Archive for the ‘Computers’ Category
Groshan Fabiola asked:
Network management may mean different things to different people. To some network management may be a solitary network consultant monitoring network activity with an outdated protocol analyzer, to others network management may be about distributed database, high-end workstations generating and traffic. Speaking generally, network management is a service, which uses a wide range of devices, tools, and applications, to enable the network managers to monitor and maintain networks successfully & efficiently.
Network management deals with the top-level administration and maintenance of widespread and large networks, commonly seen in the field of computers or telecommunications, which may be necessarily, include user terminal equipment.
Network management executes functions such as security, control, allocation, monitoring, coordination, deployment and planning to name a few. It is also worth noting that network management is governed by a several protocols which are basically present there for its support, including SNMP, Common Information Model, CMIP, WBEM, Transaction Language 1, Java Management Extensions, and Netconf.
Routing is also an important area of network management. Routing refers to the process of selecting the paths in a computer network on which to send data. In this arena of network management, logically addressed packets get transported from their source to their destination with the help of nodes. These nodes are called routers, in a process termed as forwarding.
Successful network management also uses accounting management. This controls and reports on the financial status of the network. This area of network management involves bank account maintenance, financial statement development, and analysis of cash flow and financial health.
Coming to Network Monitoring, it is about policing network traffic. In other words, network monitoring is spying for the benefit of smooth working of network management. Network monitoring is part of network management. Ideally network monitoring is a function that one of your systems must perform on an ongoing basis. While the other systems are performing the functions assigned to them, one should set aside at least one computer to monitor network activity. This is network monitoring in a nutshell.
The computer performing network monitoring must be kept always on. Which means that network monitoring system should have exclusive power lines or, backup generator facility. Everyone should understand that network-monitoring system is the most critical part of any network, because it is with the help of network monitoring that that the alarm will be sent if something is wrong.
Network monitoring will identify the slow or failing systems and notify the network administrator of such lapses. Issues like overloaded systems, crashing of servers, network connections being lost, virus infections, and power outages will be dealt without losing time if network monitoring is in place.
For more resources about Network management or even about Network monitoring please review this site http://www.networkstrategy.com
Network management may mean different things to different people. To some network management may be a solitary network consultant monitoring network activity with an outdated protocol analyzer, to others network management may be about distributed database, high-end workstations generating and traffic. Speaking generally, network management is a service, which uses a wide range of devices, tools, and applications, to enable the network managers to monitor and maintain networks successfully & efficiently.
Network management deals with the top-level administration and maintenance of widespread and large networks, commonly seen in the field of computers or telecommunications, which may be necessarily, include user terminal equipment.
Network management executes functions such as security, control, allocation, monitoring, coordination, deployment and planning to name a few. It is also worth noting that network management is governed by a several protocols which are basically present there for its support, including SNMP, Common Information Model, CMIP, WBEM, Transaction Language 1, Java Management Extensions, and Netconf.
Routing is also an important area of network management. Routing refers to the process of selecting the paths in a computer network on which to send data. In this arena of network management, logically addressed packets get transported from their source to their destination with the help of nodes. These nodes are called routers, in a process termed as forwarding.
Successful network management also uses accounting management. This controls and reports on the financial status of the network. This area of network management involves bank account maintenance, financial statement development, and analysis of cash flow and financial health.
Coming to Network Monitoring, it is about policing network traffic. In other words, network monitoring is spying for the benefit of smooth working of network management. Network monitoring is part of network management. Ideally network monitoring is a function that one of your systems must perform on an ongoing basis. While the other systems are performing the functions assigned to them, one should set aside at least one computer to monitor network activity. This is network monitoring in a nutshell.
The computer performing network monitoring must be kept always on. Which means that network monitoring system should have exclusive power lines or, backup generator facility. Everyone should understand that network-monitoring system is the most critical part of any network, because it is with the help of network monitoring that that the alarm will be sent if something is wrong.
Network monitoring will identify the slow or failing systems and notify the network administrator of such lapses. Issues like overloaded systems, crashing of servers, network connections being lost, virus infections, and power outages will be dealt without losing time if network monitoring is in place.
For more resources about Network management or even about Network monitoring please review this site http://www.networkstrategy.com
Veronica Topaz asked:
Every month, new models of digital cameras are being introduced. Makers of digital cameras seem obsessed in a Digicam technological race. That is why digital cameras can become obsolete two months after they were initially introduced in the market.
The good news is that prices are also cheaper as technology continue to advance in producing high end digital cameras. This is one of the main reasons why a digital camera has become trendy consumer item.
Below are the features you can find in any advanced digital camera:
Digital Camera with High Megapixel
Today, modern digital cameras can produce image resolutions equal to the quality produced by a 35 mm SLR. A number of the finest digital cameras can have up to 20 megapixel image resolution. This is a long way from the first digital camera with only 1 to 1.5 Megapixels.
The mega pixel feature of a digital camera determines its quality. You can capture well-defined images with the use of high-megapixel digital cameras. The pictures are less grainy and fine since the shades and contrasts are more distinct.
It is for this reason why professional photographers, photo journalists and photo-artists have opted to use modern digital cameras to take pictures.
Powerful Optical Zoom Feature of Digital Cameras
Usually, professional photographers will not use a digital camera because it has no optical zoom capabilities. The first models of digital cameras only have 2x to 3x digital zoom feature. The zoom options will only make the picture hazed and warped. You’ll have a lot of pixilated pictures because the zoom function is digitally simulated.
High end digital cameras however have 10x to 15x optical zoom selections. Professional photographers prefer optical zoom since the lens is adjusted mechanically by the camera. That’s why you will have an enhanced image resolution even when you zoom-in to take pictures. The outcome of the image is therefore not distorted or grainy.
An All-in-One Media Center Digital Camera
Advanced digital camera has many features making it a comprehensive image processing unit. For instance, you can alter a picture directly from digital cameras or design special effects for your photos. You can also easily connect your digital camera to a photo printer to make prints of the images. You can also upload images to photo sharing sites or e-mail pictures to your friends.
Digital cameras nowadays also have audio and video features. You can take moving images like a movie, then cut and rearrange your video before uploading it to your computer. You also have an option to record audio and video files that you can transfer to a CD or DVD for playback. As a matter of fact, most digital cameras have built-in playback features. Simply connect your digital camera on any television and you will be able to see your pictures and video.
Modern digital cameras have many cool and sophisticated features that are very useful. You can get more value for your money if you buy a high quality and technologically advanced digital camera.
Every month, new models of digital cameras are being introduced. Makers of digital cameras seem obsessed in a Digicam technological race. That is why digital cameras can become obsolete two months after they were initially introduced in the market.
The good news is that prices are also cheaper as technology continue to advance in producing high end digital cameras. This is one of the main reasons why a digital camera has become trendy consumer item.
Below are the features you can find in any advanced digital camera:
Digital Camera with High Megapixel
Today, modern digital cameras can produce image resolutions equal to the quality produced by a 35 mm SLR. A number of the finest digital cameras can have up to 20 megapixel image resolution. This is a long way from the first digital camera with only 1 to 1.5 Megapixels.
The mega pixel feature of a digital camera determines its quality. You can capture well-defined images with the use of high-megapixel digital cameras. The pictures are less grainy and fine since the shades and contrasts are more distinct.
It is for this reason why professional photographers, photo journalists and photo-artists have opted to use modern digital cameras to take pictures.
Powerful Optical Zoom Feature of Digital Cameras
Usually, professional photographers will not use a digital camera because it has no optical zoom capabilities. The first models of digital cameras only have 2x to 3x digital zoom feature. The zoom options will only make the picture hazed and warped. You’ll have a lot of pixilated pictures because the zoom function is digitally simulated.
High end digital cameras however have 10x to 15x optical zoom selections. Professional photographers prefer optical zoom since the lens is adjusted mechanically by the camera. That’s why you will have an enhanced image resolution even when you zoom-in to take pictures. The outcome of the image is therefore not distorted or grainy.
An All-in-One Media Center Digital Camera
Advanced digital camera has many features making it a comprehensive image processing unit. For instance, you can alter a picture directly from digital cameras or design special effects for your photos. You can also easily connect your digital camera to a photo printer to make prints of the images. You can also upload images to photo sharing sites or e-mail pictures to your friends.
Digital cameras nowadays also have audio and video features. You can take moving images like a movie, then cut and rearrange your video before uploading it to your computer. You also have an option to record audio and video files that you can transfer to a CD or DVD for playback. As a matter of fact, most digital cameras have built-in playback features. Simply connect your digital camera on any television and you will be able to see your pictures and video.
