This is for those of you who are fed up with printer cartridge expiration dates. It’s only for HP printers and I have not tested it, so proceed at your own risk.

Find your printer’s configuration file, which is typically a INI file, located at:

c:/windows/hpbj1100.ini

Make a change to one line of the file. Find the line that looks like what you see on the (below) left, then change it to what  you see on the (below) right.

DeviceIoControl error:=997   changed to   DeviceIoControl error:=0000

This will keep your printer from looking at the cartridge’s expiration date and prompting you that your cartridge is out of ink when there is still plenty of ink inside.

A few disclaimers:

1) Again, attempt this at your own risk. I have not tested it. Make sure you save a copy of the original INI file before you make any changes. If anything goes wrong, you can put the original back.

2) Your INI file will probably have a name simliar to ‘hpbj1100.ini’. I am not sure if the file name is specific to the type of printer you own.

3) Now that you have made adjustments to the ink level monitor, you are responsible for monitoring the your printer ink levels. Make sure to monitor your print quality, as this will be the best indicator of how much ink is left in your cartridge. As soon as you see faded printing you will know it is time to replace a cartridge.

If anyone ends up trying this, let me me know how it works out. Thanks!

Who says you need to get all high tech to fix printer ink cartridge problems you are having. When you are having some troubles, here are a few things you can try. I cannot guarantee they will solve your problem, but they should not cause any harm and only take a few minutes of your time.

Low Print Quality
Are you experiencing low print quality from your ink cartridge? If you are sure there is ink left in the cartridge you can immerse your cartridge (after removing it from your printer) in distilled/RO water for a few hours. Print quality can deteriorate when ink nozzles are clogged or dried. This only works for HP, Lexmark, and Dell cartridges, and you should only immerse the cartridge in about a quarter inch of water (just the copper colored part of the cartridge).  After immersing, gently blot it dry and allow it to air dry overnight. Put it back in your printer and test print. Can’t guarantee this will work, but if it does you’ll be smiling knowing you are getting every possible drop of ink out of your cartridge.

SSC Service Utility
Epson printers have a utility called the SSC Service Utility. It tells you how much ink is left in your printer.

Avoid Cartridge Clogging
You should frequently print a nozzle check to keep the ink inside the nozzles wet (prevent drying). Running this feature uses very little ink. It is estimated that running the print head cleaning utility (what you have to run if ink has dried in the nozzles) uses about 6% of the ink in the cartridge. Printing a nozzle check will prevent you from wasting ink.

Removing the Status Monitor
Ever try to use a non-OEM cartridge? Did you get a warning message non-OEM warning message, then your printer stops working until you put in OEM cartridges? You can get around this by removing a small piece of software called the status monitor. The status monitor is installed on your printer when you install your printer drivers. If you remove it, the message should go away, and you will be able to use any brand of cartridge you want.

Pacific Ink added some new HP cartridges this morning. Now available! The HP 61 and HP 61XL inkjet cartridges.

These cartridges work in the HP Deskjet 1050, HP Deskjet 2050 and HP Deskjet 3050 printers. We are offering both the high yield (XL) and standard yield versions of these cartridges. The standard yield versions yield 190 pages (HP 61 CH561WN Black Ink Cartridge) and 165 pags (HP 61 CH562WN Color Ink Cartridge. The high yield cartridges yield 480 pages (HP 61XL CH563WN Black Ink Cartridge, High Yield) and 330 pages (HP 61XL CH564WN Color Ink Cartridge, High Yield).

Which cartridge would I recommend using? That depends on your printing volume. If you plan to use the standard yield black cartridge, you are going to pay about 7.3 cents per page printed. The high yield cartridge will lower your cost per page to 5.8 cents. A (almost) 2 cent per page difference is not going to make a big difference in your budget if you are only using 2-3 cartridges per year. But, if you are using more you may want to consider the high yield. Take a minute to do the math. The high yield might make more sense. In addition to the savings you’ll also be changing your cartridge less.

You’ll save just over 3 cents per page when you use the high yield color cartridge instead of the standard  yield.

Have you had a chance to use these cartridges or these printers? If so, take a second and let me know what  you think of them. Thanks!

Are you in the market for a new inkjet or laser printer?

If you can wait, hold off until late August or early September. Retailers will be offering all of their “Back to School” deals at this time, so you be able to take advantage of some low prices on printers. My guess is that you will save $50-$100 on a printer by waiting.

Stretch those dollars!

Anyone else have any printer buying tips? If so, please share. Thanks!

Looking to buy a new inkjet printer . . . Maybe a new laser printer. Maybe, you don’t know which you should buy. Here are a few tips that will help you decide.

1. Color or monochrome:

Monochrome is a fancy way of referring to a laser printer (because it only prints in shades of black). The recent rise in popularity of the color laser printer kind of changes the definition, but you can’t buy a ‘black only’ inkjet printer. If most of what you print is text, then you want a monochrome laser printer. If you are looking to print photos, or things in color, then you are going to want a color printer. When it comes to printing in color, you have a choice between laser or inkjet.

