What about print quality? In addition to page yield you have to consider the quality of print you are going to get from a cartridge when you are deciding which type of cartridge to buy (OEM or refilled). This discussion is also based around information I learned while attending an HP webinar last week.

Print quality is probably the most important consideration when buying a printer cartridge. We buy printer cartridges to print text, photos, etc that are high quality. No one wants to print something that looks blurred or faded. We want sharp, crisp, and colorful from the second the cartridge starts moving inside the printer.

The folks at HP spend a lot of time promoting the quality of their cartridges over refilled cartridges. As mentioned in a previous post, HP spends years 3-5 years developing a printer cartridge, and $1 billion a year on inkjet cartridge research. When a company dedicates this amount of time and money to a project they usually have something of quality to present at the end.

Cartridge refillers on the other hand don’t have either this kind of time or money. They make their living by trying to replicate the manufacturers ink formula in a little time as possible. In some cases they do a great  job. In other cases they do not. Remember, HP (and other OEM cartridge manufacturers) hold patents on their ink formulas. A cartridge refiller cannot just walk in and replicate the formula. As mentioned before, refillers also want to get their cartridges on the market as fast as possible. Companies like HP have the product available in stores. The refillers goal is to make a dent in the OEM sales as quickly as possible. This “rushed” mentality has probably prevented refilled cartridges from become a more legitimate choice for many consumers. When you try to do in one year, or less, what took HP 3-5 years and spend a very small fraction of the money you probably aren’t going to produce something of equivalent quality.

When discussing quality, we must also talk about reliability. Reliability can be seen as a component of quality. How reliable are HP cartridges when compared to refilled cartridges?

Well, the HP study (Quality Logic, 2009) discovered that more than 33% of all refill cartridges failed before printing their expected number of pages (as determined by what the equivalent HP brand cartridge would print). Perhaps the worst news of all is that of the more than 33% that failed, 11% of branded cartridges (refilled cartridges that have already been packaged)  failed right out of the box, while 17.8% of refill service cartridges (cartridges refilled at a store or kiosk) immediately failed.

This means that 28.8% of the refilled cartridges tested would not print when you placed them in your printer and clicked the print button. How depressing is that? I can feel the frustration of needing to print, thinking you are set, and then . . . nothing . . . Cartridge failure.

In contrast to this, the HP brand cartridges tested had no failures. Not a single one.

One might think I am trying to make a strong case for HP brand cartridges. I’m not, but the data is. My goal is to pass along the information I learn so you can make informed buying decisions. There are benefits to using either type of cartridge and you have a choice to make.

What are your thoughts on the quality of HP cartridges versus refill cartridges? Take a second and let me know. Thanks!

I am back writing on the top of the cost of printer ink again. Seems like I’ve dedicated a lot of time to this, but it is a hot topic right now. It takes about two seconds to find a plethora of articles, online, that detail the high cost of ink. It takes even less time to find the forums filled with folks complaining.

Remember now, there are alternatives to the “high priced” printer ink we all complain about. Remanufactured/refilled cartridges are plentiful, as are compatible cartridges. For whatever reason, quality being the most often cited, these alternative cartridges have never really hit the main stream. Sure there are a lot of people using them, but the vast majority are still unaware or unwilling to use them.

With the alternatives pushed aside, we are left to discuss the manufacturer’s cartridge, or OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer), and we return to the question . . . Why are they so expensive?

The better question might be, “Are they really as expensive as we think they are?”

Since the invention of the inkjet printer, prices have continually decreased. The capabilities and print quality of printers continue to increase, and yet prices still remain steady around the $100-$200 price range. Have you ever stopped to think what the true cost of one of these machines might be? What if we had to pay a real retail value for them. Think of all the years of research and testing (research and development actually costs companies money) that go in to one of these machines. And yet, we can get one for under $100. Manufacturers attempt to recuperate the cost of selling printers at low prices through the sales of printer cartridges.

