Gone are the days where we must be using a computer sitting next to a printer to print anything. Now we’ll be printing from just about anywhere we want, to any printer we want. Get ready to embrace mobile printing and cloud printing.

In 2011 Apple, Google, HP, and Lexmark all introduced mobile and cloud capabilities in their printers and services to enhance our printing capabilities. Google’s Cloud Print App lets users print via email on any printer connected to a computer that has Internet access. Apple introduced AirPrint, which lets you use Wi-Fi to send a variety of print jobs directly from an iOS device to any nearby AirPrint compatible computer. HP unveiled ePrint, a service allowing you to email a print job from anywhere to an ePrint compatible HP printer. Lexmark’s SmartSolutions apps allowed users to display a limited amount of web based information on their printer’s LCD screen.

In 2012 we will see these manufacturers expand their mobile and cloud print offerings while others begin to get in the game. Canon, Epson, and Kodak will all release printers, this year, that are mobile and cloud print enabled. Canon’s printers will offer Easy-PhotoPrint (for printing from Android and Apple phones and tablets) and PIXMA Cloud Link (for printing from Google Docs and Gmail from your mobile device) apps. Epson will will release the same type of printer apps under the name Epson Connect.

Kodak will following suit, but has chosen to focus on the size of the email message users can send to their printers. As of now, mobile and cloud printing apps only accept print jobs of a certain size. I imagine other printer manufacturers will follow Kodak and over the course of 2012 we will see less limited size constraints.

If you are in the market for a printer this year, definitely make sure you check out mobile and cloud printing apps before buying. They promise to be a very useful technology.

The Photosmart Premium C410a’s main paper tray can hold up to legal-size paper, and the small photo tray can hold up to 5×7 paper. A busy, high-volume office will constantly need to refill the 125-sheet paper tray, but it’s highly convenient for home users to have a dedicated photo tray that saves the hassle of manually loading photo paper when alternating between document and snapshot photo prints.

On top of the printer, you’ll find a 50-sheet auto-document feeder (ADF) that lets you slide in a stack of sheets for hands-free scanning, copying, or printing. The Photosmart Premium C410a also features automatic duplexing that can print on both sides of a single sheet of paper, and a button on the printer’s control panel lets you easily toggle between single- and double-sided printing.

The Photosmart Premium C410a bucks the touch-screen trend, serving up a control panel littered with physical buttons. The control panel runs nearly the entire width of the printer with ample room for an organized button layout. A small, 2.4-inch status LCD sits on the left side of the control panel. The panel sits fixed at an angle, but the color LCD can tilt forward for better viewing when you’re seated. To the left of the LCD on the front face of the printer are three media card slots (MemoryStick, SD, and CompactFlash) and a PictBridge USB port for direct printing from a compatible digital camera.

You’ll also notice a button labeled “Print Photos” in addition to the usual buttons to initiate scans, copies, and faxes. When you attach a USB device or insert a media card, the printer will scan the drive or card for photos that you can view on the LCD and scroll through using the arrow buttons. You can also select the photos you’d like to print, perform a few basic edits if you so desire (though the small screen makes it very difficult to see how your edits affect the image), and hit the Print Photo button to output your project. Finally, the convenient automatic paper sensor will automatically draw media directly from the photo paper tray.

Installing the printer is no more complicated than installing the software and drivers from the bundled CD, and then connecting the printer to your PC or Mac using a USB cable. You’ll need to supply your own for a direct connection as HP leaves it out of the box. The C410a also features Ethernet and Wi-Fi networking, and we connected it wirelessly on the printer by stepping through the setup screens, clicking on our preferred Wi-Fi network from a list, and entering our password.

You need no additional apps to print from an iPhone once you have the printer synched up to a wireless network. It also works with the iPad and iPod Touch, although we didn’t test with these devices. HP calls this functionality AirPrint, and it’s incredibly slick. Without the need to visit Apple’s App Store, we were able to print directly from our iPhone. We printed out a photo from our iPhone photo library by simply choosing the printer, and hitting Print. You can’t adjust any print properties, however, which resulted in some clipping on a square Hipstamatic photo using both letter-size paper and 4×6 photo paper.

