Archive for May 8th, 2008
Reader’s Question:
I think ink cartridges are ridiculously expensive! Can someone tell me why it is so expensive? is it really that valuable?
Kelly
Atlanta, GA
Ink cartridges are typically very expensive. Most people, therefore, use compatible ink cartridges (those made by a company other than the printer manufacturer) that can sometimes match the quality and much cheaper.
Consumers are usually surprised at the price of replacing their printer cartridges, especially when compared with that of purchasing a brand new printer. The major printer manufacturers, Lexmark, Dell, Hewlett Packard, Canon, Epson and Brother, often break even or lose money selling printers and expect to recoup their losses by selling cartridges over the life span of the printer. Since much of the printer companies profits are made up of ink and toner cartridge sales, some of these manufacturers have taken various actions to limit the options of consumers in using aftermarket cartridges.
May 8th, 2008
Reader’s Question:
Can you please tell me what inkjet printer is and how does it work?
Janice
Austin, TX
Inkjet printers functions by propelling variably-sized droplets of liquid or molten material (ink) onto almost any medium. Inkjet printers are the most common type of computer printer for the general consumer[citation needed] due to their low cost, capability of printing in vivid color, high quality of output, and ease of use.
Like any modern technologies, the present-day inkjet has built on the progress made by many earlier versions. Among many contributors, Hewlett-Packard , Epson and Canon can claim a substantial share of the credit for the development of the modern inkjet. Consumers in a worldwide market, four manufacturers account for the majority of inkjet printer sales: Hewlett-Packard, Canon, Epson, and Lexmark.
May 8th, 2008
Reader’s Question:
Is it true some computer printers print tiny tiny microscopic text on your printing with identifying information on it?
Allan
Denver, CO
Recently a research team led by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) broke the code behind tiny tracking dots that some color laser printers secretly hide in every document.
The U.S. Secret Service admitted that the tracking information is part of a deal struck with selected color laser printer manufacturers to identify counterfeiters. But, the nature of the private information encoded in each document was not previously known.
Xerox previously admitted that it provided these tracking dots to the government, but said that only the Secret Service had the ability to read the code. The Secret Service maintains that it only uses the information for criminal counterfeit investigations purposes. But, there are no laws to prevent the government from abusing this information.
May 8th, 2008
Reader’s Question:
I see some printers are 1200×1200 dpi and others are 2400×600. What type of printer would produce the best looking monochrome images? Is there any B/W printer that have higher resolution than 2400×600 or 1200×1200?
Angel
Albany, NY
The number of dots per square inch are the same so the rendering
algorithm of the printer is what should matter most.
Generally, Xerox is regarded to be tops in this area for small to
medium business. I think that purpose specific INKJETS are still superior to lasers for photographs which were primarily designed with text and simple graphics in mind.
May 8th, 2008