Dell recently launched a new online program called InkSave.

The program has two purposes. One of the reasons the program is being offered is that it gives consumers the convenience of never running out of ink. The other purpose is the recycling of used inkjet cartridges. And on the part of Dell, having consumers sign up for the program will guarantee that they are able to sell cartridge refills – as opposed to having consumers resort to having them refilled.

Go To Source » (49)

Reese, a shift manager at Ink To Your Door, rides an electric scooter to deliver ink cartridges to a customer in Lakewood Ranch on Friday afternoon. The company, which delivers its product within an hour, recycles printer cartridges.

Go To Source » (48)

Buying a printer ink cartridge from your local office supply store is not exactly the most exciting thing to spend your energy on. Worse, there is that possibility that you might end up going back to your printer with the wrong cartridge or empty-handed when the store runs out of stock. You may be interested to know that there is a fast and easy way to do it, and that, of course, is online shopping.

There are a lot of benefits that you could get when you shop online for you printer ink cartridge, laser toner cartridges or ink refills. Even though some people are hesitant in purchasing products online, recent advances in security measures have made shopping online as safe as an errand to a local shop.

Go To Source » (20)

Again and again, we have heard so many small business owners complain about their office supply bills skyrocket, and the usual main culprits are printer inks and cartridges. It will be easy to spend tens of thousands of dollars for a gallon of ink alone.

The question now is on how to save on printer ink costs. Here are some tips that we think will be very helpful:

Go To Source » (20)

Back in 2007, the owner of a North Carolina company that resells Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) printer supplies says her firm's phones were ringing non-stop. Customers were irate about defective HP ink cartridges purchased from her firm. Several big corporate customers told her they spent days cleaning up leaky ink. The buyer for one local municipality was so furious about damage to the city's printers that he canceled his contract.

She began to worry: Perhaps the $40,000 in ink cartridges her company had purchased at a 10% discount from an Internet supplier were fakes. When she called HP, the company advised her to check security seals on the boxes containing the ink. They were identical to other packaging in her warehouse. Then one of HP's ink detectives knocked on her door. Part of a little-known group that roves the globe to track down counterfeits, the man confirmed her fears. "We were duped," says the woman, who asked not to be identified for fear of losing other customers. "We found out the hard way that counterfeiters are putting more into making the boxes than they are into the actual product.

Go To Source » (89)

As cloistered monks go, few are as enterprising as the Cistercians.

An ancient order that broke off from the Benedictines, they were the builders of the Middle Ages, harnessing water power for milling and metalwork — industries that sustained the monks’ simple lives of prayer and contemplation.

If they’d only known Father Bernard McCoy, those businesses might still be humming today.

McCoy, 42, is the marketing genius behind LaserMonks Inc., the multimillion-dollar Internet business that supports a small community of Cistercian monks on 500 rolling acres in western Wisconsin.

Go To Source » (54)

These days, people have been looking for ways to keep overall expenses at a minimum. At PrintCountry, we understand this concern and that is why we would like to share with you some ways to save on precious printer ink.

Go To Source » (52)

Never thought I'd see the day when I would be wiping my rear with used copier paper straight from an office machine. Butt seriously, thanks to Japanese ingenuity, this could soon be smart waste management, employed in corporate buildings to recycle all that paper we're guilty of overusing into toilet paper.

There's just one wee catch. Nakabayashi's pricey $95,000 office machine requires a whopping 72kg of discarded paper (159 pounds, or about 1,800 A4 sheets) to churn into just two rolls of (hopefully pliable) loo paper. At least you can now say you've cleaned your behind with your boss' memo.

Go To Source » (42)

Some people regard the printer as a cost center, where anything that you do with it is to be treated as an expense. The moment you turn a printer on, it uses up energy, which means it adds up to your expenses in utilities. When you submit a print job, you have to feed paper into it, after which the machine will then print using ink.

Epson Stylus C84If you think about printers as this cash guzzler, then it certainly will be. However, printers do not necessarily need to be that way all the time; talk about glass half-empty and glass-half full. If we think about the printer in a positive light, then we certainly can use the printer for tasks that, while bringing you expenses, can also help you save a few dollars along the way. This way, the printer may very well end up paying for itself. Remember, the printer is but a machine, and what it is able to bring to the table is very much up to you – the owner.

