Inkjet Cartridges
June 23, 2009

HP Photosmart Premium With TouchSmart Web Brings the Internet to Your Inkjet Printer

By Databazaar Blog

Printer News: HP Sees the Future of Printing in Online Apps Built Into its New Photosmart Premium with TouchSmart Web

DBZ-704-PN-06-22-09500

We've long covered printers with PC-free features such as printing from memory cards or via PictBridge. But with the HP Photosmart Premium with TouchSmart Web, which we recently saw firsthand in New York City, HP has upped the ante.

The HP Photosmart Premium looks like a multifunction inkjet printer with an iPhone for a control panel. It's not really an iPhone of course, but a 4.33 inch touch screen from which you can run special Web-enabled apps.

For example, do you like Sudoku puzzles? You can print one anytime you want using the Sudoku app. Need directions? Enter your "here" and "there" and print a Google Map. Going shopping? Print some coupons. You get the idea. Other apps include Fandango for movie tickets, Snapfish for photos, weather reports, and various projects for kids from DreamWorks and Nickelodeon. HP promises more apps, all of which are free to use.

Will people want to print directly from the Web? We can certainly think of some use cases but only time will tell. HP is leaving nothing to chance. Its printer boss, Vyomesh Joshi, helped announce the Photosmart Premium, and HP has even launched a Twitter stream. HP often ships printers without even a press release.

The HP Photosmart Premium also handles old-fashioned PC printing with speeds up to 33 pages per minute. It copies, scans, and faxes. And like a few other HP printers, the Photosmart Premium can print screenshots from your Playstation PS3. Who wants to frame their college diploma when you can instead frame your score in Killzone 2.

Summary

Color multifunction inkjet best for people who want the world's first Web-enabled printer
MSRP: $399.99

Manufacturer

Product Page
HP Photosmart Premium with TouchSmart Web

Supplies

Specs that matter

Release Date:September 2009
Notable Features:Web apps optimized for printing, Memory card printing, large touchscreen, automatic duplex printing, borderless photo printing, automatic paper-type sensor to prevent wasted ink and paper, Ethernet and WiFi
Green Features:Energy Star, HP Planet Partners cartridge recycling program, high-yield ink cartridges reduce waste, duplex printing saves paper
Pages Per Minute:33 (b/w), 32 (color)
Seconds Per Photo:18
Resolution:Not Yet Available
Paper Trays:1
Interface:Pictbridge, USB 2.0, WiFi, Ethernet, Bluetooth
Compatibility:Windows and Macintosh
Dimensions:17.99 x 19.33 x 7.76 inches
Weight:16.53 pounds
Warranty:1 year

About Printer News
Your one stop source for information about new business- and consumer-class printers, Printer News covers everything you need to know. Well, almost everything. If you have anything to add to our report, please post it below.

June 15, 2009

HP Photosmart Plus Offers Photo Printing Plus MFP Functionality

By Databazaar Blog

Printer News: HP Offers New Ways to Use Up Your Ink With Photosmart Plus

DBZ-703-PN500

Former HP executive Jim Lyons recently reported sliding printer and supplies revenue at HP. We suspect HP is more concerned about supplies than printers because that's where the big money lies.

To this end, the new HP Photosmart Plus All-in-One offers a glimpse of an interesting strategy — embedded software designed to persuade people to print more pages. For example, from the Photosmart Plus' TouchSmart control panel, you can print notebook paper, Sudoku games, calendars, and more. You can also use HP's bundled software, HP Photo Print Gadget and HP Smart Web Printing. And of course HP touts its iPrint Photo app for the iPhone.

As for the hardware, HP claims the HP Photosmart Plus "strikes a balance between everyday and photo printing." It prints in color at 23 pages per minute, offers a dual-use tray that switches between document and photo paper, connects to your network via WiFi, and will cost $149 when it ships in August 2009. How long until we see a PC embedded into a printer?

Summary

Photo multifunction inkjet best for students and others who want to print lab-quality photos and documents
MSRP: $149

Manufacturer

Product Page
HP Photosmart Plus All-in-One

Supplies

Specs that matter

Release Date:August 2009
Notable Features:WiFi, PC-free printing, TouchSmart control panel with embedded printing projects, copying and scanning, auto-engaging photo tray, manual duplex printing
Green Features:Energy Star, HP Planet Partners cartridge recycling program, high-yield ink cartridges reduce waste
Pages Per Minute:29 (b/w), 23 (color)
Resolution:1200 x 2400 dpi (scanning)
Paper Trays:1
Interface:USB 2.0, WiFi
Compatibility:Windows and Macintosh
Dimensions:17.39 x 16.59 x 6.69 inches
Weight:10.13 pounds
Warranty:1 year

About Printer News
Your one stop source for information about new business- and consumer-class printers, Printer News covers everything you need to know. Well, almost everything. If you have anything to add to our report, please post it below.