Modern digital cameras have many cool and sophisticated features that are very useful. You can get more value for your money if you buy a high quality and technologically advanced digital camera.
Maxim Smirnov asked:
While you might think a digital camera gives you better photographs, there is one problem with having the ability to take as many pictures as you life – you can end up with many files on your computer. And when you have thousands of photos, you will have a difficult time hunting through the photos to find what you might need. With a software program that acts as a duplicate photo finder, you can begin to get control of your photo collection again. Though you might not have boxes of photos sitting around, you can’t maximize your photos until you know what you have and what duplicates are present. Here are some other reasons why you need duplicate photo finding help.
To Organize Your Photos
The biggest frustration of digital photography is that you have a tendency to forget to label your photos. When this happens, you can forget where certain photos are – especially when they are duplicate photos. With a duplicate photo finder, you can easily navigate your photo collection and then start to group similar photos together so that you aren’t just looking at file names that mean nothing to you. When you organize your photos, you can also begin to create a system that will help you not only now, but in the future as well. When you have a system, you can begin to take even more photos, knowing they will never be ‘lost’ on your computer.
To Find Photos Quickly
If you take photos for work or for certain purposes, you don’t have to spend hours looking through your file folders when you have a duplicate photo finder. You can simply indicate which photo you are looking to find and then have the duplicate photos collected for you. When you’re under a deadline, this can make a big difference in your stress levels and in your ability to complete the project you have been assigned. No longer will you be staying up all night to complete a project, you can spend just a few minutes on the computer to get the image you need.
To Help You Create Photo Albums
When you want to create photo albums, a duplicate photo finder is crucial. This way, you can organize the duplicate photos and prevent yourself from adding too many of the same photo to an album. Conversely, if you want to create a photo album of one image, you can then collect duplicate photos and create that sort of photo album. Sometimes having numerous similar photos can create a stronger impact than images which are completely different, after all.
When you have a duplicate photo finder, you can make sure any project you have before you goes more smoothly and more easily. You have enough to do in your life. You just don’t have the time to go through all the photo files you have – especially when there is software that can do the work for you without a single complaint.
While you might think a digital camera gives you better photographs, there is one problem with having the ability to take as many pictures as you life – you can end up with many files on your computer. And when you have thousands of photos, you will have a difficult time hunting through the photos to find what you might need. With a software program that acts as a duplicate photo finder, you can begin to get control of your photo collection again. Though you might not have boxes of photos sitting around, you can’t maximize your photos until you know what you have and what duplicates are present. Here are some other reasons why you need duplicate photo finding help.
To Organize Your Photos
The biggest frustration of digital photography is that you have a tendency to forget to label your photos. When this happens, you can forget where certain photos are – especially when they are duplicate photos. With a duplicate photo finder, you can easily navigate your photo collection and then start to group similar photos together so that you aren’t just looking at file names that mean nothing to you. When you organize your photos, you can also begin to create a system that will help you not only now, but in the future as well. When you have a system, you can begin to take even more photos, knowing they will never be ‘lost’ on your computer.
To Find Photos Quickly
If you take photos for work or for certain purposes, you don’t have to spend hours looking through your file folders when you have a duplicate photo finder. You can simply indicate which photo you are looking to find and then have the duplicate photos collected for you. When you’re under a deadline, this can make a big difference in your stress levels and in your ability to complete the project you have been assigned. No longer will you be staying up all night to complete a project, you can spend just a few minutes on the computer to get the image you need.
To Help You Create Photo Albums
When you want to create photo albums, a duplicate photo finder is crucial. This way, you can organize the duplicate photos and prevent yourself from adding too many of the same photo to an album. Conversely, if you want to create a photo album of one image, you can then collect duplicate photos and create that sort of photo album. Sometimes having numerous similar photos can create a stronger impact than images which are completely different, after all.
When you have a duplicate photo finder, you can make sure any project you have before you goes more smoothly and more easily. You have enough to do in your life. You just don’t have the time to go through all the photo files you have – especially when there is software that can do the work for you without a single complaint.
Vikram Kumar asked:
In a world dominated by brand name ink cartridge manufacturers, we would usually be asked to pay for expensive replacement cartridges when our old ones run out of ink. That holds true for Canon cartridges and for all the other brand name cartridges out there. The reason they are expensive is because the brand name printers such brand name ink cartridges are supposed to work for are not sold sometimes at actual cost or at a low price that provides low profit margins to the printer manufacturer. The printer manufacturer then has to recoup his expenses by selling consumables that are a bit expensive to the public. Brand name cartridges like Canon cartridges are consumables, which explain why some consumers opt for compatible cartridges instead – the brand name consumables are much more costly than compatible cartridges. Thought it should also be noted that many websites also specialize in selling Canon cartridges to the public as well, showing that there is still enough demand from consumers for real Canon cartridges (and that is good news for Canon.)
Compatible cartridges have become more complicated and diverse because of the sheer number of brand name printers out there that they aim to serve. Thus, when you mention compatible cartridges to members of the ink cartridge industry, you may be asked to be more specific as to the type of compatible cartridges you may need to get.
For instance, compatible cartridges that are easy to refill would be the Lexmark cartridges, HP cartridges, Dell cartridges, Canon cartridges, and Brother cartridges. Compatible cartridges for Epson printers necessitate buying a chip resetter as well because Epson cartridges have a counter chip that you need to factor in. Bear in mind that generally compatible cartridges are newly-manufactured (not second-hand) ink cartridges. It just so happens they are not made by the brand-name manufacturer that made your printer, but the compatible cartridges are compatible with your brand-name printer anyway.
It may be difficult to refill compatible cartridges at the start if you don’t know what you are doing. But in time, with experience, it does get easier. If you are not sure of the quality of your efforts when you are refilling ink cartridges as a novice, you may want to take your ink cartridge to professional ink cartridge refilling stations where they will do it for you. These professional ink cartridge refilling stations may also require you to purchase ink from them which is compatible with your choice of compatible cartridges.
It is not surprising that the brand name manufacturers have taken steps lately to limit or even completely prevent consumers from being able to use compatible cartridges on their brand-name printers – brand name manufacturers lose money this way. The brand name manufacturers would far prefer that you buy their brand name ink cartridges (like Canon cartridges, if possible.) One step is to offer low-priced replacement ink cartridges that carry the same brand name as the printer. Since consumers may prefer to buy brand name products over generic products like compatible cartridges should pricing be comparable to that of compatible cartridges, brand name companies that resort to this tactic can expect their ink cartridge sales to go up significantly.
In a world dominated by brand name ink cartridge manufacturers, we would usually be asked to pay for expensive replacement cartridges when our old ones run out of ink. That holds true for Canon cartridges and for all the other brand name cartridges out there. The reason they are expensive is because the brand name printers such brand name ink cartridges are supposed to work for are not sold sometimes at actual cost or at a low price that provides low profit margins to the printer manufacturer. The printer manufacturer then has to recoup his expenses by selling consumables that are a bit expensive to the public. Brand name cartridges like Canon cartridges are consumables, which explain why some consumers opt for compatible cartridges instead – the brand name consumables are much more costly than compatible cartridges. Thought it should also be noted that many websites also specialize in selling Canon cartridges to the public as well, showing that there is still enough demand from consumers for real Canon cartridges (and that is good news for Canon.)
Compatible cartridges have become more complicated and diverse because of the sheer number of brand name printers out there that they aim to serve. Thus, when you mention compatible cartridges to members of the ink cartridge industry, you may be asked to be more specific as to the type of compatible cartridges you may need to get.
For instance, compatible cartridges that are easy to refill would be the Lexmark cartridges, HP cartridges, Dell cartridges, Canon cartridges, and Brother cartridges. Compatible cartridges for Epson printers necessitate buying a chip resetter as well because Epson cartridges have a counter chip that you need to factor in. Bear in mind that generally compatible cartridges are newly-manufactured (not second-hand) ink cartridges. It just so happens they are not made by the brand-name manufacturer that made your printer, but the compatible cartridges are compatible with your brand-name printer anyway.
It may be difficult to refill compatible cartridges at the start if you don’t know what you are doing. But in time, with experience, it does get easier. If you are not sure of the quality of your efforts when you are refilling ink cartridges as a novice, you may want to take your ink cartridge to professional ink cartridge refilling stations where they will do it for you. These professional ink cartridge refilling stations may also require you to purchase ink from them which is compatible with your choice of compatible cartridges.