In addition to AirPrint, the printer also features HP’s ePrint technology, whereby you can e-mail the printer an attachment to print out. To set it up, hit the ePrint button on the Photosmart Premium C410a’s control panel and it will print out a welcome sheet with a code that you then must enter on HP’s ePrint Web site. The code then becomes the e-mail address like so: code@hpeprint.com. ePrint is a convenient feature, but it comes with a few restrictions. For one, the printer must be on and also connected to your network (you select whether anyone can e-mail print jobs to your printer or only those to whom you grant access). For another, it can’t print Web pages, although you can simply copy the Web text into the body of an e-mail to get a similar page.

The printer also features HP’s print apps, which let you print pages from outlets such as Financial Times, Yahoo, Reuters, USA Today. Others from DreamWorks, Nickelodeon, and Disney let you print coloring pages, paper airplane templates, and other crafts. You can also install additional free apps, but you must do so from HP’s ePrint Center Web site after creating an account. It would be infinitely easier to simply download them directly to the printer. Also, the apps are much more useful on a printer with a larger LCD display.

The flatbed scanner/copier measures 8.5 by 11.7 inches, meaning it can scan or copy letter-size documents but not legal sheets. It features a 4,800 dpi resolution, and scanned and copied documents looked crisp and sharp. You can send scans to a PC, a memory card, or a USB drive. There is also an option for scanning photos to whatever paper you have in the photo tray. The front-right corner is used to align material to be copied or scanned, which is easier than other printers that make you align your pages or photos in the back-left corner. Unlike the Lexmark Pinnacle Pro901, however, the Photosmart Premium C410a’s hinges do not detach, which is inconvenient when scanning or copying pages from thick textbooks.

The Photosmart Premium C410a employs a five ink-tank system (yellow, cyan, magenta, and two black cartridges). High-yield black cartridges (564XL) cost $17.99 for a rated 750 pages, and high-yield color ink cartridges (564XL) cost $22.99 for a rated 550 pages. Working with these figures, monochrome pages cost 2.4 cents a page, and color pages cost 4.1 cents a page. These numbers are roughly average for an inkjet, though the Lexmark Pinnacle Pro901 uses high-yield black ink cartridges that cost only $4.99 and deliver monochrome prints at less than a penny per page. The Pinnacle Pro901 also boasts a low 3.2-cents-per-color-page figure.

Performance
In lab testing, the HP Photosmart C410a proved itself an above-average performer across all four of our speed tests among multifunction printers (MFP) in its price range. On our speed tests, it produced just over eight pages of monochrome text, four pages of color graphics, and just over six PowerPoint slides per minute. Those speeds trailed the performance of the Epson WorkForce 840, our Editors’ Choice for this category, but outpaced similarly priced MFPs such as the Lexmark Pinnacle Pro901. It also clearly outclassed an entry-level, two-tank MFP, the HP Photosmart D110a, which shows the performance you gain as you scale up HP Photosmart line.

The Photosmart C410a also produced 1.35 4×6 photos per minute; we think anything over 1 4×6 photo per minute is respectable, and even the highly rated WorkForce 840 failed to hit that mark.

The Photosmart C410a’s speed does not come at the expense of quality. It produced crisp, dark black text, which was clearly superior to the Lexmark Pinnacle Pro901′s text quality. Color graphics and photos exhibited accurate colors, though we found that copies of photos, come out slightly blurry. That said, we recommend simply reprinting a photo from its digital source if you need another copy.

Service and support
HP backs the Photosmart C410a with its exclusive enhanced support services: a dedicated toll-free number, troubleshooting over online chat with an HP expert, and a one-year warranty that guarantees repairs with “Next-Day Business Turn Around” and offering brand-new replacement units for the first 30 days after purchase.