Despite what most people think, a printer cartridge is not just a plastic case that holds some colored liquid. Cartridges are surprisingly complicated. How would you describe something that fires tiny droplets of ink up to 36,000 times per second and produces the beautiful images we see on paper? Think of the time, effort, and energy it took to make that work. HP claims it spends 3-5 years formulating each new ink it introduces. They test up to 1,000 prototype formulas  and spend $1 Billion a year on inkjet research and development. $1 Billion! HP needs price inkjet cartridges as they do to pay for, and continue to fund, the improvement of inkjet cartridges.

Finally, I think printer cartridges are so often complained about because they are a high priced consumable. Consumable being the key word, something we use and then throw away. Make a quick mental list of all the consumables you use in your life. Most are inexpensive. It’s hard to pay a lot for something you know you are going to throw away. But, that is the wrong way to look at it.

If you print photos, are you really left with nothing when your printer cartridge runs out of ink? No. You’ve got all those wonderful photos to look at. Is it worth the $30 plus dollars you spend on printer ink to have the enjoyment of those photos? Probably so, no one says the happy feeling you get from looking at them is to expensive.

So take a quick second and evaluate your opinion on printer cartridges. Maybe they are expensive, maybe they are not.

After you’ve taken a second to evaluate, take another second to leave some comments below. I want to know what you think about what I have written. Thanks!

We just added a toner cartridge and a drum cartridge for the Dell 2330d and the Dell 2330dn printers. The 2330d series offers print speeds up to 35 ppm and a ‘first page out’ time of 7.5 seconds. The printer also offers duplex printing and 1200 x 1200 dpi resolution.

Like most other Dell printers, this printer offers you a choice between a standard yield cartridge (2,000 pages) and a high yield cartridge (6,000 pages). We’ve chosen to only offer the high yield cartridge because it is a better value.The high yield cartridge is Dell number PK941.

The Dell 2330d series also utilizes a drum cartridge, which compliments the toner cartridge improves the printing process. You can expect your drum cartridge to last for about 30,000 pages (5 high yield cartridges) before it needs to be replaed. The Dell number for the drum cartridge is PK496.

If you own this printer, let me know about your experiences with it. Thanks!

Take the minimalist design of the Canon Pixma MX330, add the functionality of the Canon Pixma MX7600, finish it off with built-in Wi-Fi, and you’ve got the Canon Pixma MX860. It’s the only printer in the series that offers wireless while still maintaining all the features you need to print, scan, fax, and copy. Despite small missteps in output quality, the $199 Pixma MX860 is a worthwhile printer for shoppers who need a multifunctional printer at a very reasonable cost. (Source: CNET)

Do you own this printer? Tell me how you feel about it. Thanks!

— CNET Rating: 3.5 Stars —

The good: Large 2.5-inch LCD; built-in memory card reader; stylish design; robust software suite; fast output.

The bad: Output quality can use improvement.

The bottom line: The Canon Pixma MX860′s auto-document feeder, large LCD screen, and quick print speeds are sure to increase your productivity, but it also includes plenty of software to nourish your creative interests. At $199, this multifunctional printer earns our recommendation. (Read the full CNET review)

— PCWORLD Rating: 4 Stars —

Pros: Roomy paper trays; fast, capable scanner; Automatic duplexer; Wi-Fi connectivity

Cons: Average to slow print speeds; Printed photos suffer on plain paper

Bottom Line: You get nice print quality plus Wi-Fi and automatic duplexing, but speed is just average overall. (Read the full PCWorld review)

— Consumer Ratings: 3 Stars —

A positive comment from Amazon.com:

Buy now, read review while you wait for delivery truck!

The Canon PIXMA MX860 is the iPhone of All-In-One Printers – it is feature packed, easy to use, and exceeds expectations at every turn.