June 15, 2009

HP Photosmart C4700 Series Good for Your Conscience and Wallet

By Databazaar Blog

Printer News: HP Caters to Environmentally-Conscious Consumers With the Photosmart C4700 All-in-One Series

DBZ-702-PN500

In the old days (i.e., 2-3 years ago), companies like HP improved their printers by making them faster, better cheaper. Nowadays, they improve them by making them greener. The new HP Photosmart C4700 All-in-One Series uses 30% less energy than its predecessor. It also features duplex printing, which saves paper.

Green features aside, HP's competitors will find an inconvenient truth beneath the hood as the Photosmart C4700 offers WiFi printing (including via iPhone), lab-quality photos, 23 pages per minute in color, and copying and scanning — all for just $129 when it ships in July 2009. In fact, they might become green with envy (except perhaps for the manual duplex printing, which we view as pointless).

Summary

Photo multifunction inkjet best for students and others who want to print lab-quality photos and documents
MSRP: $129

Manufacturer

Product Page
Photosmart C4700 Series

Supplies

Specs that matter

Release Date:July 2009
Notable Features:WiFi, PC-free printing, manual duplex printing, copying and scanning, TouchSmart control panel with embedded printing projects
Green Features:Energy Star, HP Planet Partners cartridge recycling program, high-yield ink cartridges reduce waste, duplex printing saves paper
Pages Per Minute:29 (b/w), 23 (color)
Resolution:4800 x 1200 dpi
Paper Trays:1
Interface:USB 2.0, Memory Cards, WiFi
Compatibility:Windows and Macintosh
Dimensions:17.39 x 16.59 x 6.69 inches
Weight:10.13 pounds
Warranty:1 year

About Printer News
Your one stop source for information about new business- and consumer-class printers, Printer News covers everything you need to know. Well, almost everything. If you have anything to add to our report, please post it below.

June 09, 2009

HP Deskjet D1600 Series Launches Today at Low Price Point

By Databazaar Blog

Printer News: HP Deskjet D1600 Series Offers Inkjet Printing in an Eco- and Recession-Friendly Package

DBZ-700-PN500

HP's "Deskjet" brand introduced the world to inkjet printing, and it keeps on ticking after all these years. We saw the latest model at an HP event in New York city last week — the D1600 series (announced today and in stores this August).

Talk about good timing. With people feeling too poor these days to buy much of anything, the D1600 offers inkjet printing for just $39 at speeds that would make its ancestors jealous (16 ppm for color documents). It also features manual duplex printing, and a relatively compact design with dorm rooms in mind.

Look, no $39 printer will have a ton of features, but HP needs something to talk about so it spent considerable energy on the D1600's environmental impact or lack thereof. HP builds the D1600 using 25% recycled plastic and the printer ships in 100% recyclable packaging. That's great and we commend HP, but we suggest you focus primarily on the low price point, relatively fast speeds, and presumably quality output.

Summary

Color inkjet printer best for students and penny pinchers who don't need an MFP.
MSRP: $39

Manufacturer

Product Page
HP Deskjet D1600

Supplies

Specs that matter

Release Date:August 2009
Notable Features: Low price, fast print speeds for its price point, compact design, black case, eco-friendly (see below)
Green Features:Energy Star, HP Planet Partners cartridge recycling program, high-yield ink cartridges reduce waste, duplex printing saves paper, 25% of printer made from recycled material, packaging 100% recyclable
Pages Per Minute: 20 (b/w), 16 (color)
Paper Trays:1
Interface:USB 2.0
Compatibility:Windows and Macintosh
Dimensions:17.01 x 7.8 x 6.22 inches
Weight:4.85 pounds
Warranty:1 year

About Printer News
Your one stop source for information about new business- and consumer-class printers, Printer News covers everything you need to know. Well, almost everything. If you have anything to add to our report, please post it below.

May 22, 2009

Inkjet Printers Poised to Enter the Operating Room

By Kara Hiltz

DoubleSided: An Adhesive Derived From Mussels and Applied by Inkjet Printer Technology Could Replace Sutures

DBZ-649-DS

Inkjet technology can do more than print your airline tickets or vacation photos. We've reported on how scientists at Carnegie Mellon and Wake Forest use it to rebuild human tissue. Now comes word that North Carolina State University has developed another medicinal use for inkjet printing — medical adhesives made from shellfish.

Sutures and Synthetic Adhesives Have Drawbacks

After surgery, doctor use sutures and synthetic adhesives to hold your skin together until it can heal. According to an article by ScienceDaily these methods have drawbacks, including infection and inflammation.