In addition, HP offers an added Accidental Damage Protection and a Pick-Up-and-Return program that sends an authorized courier to pick up your failed equipment and deliver it directly to an HP-designated repair facility.

You can find more warranty information by visiting the HP Support Web site that also features online classes, FAQs, driver downloads, and troubleshooting tips, as well as a new shopping buddy that puts you in a chat room with an HP sales rep so you can ask questions before you buy.

Conclusion
For a home office that needs copy, scan, and fax functions, the HP Photosmart Premium C410a offers crisp speeds and output. Its low-capacity paper tray limits its appeal for high-volume offices, but HP’s ePrint and AirPrint features make it a worthwhile option for home users.

(Review by Justin Yu on CNET – Justin Yu covers headphones and peripherals for CNET. When he’s not scouring eBay for useless ephemera or eating hot dogs for breakfast, he spends his time making fun of Internet culture every morning on The 404 podcast.)

A little something for those holiday do-it-yourselfers – Print your own holiday cards! If you are having trouble finding just the right way to convey your holiday wishes this year, why not print your own holiday cards. You can find many card templates online. All you have to do is fill in the blanks and print. If you ae good with graphics you can design your own card. Here are three things you’ll need to make sure your cards look good.

Tip # 1 – Pick the right paper
The secret to printing a great looking holiday card is to make sure you get the right paper. Make sure you get greeting card paper stock. Ideally you’ll get something that is 14 point gloss cover stock (if printing a photo on your card). If you have a speciality paper store in your area, ask them what they think is best. You can often get envlopes with the card stock. Buying card stock and envelopes together will save you some money.

Tip #2 – Check your printer settings
Before printing your holiday cards, make sure you update your printer settings. For the best looking card you will want to set your printer to print with maximum dpi (highest quality print quality setting). Once you’ve updated your printer settings, print a test card to make sure everything looks good. If you are happy with the test print, start printing the cards you want to send.

Tip #3 – Make sure you have enough printer ink
Make sure you have some spare printer ink cartridges. Using a high print quality setting will require more ink. Depending on the number of cards you are printing you may need to use a few cartridges.

The bad: The printer lacks an Ethernet port for wired networking, and with no high-yield cartridges available, consumables can get pricey.

The bottom line: We recommend the Canon Pixma MG5320 and its photo-friendly features for amateur photographers shopping for a do-most-of-it imaging device, but the step-up Pixma MG6120 is a better fit for multiuser offices.

The Canon Pixma MG5320 printer encourages families, work groups, and individuals to print creative photos with the help of new software features like HD Movie Print, fun photo filters, and Pixma Cloud Link. Still, we have a few complaints. The printer doesn’t have an Ethernet port so you have to connect to Wi-Fi for network printing, and with no high-yield ink cartridge option, the cost of replacing all five standard-size inks can get out of hand. Despite those caveats, the MG5320 earns our recommendation for competent performance in our speed and quality tests, and the extras you get for $150 offset its connectivity shortcomings.

Design
The Pixma MG5320 has a thinner silhouette than we’re used to seeing from Canon, incorporating a unique design with folding trays to reduce its overall footprint. The printer measures 17.8 inches wide, 14.5 inches deep, and just under 7 inches tall with the paper trays folded up. At 18.3 pounds it weighs less than its beefier linemate, the Pixma MG6120, due to the rear-mounted, 150-sheet autodocument feeder (ADF) and the five internal ink tanks. With those specs, it should be relatively easy to transport around the home or office.

The MG5320 also costs $50 less than the MG6120 because it doesn’t feature a touch-screen panel. We actually prefer the additional hard buttons on the control panel, as they make it easier to rapidly locate the necessary buttons to access a job. The top of the printer is home to the one-touch copy, scan, and print buttons, but you also get a tactile home button and a circular dial that clicks as you scroll through menus on the 3-inch LCD screen. You can adjust the brightness level of the display by navigating to the settings menu, and the screen can be tilted forward and backward to achieve your desired viewing angle.