SUMMARY
Excellent quality, clear menus/instructions/software, Wireless setup, printing, and scanning on OS X is flawless. ADF and Duplexer in a high quality wireless printer from Canon is a steal at $199.

PROS
Build quality, setup instructions, feature set is huge, price tag isn’t

CONS
Weight, could be quieter, internal paper tray doesn’t handle photo media, no wireless faxing

FIRST IMPRESSIONS
The build quality is striking. It is very well packed and instructions are the best I have seen of any consumer electronics product including previous Canon products. There is a “kickstand” for keeping the printer open while inserting the 5 ink tanks and closing it reveals that it has a gentle piston like a luxury car’s hood. Other details include a mechanism on the output try that automatically opens when printing to keep papers from spewing onto the floor. There is definitely some weight to this device and it is much larger than a printer you might get free with a PC purchase. Still I said to myself as I unpacked “was this really just $199?” as I had been looking at more expensive models and was concerned the quality would suffer to provide the MX860′s price point.

PHYSICAL SETUP
Okay, I was flat out scared to insert the print head and break the caps off the five delicate ink tanks to insert them, but I think the instructions were just trying to make a point. In any case, do prepare your setup with lots of light as the print head insertion process is both dark and covered in warning stickers. I had no problems however because the on-screen instructions were clear (both visually and intellectually) and after printing a three step printhead alignment, output quality was definitely promising. I went with the wireless setup so I left the included USB cable (thanks Canon!) and phone lines (don’t intend to fax) in the bag. The built in paper tray (letter size only) hides away neatly under the printer and there is a second input on the back of the unit for other media, plain paper, envelopes, or photo paper (hey a free 4×6 sample pack is included, cool!)

NETWORK SETUP
I installed the OS X drivers on a MacBook and it was very easy. Note that there are different instructions for 10.4 and 10.5 which are the only two versions supported as of Feb 2009 (Vista, XP, and 2000 are also supported, though it is unclear if 64-bit drivers are provided for those OSes). Software is as straight forward as the printed instructions. I did not install Canon’s included photo software as I am expecting iPhoto to handle those tasks.I put the printer in Wireless LAN setup mode. A couple items to note though: Canon does proide for totally wireless setup though Wi-Fi Protected Setup though I went with the more straight forward USB connection to get the printer setup on the wireless network (turns out that included USB cable was helpful). The second item to note is that the software required a reboot which I am not accustom to with OS X software but none the less went along with. It was very cool to see the results of a two minute Wi-Fi quality test that shows the signal strength from base station to printer. (I was in the green zone from about 50 – 60 feet from the base station through two walls.)

PRINTING
Printing is so subjective I’m not going to try to quantify it. I’ll say that it looks very crisp to me – not laser printer crisp, but every bit as sharp as I expected. Have not printed photos yet. The printing is about moderate in speed and as loud as my $300 HP All-in-One from 2004 but lower in tone so not as annoying.

SCANNING
Wireless scanning was what I was very interested in and the MX860 did not disappoint. Can scan from the glass, or the Auto-Document Feeder (ADF) and even do front and back duplex scans from the ADF. The awesome on-screen menu system is intuitive and allows you to choose your target wireless device to scan to. Scanning was faster and quieter than I expected and the resolution is truly excellent for an All-in-One. This is not a dedicated scanner and it won’t scan a legal document, but when you want to quickly front and back scan those rebate forms before you send them in, this will be a good friend to have. I also look forward to batch scanning old printed photos for import into iPhoto.

OTHER FEATURES
I haven’t had time to test printing from a memory card, duplex or ADF copy/print/scanning, faxing or receiving a fax, or Bluetooth (didn’t purchase the optional module for $30). But what I was keenly impressed with is the crisp, intuitive menus. Very easy to navigate and follow. Things are where you think they will be. I wanted to turn down the volume of the keypad confirmation beeps and pleasantly had a whole menu of selection to do so for various volumes including off, as well as different settings for key press or alarms. The attention to detail and user experience really shows.