Mussels produce an adhesive that helps them stick to almost any surface. And our white blood cells seem to get along famously with it as well.

Nurse, I'm Done. Please Print a Band-Aid.

As reported by ZDNet's Chris Jablonski, researchers took proteins from the mussel adhesive and added them to a solution that they could apply through inkjet technology — specifically, Epson's piezoelectric inkjet printing.

"[T]he use of the inkjet technology gives you greater control over the placement of the adhesive. This helps ensure that the tissues are joined together in just the right spot, forming a better bond that leads to improved healing and less scarring," Dr. Roger J. Narayan told ScienceDaily.

Dr. Narayan and his colleagues Anand Doraiswamy, Timothy M. Dunaway, and Jonathan J. Wilker recently published their findings in an article entitled Inkjet Printing of Bioadhesives in the April 2009 issue the Journal of Biomedical Materials Research Part B: Applied Biomaterials. It's not a page-turner, but it's important and impressive stuff.

About DoubleSided
We all have our idiosyncrasies. So do printers as it turns out. In our DoubleSided feature, we explore the lighter side of printers as well as the esoteric and bizarre. We also peer into the future of printing. From fabbers to printing on toast, you'll find it all here.

May 14, 2009

Canon PIXMA iP4600 Shoots for the Moon Regarding Photo Quality

By Kara Hiltz

Printer News: Print Borderless 4 x 6-inch Photos in About 20 Seconds With the Canon PIXMA iP4600

DBZ-543-PN500

Lab-quality photo prints from a $100 printer? That would have seemed laughable just ten years ago, and qualified as science fiction when we sent a man to the moon 40 years ago. Today, it's what we expect from photo printers like Canon's PIXMA iP4600.

Canon claims that the PIXMA iP4600's FINE (Full-photolithography Inkjet Nozzle Engineering) print head technology combined with ChromaLife100+ inks produce photo prints that last longer and resist fading. You can print photos from your PC of course, but also directly from your camera through PictBridge.

The PIXMA iP4600 handles documents well too, boasting duplex printing and two paper trays that hold 300 sheets total. In ten years will our printers make dinner for us and take out the trash? We can only hope.

Summary

Inkjet photo printer best for budget-conscious shutterbugs who also need to print documents
MSRP: $99.99

Manufacturer

Product Page
Canon PIXMA iP4600

Supplies

Specs that matter

Release Date:August 26, 2008
Notable Features:Borderless photo printing, long-lasting, fade-resistant photo prints, duplex printing, PictBridge, infrared printing from mobile phones, two paper trays
Green Features:Energy Star, RoHS, individual ink cartridges waste less ink, reduction in packaging over previous models, duplex printing along with both 4 in 1 and 2 in 1 printing saves paper, Canon recycling and refurbishing program
Pages Per Minute:26 (b/w), 21 (color)
Seconds Per Photo:20
Resolution:9600 x 2400 dpi
Paper Trays:2
Paper Capacity:300
Interface:USB 2.0, PictBridge
Compatibility:Windows and Macintosh
Dimensions:17.0 x11.7 x 6.0 inches
Weight:12.4 pounds
Warranty:1 year

About Printer News
Your one stop source for information about new business- and consumer-class printers, Printer News covers everything you need to know. Well, almost everything. If you have anything to add to our report, please post it below.

May 14, 2009

Is Your Inkjet Printer Lying to You?

By Kara Hiltz

Low-Ink Warnings Often Jump The Gun, Reports PC World

DBZ-632-FF500

Most of us rush to put gas in our cars once our fuel gauge approaches the red zone. The same goes for our printers when they give us a low-ink warning. You don't want to push your luck. In some cases, the printer leaves you no choice — it refuses to print until you change the cartridge

PC World set out to learn just how much ink the average consumer wastes simply by trusting their printer's warnings. In How Much Ink Is Left in That Dead Cartridge?, Jeff Bertolucci reveals that most "empty" ink cartridges can prints many more documents and photos.

How PC World Put Ink Warnings to the Test

PC World compared leftover ink in an "empty" black ink cartridge for multifunction inkjet printers from four major manufacturers: Canon, Epson, HP, and Kodak. The researchers took each cartridge's initial weight, and then printed pages until the low-ink warnings shut down the printer, forcing a cartridge change. Next, they weighed the cartridge with its remaining amount of ink. Finally, they measured a third weight — the cartridge's "true" empty weight — by draining the cartridge dry before weighing it.

The results showed many cases in which a great deal of ink remained in the dead ink cartridge.

Four Lessons From PC World's Study

  1. The Epson cartridge performed the best as it wasted the least amount of ink (about 8 percent) while an aftermarket cartridge in a Canon printer left behind 45 percent of its ink.

