Reader’s Question:
I have a Lexmark color printer, for my personal computer. And, I just bought extra ink cartridges for my future use. What is the best way to store color (and black) computer ink cartridges, so they do not dry out fast?
Linda
Charlotte, NC
That’s very good question.
Store toner cartridges in a cool dry place, always in the original box
with the arrows pointing up. Do not stand on end because the toner may
leak when you put the cartridge in the printer.
If there is a big difference in humidity or temperature between the
storage area and your office leave the cartridge near the printer for
a couple of hours.
When installing a cartridge, rock it slowly 45 degrees about its long
axis about five times to distribute the toner evenly.
The drum in the toner cartridge has a photo sensitive organic coating
that deteriorates when exposed to a strong light or high temperature.
The toner in the cartridge can also be affected by high temperature
(toner melts at 40 degrees Celsius) so do not place a
cartridge in direct light or near a window.
May 17th, 2008
Reader’s Question:
I have not used refills and unamed brands in my printer. Do those refills on printer ink now offered at stores really work? I don’t want to damage my inkjet.
Martha
Billings, MT
Ink refills actually work - you just have to make sure you choose the right ink designed for your make and model of printer. It is also possible to damage the printer by using the wrong type of ink.
Those ink refill kiosks in malls do a good job - let them do it and let them clean up the mess.
Now here comes the disadvantage. Refilling an ink cartridge will void a printer’s warranty. So if you are planning to take the printer back under warranty for repair, you better replace the refilled ink cartridge with a new one.
Also, I would suggest not refilling cartridges more than 2 or 3 times. They were never designed for extended use and you will notice a difference when you put a new cartridge in your printer.
May 17th, 2008
Reader’s Question:
I need a recommendation for the best printer for me to purchase. My
requirements are border to border printing on an 8 1/2 x 11 paper, non-fade pictures, good for maybe 5 years and low price per page.
Ashton
Babylon, NY
A Lexmark X3350 should be good for you but I’m not sure about getting 1200 pages out of it that quickly, but it’s a rather good printer. It can also do borderless printing on a lot of different sizes, including legal and standard letter (8.5″ x 11″).
Although it might get a little costly for the large amount of documents you want to print.
A better alternative is may always a laser printer because they are cheaper per page (in the long run), have much higher print resolutions, and can keep from fading for a rather good span of time.
The newer HP Photo Printers have a ink cartridge you can purchase for them that are supposedly able to “Resist fading for years to come” but not sure of the exacts there.
May 17th, 2008
Reader’s Question:
I am trying to work out whether it is much cheaper to buy a new b&w
laser printer compared with the colour inkjet I already own. What is the cheapest black & white printer cartridge for the HP LaserJet Printer 1022 and how many pages will it print before it runs out?
Harry
Amherst, NY
The 2000 pages is an estimate based on prints with 5 percent page coverage. The price of the original HP cartridge will depend only slightly between retailers, and this is the only cartridge HP manufactures for this printer. Compatible toner cartridges from other companies are built to be as identical to this HP cartridge as possible, so their yield will also be approximately 2000 pages. Compatible toner cartridges are much cheaper than original HP cartridges, but, there are very many manufacturers that make them, thus it is hard to determine which one is the cheapest.
I, myself, have had a positive experience when using compatible toner
cartridges with HP printers and I haven’t had a problem with them yet.
May 16th, 2008
Reader’s Question:
You’ve probably received a lot of these type of questions, but I need an advice on what printer to purchase. If I need a regular printer for regular printing of about 40-50 pages of text (and rarely graphics) a week for home use , which printer would be the most convenient and affordable for me, coming with enough features, the ink/toner for which the cost is very minimal and has positive reviews.
Rose
Augusta, GA
I am a personal user of a printer that prints in the same category of
you like you, I would look at an all in one printer. I have one from HP (PS1315) and it scans, photocopies and prints at the same time. In addition, it also has a direct port to hook your digital camera into it. Its got great quality and I have not had a problem with the mechanical parts or the feeder. My one big disadvantage is the cost of the cartridge. I would recommend an HP with an 3 in 1 function and that has separate ink cartridges for each colour. I like to purchase a couple of cartridges (so I have a backup!), refill them one or two times and then purchase new ones. This works great for HP’s because the print head is on each individual cartridge, your printing will always be in great quality!
One point you should also consider is laser vs. inkjet printer. Although
inkjet printers are much more affordable, the cartridges cost quite a
a lot.
I would suggest - from my own private research when buying a new
printer - that Lexmark received lots of negative reviews, much more
than the brand I finally chose for (HP).
May 16th, 2008
Reader’s Question:
I need to buy a new colour laser printer for my small office. The price should not be too expensive. This is just for a small business. I need to produce good quality paperwork and I would be grateful for any advice on which printers I should consider and where I can buy them.