It is not surprising that the brand name manufacturers have taken steps lately to limit or even completely prevent consumers from being able to use compatible cartridges on their brand-name printers – brand name manufacturers lose money this way. The brand name manufacturers would far prefer that you buy their brand name ink cartridges (like Canon cartridges, if possible.) One step is to offer low-priced replacement ink cartridges that carry the same brand name as the printer. Since consumers may prefer to buy brand name products over generic products like compatible cartridges should pricing be comparable to that of compatible cartridges, brand name companies that resort to this tactic can expect their ink cartridge sales to go up significantly.
Vikram Kumar asked:
To start with, an ink cartridge is that detachable part of your printer which contains a reservoir or reservoirs of ink which the printer uses to print out your documents. On occasion, the ink cartridge is fitted with the print-head as well. The different colors of ink are contained within their own respective reservoirs (like, if you use black ink, the black ink is placed in its own respective reservoir while other colors are placed in other reservoirs – one color in one reservoir). You can also get ink cartridges that have electronic contacts plus a chip used to talk to the printer.
If you are using a consumer inkjet printer then you will probably need a thermal inkjet cartridge to print out your documents. Epson is excluded from this category of thermal inkjet printers because it relies on piezoelectric inkjets instead of thermal inkjet cartridges to function.
Refresh Cartridges is a company that sells replacement inkjet and toner cartridges to the general public for their photocopiers, fax machines, or printers. Refresh Cartridges does its best to sell inexpensive yet high quality replacement inkjet and toner cartridges, with shipment to the customer included in the purchase price already.
The inkjet cartridges sold by Refresh Cartridges come under a wide variety of brand names, such as Brother, Samsung, Apollo, Hewlett Packard (or HP), Lexmark, Compaq, Xerox, Canon, Xerox, and Epson. These are inclusive of original inkjet cartridges, remanufactured inkjet cartridges, and compatible inkjet cartridges. Refresh Cartridges prides itself on selling such inkjet cartridges to the public because these are a good alternative to selling cheap cartridges whose quality may be substandard, even if they are inexpensive.
Refresh Cartridges also sells remanufactured toner cartridges for use on the following brand-name printers: Samsung, Minolta, Brother, Hewlett Packard or HP, Xerox, Lexmark, Canon or Epson. Refresh Cartridges tries to compete against retailers of cheap toner cartridges as well by offering quality products to the public.
You might be shocked to find out how expensive printer ink cartridges can be. They are that expensive because many printer companies do not make much money from the price they sell their printers at. To make a profit and recoup their investments, printer companies sell printer ink cartridges for their brand so that as consumers keep replacing printer ink cartridges the printer companies will earn back what they invested in the manufacturing processes.
That is partly why Refresh Cartridges aims to sell cheap cartridges to the public that are of good quality. Refresh Cartridges also has another service on the side which allows consumers to donate their retired inkjet cartridges to support certain charities. At the moment, Refresh Cartridges confines itself to accepting only Lexmark and HP (Hewlett Packard) inkjet cartridges. This recycling program initiated by Refresh Cartridges was designed to save plenty of inkjet cartridges from being dumped into landfills.
If you have Brother, Canon or Epson ink cartridges instead, you will be happy to know these ink cartridges are recyclable into other products. The reason these brands of ink cartridges are not remanufactured is because the financial returns are not good enough to make the program viable.
To start with, an ink cartridge is that detachable part of your printer which contains a reservoir or reservoirs of ink which the printer uses to print out your documents. On occasion, the ink cartridge is fitted with the print-head as well. The different colors of ink are contained within their own respective reservoirs (like, if you use black ink, the black ink is placed in its own respective reservoir while other colors are placed in other reservoirs – one color in one reservoir). You can also get ink cartridges that have electronic contacts plus a chip used to talk to the printer.
If you are using a consumer inkjet printer then you will probably need a thermal inkjet cartridge to print out your documents. Epson is excluded from this category of thermal inkjet printers because it relies on piezoelectric inkjets instead of thermal inkjet cartridges to function.
Refresh Cartridges is a company that sells replacement inkjet and toner cartridges to the general public for their photocopiers, fax machines, or printers. Refresh Cartridges does its best to sell inexpensive yet high quality replacement inkjet and toner cartridges, with shipment to the customer included in the purchase price already.
The inkjet cartridges sold by Refresh Cartridges come under a wide variety of brand names, such as Brother, Samsung, Apollo, Hewlett Packard (or HP), Lexmark, Compaq, Xerox, Canon, Xerox, and Epson. These are inclusive of original inkjet cartridges, remanufactured inkjet cartridges, and compatible inkjet cartridges. Refresh Cartridges prides itself on selling such inkjet cartridges to the public because these are a good alternative to selling cheap cartridges whose quality may be substandard, even if they are inexpensive.
Refresh Cartridges also sells remanufactured toner cartridges for use on the following brand-name printers: Samsung, Minolta, Brother, Hewlett Packard or HP, Xerox, Lexmark, Canon or Epson. Refresh Cartridges tries to compete against retailers of cheap toner cartridges as well by offering quality products to the public.
You might be shocked to find out how expensive printer ink cartridges can be. They are that expensive because many printer companies do not make much money from the price they sell their printers at. To make a profit and recoup their investments, printer companies sell printer ink cartridges for their brand so that as consumers keep replacing printer ink cartridges the printer companies will earn back what they invested in the manufacturing processes.
That is partly why Refresh Cartridges aims to sell cheap cartridges to the public that are of good quality. Refresh Cartridges also has another service on the side which allows consumers to donate their retired inkjet cartridges to support certain charities. At the moment, Refresh Cartridges confines itself to accepting only Lexmark and HP (Hewlett Packard) inkjet cartridges. This recycling program initiated by Refresh Cartridges was designed to save plenty of inkjet cartridges from being dumped into landfills.
If you have Brother, Canon or Epson ink cartridges instead, you will be happy to know these ink cartridges are recyclable into other products. The reason these brands of ink cartridges are not remanufactured is because the financial returns are not good enough to make the program viable.
Vikram Kumar asked:
Is it possible to buy cheap cartridges from Refresh Cartridges? Yes, actually it is. For one thing, Refresh Cartridges does not make its cheap cartridges (like the remanufactured cartridges or compatible cartridges) on its own. Rather, Refresh Cartridges is able to retail its cheap cartridges inexpensively by looking for reliable sources of the remanufactured cartridges and compatible cartridges instead.
Why does Refresh Cartridges opt to buy instead of make these remanufactured cartridges and compatible cartridges themselves? Wouldn’t costs go down if Refresh Cartridges became a manufacturer itself instead of just a vendor? Well, yes, and no. On the one hand, Refresh Cartridges does not have the expertise to make these types of cheap cartridges itself, which is why Refresh Cartridges opts to look for companies that specialize in remanufactured cartridges and compatible cartridges instead. On the other hand, if Refresh Cartridges is able to charge a lower mark-up by being just a vendor of these types of cartridges. If it were a manufacturer, it might have to charge a higher mark-up to recover costs.
For its remanufactured cartridges, Refresh Cartridges opted to source such cheap cartridges from Printrite, X-Print, and GreenTech. Refresh Cartridges offers consumers a 100% guarantee that its remanufactured cartridges will work perfectly because each and every one of these are tested by Refresh Cartridges before selling them to the public. Any sub-standard cartridges can be returned to the company’s freepost address so consumers can get their money back. By opting for remanufactured cartridges sold by Refresh Cartridges, consumers benefit by receiving more ink per cartridge compared to the amount of ink they can get from original brand-name ink cartridges bought off the shelf. Refresh Cartridges and consumers also work hand in glove to keep such cartridges out of landfills where they would simply sit uselessly and take up much-needed space. It is better for the environment, for the ink cartridge industry and for Refresh Cartridges when consumers buy remanufactured cartridges from the company.
But what about compatible cartridges – what do these do? A compatible ink cartridge is one that is manufactured by a company aside from the manufacturer of the original ink cartridge used. The third-party manufacturers sell their compatible cartridges as cheap cartridges that are less expensive than the brand-name ones. Of course, the brand-name manufacturers do not want the consumers to buy compatible cartridges since these compete with their brand-name replacement cartridges, but Refresh Cartridges does sell compatible cartridges to the public. Refresh Cartridges usually gets its compatible cartridges from X-Print. At times, Refresh Cartridges buys from other accredited suppliers if X-Print compatible cartridges are not available. All compatible cartridges bought from Refresh Cartridges come with the standard 100% money-back guarantee for all consumers.
