If It Prints, I'll Let You Know

According to the New York Times, Lexmark’s profits have fallen quite drastically in the third quarter of the year.

Because of this, Lexmark will be reacting with a major job shift, moving many jobs to Mexico and about 200 others out of Lexington, KY–the company’s home base.

Earnings are expected to be lower in the fourth quarter as well.

It’s funny how business works. It’s hard to predict when a company will succeed and when the will nosedive. Sometimes it has to do with the current economic market–how much people are willing to spend–but other times it’s all about the competition.

What do you think? Has Lexmark been outdone this year? What printer manufacturers do you see as rising to the top? Be sure to keep usability, price and the cost of printer ink cartridges in mind.

Over at Slate Magazine, Scott Elder posted an interested review of the best photo printers of the year. He tested six in all and ranked them according to a point system based on various aspects such as ease of use and quality.

What was the best printer?

The Epson PictureMate Dash PM 260.

It costs a hundred bucks and you get all the extra features of the more expensive models such as an LCD screen, cropping functions and superior quality.

Out of a possible 40 points, this Epson photo printer scored an impressive 37.

According to the Daily Orange, students at Syracuse University are getting to recycle in a way they’ve never recycled before. Each dorm has a special box that students can drop in their old and empty printer ink cartridges.

The program is called Cartridges for a Cure and money raised by it will go toward environmental issues and cancer research.

It’s a true double whammy! You get to help the environment andhelp fund cancer research just by walking over to the box and dropping in your empty ink cartridge.

Hopefully students on campus will make this small effort and the program will be a success.

…are just stupid. It’s not politically correct to say, but it’s the truth. So, you can imagine why I was simultaneously amused and irritated by the following headline:

“Man Steals Printer, Calls Tech Support, Lands in Jail”

Apparently some man in Missouri stole a printer used for making driver’s licenses. But once he got the device home, he called up tech support asking for the software to make it work!

Did he not realize that they don’t just sell driver’s license printers any old place? Dumb dumb dumb! A printer used to print official document isn’t something you can just pick up ink cartridges for at the local office store.

Anyway, have you all seen the fires on the news? Crazy business. It’s about 90 degrees. In October. Oh, and the sky is orange.

If you have a need to print out a lot of address labels or other sticky items on a regular basis, why not try the Seiko Smart Label Printer 450?

This can come in really handy if you do a lot of shipping or just plain old have a need for labels. While it isn’t a necessity for your office, it can certainly be a help–you won’t have to constantly fiddle with your main printer’s settings, for instance. While both Mac and PC compatible, this printer uses thermal technology–meaning no printer ink cartridges. Likewise, it only prints in black and white, so no fancy color ink labels can be made here.

However, if you just need the basics, but in a large quantity, this label printer might be just the thing for you. This label printer retails at $130.