The 150-sheet paper trays that fold out of the top and bottom of the MG5320 allow horizontal and vertical movement to accept a range of paper sizes from 4×6-inch snapshots all the way up to legal-size sheets. The 300-sheet overall capacity means you can store standard paper in the bottom tray and photo paper in the ADF, and a paper sensor inside automatically knows which one to grab depending on your job. The trays themselves are made of a light plastic that feels easy to break; we worry about their durability.

Setting up the printer is simple no matter how you choose to connect it to a computer, and the installation disc provides onscreen instructions guiding you through two options: 802.11 b/g/n wireless, or a simple USB cord. Most printers in this range also include an Ethernet port for wired networking in small offices, but Canon omits this key feature from the MG5320 so it can pull an extra $50 from your wallet if you opt instead for the $200 MG6120. Regardless, this won’t be an issue if you’re planning to use the printer at home or with a single computer.

USB setup is standard for printers and the instructions are easy to follow, and the same is true of Wi-Fi installation. If you have a wireless router with a Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS) button, all you have to do is press the button and it’ll automatically connect the Pixma MG5320 to your network without your needing to input your username and password. Otherwise, make sure you have that information handy.

From here, you can select either Easy Install for straightforward help, or Custom Install if you want to sort through which extra features you want–these include Easy-PhotoPrint EX for managing digital photos, MP Navigator EX to guide you through the scanning process, and Pixma Cloud Link, which lets you print directly from the Canon Image Gateway portal or a Picasa account. Keep in mind that you’ll need more free storage space on your hard drive if you go with the comprehensive Easy Install.

Once installation is complete, Windows users will notice several new buttons displayed above the taskbar on the lower right side of the screen. These shortcuts are designed to give you quick access to five of the most commonly used printer functions: Scan a Document, Layout Print, Photo Print, Show Main Screen, and Hide Toolbar.

The MG5320 also includes Canon’s HD Movie Print feature, which lets you pull still snapshots out of videos shot with compatible Canon HD video cameras. We tested the printer with a top-flight Canon PowerShot S95 handheld camera and were impressed with the Canon Solution Menu EX software’s step-by-step instructions.

With the software you can also edit video images and prepare a moving clip for grabbing still shots from the video. It’s as simple as selecting a video snippet and either capturing a group of 10 frames or hitting the “capture” button to select single images. After that, you can edit an image to reduce noise and sharpen it, and although the SD95 is only capable of 720p video resolution, the software supports true 1080p digital SLR cameras like the Canon EOS 5D Mark II. When that’s finished, you can even print custom disc and jewel-case labels using the multipurpose tray installed just above the paper input tray, and you can personalize them using templates accessible through the software suite.

Finally, Canon’s new HD Movie Print tool lets you combine multiple still frames from a video into a single snapshot image–for example, you can merge all your golf stroke positions into one photo. The lid of the MG5320 lifts to reveal the five-ink cartridge bay for cyan, magenta, yellow, and black ink tanks, and there’s another high-capacity pigment black cartridge inside that only draws ink when you toggle the monochrome mode within the driver preferences.

This should extend the longevity of the smaller black cartridge since it only gets depleted in color print mode, and MG5320 users need all the cost savings they can get, as according to Canon the cost per page of each ink set is 5.2 cents per monochrome page and 13.4 cents for color. Those prices are significantly higher than the average cost for consumables, and the Canon Web store mysteriously does not sell high-capacity cartridges for this model.

Printing functions aside, the MG5320′s copy function has all the features you’d expect from a multifunction printer. You can enlarge the original copy up to 400 percent or fit the entire document to a page. Other options include two-sided copying, borderless copying, exact duplication, cropped copy, and two-on-one and four-on-one photo collages.