If you happen to hear the phrase “OEM cartridges” being bandied about the ink cartridge industry, the term is simply another way of describing brand-name ink cartridges that come from the big-name manufacturers. There are some OEM cartridges which are hard to replace with remanufactured or compatible cartridges for legal reasons in which case you may have to get OEM cartridges from the brand name manufacturer itself. But for many printers, cheap cartridges like remanufactured and compatible cartridges will do just as well.
Is it possible to buy cheap cartridges from Refresh Cartridges? Yes, actually it is. For one thing, Refresh Cartridges does not make its cheap cartridges (like the remanufactured cartridges or compatible cartridges) on its own. Rather, Refresh Cartridges is able to retail its cheap cartridges inexpensively by looking for reliable sources of the remanufactured cartridges and compatible cartridges instead.
Why does Refresh Cartridges opt to buy instead of make these remanufactured cartridges and compatible cartridges themselves? Wouldn’t costs go down if Refresh Cartridges became a manufacturer itself instead of just a vendor? Well, yes, and no. On the one hand, Refresh Cartridges does not have the expertise to make these types of cheap cartridges itself, which is why Refresh Cartridges opts to look for companies that specialize in remanufactured cartridges and compatible cartridges instead. On the other hand, if Refresh Cartridges is able to charge a lower mark-up by being just a vendor of these types of cartridges. If it were a manufacturer, it might have to charge a higher mark-up to recover costs.
For its remanufactured cartridges, Refresh Cartridges opted to source such cheap cartridges from Printrite, X-Print, and GreenTech. Refresh Cartridges offers consumers a 100% guarantee that its remanufactured cartridges will work perfectly because each and every one of these are tested by Refresh Cartridges before selling them to the public. Any sub-standard cartridges can be returned to the company’s freepost address so consumers can get their money back. By opting for remanufactured cartridges sold by Refresh Cartridges, consumers benefit by receiving more ink per cartridge compared to the amount of ink they can get from original brand-name ink cartridges bought off the shelf. Refresh Cartridges and consumers also work hand in glove to keep such cartridges out of landfills where they would simply sit uselessly and take up much-needed space. It is better for the environment, for the ink cartridge industry and for Refresh Cartridges when consumers buy remanufactured cartridges from the company.
But what about compatible cartridges – what do these do? A compatible ink cartridge is one that is manufactured by a company aside from the manufacturer of the original ink cartridge used. The third-party manufacturers sell their compatible cartridges as cheap cartridges that are less expensive than the brand-name ones. Of course, the brand-name manufacturers do not want the consumers to buy compatible cartridges since these compete with their brand-name replacement cartridges, but Refresh Cartridges does sell compatible cartridges to the public. Refresh Cartridges usually gets its compatible cartridges from X-Print. At times, Refresh Cartridges buys from other accredited suppliers if X-Print compatible cartridges are not available. All compatible cartridges bought from Refresh Cartridges come with the standard 100% money-back guarantee for all consumers.
If you happen to hear the phrase “OEM cartridges” being bandied about the ink cartridge industry, the term is simply another way of describing brand-name ink cartridges that come from the big-name manufacturers. There are some OEM cartridges which are hard to replace with remanufactured or compatible cartridges for legal reasons in which case you may have to get OEM cartridges from the brand name manufacturer itself. But for many printers, cheap cartridges like remanufactured and compatible cartridges will do just as well.
gardnerwilkinson asked:
Ink cartridge refilling has emerged as a popular method of refurbishing the cartridge of a printer and is fast replacing the need to buy a new cartridge every time. So far most original equipment manufacturers of inkjet printers have been recommending the use of only original cartridges to avoid any kind of damage to the printer. Not only this, these printer manufacturers argue that the use of original cartridges provides superior quality prints as against the cartridges that have been refilled. However, experience has proved these concerns largely baseless.
Ink Cartridge Refilling: Options Available
Printer users can now avail of ink cartridge refilling services provided by an established company. While one can purchase an ink refill kit and do the refilling themselves, this can be quite messy. It is always advisable to use the services of a professional.
When to Opt for Ink Cartridge Refilling
The best time to opt for ink cartridge refilling is before the cartridge becomes totally empty. This will ensure that the cartridge doesn’t dry up, besides preventing the chances of clogging. It is also important that the cartridge is allowed to rest for a few hours to ensure that the pressure of the ink in it gets stabilized.
Some models of printers have an inbuilt chip that keeps track of the use of the cartridge. This chip conveys a signal when the cartridge ink is low or nearly empty. Once the ink cartridge refilling has been done, this chip’s memory should be reset to enable it to track the use of the cartridge again. The resetting will allow the chip to notice that the cartridge is full and printing can be carried out.
Benefits of Ink Cartridge Refilling
Ink cartridge refilling has emerged as a cheaper and more effective option for increasing the life of a cartridge. Listed below are some of the major benefits of ink cartridge refilling:
The cost of refilling an ink cartridge is nearly 50% lower than purchasing a new cartridge.
Print quality offered by refilled cartridges is as good as that offered by original cartridges.
It is possible to find a provider of ink cartridge refilling services who offers 100% money back guarantees.
Cartridge World is a leading provider of cartridge refilling services for all types of printers. Founded more than a decade back, the company now has a global presence.
Ink cartridge refilling has emerged as a popular method of refurbishing the cartridge of a printer and is fast replacing the need to buy a new cartridge every time. So far most original equipment manufacturers of inkjet printers have been recommending the use of only original cartridges to avoid any kind of damage to the printer. Not only this, these printer manufacturers argue that the use of original cartridges provides superior quality prints as against the cartridges that have been refilled. However, experience has proved these concerns largely baseless.
Ink Cartridge Refilling: Options Available
Printer users can now avail of ink cartridge refilling services provided by an established company. While one can purchase an ink refill kit and do the refilling themselves, this can be quite messy. It is always advisable to use the services of a professional.
When to Opt for Ink Cartridge Refilling
The best time to opt for ink cartridge refilling is before the cartridge becomes totally empty. This will ensure that the cartridge doesn’t dry up, besides preventing the chances of clogging. It is also important that the cartridge is allowed to rest for a few hours to ensure that the pressure of the ink in it gets stabilized.
Some models of printers have an inbuilt chip that keeps track of the use of the cartridge. This chip conveys a signal when the cartridge ink is low or nearly empty. Once the ink cartridge refilling has been done, this chip’s memory should be reset to enable it to track the use of the cartridge again. The resetting will allow the chip to notice that the cartridge is full and printing can be carried out.
Benefits of Ink Cartridge Refilling
Ink cartridge refilling has emerged as a cheaper and more effective option for increasing the life of a cartridge. Listed below are some of the major benefits of ink cartridge refilling:
The cost of refilling an ink cartridge is nearly 50% lower than purchasing a new cartridge.
Print quality offered by refilled cartridges is as good as that offered by original cartridges.
It is possible to find a provider of ink cartridge refilling services who offers 100% money back guarantees.
Cartridge World is a leading provider of cartridge refilling services for all types of printers. Founded more than a decade back, the company now has a global presence.
21
Feb
Jeff Lawrence asked:
Printers are essential peripherals, performing a critical role as they render electronic information into tangible records or material output. You’re simply not using your computer to its fullest potential if you are unable to print reports, presentations, letters, photos, or whatever it is you need to output. Choosing a printer can be confusing, however, in today’s competitive, ever-changing landscape. This buying guide rounds out some of the more important criteria to consider before you make that all-important purchase decision.
Printing Technologies
This is the biggest decision to make before anything else. Your choice should be based on how you work and the kind of output you will be expecting from the printer.
Inkjet: Inkjet printers can deliver stunning color, so this is the way to go if you are mostly concerned with printing photos. Inkjets can be used for printing text, but the print speed is too slow if the primary purpose of the printer is document printing. To obtain more photo-realism, choose inkjets with an expanded range of colors that includes light cyan and light magenta in addition to the standard four-color CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow, and black). The extra colors deliver more subtle color gradations in blue skies and skin tones. And if you print a great deal of black-and-white photos, consider photo printers with more than one variation of black ink or with gray inks. Many photo printers use color inks to produce a composite black, resulting in a muddy tint. A second black-ink cartridge and different shades of gray help maintain a neutral tone, with the gray ink allowing for subtle shading and thus improving the quality of black-and-white photos.
