It’s new cartridge Tuesday at Pacific Ink! This week we are happy to announce the release of compatible cartridges that replace the Brother TN-04 series. These cartridges are priced at $139.99 (black) and $129.99 (color). Retail stores carry the Brother brand product at $152.99 (black) and $147.99 (color).

These 100% compatible cartridges replace the Brother TN-04BK black, TN-04C cyan, TN-04M magenta, and TN-04Y yellow. They are designed for use in the following Brother multifunction printers:

Brother HL-2700CN
Brother HL-2700
Brother MFC-9420CN
Brother MFC-9420

The black ink cartridge yields up to 10,000 pages, while each of the colors yields 6,000 pages. These pages yields are based on 5% page coverage when using A4/Letter sized paper. The black toner cartridge has a higher yield because it contains more toner powder. This is because black is the key color for monochrome (black and white) and color printing. Each of the individual colors (cyan, magenta, yellow) mix together to form all of the colors you see on your printed page.

After extensive testing our compatible TN-04 cartridges offer the same quality print as you would expect from the Brother manufactured cartridges. You can expect correct color matching that will product prints that match the color you see on your computer screen, even ink distribution that will spread the ink evenly across the page to give a better looking print, and anti smearing formulation that will prevent your pages from smearing while they are printing. Printers come with an automatic delay time between pages to also prevent a page from smearing when the next page comes out on top of it.

If you need help replacing your Brother TN-04 cartridges, visit the Brother help-site. And, if you have had a chance to use these compatible cartridges, or the Brother brand cartridges, let us know what you think.

The HP DeskJet 6980 inkjet printer offers up to 4800 dpi and print speeds of 36 pages per minute black, and 27 pages per minute color. It also offers direct photo printing without a PC (with PictBridge enable cameras) and Wi-Fi wireless capability (in addition to wired Ethernet printing and print sharing).

It utilizes HP Vivera Ink to print laser quality black text and deep range of color for your color photos. The DeskJet 6980 uses cartridges from the newer HP 90 series (HP 96, HP 97, HP 98, HP 99, HP 100). The HP brand cartridges range in price from $21.99 to $36.99. For those that want to save a few dollars, Pacific Ink also offers remanufactured (recycled) versions of the 96, 97, 98, and 99 cartridges. these cartridges that range in price from $16.99 to $28.99. We also offer the Cartridge by Mailâ„¢ cartridge recycling service.

The 6980 is an affordable printer, priced from $90-$145, that is great for your home or your office. For the photo buffs, it can create borderless prints up to 8.5 x 24 inches.

Here is what HP says about the printer:

Fast, affordable, efficient. With laser-quality black and white, direct photo printing, and networkability, the HP Deskjet 6980 Color Inkjet Printer has all office bases covered. Built-in wireless options and fast, high resolution printing make the DJ6980 a versatile option for all your varied printing tasks. Automatically detect the paper type and adjust the print quality for optimal results Do things fast with the handy print cancel, network configuration and quiet mode controls Work at peak efficiency with the two-sided printing accessory and extra 250-sheet paper tray (sold separately) Easy print sharing – Make you printer available on a small home or office wireless or wired Ethernet network that mixes PCs and notebooks Set up fast – there’s no need for additional hardware or software with the built-in Ethernet Print from your camera phone or PDA with a Bluetooth wireless print adapter (sold separately) Water and smudge-resistant prints with HP Vivera Inks and HP advanced paper Maximize your ink efficiency – get fast results and superior fade resistance while using less ink with HP’s Vivera inks Supported Operating Systems – Windows 98 SE, 2000 Professional, Me, XP Home, XP Professional; Mac OS X v 10.2.3, 10.3, 10.4 Package Contents – HP Deskjet 6980 Printer / HP 96 Black Inkjet Print Cartridge (21 ml) / HP 97 Tri-color Inkjet Print Cartridge (14 ml) / HP Photosmart Premier software / Printer drivers / User’s guide on CD-ROM / Setup poster / Reference guide / Ethernet cable / Power supply / Power cord Unit Dimensions – (W x D x H) 17.7 x 14.5 x 5.7 inches / Weight 14.04 lb Manufacturer’s One-year limited warranty.

And, what are the users of this printer telling us:
I had the hardest time setting up and installing the printer.
I use it wirelessly and it is great!
It is a very quiet printer.
I haven’t printed a ton of photos yet but the few I did print look beautiful.
It prints beautiful pictures and quick and from anywhere in my small office.
The print quality and speed is quite good for a home user.
The wireless function is awesome! We set it up easily and the printer sits in the back room while my laptop is in the kitchen.

If you own this printer, let us know what you think.

You mean we don’t have to read any more?

Well, maybe not, but researchers from Mid Sweden University have created an interactive paper billboard that emits a recorded sound when touched. Parts of the page are sensitive to touch and sound is emitted from printed speakers (which are printed with conductive inks). This obviously has potentially huge ramifications for advertisers and product packaging. The projects leader, Mikael Gulliksson, said, “When you approach the billboard and put your hand on a postcard that shows a picture of a beach, you can hear a very brief description of that beach.”

The same goes for product packaging. Image picking up a box in a store and hearing about the product within. I can’t decide if that would be amazing or annoying. And, what about reading?