If It Prints, I'll Let You Know

If you were the owner of a company that manufactured printer cartridges wouldn’t you be thinking up new ways to entice people to use their printers more often? That’s exactly what HP has done; they have very recently introduced their new HP App Studio which includes some incredibly handy software to encourage people to turn on the home printer and print more frequently.

HP App Studio is designed at this point, to work only with HP’s Photosmart Premium with TouchSmart Web, a very neat all in one available beginning this week. Even though it is limited in use to only the Photosmart Premium with TouchSmart Web, HP App Studio does give us a glimpse into the future and what we can expect from our home printers.

This fantastic printer connects not only to your computer but connects to the web with Wi-Fi. At the time HP announced this printer (June 2009) there were many app partners signed on already including Google, USA Today, Coupons.com, Dream Works Animation, Fandango, Nickleodeon, WeatherNews and Web Sudoku. In partnership with HP these companies created apps that allow you to quickly and proficiently print coupons, movie tickets, maps, web pages, photo albums and much, much more.

On Sept. 8, 2009, App Studio opened officially. The latest partners were declared; Disney-Family.com and Disney.com make craft projects and coloring pages readily available, Flickr enables easy photo-sharing and printing; CBS News enables printing text versions of their acclaimed show 60 Minutes and CNET.com provides technology product reviews for print.

Each partner works in conjunction with HP to create the free apps. By early 2010 HP intends to make available a SDK (Software Development Kit) that will enable apps to be created by a wider array of companies who wish to participate.

No printer system will be complete either without laser toner cartridges, ink cartridges, or printer ribbons. They are integral components of a range of printers. The basic idea behind all three products remains the same; however there are a few changes here and there that are evident.

When it comes to similarities, most printers need two cartridges to be installed, namely the color and the black cartridge. Coloring parameters of both ink and laser toner cartridges are the same. All three including printer ribbons can be refilled; however there is a marked dissimilarity in the way they are refilled.

The differences are all about their technicalities, which includes the process of printing, quality and speed of printing. Printer ribbons offer the slowest speed while laser toner cartridges offer the fastest speed. Also, when it comes to quality of the prints, a laser toner cartridge arguably offers the best prints.

For full version of this article, please visit “Printer Ribbons, Ink Cartridges and Laser Toner Cartridges – Similarities and Differences “.

I lost my job to the recession and returned to school for re-education. Very quickly I realized my old laptop was not going to hack it; I needed to replace it with one compatible with a portable printer. I researched online to find out the features of the various laptops and portable printers available and then I placed an order for a new 17” MacBook and a portable printer to go with it. For the printer I selected the HP OfficeJet 470.

My new MacBook offer many great features. I opted for the 17” even though it is a little spendy; my eyes aren’t what they used to be so I need the larger screen the 17” affords. It came fully loaded with Intel Core 2 Duo, choice of 250-500 GB hard drive, 4 GB memory, built in 7-8 hour battery, SD or ExpressCard/34 slot, GeForce 9400M + 9600M GT with 512MB and Snow Leopard. I have to tell you, this is one great laptop.

The portable printer I selected to go with my MacBook is the HP OfficeJet H470. This wonderful printer comes with a cigarette lighter adapter, a battery and an AC cord to give me plenty of flexibility. It offers high resolution 4800 dpi color prints and 1200×1200 b&w. I don’t have long to wait for my prints as the H470 has printing speeds of 18 ppm for color and 22 ppm for black. I can load up to 50 sheets of paper in the paper tray so I don’t have to reload often. H470 may be ready for Bluetooth and Wi-fi adapters, but this starving student will have to wait.

This student is extremely happy to have a great new laptop and portable printing capability.

Printers use different types of inks depending on their print output. Those that heavily use colors are typically dye-based while those that primarily churn out text or monochrome printouts use pigment-based inks. There are a number of differences between dye-based ink and pigment-based ink. Dye-based inks are water-soluble inks that are designed to produce maximum brilliance for colors. They are also cheaper to manufacturer and, as thus, have become the inks of choice for most inkjet printer manufacturers. However, they are vulnerable to moisture and UV ray exposure.

Pigment-based inks, on the other hand, are made from resin. They look dull when applied to colors, but they produce crisp and clear blacks. They are also very resistant against moisture and exposure to UV rays. Because of these differences, printer ink manufacturers produce dye-based inks for colored inks and pigment-based inks for black inks. Knowing the difference between these two kinds of ink is important because using the wrong ink on your printer can damage your machine.

For full version of this article, please visit “Differences between Dye Ink & Other Ink Types“.

As the family record keeper I have accumulated a huge stack of old family photos. Many times I have thought about the members of my family and the fact that they don’t have copies of these family treasures. In an effort to make the pictures available to the family I decided to upgrade my printer to an all-in-one so I could scan and print the family photos.

The printer I wanted to replace was a reliable Canon so I decided to look at Canons for the replacement. I found many options for Canon all-in-one printers; it took some research to decide which model to select and some online shopping to get the best buy. The all-in-one I decided on is a Canon Pixma MP 800.

The Canon Pixma MP 800 is designed for quick printing with speeds up to 24 ppm for color and 30 ppm for black. You can preview your image on the3 ½” digital screen. The high resolution (600 x 600 dpi black and 9,600 x 2,400 dpi color) produces extremely clear scans and print images. The optical scan resolution of 2,400 x 4,800 dpi only adds to the clarity and quality of the prints and scans.

One of the things I really enjoy about my MP800 is the Auto Exposure feature that helps to better the quality of some of the old photos by enhancing sharpness and other attributes of the original pictures.

I was very happy to find the printer cartridges for my new MP 800 online at very reasonable prices; otherwise I couldn’t afford this project. I use compatible black and color cartridges available online for only $8.95 each.

My Canon Pixma MP 800 is a workhorse printer that creates highest quality prints at little expense.