Dye-sublimation: Dye-sub printers can print continuous tones and a superior range of colors that laser printers are unable to, making them ideal for more demanding graphic applications or color printing. Dye-sub prints are also less prone to fading and distortion over time than dye-based ink prints. In addition, many consumer-based dye-sublimation printers can print directly from digital cameras and also accept memory cards. They are, however, more limited in the range and size of printing media that can be used usually letter-size paper or smaller.
Laser: Laser printers are the perfect choice if you need to print large amounts of text documents. They print faster than inkjets and have a lower cost of operation over the long-term even though they may cost more to buy initially. There are trade-offs, however. Monochrome laser printers produce crisp black-and-white text but cannot be used for color printing. Color lasers deliver excellent text and graphics but are much more expensive and can be costly to maintain.
Printer Usage
Some printers are good for general printing, while others are better at specialized tasks or combine several functions into one machine.
Photo: If you take lots of pictures, consider getting a photo printer. Photo printers can be in the form of photo inkjets which can print both photos and text; snapshot photo printers for outputting small 4×6-inch prints; or professional photo printers for large, tabloid-size photos and often including network connections to enable printer sharing. Most consumer and professional photo printers use inkjet technology, while most snapshot photo printers that print 4×6-inch prints rely on dye-sublimation technology. Regardless of the type or technology that is used, the most important thing to look for in a photo printer is photorealistic quality. Everything else is secondary.
General Purpose: As the name implies, general purpose printers can be used for printing almost anything, including text and photos. Choose a general printer with a laser format if you print more text than photos; and choose an inkjet format if you print more photos than text.
Multifunction: Multifunction printers (MFPs) combine in one device several functions such as printing, scanning, faxing, and copying. MFPs cost less than buying separate stand-alone devices and cut down on the hassle of setting up individual machines. If you are strapped for budget or space, consider these all-in-one devices. Take note, however, that a malfunction with one component takes down the whole device, and individual components may not be upgradeable. MFPs are available with either laser printers to emphasize speedy text printing and the occasional graphics output; or they are available with inkjet printers for vibrant photo printing.
Environment and Applications
When deciding on a printer, think about where and how you plan to use it. The home user will have different printing needs from that of the office worker, photographer, or traveler.
General/Basic home use: Versatile, affordable printers are the best choices here, and inkjets usually satisfy the printing needs of most home users looking to output photos from their digital camera or for other light printing needs. Ink cartridges can be expensive, so look for inkjets with separate cartridges for each color. This way, you need not throw out entire cartridges simply because one color has been used up ahead of the others but replace only the ones that run out.
Home office: An MFP may be a great device to have in your home office, especially if it comes with an automatic document feeder that can process multipage documents unattended. Extra onboard memory increases efficiency and allows for processing of larger graphics and documents with ease. And if scanning and photocopying are important to you, get an MFP with a higher resolution.
Photography: Photo printers are the obvious choice if printing photos is your main thing. Choose either the smaller, snapshot photo printer that produces 4×6-inch prints; or choose larger-sized, professional photo printers that are capable of delivering tabloid-size 11×17-inch prints even up to full-bleed 13×19-inch prints that include a border to allow room for registration marks.
Text printing: If printing large amounts of text is what you’ll be doing most, monochrome standard laser printers are your best bet as they can turn out page after page of crisp text fairly rapidly. These printers are ideal for printing black-and-white text and simple graphics, so you may need to get a separate inkjet or photo printer in order to print color photos unless you wish to invest in the more expensive color lasers that can print both black-and-white and color documents.
Small network: A workgroup laser printer can be what you need if your home office or small office is built around a network. Workgroup lasers pack faster print speeds and have more memory to handle multiple print jobs. They also offer more advanced handling capabilities such as larger trays, and may offer duplex (double-sided) printing, sorting, and stapling. More expensive than standard laser printers, the majority of workgroup lasers are monochrome designed for printing text and simple graphics.
Traveler: For the businessperson on the go and looking to print, portable printers provide the solution with their compact size (small enough to fit into a briefcase), light weight (less than 5 lbs.), and handy power (operates on batteries or with a car charger). Newer models can print wirelessly making it a non-issue if you forget your USB cable at home. Some portables offer great extras such as a sheet feeder for automatic page feeding, are able to handle transparencies and envelopes, and even support an optional scanner cartridge that replaces the ink cartridge and turns the printer into a scanner. Portable printers are more expensive and print more slowly than standard printers, but convenience is what you’re paying for.
PC-free printing
With something called PictBridge support, photo printers do not need to be connected to PCs to be able to print photos. PictBridge is a standard adopted by manufacturers of printers and digital cameras for PC-free printing, allowing photos to be printed straight from the digital camera to the printer by simply connecting them through a USB cable as long as the printer and digital camera are compatible. A variation to this idea is the ability for printers to read memory cards directly from a digital camera or other image-storing device by simply inserting the cards into designated printer slots.
Once the camera is connected to or the card is inserted into the printer, photos can be reviewed in a number of ways, depending on the printer model. Some may feature a built-in LCD screen that allows shots to be reviewed, edits to be made, and the ones to be printed chosen directly from the screen. Other models may let you create an index sheet similar to a contact sheet in film printing so you can mark the ones you choose for printing and rescan the sheet. Other printer models let you decide which shots you want to print straight from the digital camera. Many types of memory cards are available on the market today, so make sure the printer accepts the kind used by your camera for you to enjoy card-direct printing of photos.
Paper Handling
Paper is obviously an important issue in printing. Here are some important tips on paper handling for printers:
When buying a printer, make sure that it’s equipped to accommodate all the paper sizes and types that you’ll be using. If you need to print on heavy stock, for instance, make sure the printer can handle the heaviest paper you use. For this purpose, a printer’s paper path can give an indication of how it handles paper: Inkjets generally use straight-through paper paths, while lasers use S-shaped or U-shaped paths. Generally speaking, the straighter the path, the thicker the media that can be used. However, the curved paths typical of laser printers also makes it possible to have more flexible configurations for input and output trays.
Using the correct type of paper will also make a difference to your printing. Inkjets can print on a variety of matte or glossy photo paper, but make sure you choose the right kind of paper for your printer to obtain optimal print results. For example, matte papers are suitable for both pigment and dye-based inks, while luster finishes are generally more suitable for dye-based inks.
In terms of size, most inkjets and lasers can handle printing of letter and legal sizes. If you need to print larger prints, however, consider a printer that can handle sizes like 11 by 17 inches. You may also consider getting a printer with multiple paper drawers if you’ll be switching between different paper sizes on a regular basis. For a laser printer, multiple output trays, duplexing (double-sided printing), collating, and automatic stapling can be additional useful features.
If you plan to use third-party paper, make sure it works well with your printer. Before you buy a large quantity of third-party paper, try a few samples by printing the same photos on both the printer manufacturer’s paper and the third-party paper, and then compare the results.
Printer Specs and Key Features
Printers feature various specifications, so navigating the spec sheet intelligently requires familiarity with what each specification entails according to the printing technology involved or for the type of usage planned for the printer.
Resolution: For laser printers, 300 dpi is adequate if all you need is to print black-and-white text, but choose at least 1200 dpi for photorealistic grayscale or color printing. For inkjets, choose one featuring 1200-dpi or higher resolution with a droplet size of 4 picoliters or smaller for sharp, clean output. With photo printers, resolution varies according to technology: Output at 300 dpi by photo printers using dye-sublimation technology is comparable to photo printers using inkjet technology outputting at 1200 dpi or higher.
Speed: Speed ratings vary greatly, and the print speeds cited by manufacturers usually refer to printing in draft mode or at the lowest resolution. For laser printers, a more accurate way of measuring actual print speed is to time just how long it takes from the minute you hit “Print” to the time that it takes the printer to warm up, spool the job into the print queue, and for the printed output to finally come out. For inkjets, print speed is not one of its stronger suits; so don’t be overly concerned with this spec.
Memory: Extra memory will come in handy for laser printers to enable them to handle large graphics and documents more easily. Check the maximum upgradeable memory allowed for your printer, if it features a hard drive with similarly upgradeable memory, and if the printer can use generic memory or needs the manufacturer’s brand. In the case of inkjets, memory is built-in and not upgradeable, but this is not an issue inasmuch as processing occurs on the side of the computer so there’s no need for large amounts of installed RAM to begin with on inkjets.
Connectivity: Most printers today no longer support the older parallel connection but feature instead USB 1.1 or Hi-Speed USB (USB 2.0) either of which should work fine with USB computers. For printers to be used on a network, it will need to have an Ethernet port to enable printer sharing. For more flexible printing options, you may want to look for printers with infrared input/output ports that allow wireless printing from notebooks or other devices with infrared ports. And if high-speed or long-distance printing is what you need, consider printers with a FireWire port.