Scanning is also typical, with options to save the file straight to your PC, as an e-mail attachment, or scanned as a PDF, or to simply open it in an application. You can save all documents as TIFF, JPEG, bitmap, or PDF files, and the scanner now supports film and negatives as well. The negative and slide holders live under the document protector beneath the lid, and the scanner supports document sizes up to 8.5×11 inches. If you tend to scan at the highest resolution available, the MG6120 can reach 4,800×4,800 dots per inch (dpi).

Performance
We’re surprised at the disparity between the MG5320′s impressive text and presentation speed output and the time it took to print photos and pages of color graphics. It’s no match for the Epson WorkForce 610 and drops down to second place in the text page test with a respectable 8.11 pages per minute, then loses momentum and falls to near the bottom at a sluggish 2.06 pages of color graphics and 1.02 full-color photo snapshots per minute. Despite these polarizing speed test results, you’re unlikely to notice the differences as a consumer unless you’re printing consistently high numbers of pages of text or photos. Still, the MG5320 isn’t the best performer for busy offices, although we wouldn’t hesitate to flaunt its output quality in a boardroom presentation.

The Pixma MG5320 performed well in our quality examination, printing solid, dense text with fully formed characters down to 5-point font size. The color graphics test emerged solid and evenly distributed, but we did notice small portions with more neutral tones than the original, specifically in areas with gradual color gradients and skin tones. To confirm, we repeated the test in three iterations and the imperfections were consistent throughout, although unlikely to be noticed by most eyes. In most cases, snapshot photos came out with vivid coloration and even tones.

Service and support
Canon supports the Pixma MG5320 with a standard one-year limited warranty program that includes InstantExchange and a year of toll-free phone support. The product page for the printer features frequently asked questions, registration, recycling information, driver downloads, and other information.

Conclusion
The Canon Pixma MG5320′s slower print speeds are offset by useful photo printing tools like HD Movie Print, Pixma Cloud Link, disc printing, and dual paper trays that let you store up to 300 sheets at a time. In the future, we’d like to see Ethernet connectivity as well, but we would definitely recommend this printer to photo enthusiasts in need of a budget-friendly assistant.

(Review by Justin Yu on CNET – Justin Yu covers headphones and peripherals for CNET. When he’s not scouring eBay for useless ephemera or eating hot dogs for breakfast, he spends his time making fun of Internet culture every morning on The 404 podcast.)

Get in the habit of performing these tips on a monthly basis. You can also use them to correct printing problems such as streaking, gaps in printing, and toner smears.

Tip #1 – Clean the inside of your printer

Cleaning the inside of your laser printer is very important. Toner is just like dust and will build up over time. To clean the inside of your printer you should:

• Unplug the printer and let it sit for an hour to cool down. If you have  not used your laser printer within the last hour, unplug it and proceed to Step #2.
• Remove the paper trays.
• Open the printer and remove the toner cartridge. To avoid leaking toner, be careful not to shake or tip the cartridge. You should also place it on a piece of newspaper.
• Wipe/dust the interior of the printer with a dry lint free cloth or a clean/dry paint brush. The paint brush will allow you to remove toner from hard to reach areas.
• If your printer has them, wipe the corona wires with cotton swaps dipped in isopropyl alcohol. BE CAREFUL! If you break a wire it is going to be expensive to fix. The corona wire is a charged wire that draws toner off the drum onto the paper.
•  Wipe the rollers with a slightly damp cloth to remove any dust.

Tip #2 – Clean the outside of your printer

Keep the outside of your printer clean too. Use a damp cloth to wipe down the outside of the printer. If you ever spill toner on the exterior of your printer (when changing a cartridge) make sure to wipe it up immediately. It can stain.

Tip #3 – Use high quality toner cartridges and paper

You should always purchase quality toner cartridges for your laser printer. Some say you should only purchase OEM cartridges, while others say remanufactured/compatible toner cartridges are just as good. Which you use is up to you, but just make sure you buy your toner cartridges from a reputable vendor. If you do run in to any problems they will support the cartridge and, often, the printer. The same goes for the paper you use . . . Make sure it is quality. Low quality paper can cause paper jams, smeared prints, and increased toner dust inside your printer.