John
Albany, GA
The best and economical printer for your budget and application is always a subjective decision which depends on a lot of factors. There are reasonable choices available now from all major printer companies. I can only steer you in the direction of recent comparative reviews to assist you make your decision. Apparently, you have already decided that you want a laser printer, so I will focus on those. Depending on your application, however, you may want to seriously consider printers using other technologies. If you are primarily concerned with photographic image quality results, then an ink jet or thermal printer may be a better choice for you. I assume you are more interested in a general-purpose office printer which can do color charts and text at reasonably high throughput with occasional photographs added in. Usually, color laser printers are the best choice for such users. You may want to estimate your likely usage pattern (pages per month or over the estimated service life of the machine), and try to make an estimate of the cost of consumables and maintenance too. If you print a lot, it may well turn out that a more expensive machine is cheaper in the long run if the cost of toner cartridges and other consumables is less. Try to estimate a cost per printed page for the typical coverage you expect to print a day.
May 16th, 2008
Reader’s Question:
I am searching for the best, most cost effective and reliable machine(s) that would print on heavier, “mailable” preprinted material. I am also interested in printers that could if necessary print in duplex mode to print variable addresses. Inkjet color printers are more cheaper but I can’t find any with duplex capabilities. Is this a function of how it should print?
James
Lincoln, NE
Duplex attachments are available for most printers intended for printing in business market.
Ink jet printers are cheaper in the sense that you can purchase one for less, you will find that the cost-per-page for even a color laser printer is less than for an ink jet printer if you are going to print a lot of pages. Also the speed (pages per minute) is likely to be significantly quicker for your job on a laser printer. If you are doing only small jobs not very often so that the capital cost of the machine is a big deal, then an ink jet printer would certainly be the way to go. You can get all the capabilities you are searching for, including duplex feeding of card stock.
May 16th, 2008
Reader’s Question:
Can I get some tips on how to make ink cartridges for printers last longer. They are too expensive.
Naomi
Columbia, MO
Here are some tips to save on you ink cartridges:
1. Only print documents that are in black and white with a black ink cartridge. If you print black with a color ink cartridge, different colors are mixed to create the black ink. This would definitely deplete your color ink cartridge a lot faster than it would deplete a black ink cartridge.
2. Printing rough drafts in draft mode which is the lowest resolution setting will use up your precious ink cartridge much slower than a higher quality setting. When you are already ready to print the final version you can switch back to high quality mode.
3. If you will be needing a copy of a document for archival purposes only (for instance a receipt where you paid a bill online), use the lowest resolution possible.
4. Do not print the entire document if you only really need to print a part of it. If you print half of a document every time, your ink cartridges will last twice as long and if you can skip printing the images your ink cartridges will last even longer!
May 16th, 2008
Reader’s Question:
I read something somewhere about the findings that show that researchers have found that laser printers are responsible for a significant amount of potentially carcinogenic emissions? Is this true?
Martha
Bloomington, MN
According to a recent study some printers emit sub-micrometre particles which some suspect may be associated with respiratory diseases. It is said according to the study that 17 of the strongest emitters were made by Hewlett-Packard and one by Toshiba. However, the machine population studied, was only those machines already in place in the building and was thus biased toward specific manufacturers. It was noted that particle emissions varied substantially even among the same model of machine. According to Professor Morawska of Queensland University the health effects from inhaling ultrafine particles depend on particle composition, but the results can range from respiratory irritation to more severe illness such as cardiovascular problems or cancer
Also a study in Japan found that laser printers increase concentrations of styrene, xylenes, and ozone, and that ink-jet printers emitted pentanol.
May 16th, 2008
Reader’s Question:
I am thinking of purchasing a printer but I am not sure what to buy. What is the difference between laser and inkjet printer?
Rita
Fargo, ND
Laser printers, in general terms, have higher resolution so they have better print quality. Inkjets provides images by spitting out tiny droplets of ink, so their resolution is lower. You will be able to see that the laser has smoother edges to the fonts if you look closely at a page printed on a laser printer and the same page printed on an inkjet,
Inkjets are the way to go (as of 2003) for affordable color printing. Most of the more recent inkjets provide excellent color clarity and brightness, and are very well suited for printing photographs. In addition, inkjets are usually quite a bit cheaper than lasers, and color inkjets are MUCH cheaper than color laser printers.
While inkjet printers themselves are economical, their ink is much more expensive. Ink cartridges need to be replaced fairly often if you print a lot, and especially if you’re printing pictures, and ink cartridges are cheap. On the other hand, toners for laser printers is pricey, but are changed occasionally. If you are using a laser at home, you may never need to change the toner.
May 16th, 2008
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