If It Prints, I'll Let You Know

Since early this week, we have been reading about an excited frenzy over big, big discounts from the one company that rarely gives them out – Apple. Something inside just clicked and said — well, this thing looks too good to be true; and experience tells us that when something is that good, then it most probably is just a figment of someone’s imagination, or wishful thinking gone wild.

So, what kind of discounts were we supposed to look forward to from Apple? The discounts will reportedly be available on “Select Apple Stores” – no mention of the online store – starting at 6 in the morning on November 27th only. Consumers can look forward to “up to” 30% off on ALL iPods, 25% off on ALL Macs and 15% of on ALL accessories, Apple software and Apple hardware.

We would have been okay with the “up to,” which means there will probably be a great deal or two on models that people do not really go for all that often, and then 4 to 5 percent off – or even less – on the more popular stuff. But to say that discounts will be given across the board? It will always be on selected models – it always has been; we just don’t think that any company can afford to offer discounts across the board.

And we cannot help but wonder whether Apple stores are prepared to handle an even bigger-than-expected influx of consumers come November 27 if these rumors are, indeed, true; this is considering they run out of regularly-priced items.

We have not seen a feature that absolutely discredits the rumors, nor has any official statement from Apple stores been released as of this writing. If anyone has information about that, we would certainly appreciate a shout-out or a link. For the moment, though, we will personally dismiss these rumors as something not worth watching out for; what about you?

We have all heard the various ways to save money on printer ink and we’ve implemented them into our home and business printing practices. But what if that just isn’t enough? There is another interesting idea for users who want to save every little bit they can from their high-tech budget: Saving money by choosing an economical printer font; a font that uses less ink than others.

Saving money by changing your font isn’t just a theory. Research has shown that all users — individual printer users and small business environments — stand to save up to $80 a year per printer based on nothing more than changing the default font they use when they print documents. Which font is the most economical of them all? The aptly named Ecofont is designed to minimize ink and toner use, but there is actually one font that is even more toner friendly – Century Gothic. It covers the average sheet of paper with ink to a level of only 3.45% total ink coverage. By comparison, Arial, the most commonly used default font, averages 4.97% coverage. A burlier font like Franklin Gothic Medium hits over 5.5% coverage.

Even though these numbers may look miniscule they do still matter. The costs add up when you realize you may be using 60% more toner on every page you print than is really necessary. This isn’t even considering the reduction in the amount of paper used each month, thus saving more on that printing cost as well. And as always, one of the best ways to save on printing costs is to not print as much, of course. Deciding what is absolutely vital and eliminating superfluous printing can save on out of hand printing costs too.

When shopping online for printer cartridges, most likely we look for the cheapest price and of not at what the website actually has to say in the fine print. Only after being burned with a bad cartridge and no satisfaction guarantee do most of us start reading the small print.

Price is important, after all that is likely to be why we are shopping online in the first place. For instance, if I were to purchase cartridges for my Canon Pixma MP 500 in a mall store I would pay nearly 150% of what I pay online. I can order OEM CLI-8 color cartridges online for only $13.95 each. If I shopped in town I would pay anywhere from $18-22 for the exact same cartridge even in a large box store. So yes, price is an important factor in selecting an online discount inkjet cartridge webstore.

However, when you shop discount printer cartridge websites don’t just price shop. Look for a website that offers a 100% satisfaction guarantee so you are assured of not losing your money in case of malfunction. Make sure that the website is secure so that your private information is not at risk.

Better Business Bureau membership is a great asset for a website; with BBB you can ask for a history of complaints about the site and rest assured that the website is concerned about providing good service and quality products.

Another important feature is live chat. Live chat enables the customer to ask questions and get immediate answers instead of a long wait.

A 100% satisfaction guarantee, live chat, testimonials, cartridge information, cheapest price and excellence in service are what you expect from a good discount printer cartridge website.

Canon’s innovative Think Tank System makes it easier for consumers to print more wisely. The Think Tank System is standard in many of Canon’s all-in-one and photo printers. Essentially this system provides for a cartridge for every color as opposed to the designs that make use of only one cartridge containing all colors.
The important advantage of the Think Tank System is that is enables the consumer to only replace the color that is empty, not a whole cartridge that may have unused ink of other colors remaining. Since the consumer only replaces cartridges that really are empty, the Think Tank System is budget friendly as well as being more environmentally friendly than the one tank cartridges that create waste. Canons printer cartridges are easy to replace, simply pop out the empty tank and snap in the new one.
If you are in the market for a new printer, consider a Canon printer to assure you receive the most up-to-date, efficient technology available today. Canon has been making printers with individual color tanks since introducing the technology ten years ago. Canon printer cartridges are filled with very high quality ink for the most vivid graphics and photos; Canon cartridges are consistently superlative. When used in combination with Canon photo paper, the results from Canon Think Tank System cartridges are simply spectacular.
Think Tank System cartridges are equipped with optical ink sensors that monitor ink levels and communicate to your computer when an ink is running low; your computer then generates a message warning of impending empty cartridge status. This warning is very convenient so you can avoid running out of ink in the middle of an important print job.
Canon’s individual color Think Tank System has redefined efficiency in ink cartridge use.

Kodak is a known manufacturer of cameras. From their contributions in the said industry, they have started making their own printer products. Though their printers are relatively new, some have already established a good name in the market.

One Kodak printer to take note of is the Kodak ESP 7. This all-in-one printer is ideal for home and office use. It does not have a fax machine capability but the printer is ideal for individuals who do not want much buttons to manipulate just to make the system work. But, there are some questions regarding its two-tank ink cartridge system. The noise is somewhat disturbing when the printing process is going on.

Next to the Kodak ESP 7 is the Kodak ESP 9. This is also an all-in-one printer that has the same capabilities as the ESP 7 version. The difference between the two is seen in the fact that the ESP 9 has fax capabilities and has a better printing color quality than its predecessor. Of course, expect that the ESP 9 is more expensive by around $100 than the ESP 7.

For full version of this article, please visit “Top Rated New Kodak Printers Released in 2009“.