Industry News

Dell Printers Offer Challenges for Consumers - July 2003

InkSell.com News

        Which Printer is Right for You?- March 2004

Dell Introduces New Printers
Dell recently released four new printers, bringing its line to seven models. 
InkSell.com currently carries products for the A940 and A920 inkjet printers and will offer others as they become available. (See excerpt below for article on Dell’s entry into the printer market and what it means to the consumer). 


Dell Printers Offer Challenges for Consumers
Dell, an industry leader in computer sales, has partnered with Lexmark to produce a line of Dell-branded computer printers.1  Dell’s line of printers, which includes inkjet printers, laser printers, and all-in-one models, offer challenges for consumers.

Dell’s proprietary system monitors ink and toner levels sending alerts to the user when supplies need to be ordered. With one click, the user is connected to Dell’s web site where they can order replacements. There is also an icon preloaded on Dell computer desktops that will connect the customer to Dell’s online store to order supplies. 

Dell promotes these features as convenient for the consumer. But are they really convenient? Currently, you can only purchase genuine supplies directly from Dell. Dell does not allow even major retail office supply stores to carry their products. So if you run out of ink in the middle of a project, you can’t go out and buy more. You will be forced to place your order through Dell and wait for it to be delivered. 

And what about the cost of supplies? The advertised price of the Dell A940 all-in-one inkjet printer is $116. One set of replacement cartridges from Dell will cost you $64.90—that’s 56% of the cost of the printer. 

IBM-sponsored research has discovered that over a five-year period, the cost of supplies can cost eight times as much as the purchase price of the printer.

So what are some of your supply options? 1) You can purchase from Dell, 2) You can buy inkjet refill kits and refill the cartridges yourself. At the moment there are only kits available for the A940 and A920, or 3) you can wait for third-party distributors to bring remanufactured cartridges to the market. 

Since Dell’s printers are manufactured by Lexmark whose cartridge technology is protected by patents, third-party ink manufacturers cannot legally produce compatible cartridges for these printers. Remanufactured cartridges are another choice. 

A remanufactured cartridge is an empty genuine brand cartridge that has been cleaned, reconditioned, and refilled with ink. In order to produce remanufactured cartridges you must be able to obtain empty genuine cartridges. Dell’s printers are new and Dell is aggressively seeking to collect back the empties with postage-paid envelopes, so supplies of remanufactured inkjet cartridges may be limited.

The bottom line…we encourage people to think about their printing needs and research their supply options before purchasing any printer. With a little homework, you can find a printer that is perfectly matched to your needs and is as cost effective to run, as it is to purchase.

1 http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,3959,977405,00.asp 

Coming in August…the Imaging Supplies Coalition reports that one out of 20 brand-name ink cartridges sold in the United States is counterfeit. Read about this growing problem and learn what you can do to protect yourself.

WHICH PRINTER IS RIGHT FOR YOU?
If you’re in the market for a new printer, you may feel overwhelmed. New printers are released every month with a long list of features and deciding which one is best for you can be daunting.

Choosing the right printer can be like selecting the right car—it needs to match the needs of the owner. So we’ve developed some questions to help guide you through the selection process.

1) How will you use your printer? Do you print mostly text, minimal color, color photos, etc.
2) How many pages do you print in a month?
3) Do you have specialized needs for work or your interests?  Do you need your prints to last a long time? Will they be exposed to light or water?
4) Will you be sharing your printer with others?
5) What is your budget for replacement ink?


There are several basic categories of printer: monochrome (black and white only) laser printers, color laser printers, color inkjet printers, multifunction printers, and specialty printers. Each has benefits and limitations that make it suitable for various types of work.

MONOCHROME LASER PRINTERS
In general laser printers are better for those who print in large quantities with heavy text—the speed is faster and cost-per-print lower. The initial cost of the printer itself can be higher although some personal laser copiers like the LaserJet 1012 can now be found for about $200. However, be aware that when brand new printers enter the market, it usually takes six month to a year before compatible and remanufactured supplies are available.  Color laser supplies require even longer for research and development.  If you want affordable supplies right away, we recommend that you buy a discontinued model.  Many local retail stores still have these printers in their inventory but because the models have been on the market for awhile, you can easily find compatible or reconditioned toner for them.