Consumables and cost per page
The purchase price of the printer is just the beginning of its overall cost because over time, the hidden cost of ink or toner, paper, and parts will add up. These “hidden costs” are the consumables; dividing the total cost of consumables by the number of pages that can be produced from the consumables gives you the cost per page. Laser printers offer the lowest cost per page, using relatively inexpensive toner and normal-weight, uncoated paper. On the other hand, cost per page for inkjets can be four or five times as much, depending on how much ink you use and the cost of the paper normally more expensive, coated, glossy paper for higher-quality color output. The tank configuration for inkjets should also be taken into consideration. Inkjets with a single cartridge for the colored inks will incur higher replacement costs because the cartridge must be replaced as soon as one color runs out even if the cartridge still contains plenty of ink for the other colors. To save costs, get an inkjet with separate cartridges for black and each individual color.
Print Quality
All the specs and fancy features in your printer won’t mean a thing if you don’t have good, solid print quality whether of text or photos to back it up.
Text: Text should be smooth and crisp. At the smallest font sizes, the individual letters should be clearly readable, and they should not bleed into one another. Medium-size fonts should have no fuzzy edges, and the largest fonts especially bold ones should be filled with solid black, not a muddy brown or bluish tone. You should also be able to see well-formed and well-rounded counters (the openings) in letterforms; if you don’t, it’s usually a sign of the printer laying down too much ink. (Remember, however, that inkjet printers will display some wicking on plain, 20-lb. paper, as the ink bleeds along the paper fibers.)
Graphics: For color printing, look for gradients or areas where a color goes from dark to light. Color should transition smoothly, and you should not see any color banding, where distinct bands progress from dark to light. On a test page, you will likely see a gradient bar that goes from black to white through a series of progressively darker gray shades; the transition from shade to shade should be smooth without a noticeable line. Also, look for a nice balance of colors in color-graphic printing something that’s not overly saturated nor flat and washed out.
Photo: A good photo print should like the original photo. Colors should be accurate and balanced, vivid but not oversaturated. Good detail should be present in all areas, with no jagged lines or pixels or any other visual artifacts. Good contrast should exist between shadow and highlight areas not muddy or flat and without color. You may not always be able to tell the difference from one great print to another, but almost everyone can recognize a bad print when they see one. Trust what you see.
Printers are essential peripherals, performing a critical role as they render electronic information into tangible records or material output. You’re simply not using your computer to its fullest potential if you are unable to print reports, presentations, letters, photos, or whatever it is you need to output. Choosing a printer can be confusing, however, in today’s competitive, ever-changing landscape. This buying guide rounds out some of the more important criteria to consider before you make that all-important purchase decision.
Printing Technologies
This is the biggest decision to make before anything else. Your choice should be based on how you work and the kind of output you will be expecting from the printer.
Inkjet: Inkjet printers can deliver stunning color, so this is the way to go if you are mostly concerned with printing photos. Inkjets can be used for printing text, but the print speed is too slow if the primary purpose of the printer is document printing. To obtain more photo-realism, choose inkjets with an expanded range of colors that includes light cyan and light magenta in addition to the standard four-color CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow, and black). The extra colors deliver more subtle color gradations in blue skies and skin tones. And if you print a great deal of black-and-white photos, consider photo printers with more than one variation of black ink or with gray inks. Many photo printers use color inks to produce a composite black, resulting in a muddy tint. A second black-ink cartridge and different shades of gray help maintain a neutral tone, with the gray ink allowing for subtle shading and thus improving the quality of black-and-white photos.
Dye-sublimation: Dye-sub printers can print continuous tones and a superior range of colors that laser printers are unable to, making them ideal for more demanding graphic applications or color printing. Dye-sub prints are also less prone to fading and distortion over time than dye-based ink prints. In addition, many consumer-based dye-sublimation printers can print directly from digital cameras and also accept memory cards. They are, however, more limited in the range and size of printing media that can be used usually letter-size paper or smaller.
Laser: Laser printers are the perfect choice if you need to print large amounts of text documents. They print faster than inkjets and have a lower cost of operation over the long-term even though they may cost more to buy initially. There are trade-offs, however. Monochrome laser printers produce crisp black-and-white text but cannot be used for color printing. Color lasers deliver excellent text and graphics but are much more expensive and can be costly to maintain.
Printer Usage
Some printers are good for general printing, while others are better at specialized tasks or combine several functions into one machine.
Photo: If you take lots of pictures, consider getting a photo printer. Photo printers can be in the form of photo inkjets which can print both photos and text; snapshot photo printers for outputting small 4×6-inch prints; or professional photo printers for large, tabloid-size photos and often including network connections to enable printer sharing. Most consumer and professional photo printers use inkjet technology, while most snapshot photo printers that print 4×6-inch prints rely on dye-sublimation technology. Regardless of the type or technology that is used, the most important thing to look for in a photo printer is photorealistic quality. Everything else is secondary.
General Purpose: As the name implies, general purpose printers can be used for printing almost anything, including text and photos. Choose a general printer with a laser format if you print more text than photos; and choose an inkjet format if you print more photos than text.
Multifunction: Multifunction printers (MFPs) combine in one device several functions such as printing, scanning, faxing, and copying. MFPs cost less than buying separate stand-alone devices and cut down on the hassle of setting up individual machines. If you are strapped for budget or space, consider these all-in-one devices. Take note, however, that a malfunction with one component takes down the whole device, and individual components may not be upgradeable. MFPs are available with either laser printers to emphasize speedy text printing and the occasional graphics output; or they are available with inkjet printers for vibrant photo printing.
Environment and Applications
When deciding on a printer, think about where and how you plan to use it. The home user will have different printing needs from that of the office worker, photographer, or traveler.
General/Basic home use: Versatile, affordable printers are the best choices here, and inkjets usually satisfy the printing needs of most home users looking to output photos from their digital camera or for other light printing needs. Ink cartridges can be expensive, so look for inkjets with separate cartridges for each color. This way, you need not throw out entire cartridges simply because one color has been used up ahead of the others but replace only the ones that run out.
Home office: An MFP may be a great device to have in your home office, especially if it comes with an automatic document feeder that can process multipage documents unattended. Extra onboard memory increases efficiency and allows for processing of larger graphics and documents with ease. And if scanning and photocopying are important to you, get an MFP with a higher resolution.
Photography: Photo printers are the obvious choice if printing photos is your main thing. Choose either the smaller, snapshot photo printer that produces 4×6-inch prints; or choose larger-sized, professional photo printers that are capable of delivering tabloid-size 11×17-inch prints even up to full-bleed 13×19-inch prints that include a border to allow room for registration marks.
Text printing: If printing large amounts of text is what you’ll be doing most, monochrome standard laser printers are your best bet as they can turn out page after page of crisp text fairly rapidly. These printers are ideal for printing black-and-white text and simple graphics, so you may need to get a separate inkjet or photo printer in order to print color photos unless you wish to invest in the more expensive color lasers that can print both black-and-white and color documents.
Small network: A workgroup laser printer can be what you need if your home office or small office is built around a network. Workgroup lasers pack faster print speeds and have more memory to handle multiple print jobs. They also offer more advanced handling capabilities such as larger trays, and may offer duplex (double-sided) printing, sorting, and stapling. More expensive than standard laser printers, the majority of workgroup lasers are monochrome designed for printing text and simple graphics.
Traveler: For the businessperson on the go and looking to print, portable printers provide the solution with their compact size (small enough to fit into a briefcase), light weight (less than 5 lbs.), and handy power (operates on batteries or with a car charger). Newer models can print wirelessly making it a non-issue if you forget your USB cable at home. Some portables offer great extras such as a sheet feeder for automatic page feeding, are able to handle transparencies and envelopes, and even support an optional scanner cartridge that replaces the ink cartridge and turns the printer into a scanner. Portable printers are more expensive and print more slowly than standard printers, but convenience is what you’re paying for.
PC-free printing
With something called PictBridge support, photo printers do not need to be connected to PCs to be able to print photos. PictBridge is a standard adopted by manufacturers of printers and digital cameras for PC-free printing, allowing photos to be printed straight from the digital camera to the printer by simply connecting them through a USB cable as long as the printer and digital camera are compatible. A variation to this idea is the ability for printers to read memory cards directly from a digital camera or other image-storing device by simply inserting the cards into designated printer slots.