I hope this review was helpful and you enjoy your new Canon PIXMA MX860.

A negative comment from Amazon.com:

Paper jam? But I just set it up!

Took it out of the box – heavy enough to throw my back out, but nicely packaged and secure. Set it up — beautiful looking machine. Power it up — lots of whirring, then some more whirring, and more…then an “ADF” (automatic document feeder) error message. Apparently there’s paper jammed in the ADF even though *I just took it out of the box*.

I check for packaging material that might be stuck, shake it gently, check every nook and cranny for stuck paper or material just in case the machine’s mixed up about what’s stuck where, shut down, wait a few minutes, restart, repeat about ten times, shut down for a day, restart, still can’t get anything on the little screen except the error message. Looking at the 1 star reviews I notice someone else had the exact same problem out of the box. I pay a “tech expert” about eighteen bucks to diagnose: he tells me in all likelihood it’s defective and get a refund fast while I still can. (Read all Amazon.com user reviews)

I recently had a chance to take part in a webinar put on by HP. The focus of the webinar was to compare the page yield of HP brand printer cartridges against refilled printer cartridges. Of course, it was obviously slanted toward HP being far superior to refilled cartridges, but the information presented was pretty interesting. Let me share what I learned.

I will use the term ‘refilled’ or ‘refills’ to mean any cartridge that is not manufactured by HP. You should also be aware that there are two types of refilled cartridges. There are branded refilled cartridges (cartridges you buy already refilled and packaged) and ink cartridges refilled by refill service providers (empty cartridges you take to a store or kiosk to have refilled).

Now that we have defined our points of comparison, we can continue on. HP compared the page yield of their cartridges to refilled cartridges. A third party test (Quality Logic, 2009) served as the basis for the evidence presented.  The study showed that HP brand cartridges printed up to 65% more pages than the equivalent refilled cartridge. Quite a difference! As everyone now knows I am all about the cost per page printed, so even though a refilled cartridge costs less you may actually be paying more – per page printed – than you would with an HP manufactured cartridge.

Right off the bat we are going to save 30% on the cost of the cartridge if we use a branded refill cartridge (retail $16.99 for HP 56) instead of the HP brand ($23.99 for HP 56). If we decide to use a refill service (retail $9.99 for HP 56) we will save 59%. If we just look at these numbers we will realize a pretty significant savings. But what if we look a little further, look at my favorite figure, the cost per page printed.

If we assume all cartridges are equal, this is a no brainer. Go with the refill service cartridges! But, if we assume they are not equal and HP’s “65% more pages” claim is accurate. We see that:

• Printing with an HP 56 cartridge (yields up to 450 pages) will cost us 5.3 cents per page.
• Printing with a branded refill 56 cartridge (yields up to 157.5 pages) will cost us 10.8 cents per page.
• Printing with a refill service 56 cartridge (yields up to 157.5 pages) will cost us 6.3 cents per page.

To match the 5.3 cents per page printed of the HP cartridge our branded refill would have to yield 315 pages (twice as many as the HP study showed it would) and the refill service cartridge would have to yield 187 pages (29.5 more pages that HP showed it would).

Cartridge refillers will tell you that their cartridges print just as many pages as an HP cartridge. I’d be lying if I told you they did not, so I will tell it to you like this. CONSISTENTLY they do not. You are going to get refilled cartridges that will yield the same number of pages as the HP brand cartridges. You are going to get some that come close. You are going to get some that don’t come close at all. Bottom line is that refilled cartridges will not consistently provide you with the same page yield that an HP cartridge will. In end you will get a higher page yield from HP brand cartridges.

Don’t take this as a glowing endorsement for HP brand cartridges. I just want to give you a little something to think about before you decide which type of cartridge to buy.

What do you think of HP brand cartridges? What do you think of refilled cartridges? Please take a minute and let me know. Thanks!