Tip #4 – Use laser cleaning sheets

Laser cleaning sheets are a great supplement to the above tips. These sheets run through your printer like piece of paper would. Their special surface allows them to pick up exess toner and dust as the rollers pull them through.

Happy Printing!

Flaws in your printouts are very common, but the good news is that they can be prevented if you adopt a few routine printer maintenance habits.

TIP #1 – Use your inkjet printer regularly

When  your printer is left unused for long stretches of time, the ink in the print head and nozzles can dry and cause printing flaws such as jagged lines and incorrect colors. To avoid this, try to use your printer at least once per week.

TIP #2 – Perform nozzle checks

If you leave your printer unused for a long period of time, you should perform a nozzle check before you use it again. This will make sure your printer prints normally. The nozzle check can often be run thorough your printer’s utility function. Your printer’s user manual will have specific directions.

TIP #3 – Clean the print heads

If your nozzle is clogged, cleaning the print heads should fix any poor print quality issues. Cleaning utilities come with your printer drivers. Some printers even have a print head cleaning button on their control panel. Your printer’s user manual will have specific directions.

TIP #4 – Align the print heads

If your printouts have vertical lines or horizontal bands this generally means that your print head needs to be aligned. This utility can be found with your printer drivers or in your printer control panel. When you align the print heads, the printer will print a pattern on a piece of paper. You then follow prompts from your printer to adjust the pattern. Specific information for performing a print head alignment can be found in your printer’s user manual.

TIP #5 – Replace your inkjet cartridges

Flawed printouts can often be caused by cartridges that are low on ink. Your printer will prompt you when a black or color cartridge reaches a certain level of ink. Printer manufactures say you should replace your cartridge when you receive this warning because print quality will suffer if you don’t. When replacing your printer cartridges, be sure your purchase the correct replacement cartridge and install it as your printer’s user manual directs. Incorrect installation can cause more flawed printouts.

TIP #6 – Turn your printer off (the correct way)

Leaving your inkjet printer on for extended periods of time can cause clogged nozzles and flawed printouts. After you finish using your printer for the day you should turn it off using the printer’s own power button. In most printers, the power button initiates a process that seals the print head from outside air, preventing clogged nozzles. If you unplug your printer, or turn it off using a power strip, the print head sealing function may not run.

Happy Printing!

Tip #1
Paper leaves dust on the rollers, and two sided paper leaves ink residue. To clean your rollers get a bottle of rubbing alcohol and some cotton swabs. Open your printer door and find a metallic bar with some rubber wheels on it. Those are the rollers. Gently place the cotton swab (with alcohol already on it) on the roller. Now, push the paper feed button on your printer and the rollers will begin moving. Let the cotton swab rub on the roller as it moves. Repeat this a few times for each roller.

Tip #2
Allow the paper to feed easier through the printer by leaving a 1/4″ gap between the paper tray guide and the paper in the tray.

Tip #3
Keep the paper more upright and closer to the feed rollers by placing a piece of stiff card stock in the paper feed tray. If you do this make sure you have plenty of paper in your printer so it does not try to pull the card stock through the printer.

Tip #4
Fan your stack of paper before placing it in to the paper tray. This separates the sheets, allowing for the feed rollers to pull a single piece easier. It also releases any excess dust on the paper.

Tip #5
Curl the edge of the first piece in the paper tray. The slight upward curl will help the feed rollers grab the paper easier.

Tip #6
If you are using heavier weight papers (more than 12ml thick) you should check to see if your printer has heavy paper settings. If so, use them! Your printer manual will have more information on this.

Happy Printing!

Disclaimer: These are just paper jam prevention tips, so we can’t assume liability if you use them. Damage could occur. We’ve been using these tips to prevent paper jams for years. So far no problems.

To make sure your printer keeps doing an amazing job of printing you need to take care of it. Here’s what you should do.

