New Lower Pricing and Black Friday 2011

We at O-ink are happy to announce some new lowering pricing on our cartridge.  While we are in the middle of lowering them right now, you will be able to see some savings right away.

With Black Friday coming up, we are doing a website only Black Friday special at www.oinkinkstore.com.  The coupon code is blackfriday2011.  This will get you 25% off your total and the coupon doesn’t expire until December 2, 2011.

One last Price Increase for the Year

2008 might as well be called the “Year of Price Increases.”  Nearly all the major printer manuafacture’s raised the prices of their consumables (I believe Epson is the only company who hasn’t.).  In face, one of my most popular articles in this blog deals with the HP price increase.

Well, it all leads back to HP again.  I just received information that on Jan. 1st, 2009, HP will be increase the prices of their supplies (Printer cartridges and such) by an average of 5% due to “economic conditions”.  Who cares that they do remain profitable for the entire year and still make lots of money and the rest of us are struggling .

So Happy New Years, you now have to pay more for that printer cartridge, unless you go to our site oinkinkstore.com or our sister site samedayinkjet.com

Wireless Network Setup for HP OfficeJet Pro L7780

I have set up countless printers, however, I have never set up one wirelessly.  We just received it on Thursday the  20th, and on Saturday, that was my job.  Putting it together and installing the drivers on the local computer was a snap.  Then I thought, ‘hey it has wireless, I have a wireless network and Macbook.

Step one – Remembering my WPA key.  Finally got it thanks to my Macbook.

Once that was done I thought I was set, followed the simple instructions on the screen and then, NOTHING.  What happened, it froze.  Hmm, time for HP’s website.  Problem was easy enough to solve, just need to make the IP address from automatic to manual.  The problem is you can only do that through the printer, and of course it is still froze.  Unplug and restart a few times and I finally got it, only to no avail.

So I had to break down, and call HP Tech support.  I must say that was the easiest call I have made, the guy on the other end was friendly and easy to talk to.  After 3 minutes, I found out I needed to update the firmware.  He stayed on the phone with me the entire time til I printed out the test page.  Thanks.

So to review if you have the HP OfficeJet Pro L7780 and try to do the wireless networking and the printer freezes on you, do the following:

1. Restart it and turn off the wireless radio (it might take a few times)
2. Download the firmware update for the printer and then flash it.
3. Restart the printer when everything is said and done, and create your wireless network.

UPDATE – At the time I did not have the link for the downloads.  Here is the page for the Windows XP Drivers and software for the L7780.

Hp Discountinuing some products

Effective 11/1/09, HP will stop production on the following cartridges:

C3909X

92298X

C4127D

C9720D

The last two are dual packs, which means the single packs will still be available.  O-ink will still be able to sell remanufactured and compatible versions of all four of those cartridges, so don’t fret, we will have them.

New HP Printers

HP just announced two new color laserjet printers.

The new offerings include two HP Color LaserJet series: the HP Color LaserJet CP2025 Printer and the HPColorprinter) LaserJet CM2320 MFP (multi-function).  Both of these machines are energy star rated.  Look for more information on HP’s Website.

Once again the problem becomes the printer cartridges.  The black is rated for 3500 pages and the two pack cost almost $160, which means a cost per page of around 2.3 cents per page.  Sinces the color usually cost about $10 more, you can bet that the color runs 9.6 cents for all three.  Granted this is better than the CB540 series.  I would like to see HP drop the total cost per page for under 9 cents per page.  However, I know that this is how they make their money.

Empty Cartridges = Cash

Every wonder what to do with those empty HP, Canon, Lexmark, and Dell cartridges?  Wonder if there is a way to turn them into cash?

At O-ink, we use to have a program that you could mail in your empty cartridges for cash.  However, our affiliate decided to close their doors.  Now we have started our own collection process.

