘compatible’ mean when you are referring to printer ink cartridges? Compatible means that you are buying printer ink cartridges that are manufactured by a company other than the manufacturer of your printer. What this basically means is that you are buying a generic brand.

So what are the benefits of buying compatible printer ink cartridges? The price would have to be the best reason. Compatible ink cartridges can be a lot cheaper than buying original branded printer ink. In some cases they can be up to 80% cheaper.

What about the disadvantages when buying compatible printer ink cartridges? Nothing really – you just need to be careful where you buy them. Compatible printer ink cartridges won’t damage your printer if you buy from a company who you know sells quality products. Like anything else, if you buy an inferior product then you will get inferior results.

And don’t think that buying compatible printer ink cartridges will void your warranty. Legislation has been passed which allows the use of third party products – this is known as the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Improvement Act. This means that you can use compatible cartridges without voiding your warranty.

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Are you finding your HP cartridges are always running low on printer ink? I am sure you have found that HP cartridges aren’t cheap so considering the expense you really do want them to print as many pages as possible to get the best value for money.

One of the easiest ways to make your HP cartridges last longer is to change your printer settings to enable printing in draft mode. Draft mode provides for a lesser quality print which, although may not look as good as a high quality print, is sufficient for most print jobs. Printing in draft mode uses less ink which means you can print more pages and ultimately save money.

Another way to make your HP cartridges last longer is to print in black only. Color ink is more expensive so printing this way will at least save on your color HP ink cartridges.

There are even different softwares out there that claim to make your printer ink last up to four times longer. They maintain that their software can save on ink even when printing at the printer’s highest resolution. We haven’t tried them so can’t make any comments either way but for the fairly reasonable price tag they may be worth a try.

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Printing has come a long way since the early days of writing. Our ancestors didn’t have the luxury of printers with ink cartridges. Nowadays we have it all, we can simply go online to find ink cartridges containing ink with the correct viscosity for our brand of printer.

In early times inks were made up of lampblack or soot mixed to a usable consistency with animal glue or vegetable oil – no printer cartridge at hand here. Earthen colors were introduced in the 11th century, by the Chinese to compliment their printing style.

A printer in the early days made his own ink with lampblack and linseed oil, according to his own secret formula. It wasn’t until the discovery of coal tar that more colors were introduced into the printing process. This is unlike today’s range of printer ink cartridges that are made to a specific standard and contain the right viscosity for your printer.

Making ink for today’s printing requirements is a multi billion dollar industry with special ink formulas for each printing process and purpose.

The degree to which ink resists flow when it is under force is known as viscosity. Ink that flows easily has a low viscosity and ink that does not flow easily has a high viscosity.

Printer manufacturers have cartridges containing inks that are specifically formulated and the ink characteristics are specific to the different printer models within their range. The ink characteristics are based partly on ink viscosity (thickness), PH (acid or base), drying times, UV (light fastness), etc.

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Canon is one of the leaders in printing technology and Canon ink cartridges are developed with this in mind. You can buy your Canon ink cartridges new or re manufactured if you are trying to save money.

Canon ink cartridges are available online for most Canon printers and at heavily reduced prices. We have attempted to find you the best offers available on Canon ink cartridges with discounts of up to 80%. And, in most cases, delivery is free to your door.

When ordering your Canon ink cartridges there are a number of things to consider. Of course the price is of upmost importance but do they also provide a discount if you order more than one product? What about free delivery – is this included? The last thing you might want to consider when ordering Canon printer cartridges is how long it will take to receive your order.

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A remanufactured laser printer toner cartridge is a used cartridge that has been checked, cleaned and then thoroughly tested to ensure it meets the same standards as an OEM toner cartridge. Not only will you make great savings if you purchase a remanufactured laser printer toner cartridge you will also be helping to reduce the amount of waste in our environment.

A laser printer toner cartridge has two parts which will deteriorate with use – the toner and a drum known as the OPC. The OPC is designed to last as long as the toner in the cartridge. When the toner is used the drum deteriorates to an unusable level.

When you purchase a recycled laser printer toner cartridge ensure that the merchant indicates that the drum has been replaced in the remanufacturing process or that they use long-life drums. You are only wasting money otherwise.

You can purchase a remanufactured laser printer toner cartridge with the comfort of knowing that its use will not void your printer warranty. Legislation in the US prohibits a company from forcing you to purchase their product.

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