1) Conduct routine maintenance with your printer software.

Almost all printers have functions called head cleaning and head alignment. The head cleaning function makes sure all ink nozzles are free of obstructions. If the heads are not clean, your printer will begin to print faint in some areas while printing normal in others. Periodic print head cleanings will prevent obstructions and keep your prints looking good. IMPORTANT – If your printer has not been used for a month you should definitely run the print head cleaning utility.

Print head alignment is a software routine that requires a little help from you. When you align your print head, you are making sure all the nozzles are pointing the right direction and firing in the right place. You’ll need to make sure that your printer has paper in the paper tray, then look at the print out after the alignment has run. If you see repeating white lines or grid patterns your print heads are still misaligned. Run the alignment utility repeatedly until they disappear. This maintenance step should be performed once or twice a year, or when you see white lines or grid patterns in your print outs.

2) Conduct routine maintenance of your printer’s roller and feed mechanism.

Standard copy printer paper leaves dust as it runs through your printer. Two-sided printer paper will leave a slick inkjet coating on your rollers. Ink, from your cartridge, can over spray and build up on the rollers. Over time the dust, inkjet coating, and over spray will result in streaks, inconsistent paper feeding, paper jams, or paper not feeding at all. All of these things lead to poor print quality, or no prints at all!

To make sure your rollers and feed mechanism always work properly, you should get a bottle of rubbing alcohol and some cotton swabs. First open your printer door then look down the paper tray of your printer. You should be able to see a metallic bar with some rubber wheels on it. Those are the rollers. You should be able to touch them with your fingers. Gently place the cotton swab (with alcohol already on it) on the roller. Now, push the paper feed button on your printer and the rollers will begin moving. Let the cotton swab rub on the roller as it moves. Repeat this a few times for each roller.

After you have cleaned the rollers, use a some canned air to blow any remaining dust and debris out of the printer. This type of maintenance should be done a few times a year, or whenever you notice inconsistent paper feeding.

Happy printing!

Disclaimer: These are just printer maintenance tips, so we can’t assume liability if you use them. Damage could occur. We’ve been using these tips to clean our printers for years. So far no problems.

Effective July 1, HP raised prices for older DesignJet ink cartridge and print heads by around 10%. This increase is due to the rising cost of production and raw materials.

As discussed in the past, the earthquake and tsunami in Japan are responsible for HP cartridges shortages. The natural disaster could also be responsible for the raw material shortages causing the price increase. The increased cost of crude oil (increased 20% from last year) is another reason. The manufacturing of ink cartridge casings (plastic) and other components in both ink and toner cartridges require crude oil.

This is the perfect cartridge storm! Combine the increased cost of raw materials with a shortage of supplies caused by the Japan earthquake, then add in the rising cost of transportation and HP has unlimited reasons for increasing cartridge prices for as long as they want. Let’s hope they don’t take advantage of the situation.

Here we are, the first day of July, and distributors are seeing (feeling the effects) of the limited distribution. First the good news, HP has lifted the restriction on the 78A (C6578A) printer ink cartridge. Now for the rest of the news!

The HP 85A Black Toner Cartridge (CE285A) is still in very short supply. So is the high yield HP CE250X Black Toner Cartridge. Distributors are finding both of these cartridges to be very hard to come by. Consumers should be seeing the same.

If you typically shop at the larger office super stores you may not see the effects of this shortage. HP, as most businesses, will always make sure the shelves of their largest suppliers are always stocked. If you prefer to buy your cartridges from other vendors, you may find yourself being forced to look to someone new. Don’t expect your current cartridge vendor to have these cartridges in stock.

Finally, if you learn that an order you placed for one of these cartridges is back ordered, make sure you check with the vendor to see when they expect to have the cartridge back in stock. Despite what you are told, make sure you have a contingency plan in place. The vendor may have a time line, but HP’s supply restrictions will dictate what that actual time line is. Unfortunately, it is out of the vendor’s hands.