The process is simple, you collect empty cartridges and then mail them into us when you feel the need.  No rush of course.  There is a small form for you to fill out, to show you how much each cartridge is possibly worth assuming it passes our inspections.  At the end of the month, we issue you a check.

The question is, how much can you earn?  Some cartridges are only worth 25 cents, while others are worth $3.

Here is the link for the program.

We recommend that you send in at least 5 or more cartridges per mailing and recommending using the USPS for the cheapest rates.

HP Price increase effective September 1st, 2008

As I stated a few months back, prices for consumers will be going up by the end of the year.  First was Kodak and now, HP.

Price Increase Announcement – HP LaserJet Print Cartridges

August 1, 2008

As of September 1, 2008, HP is increasing the list prices on all Mono and Color LaserJet Print Cartridges.

As part of HP’s normal portfolio management, the company regularly reviews pricing. In response to rising production and supply chain costs, HP is now adjusting the price of HP LaserJet toner cartridges by five (5%) percent. This price increase will affect a total of 156 products.

NOTE: The following cartridges had their prices recently increased and will be excluded from the September 1^st 5% price increase: 92274A, C3903A, C4092A, C3909A, C3909X, C3906A, C3906AG, 92298A and 92298X.

HP LaserJet print cartridges will continue to provide superior value, reliability and high-quality output. From pioneering the desktop printing industry to its new smart print supplies system, HP is committed to developing products and services that meet its customers’ needs.

And

Price Increase Announcement – HP Inkjet Cartridges and Print Heads

August 1, 2008

As of September 1, 2008, HP is increasing by approximately 5-6% the list prices on Inkjet Cartridges and Print Heads.

As part of HP’s normal portfolio management, the company regularly reviews pricing. In response to rising production and supply chain costs, HP is now adjusting the price of HP Inkjet cartridges and print heads.

HP Inkjet cartridges and print heads will continue to provide superior value, reliability and high-quality output. From pioneering the desktop printing industry to its new smart print supplies system, HP is committed to developing products and services that meet its customers’ needs.

So if you need or use actual HP cartridges, best stock up a little bit prior to September 1st.  However, be aware that some places might increase prices prior to the deadline.

While we at O-ink try our best to keep prices low for our customers, with HP increasing all of their prices, we will unfortunately be increasing our prices as well on September 1st.

The above quotes were forwarded from HP through our supplier and of course all of HP’s copyright stuff “© Copyright Hewlett-Packard Company 2001 All Rights Reserved.” for the quotes I used.

Just so I do not get sued.

Please keep in mind that O-ink’s prices for the remanufactured cartridges will not be going up, in fact in the last month, some of them have went down.  Here is the link for HP Inkjet cartridges.

College Life and printers

In about one month from this post, the colleges across the United States will be filling up with students looking to expand their knowledge while hoping to do it without a lot of debt ( I am still paying mine off). New students are spending money right now to have all of their supplies and needs met.

1. New sheets
2. New cloths
3. pens, paper, etc
4. shoes
5. technology (tv, computer, etc)
6. and more

While some things are needed, not all of them are. Take printers for example. Most college students do not need them. Most of the ones that they do get come with the new computer they just purchased (Thanks Dell and HP). But the question remains, what is the best printer for college students? I am going to narrow the list down a little bit.

First thing first, what not to buy.

Stay away from Lexmark and Dell printers. While they may seem cheap to buy or in Dell’s case you get them for free with a computer purchase, the cost of the printer cartridges is extremely high. Plus, it can be hard to find the printer cartridges for certain Lexmark printers (see our post about Circuit City), and Dell cartridges are limited to Dell and Staples (although Staples only sells the low yield cartridges). Their quality is subpar as well.

Epson isn’t bad, but I still recommend staying away from them. They make great photo printers, like the R800, R1800, R1900, R2400, however, their lower end printers (under $200) have a high cost of ownership, meaning low ink volumes for high dollars.

All of the printers we recommend are based off from economic value of the printer cartridges and overall quality.