Once the camera is connected to or the card is inserted into the printer, photos can be reviewed in a number of ways, depending on the printer model. Some may feature a built-in LCD screen that allows shots to be reviewed, edits to be made, and the ones to be printed chosen directly from the screen. Other models may let you create an index sheet similar to a contact sheet in film printing so you can mark the ones you choose for printing and rescan the sheet. Other printer models let you decide which shots you want to print straight from the digital camera. Many types of memory cards are available on the market today, so make sure the printer accepts the kind used by your camera for you to enjoy card-direct printing of photos.
Paper Handling
Paper is obviously an important issue in printing. Here are some important tips on paper handling for printers:
When buying a printer, make sure that it’s equipped to accommodate all the paper sizes and types that you’ll be using. If you need to print on heavy stock, for instance, make sure the printer can handle the heaviest paper you use. For this purpose, a printer’s paper path can give an indication of how it handles paper: Inkjets generally use straight-through paper paths, while lasers use S-shaped or U-shaped paths. Generally speaking, the straighter the path, the thicker the media that can be used. However, the curved paths typical of laser printers also makes it possible to have more flexible configurations for input and output trays.
Using the correct type of paper will also make a difference to your printing. Inkjets can print on a variety of matte or glossy photo paper, but make sure you choose the right kind of paper for your printer to obtain optimal print results. For example, matte papers are suitable for both pigment and dye-based inks, while luster finishes are generally more suitable for dye-based inks.
In terms of size, most inkjets and lasers can handle printing of letter and legal sizes. If you need to print larger prints, however, consider a printer that can handle sizes like 11 by 17 inches. You may also consider getting a printer with multiple paper drawers if you’ll be switching between different paper sizes on a regular basis. For a laser printer, multiple output trays, duplexing (double-sided printing), collating, and automatic stapling can be additional useful features.
If you plan to use third-party paper, make sure it works well with your printer. Before you buy a large quantity of third-party paper, try a few samples by printing the same photos on both the printer manufacturer’s paper and the third-party paper, and then compare the results.
Printer Specs and Key Features
Printers feature various specifications, so navigating the spec sheet intelligently requires familiarity with what each specification entails according to the printing technology involved or for the type of usage planned for the printer.
Resolution: For laser printers, 300 dpi is adequate if all you need is to print black-and-white text, but choose at least 1200 dpi for photorealistic grayscale or color printing. For inkjets, choose one featuring 1200-dpi or higher resolution with a droplet size of 4 picoliters or smaller for sharp, clean output. With photo printers, resolution varies according to technology: Output at 300 dpi by photo printers using dye-sublimation technology is comparable to photo printers using inkjet technology outputting at 1200 dpi or higher.
Speed: Speed ratings vary greatly, and the print speeds cited by manufacturers usually refer to printing in draft mode or at the lowest resolution. For laser printers, a more accurate way of measuring actual print speed is to time just how long it takes from the minute you hit “Print” to the time that it takes the printer to warm up, spool the job into the print queue, and for the printed output to finally come out. For inkjets, print speed is not one of its stronger suits; so don’t be overly concerned with this spec.
Memory: Extra memory will come in handy for laser printers to enable them to handle large graphics and documents more easily. Check the maximum upgradeable memory allowed for your printer, if it features a hard drive with similarly upgradeable memory, and if the printer can use generic memory or needs the manufacturer’s brand. In the case of inkjets, memory is built-in and not upgradeable, but this is not an issue inasmuch as processing occurs on the side of the computer so there’s no need for large amounts of installed RAM to begin with on inkjets.
Connectivity: Most printers today no longer support the older parallel connection but feature instead USB 1.1 or Hi-Speed USB (USB 2.0) either of which should work fine with USB computers. For printers to be used on a network, it will need to have an Ethernet port to enable printer sharing. For more flexible printing options, you may want to look for printers with infrared input/output ports that allow wireless printing from notebooks or other devices with infrared ports. And if high-speed or long-distance printing is what you need, consider printers with a FireWire port.
Consumables and cost per page
The purchase price of the printer is just the beginning of its overall cost because over time, the hidden cost of ink or toner, paper, and parts will add up. These “hidden costs” are the consumables; dividing the total cost of consumables by the number of pages that can be produced from the consumables gives you the cost per page. Laser printers offer the lowest cost per page, using relatively inexpensive toner and normal-weight, uncoated paper. On the other hand, cost per page for inkjets can be four or five times as much, depending on how much ink you use and the cost of the paper normally more expensive, coated, glossy paper for higher-quality color output. The tank configuration for inkjets should also be taken into consideration. Inkjets with a single cartridge for the colored inks will incur higher replacement costs because the cartridge must be replaced as soon as one color runs out even if the cartridge still contains plenty of ink for the other colors. To save costs, get an inkjet with separate cartridges for black and each individual color.
Print Quality
All the specs and fancy features in your printer won’t mean a thing if you don’t have good, solid print quality whether of text or photos to back it up.
Text: Text should be smooth and crisp. At the smallest font sizes, the individual letters should be clearly readable, and they should not bleed into one another. Medium-size fonts should have no fuzzy edges, and the largest fonts especially bold ones should be filled with solid black, not a muddy brown or bluish tone. You should also be able to see well-formed and well-rounded counters (the openings) in letterforms; if you don’t, it’s usually a sign of the printer laying down too much ink. (Remember, however, that inkjet printers will display some wicking on plain, 20-lb. paper, as the ink bleeds along the paper fibers.)
Graphics: For color printing, look for gradients or areas where a color goes from dark to light. Color should transition smoothly, and you should not see any color banding, where distinct bands progress from dark to light. On a test page, you will likely see a gradient bar that goes from black to white through a series of progressively darker gray shades; the transition from shade to shade should be smooth without a noticeable line. Also, look for a nice balance of colors in color-graphic printing something that’s not overly saturated nor flat and washed out.
Photo: A good photo print should like the original photo. Colors should be accurate and balanced, vivid but not oversaturated. Good detail should be present in all areas, with no jagged lines or pixels or any other visual artifacts. Good contrast should exist between shadow and highlight areas not muddy or flat and without color. You may not always be able to tell the difference from one great print to another, but almost everyone can recognize a bad print when they see one. Trust what you see.
Nitzan Daphna asked:
OEM cartridge stands for original equipment manufacturer cartridge. An OEM cartridge is an original cartridge manufactured by the original brand manufacturer. An OEM cartridge comes in almost all the brands like HP, Dell, Canon, Lexmark, Epson, Brother, etc. The printing quality of these cartridges is the best as they are the original ones manufactured under their brand names.
A compatible cartridge, on the other hand, is the one which is not manufactured by the original manufacturer. These cartridges may be remanufactured ones or new cartridge. They work the same way as original OEM cartridge. Their quality of print is the same or even better than the original cartridge. The special feature of these cartridges is that they are priced at relatively lower prices and that the reason these cartridges have become popular among consumers. Buying compatible cartridges can be very much advantageous than buying a OEM cartridge.
OEM cartridges are priced normally. On the other hand, compatible cartridges are priced at almost one-third of half the price of the original OEM cartridge. Purchasing a compatible cartridge is much cheaper than purchasing an OEM cartridge. This makes you save money which you can spend on buying an additional compatible cartridge.
The cartridges that we buy should be well compatible with the printer you have. Almost all the printers are compatible to compatible printer cartridges. There are very few printers which are not compatible with these cartridges. If the cartridge is not compatible to the printers, then you may run into loss as the cartridge you purchased will not work with your printer and will go into waste. While, on the other hand, OEM cartridges are also compatible to all the printers.
As it is said, recycle and remanufacture in order to make the environment safe. Compatible cartridges are remanufactured cartridges which does not let the used cartridges go into waste and re-uses them thereby adding to the healthy environment. By purchasing compatible cartridges, we help reduce the amount of solid waste getting disposed off into landfills.
Compatible printer cartridges print an equal or even more number of pages than an OEM cartridge. This happens because most of the time, OEM cartridges are not filled to capacity. A compatible cartridge, therefore, offers the customer a two-fold advantage, both reducing the cost per page and per cartridge.
Compatible printer cartridges do not void the warranty of your printer. Most of the consumers are under the impression that using a compatible cartridge would void the warranty of the computer. Although this is not true….. Using a compatible printer cartridge never voids the warranty of your printer.
Many of the retailers or superstores offer various discounts and discount coupons on compatible cartridges. As these compatible cartridges are not manufactured by the original manufacturer, they are offered on a range of discounts by the retailers and other superstores. The original OEM cartridges do not necessarily be on sale for discounts. The original OEM cartridges are manufactured by the original brand names which are expensive. So , OEM cartridges may or may not be with discounts.