Go To Source » (31)

We all hear stories about declining computer, printer and printer supplies sales, but in the same breath, it seems like printer manufacturers are still developing and introducing new printers. We shared with you a whole slew of printers from Epson yesterday, and now we’re bringing you what’s new from Xerox.

This week, Xerox introduced four new printer series: the Phaser 7500, the WorkCentre 7400, the WorkCentre 6400 and the WorkCentre 4250.

Go To Source » (49)

With National Small Business Week focusing attention on SMBs, HP took the opportunity to introduce two new printers and a support program specifically targeted to the needs of cost-conscious small businesses. These are merely the latest wave of new offerings from HP targeting the small and midsize business market.

Go To Source » (59)

Xerox launched a new series of pricey office printers that use solid ink instead of cartridges. With prices starting at $23,500, the ColorQube 9200 series is obviously targeted at high-end corporate users, and is designed to significantly reduce the cost of printing color pages.

This isn't the first time Xerox has used solid ink technology, which features "crayon-like sticks" that are non-toxic, easy to install, and result in significantly less waste, the company says. (Green benefits: There are no ink cartridges to recycle, refill, or toss out, for instance.)

Go To Source » (43)

Epson America, Inc. today announced the Epson WorkForce(R) 310 ink jet all-in-one that delivers print speeds up to two times faster than competitive models(1), documents with laser-quality text, and vibrant color output.

"The WorkForce 310 is the newest addition to our extensive line of all-in-ones and is designed to give small business owners the edge they need to succeed," said Robynne Lee, product manager, Consumer Ink Jets, Epson America, Inc. "We understand and respect that small business owners generally have to rely on themselves to complete their most critical business tasks. The WorkForce 310 was engineered with that fact in mind, resulting in an outstanding printer-scanner-copier that's also extremely fast and reliable."

Go To Source » (41)

Epson America Inc. today introduced the Artisan 50, an affordable high-performance single function ink jet printer that's ideal for printing digital photos and everyday projects. Priced at $99.99 (estimated street price), this compact and stylish printer enables users to create Ultra Hi-Definition photos with amazing richness, depth and clarity. The Epson Artisan 50 also lets users print their own images and text onto ink jet printable CDs and DVDs. It can also print documents, e-mails and itineraries quickly and easily at print speeds up to 38 ppm color, and laser-quality speeds of 5 ppm black and 4.8 ppm color.

Go To Source » (47)

The recession has slammed sales of printers and printing supplies as hard as it's slammed most other technology sales. But vendors such as HP, Lexmark and Xerox are grappling with the question of whether the move toward green technology and doing more with less will fundamentally change how companies consume printers and printing supplies. And how will reseller solution providers evolve to fit the new model?

Go To Source » (48)

Printer manufacturers are not exactly rejoicing these days, and one of our recent posts on HP speaks volumes. A Channel Insider feature took a look into the printing industry and what may lie in store in the future.

HP Officejet 5610In a previous post, we already wondered whether the push to go green is a positive or a negative thing for the printing industry. We ended that thought by saying that what the industry may need to do is to evolve – but to what? The Channel Insider feature seems to think that the recent performance of most printing-based companies – such as Lexmark and Xerox, aside from HP – may be an indication that printers and printing may be on its way out as a technology.

Go To Source » (42)

Laser printers are often seen as the obvious choice when printing in bulk, but HP is looking to tempt smaller businesses with its new range of inkjet printers.

Promising savings of up to 40% compared to lasers in terms of running costs, the Officejet 6500 costs about €175 inc VAT and can copy, scan and fax, as well as print. It is sturdy and, thanks to the large control panel located at the front, easy to install and operate.

Go To Source » (35)

Expanding its lineup of industry-leading laser devices, Lexmark International, Inc. (NYSE: LXK) today announced a new monochrome laser multifunction product (MFP), the Lexmark X204n, which has the smallest footprint in its class*. Designed especially for the desktop, this monochrome laser MFP meets the needs of customers who seek professional, business-class output, but face the challenge of smaller working environments or conserving desk space.