2. Inkjet or laser:

In the past, inkjet printers were the only way you could print in color. Now you have the option of buying a color laser printer. But, if you are looking for quality photo prints, you are going to want to stick with inkjet printers. If you print a lot of color text and graphics, then the color laser printer is for you. Just make sure your graphics are simple. The color laser printer is still evolving.

3. Single-function or multifunction:

Do you just want to print, or do you want to be able to scan, copy, and fax? If just print, then go with a single function printer. If you want to do more, opt for the multifunction. You can get either as an inkjet or laser.

4. Your print volume:

How much do  you print every day? If you print 10-20 pages per day you’ll want a low volume printer, something with an input tray that holds about 100 sheets. If you are printing more than 20-100 pages a day, you’ll want to find a printer with a larger volume paper tray (150-250 sheets) and a dedicated output tray. Lower volume printers don’t usually have a dedicated output tray. Your print outs come out, and are stacked, right on top of your blank sheets. Higher volume printers will have the dedicated tray. If you are printing in excess of 100 pages per day you should find a printer with a paper tray that holds more than 250 sheets (around 500 sheets).

The whole paper tray issue is just one of convenience. If you don’t get a tray sized that matches your printing habits, you are going to be spending a lot of time putting more paper in your printer. Not a huge issue, but a minor inconvenience you can do without with a quick decision at the time of purchase.

5. Your ink costs:

Make a sure to take a look at this as it will determine the ongoing cost of operating your printer. All you have to do is divide the cost of the ink/toner cartridges the printer uses by the cartridge’s page yield. You can safely assume that the lower a printer’s price or the lower the ink cartridge’s yield, the more expensive your printer inks will be. If you are a low volume printer, you probably won’t notice this. If you are a high volume printer you are going to want to be aware of this, and maybe look for high yield versions of the cartridges you need.

Hope this helps. If you have any tips you would like to share, please do so. Thanks!

We added a full line of Xerox brand and high yield compatible brand toner cartridges for the Xerox 6280 series printers today. Here’s some links to help you find the cartridges if you need them.

Printers:

Xerox Phaser 6280

Xerox Phaser 6280DN

Xerox Phaser 6280FPD

Xerox Phaser 6280N

Cartridges:

Pacific Ink is offering both standard and high yield cartridges for these Xerox printers. Most customers opt for the high yield. For the extra money you spend, you are getting a few thousand more pages of print. Here’s what we have:

Xerox 106R01391 Black Toner Cartridge
Xerox 106R01388 Cyan Toner Cartridge
Xerox 106R01389 Magenta Toner Cartridge
Xerox 106R01390 Yellow Toner Cartridge

Xerox 106R01395 Black Toner Cartridge, High Yield
Xerox 106R01392 Cyan Toner Cartridge, High Yield
Xerox 106R01393 Magenta Toner Cartridge, High Yield
Xerox 106R01394 Yellow Toner Cartridge, High Yield

We are also offering a set of compatible brand high yield cartridges. These toner cartridges are not manufactured by Xerox (not Xerox brand), but we guarantee them to print the same, and with the same number of pages, as a Xerox cartridge.

Compatible 106R01395 Black Toner Cartridge, High Yield
Compatible 106R01392 Cyan Toner Cartridge, High Yield
Compatible 106R01393 Magenta Toner Cartridge, High Yield
Compatible 106R01394 Yellow Toner Cartridge, High Yield

Back in April I wrote a post titled, Print to Any Printer Anywhere. It focused on a Google application that would allow you to print on any printer, anywhere in the world, so long as that computer had the Google printer software and both parties were using Google’s Chrome Internet browser. At the time I wrote the post, the Google’s software was not yet operational. And, as of today, it still is not.

Never fear though, HP has beat Google to the punch and introduced a line of printers with email addresses. These printers will allow their owners to print from anywhere to their own printer, or the printer of someone who has provided their printer email address.

These printers and technologies are being created to be used directly with smartphones and cloud computing services. HP’s goal is to eliminate the need for a computer intermediary and allow people to “just print it”. They goal is to encourage printing as files (documents) will be much more portable. Printers range in price from $99 to $299 and will be available this month.

My thoughts?

Well, first HP is sticking with their standard price range. The $99 version of this printer will be basic printer with no bells or whistles. As price increases toward the $299 mark, you are going to get a lot more features. My advice would to spend more and try and get something toward the higher end of the range. But, be on the lookout for the sweet deals that HP, almost always, offers. You will probably be able to get the $299 printer for $199 or less.

I did get a little chuckle at HP saying part of the reason they are creating this line of printers is to get people to print more. Here come the conspiracy theorists, but I would have to agree with them. HP knows they make a ton of money on printer cartridges (which you need more of to print more), so why not provide products that get people to print more. They are killing two birds with one stone, making sure they can sell more printer ink, and feeding the market’s desire for improved technology.

So yes, print as much as you want from where ever you want. It’s possible now!

What’s your reaction to this? Take a minute and let me know. Thanks!

I’ve posted on the high cost of printer ink. I’ve posted on why printer ink costs so much. This morning it dawned on me . . . There’s a printer ink conspiracy going on. It’s got nothing do to with the cost of ink, but more to do with where you buy your ink and the things being used to get you to buy that ink.