All-In-One’s

Price Ranges $100-$300

Offering’s from Canon – College students do not need a fax, so I am staying away from those. The Canon Pixma MP520, MP610, MP600 or for those wanting great photo quality MP970. You can find them from about $150 to $300 depending on the model you want. They all have individual cartridges (ranging from 4 to 7) along with duplex printing. Cartridges can be found on our site for $10 for the black and $9.25 for the colors.

Offerings from HP – Photosmart C4385, C5280, C6280. All of them offer good quality print outs and low cost of ownership as long as you stick with the XL cartridges.

Printers

Canon – Canon Pixma iP3500 or iP4500 $80 and $130 for each. The iP4500 gives you duplex printing and a dye based black for photo printing.

HP – This one is wide open so instead of printers, I will just list some rules of thumb.

1. Keep the printer more than $80
2. Stay away from printers that use the 21 or 92 black and the 22 and 93 color cartridges. They are the most costly cartridges that HP makes.
3. Check to see if your printer will take an XL cartridge, if they do, buy the XL instead of the standard as it is more economical.
4. If you get a printer that uses the HP 02 cartridges, do not buy the photo pack of cartridges. They are only half full versions of those cartridges so they cost more to run than the standard cartridges. Side note – The HP 02 cartridges that O-ink has are filled to double the capacity of the standard HP 02’s.

Well if you are off to college, good luck, study hard. I hope this helps you in finding a printer that will work for you.

While I did not cover laser printers, if you are looking for a low end laser printer, look at Brother’s HL-2140. It is more economical to keep than any of HP’s low end printers.

Once you get your printer, make sure to keep it loaded with cartridges.  Check out our site to get the lowest prices as well as great quality

HP Recalls Fax 1010 and 1010xi

Due to a possible fire risk, HP has recalled the Fax 1010 and 1010xi machines that were manufactured in China and sold from November 2002 to December 2004, at a price of $130 to $150.

If you have one of these machines, here is the link for what to do and how to contact HP.

We encourage any of our readers or customers with these printers to turn them in.

Estimated Ink Levels

Just had a customer today return two bad color cartridges that we sold her.  The first one we got from our supplier and it was electronicly dead.  The second one was a cartridge we had just refilled in house.  She had brought the cartridge in from her printer cause it had just been emptied, 13.99 plus tax she had the same cartridge with ink in it ready to go.

Her complaint was that the one we refilled said it was empty.  I assured her it would and reminder her that according to HP, the Ink Levels are estimates only as they can not tell you the actual amount in there due to the kind of cartridge HP designed.  She still wanted her money back, even after I put it on the scale for her (showing that it was 3 grams above full).

So how do you tell how much ink is in your cartridge?  Well, if you own a Brother or Canon printer that takes the single tank cartridges, you are fine.  Canon and Brother employ an optical sensor to view the levels.  HP, Lexmark, and Dell use estimators.  These estimators go off from page count, paper used,  and quality level.  So how off can they be?  It all depends on the printer, some printers, they are right on, maybe have a error ratio of less than 5%.  Others, especially HP printers that use the 57 color and 58 photo, can be off from 70% to 100%.  While it is rare, we do get people turning in ’empty’ HP cartridges that by weight, are completely full.  Going back to the question posted above, how do you tell?  There are two main ways.

1.  Time – You have an idea on how long a cartridge should last you, couple months or a year, each person is different.  Any cartridge you put into your printer should last as long, assuming your printing habits do not change.

2.  Quality – If what you print starts to look bad, there are only two possible reasons, dirty or empty.  Most of the time it means they are empty.

What about the cartridge that O-ink sells, how do I know they are full?  Every cartridge that O-ink fills in house is weighed two times before we seal it.  Our Factory filled cartridges are weighed 3 times before they leave.  We have the full weights and empty weights for every cartridge that we have the ability to fill, so we can tell you how full your cartridge is.