"Although it has a small footprint, the X204n provides both the technological innovation and reliability that Lexmark's customers have come to expect from our products and services," said Marty Canning, Lexmark vice president and president of its Printing Solutions and Services Division. "This desktop-friendly MFP is easy-to-use, packed full of features and will help any user or small workgroup drive efficiency and move their productivity ahead."

Go To Source » (47)

One of the big problems with printers today isn’t that they print too slowly or that they can’t print images. The big problem is the cost of the printer and ink. Often you can replace your whole printer for the price you pay for new ink cartridges alone. I once owned a printer that cost about $50 to replace the ink tanks.

Epson has announced a new line of all-in-one printers called the NX series that offers nice features at low prices. All of the printers will copy, scan, and print. The line all use Epson DURABrite inks as well. The line includes the NX115, NX215, NX415, and NX515 models.

Go To Source » (48)

Hewlett-Packard Co. said Tuesday that an additional 6,400 workers, or 2 percent of HP’s 321,000-employee work force, will lose their jobs over the next year.

The job cuts are part of HP’s digestion of Electronic Data Systems, a technology services provider HP bought for $13.9 billion last year to mount a bigger challenge to IBM Corp., the company told analysts in a conference call to discuss HP's latest earnings.

HP no longer says how many people it employs in Boise. The company formerly employed about 3,400 workers at its campus off Chinden Boulevard, mostly for research, development and marketing of printers, ink and related printing and image-making goods and services. But HP was already dumping 24,600 jobs as part of the Electronic Data Systems acquisition before the extra cuts were announced Tuesday.

Go To Source » (27)

Hewlett-Packard Co. said Tuesday that earnings fell 17% in the second fiscal quarter as sales fell across nearly all the company's business lines, most particularly among PCs, servers and printers.

The results were largely in line with Wall Street's estimates. Shares of H-P HPQ fell nearly 5% in after-hours trading, as the high-tech giant issued a forecast for the current period that was also roughly in line with analysts' targets.

Go To Source » (31)

It wasn’t long ago when copier dealers were peddling MFPs with a sales pitch still focused on speed and price. If a dealer wanted to jazz up the sales pitch, they might highlight the new affordability of color output and the inclusion of fax capability. The afterthought of these sales pitches was, almost invariably, the seemingly obligatory, “Oh yeah, and it scans, too.”

So, that was then. Fast-forward to today, and you can see that there has been a near 180-degree shift in thinking. Unlike just a few years ago when copier dealers were still selling MFPs based on the output capabilities of copy, print, and fax, savvy dealers today are beginning to understand the value of document imaging. Those that do are capturing greater sales by bringing the scanning functionality of these devices to the forefront. Is this bad news for traditional scanning VARs? Only for those that continue to ignore the popularity of the MFP.

Go To Source » (57)

Canon has received the prestigious Multifunctional Printers (MFP) Line of the Year Award from Buyers Laboratory Inc. (BLI), a testing and intelligence body in the imaging industry, for its imageRUNNER and imageRUNNER COLOR multifunction printers.

Canon has also won four End of Year Pick Awards for its MFPs.

The MFP Line of the Year Award is given to products that meet the strict standards of BLI and pass the rigorous two-month laboratory evaluation. The biannual “Pick” awards, meanwhile, recognize outstanding product performances in specific categories.

Go To Source » (55)

A strategic partnership was announced recently from two giants in mobile computing – Research in Motion (RIM) and HP. The alliance will make available two new solutions that will be presented during this year’s Wireless Enterprise Symposium (WES) in Orlando, Florida.

blackberry8820What will perhaps be a big hit is the introduction of the HP CloudPrint service for Blackberry smartphones, the devices developed by RIM. CloudPrint technology is an HP invention that allows users to use HP servers to print to the nearest available printer. With the HP CloudPrint for Blackberry web services based solution, Blackberry smartphone users can now print e-mails, documents, photos and web pages whenever, wherever.

Go To Source » (41)

Printing on an Epson printer from an Apple iPhone or iPod Touch is now possible using the new EuroSmartz Print & Share app that lets users print photos, business documents, PDF files, Web pages, e-mail, and more.

“Smart phones, especially the iPhone, are increasingly being used in place of laptops,” said Steve Semos, product manager, consumer ink jets, Epson America.

Go To Source » (46)