I say this because I was in Staples this morning. Ever notice what they have moved to the front of the store (printer cartridges!). Still not the conspiracy though. The conspiracy is the methods they use to get you to buy printer ink. Let’s take a look.

It seems Staples main goal is to get you to buy printer cartridges. Anyone every take a look at the promotions they offer on printer ink and paper? Take a look at this week’s store ad. They are offering a $57.99 cartridge combo pack (1 black and 1 color) for $57.99, but you can get $23.60 back in Staples rewards when you get double rewards (20% back instead of 10%) and double cartridge recycling rewards ($6 instead of $3). That high cost ink cartridge now only costs you $34.39. That’s about $17.20 per cartridge. Not to expensive any more, huh. Sure it’s not the same as getting $23 in cash handed to you, but you can use that money to buy your next cartridge.

More interesting to me is the promotions Staples, and other office super stores, run on paper. This is where my conspiracy theory comes in. What’s the use of having paper if you are not going to print on it. The stores are almost giving away paper to feed our need for printer ink. Staples recently ran a promotion where you could get a ream (500 sheets) of paper for $1.00. Usual cost is $4.99, but they offered a coupon for $3.99. How responsible are you going to be with a 500 sheets of paper that cost you $1? Did you know it would take two black printer cartridges to print on all 500 sheets (if you follow manufacturer specs). So,  you’ve spent $1 for 500 sheets of paper, but have also spend $30-$40 on printer cartridges.

500 sheets not enough? Well how about a case (5,000 sheets)? Ever see those promotions? The last one (I took advantage of) provided $25 rewards dollars for a $37 case of paper. Those 5,000 sheets of paper cost me $12, that’s $1.20 per ream. Slightly more expensive than the coupon offer mentioned above. Printing with an inkjet printer? You’ll spend $300-$400 on black ink cartridges to print on all those pages. Printing with a toner cartridge will cost you a fraction of that, but that’s for a different post.

Here’s my point . . . Paper sales drive printer cartridge sales. No matter which of the three you own, printer, printer cartridges, paper; you are going to have a need for the other two. The question then becomes which one or two do you sacrifice to drive sales of the third. Based on what we see in the marketplace, the printer and printer paper have been sacrificed to drive  sales of printer cartridges. Give two away cheap and sell the third at a higher price.

What can you do about it? Only one thing . . . Be responsible. Take advantage of deals, but don’t think that because you got it cheap you should use it with complete disregard. Use your inexpensive paper wisely.

Think I am full of it? Agree with me? Get a good laugh out of this? Let me know what you think. Thanks!

We get a lot of troubleshooting calls on this one . . . The toner cartridge that won’t work because the tab has not been pulled. In some cases it is as easy as instructing the customer to pull the tab. In other cases, such as one of our warehouse employees forgetting to pull the tab, it can cause a lot of trouble.

In our case the machine started to pull the tab causing the tab, and attached plastic ribbon, to get stuck in the printer. Some of the plastic melted, from the heat within the printer, and our printer now had a unremovable tab of its own. Printer repair person? More expensive than a new printer.

What’s the deal with this tab? It really does cause a lot of trouble. Why do we have it?

Everyone refers to it as “the tab”, but the tab is usually just the brightly colored plastic piece (so you notice it) that is attached to a plastic strip within the toner cartridge. The strip keeps the toner inside the cartridge. If we did not have the strip, you would open the toner cartridge box to find it filled with a fine black (or cyan, magenta, yellow) dust. Not good! The strip prevents the toner from leaking out of the cartridge.

When you  are ready to use the cartridge you must pull the tab to remove the strip. Once the strip is removed, you place the toner cartridge inside your printer. The printer then controls how much toner comes out of the cartridge (on to your paper).

The tab is very important. But it is just as important to remove it. So, for goodness sake, pull the toner cartridge tab!

Anyone have any good toner cartridge tab stories? If so, please share. Thanks!

Office Max has jumped on the Kodak band wagon and, in an effort to save you $100 a year on printer cartridges will now be offering the Kodak ESP All-in-One printers online and in their stores. This is the first time that Office Max will offer Kodak printers.

In their effort to expand their share of the printer ink cartridge market, Kodak has struck deals to put their printers in both Staples and Office Max. These stores have traditionally stocked printers made by HP, Epson, Canon, and Lexmark. A quick online check shows that Staples, currently, only carries 1 Kodak printer, 60+ HP printers, 20+ Canon printers, 50+ Epson printers, and 40+ Lexmark printers. Office Max is offering 3 Kodak printers and a similar number of each of the other printers.

Great move by Kodak, and Office Max. Kodak needs more exposure for their printers. Doing so through retail chains is a great way to do it. But, they are relying of Office Max employees to direct customers to their printers rather than the more popular HP, Epson, and Canon printers (I purposely left Lexmark off this list). Office Max needs to something to boost their sales to catch up with office superstore rival Staples. Piggy backing on Kodak’s large marketing budget will help as long as they can offer a larger selection of Kodak printers than Staples can.

Let me know what you think of Kodak printers. Thanks!