OEM cartridges are manufactured by their original manufacturers. So they would be available readily with their brand manufacturers while compatible cartridges are manufactured by other manufacturers, so they would be available with other retailers and superstores.
OEM cartridge stands for original equipment manufacturer cartridge. An OEM cartridge is an original cartridge manufactured by the original brand manufacturer. An OEM cartridge comes in almost all the brands like HP, Dell, Canon, Lexmark, Epson, Brother, etc. The printing quality of these cartridges is the best as they are the original ones manufactured under their brand names.
A compatible cartridge, on the other hand, is the one which is not manufactured by the original manufacturer. These cartridges may be remanufactured ones or new cartridge. They work the same way as original OEM cartridge. Their quality of print is the same or even better than the original cartridge. The special feature of these cartridges is that they are priced at relatively lower prices and that the reason these cartridges have become popular among consumers. Buying compatible cartridges can be very much advantageous than buying a OEM cartridge.
OEM cartridges are priced normally. On the other hand, compatible cartridges are priced at almost one-third of half the price of the original OEM cartridge. Purchasing a compatible cartridge is much cheaper than purchasing an OEM cartridge. This makes you save money which you can spend on buying an additional compatible cartridge.
The cartridges that we buy should be well compatible with the printer you have. Almost all the printers are compatible to compatible printer cartridges. There are very few printers which are not compatible with these cartridges. If the cartridge is not compatible to the printers, then you may run into loss as the cartridge you purchased will not work with your printer and will go into waste. While, on the other hand, OEM cartridges are also compatible to all the printers.
As it is said, recycle and remanufacture in order to make the environment safe. Compatible cartridges are remanufactured cartridges which does not let the used cartridges go into waste and re-uses them thereby adding to the healthy environment. By purchasing compatible cartridges, we help reduce the amount of solid waste getting disposed off into landfills.
Compatible printer cartridges print an equal or even more number of pages than an OEM cartridge. This happens because most of the time, OEM cartridges are not filled to capacity. A compatible cartridge, therefore, offers the customer a two-fold advantage, both reducing the cost per page and per cartridge.
Compatible printer cartridges do not void the warranty of your printer. Most of the consumers are under the impression that using a compatible cartridge would void the warranty of the computer. Although this is not true….. Using a compatible printer cartridge never voids the warranty of your printer.
Many of the retailers or superstores offer various discounts and discount coupons on compatible cartridges. As these compatible cartridges are not manufactured by the original manufacturer, they are offered on a range of discounts by the retailers and other superstores. The original OEM cartridges do not necessarily be on sale for discounts. The original OEM cartridges are manufactured by the original brand names which are expensive. So , OEM cartridges may or may not be with discounts.
OEM cartridges are manufactured by their original manufacturers. So they would be available readily with their brand manufacturers while compatible cartridges are manufactured by other manufacturers, so they would be available with other retailers and superstores.
Christophe Catesson asked:
How to maximize the life of your printer
With financial reports, project submissions, school assignments and lecture notes hanging precariously over our heads, the last thing we need during these busy times is a printer failure. Most of the work today is done or transported through electronic media, only to be printed before their actual utilization. Hence, whenever the printer starts its work, you can safely say that it’s doing something important. While getting a good printer always has its dividends, printer maintenance is just as important. Proper printer maintenance can make your printer last for years, providing valuable service and not breaking down when you need it the most.
Printer maintenance is an often overlooked area. People tend to believe that printers will suffer from wear and tear and components will need replacement eventually. While this is true, it must also be noted that proper printer maintenance can substantially improve the life of most printer components, significantly reducing the cost of ownership.
Printers come in various forms and sizes. Naturally, printer maintenance varies according to the type of printer that you may have. While some, like the hardy dot matrix printers, require less printer maintenance, other types of printers are preferably handled with a bit of care to ensure a long operating life.
Printer maintenance for the hardy dot matrix printers is pretty simple. The guide plates which guide the printing pins in these printers can wear out due to the accumulation of ink and grit within the plate. Timely replacement of cartridges allows less dirt and grit to form on the ribbon and permeate into the guide plate, thus increasing its life. In case of inkjet printers, printer maintenance mainly involves the printing heads. The heads contain numerous miniscule pores through which the ink is sprayed on to the paper. With time, dry ink may accumulate on top of these pores and close them. Inkjet printer maintenance should be performed by taking out the cartridges and wiping the print head with a moist cloth. Once the head is dry, the cartridges can be placed back. Inferior quality ink resulting from cartridge refills may cause hazards like leakage into the various components of the printer. Hence proper printer maintenance also involves the timely replacement of cartridges and avoidance of faulty refills.
Laser printers are very common today and have quite a few components that need care. Printer maintenance firstly involves cleaning the rollers periodically. They have a soft rubber coating on them which can be cleaned by using a damp cotton cloth. Vacuuming the insides may also be necessary to remove resident toner particles within the printer. Special HEPA filter based vacuum cleaners may be required for proper laser printer maintenance. Furthermore, after about 100000 prints, the fuser which melts the toner on to the paper may need replacement. Timely replacement and printer maintenance keeps it running and your prints clean and smooth.
In order to avoid the consequences of an unforeseen breakdown of your printer, a printer maintenance kit might be kept handy. Available from manufacturers like HP and Canon, these kits contain parts that have the tendency to wear out over time, especially in case of laser printer maintenance. Collectively, they also cost less and save you the headache of waiting for the technician if your printer suddenly decides to die on you.
Proper printer maintenance, coupled to a handy maintenance kit when you need it ensures less stress when you have important work to do. Not only is a well maintained printer very reliable but also produces high quality prints for a long, long time.
How to maximize the life of your printer
With financial reports, project submissions, school assignments and lecture notes hanging precariously over our heads, the last thing we need during these busy times is a printer failure. Most of the work today is done or transported through electronic media, only to be printed before their actual utilization. Hence, whenever the printer starts its work, you can safely say that it’s doing something important. While getting a good printer always has its dividends, printer maintenance is just as important. Proper printer maintenance can make your printer last for years, providing valuable service and not breaking down when you need it the most.
Printer maintenance is an often overlooked area. People tend to believe that printers will suffer from wear and tear and components will need replacement eventually. While this is true, it must also be noted that proper printer maintenance can substantially improve the life of most printer components, significantly reducing the cost of ownership.
Printers come in various forms and sizes. Naturally, printer maintenance varies according to the type of printer that you may have. While some, like the hardy dot matrix printers, require less printer maintenance, other types of printers are preferably handled with a bit of care to ensure a long operating life.
Printer maintenance for the hardy dot matrix printers is pretty simple. The guide plates which guide the printing pins in these printers can wear out due to the accumulation of ink and grit within the plate. Timely replacement of cartridges allows less dirt and grit to form on the ribbon and permeate into the guide plate, thus increasing its life. In case of inkjet printers, printer maintenance mainly involves the printing heads. The heads contain numerous miniscule pores through which the ink is sprayed on to the paper. With time, dry ink may accumulate on top of these pores and close them. Inkjet printer maintenance should be performed by taking out the cartridges and wiping the print head with a moist cloth. Once the head is dry, the cartridges can be placed back. Inferior quality ink resulting from cartridge refills may cause hazards like leakage into the various components of the printer. Hence proper printer maintenance also involves the timely replacement of cartridges and avoidance of faulty refills.
Laser printers are very common today and have quite a few components that need care. Printer maintenance firstly involves cleaning the rollers periodically. They have a soft rubber coating on them which can be cleaned by using a damp cotton cloth. Vacuuming the insides may also be necessary to remove resident toner particles within the printer. Special HEPA filter based vacuum cleaners may be required for proper laser printer maintenance. Furthermore, after about 100000 prints, the fuser which melts the toner on to the paper may need replacement. Timely replacement and printer maintenance keeps it running and your prints clean and smooth.
In order to avoid the consequences of an unforeseen breakdown of your printer, a printer maintenance kit might be kept handy. Available from manufacturers like HP and Canon, these kits contain parts that have the tendency to wear out over time, especially in case of laser printer maintenance. Collectively, they also cost less and save you the headache of waiting for the technician if your printer suddenly decides to die on you.
Proper printer maintenance, coupled to a handy maintenance kit when you need it ensures less stress when you have important work to do. Not only is a well maintained printer very reliable but also produces high quality prints for a long, long time.