COLOR LASER PRINTERS
The cost of color laser printers has historically put them out of reach of most home users but newer models are entering the market priced around $1,000. These printers are more suited for heavy volume and yield a much lower cost-per-page than inkjets. They often have larger internal memory and are suitable for network printing.  Our pick the HP LaserJet 2300 series.  Compatible products are not yet available for these printers but they will be coming soon.

INKJET PRINTERS
Home users often select inkjets because they are good multipurpose printers with a low purchase prices ($50-150). Unfortunately, depending upon the printer you choose, you could face significant costs for replacement ink and paper making the per-print price much higher.

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We recommend checking InkSell.com for prices and availability of replacement ink before buying any printer—this is one instance where doing your homework will definitely pay!
 

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A good point to remember is that HP, Lexmark, and Dell brand printers have no new compatible cartridges available which limits your replacement ink choices to new OEM cartridges, remanufactured cartridges, or refill kits. These manufacturers have patent protection on their cartridges which prohibit third-party manufacturers from producing compatible products.  You will achieve the highest amount of savings by refilling your own printer.  However, if you prefer the convenience of buying ready-to-go cartridges, we recommend using Epson's line of printers because new compatible products are readily available for them.

A growing class of inkjet printer is the PHOTO PRINTER. With the popularity of digital photography, more people are printing pictures at home. There are features available on some models that set photo printers apart from regular inkjets. Those include using a six-color cartridge (a photo cyan and photo magenta are added to offer a broader gamut of colors and better flesh tones), having a built-in slot for camera memory cards, and allowing you to preview and print pictures directly from the printer without going into the computer. Some printers like Epson models feature ink that uses pigment color rather than the traditional dye-based color. Pigment ink is more resistant to fading but sometimes lacks the vibrant colors of dye inks. Because color is so subjective, we highly recommend trying out any photo printer before making your final selection. That way you can see and judge the color reproduction for yourself. There are some trade-offs to photo printers. They can be slower and the black ink is not always a true black and thus may not be good for heavy text printing. Popular models: HP Photo Smart 7150, 7350, Epson Stylus Photo 1280, 785epx, and 2200; Lexmark Print Trio x75.

An even newer specialty printer is currently emerging—the portable printer. People who work in the field (such as insurance adjusters or real estate agents) can now take their printer with them and print from their vehicles. Enabled with wireless capabilities these printers can be used from PDA and portable computers, or even home wireless networks. Portable printers offer convenience, but come with a rather hefty price, starting around $300. Popular model: Canon i80

MULTIFUNCTION PRINTERS
When space and money is a consideration, multifunction printers (MFPs) are ideal because they combine the capabilities of a scanner, copier, printer, and in some models, even a fax machine, all into one compact unit. Available in both laser and inkjet styles, multifunction printers are the fastest growing segment of printer on the market. Nice features to look for include a flatbed scanner and an auto document feeder. MFPs start around $100. Popular models: HP PSC750, PSC950, PSC1210, PSC2110. Lexmark All-in-One X63, X73, X83, and X5150. Brother MFC 3100C, MFC 3200C, and MFC 5100C.

SPECIALTY PRINTERS
The printers mentioned thus far constitute the majority of printers on the market but there are others that use quite different printing technologies.

SOLID INK
Tektronix makes a line of Phaser printers that use solid ink instead of toner or liquid ink. During printing, the wax-based ink is melted and adhered onto the page to create the image. Phaser printers are faster than inkjets and most color lasers and provide beautiful vivid color. They are popular amongst graphic houses and in-house marketing departments, but they are also ideal for groups that need output that is both beautiful and durable—the solid ink is more water resistant than inkjet ink and great for pages that may be exposed to different weather conditions (such as realtor sales sheets). Popular models: Phaser 8200, Phaser 6200.

DYE SUBLIMATION
Dye-sublimation allows you to print photo lab-quality prints at home but is currently only available for prints up to 4 by 6 inches. Dye sublimation passes heat over transparent film embedded with color dyes. When heated the dyes vaporize and permeate the glossy surface of the paper and then return to solid form. Dye sublimation produces a gradation on the edge of each pixel instead of the sharp contrast created by inkjets. Thus images are seen as a more realistic continuous tone rather than a series of dots. The prints are also covered with a clear protective coating making them more resistant to fading. Dye-sublimation photo printers cost around $200 and the specialized film can be costly as well.

With a little research and effort, you’ll not only find a printer with the perfect combination of features, you’ll also dramatically decrease your printing costs.