  2. Three out of the four of the printers (Kodak being the exception) left more ink behind when using third-party cartridges than with their own brand-name cartridges. The manufacturers claimed that they design the printers to sense their own cartridges' levels more accurately. Third-party vendors say that they fill the cartridges more to begin with, which means more ink is bound to be left behind when the printer determines that it's "empty."

  3. Some experts told PC World that a percentage of ink should remain in a cartridge or the printer runs the risk of damage.

  4. During PC World's tests, not all of the printers provided low-ink warnings. Som printers, like the HP, printed until the ink cartridge ran dry. But PC World points out that "since the print heads are part of the cartridge in HP's design, running out of ink does not damage other parts of the printer."

We would like to encourage PC World to conduct a similar yet different test — find out which cartridges print the most pages and, therefore, offer the lowest cost per page. After all, we consumers can't do much about empty cartridges that aren't really empty, but we can reward printers and cartridges with a low cost per page by voting with our wallets.

About Databazaar Blog
Virtually everyone who uses a computer uses a printer. But computers get all the glory. So we launched this blog to give printers their due. We hope you find our coverage enjoyable and useful, and encourage you to subscribe and participate.

May 08, 2009

Canon PIXMA MX860 Among First Printers to Adopt ISO/IEC 24734

By Kara Hiltz

Printer News: Canon's PIXMA MX860 Combines Multifunction Practicality With Lifelike Photos

DBZ-612-PN500

The Canon PIXMA MX860 isn't just a new printer. It marks the beginning of a new era — especially for us printer geeks.

The Canon PIXMA MX860 offers printing, scanning, copying, and faxing. It includes built-in duplex printing along with a 35-sheet automatic document feeder, and two 150-sheet paper trays. You can also network the printer using an Ethernet connection or WiFi.

The Canon PIXMA MX860 prints photos using a five-color ChromaLife 100+ ink system that claims to produce longer-lasting prints. You can print borderless 4 x 6-inch prints in less than a minute. And, if you want to print those cell phone pictures, you only need an optional Bluetooth adapter to make it possible.

To its credit, Canon has embraced the new ISO/IEC 24734 standard for print speed, which measures Estimated Saturated Throughput (ESAT) in units of images per minute (ipm) as opposed to pages per minute (ppm). This standard uses a test pattern that includes three documents — an Excel file, a Word file, and a PDF file, which supposedly evens the playing field and makes print speed estimates more accurate.

The PIXMA MX860 prints at 8.4 ipm in monochrome and 5.6 ipm in color. That may not make much sense now, but soon it'll become as common and easily understood as meters and liters. Just kidding.

Summary

Inkjet all-in-one photo printer best for people who want a multifunction printer that outputs quality photos
MSRP: $199.99

Manufacturer

Product Page
Canon PIXMA MX860

Supplies

Specs that matter

Release Date:February 3, 2009
Notable Features:Duplex printing, ADF, two paper trays, Ethernet and WiFi, 2.5-inch LCD preview screen, copy/scan/fax capabilities, ChromaLife ink for better photos
Green Features:Energy Star, individual ink cartridges reduce ink waste, 4-in-1 and 2-in-1 copying saves paper, cartridge recycling program
Images Per Minute:8.4 (b/w), 5.6 (color)
Seconds Per Photo:41 (4 x 6-inch)
Resolution:9600 x 2400 dpi
Paper Trays:2
Paper Capacity:300
Interface:USB 2.0, PictBridge, Ethernet, WiFi, Memory Cards, Bluetooth (optional)
Compatibility:Windows and Macintosh
Dimensions:19.4 x 17.1 x 8.9 inches
Weight:26.4 pounds
Warranty:1 year

About Printer News
Your one stop source for information about new business- and consumer-class printers, Printer News covers everything you need to know. Well, almost everything. If you have anything to add to our report, please post it below.

April 28, 2009

HP Photosmart B8550 Specializes in Large-Format Photo Prints

By Kara Hiltz

Printer News: Break Free of 4x6 Inch Photos With HP's Photosmart B8550 Inkjet Printer

DBZ-548-PN500

Prosumer photographers concern themselves more with their cameras than their printers (for good reason). But if you want to print large photos suitable for framing, you can't rely on any old inkjet printer. Most cannot print photos larger than letter-size paper.

The low-slung HP Photosmart B8550 prints every size photo from 4 x 6-inch snapshots to 12 x 12-inch scrapbook pages to 11 x 17-inch calendars. You can also use the HP Photosmart B8550 for everyday documents and images.

In addition to the features you've come to expect from a competitive photo printer — PictBridge, fast speeds, memory card slots, and a large 2.4-inch color display — HP's Photosmart B8550 also touts a unique cartridge system. HP produced the system's print head using recycled materials, including plastic bottles and its own used ink cartridges collected through the HP Planet Partners recycling program.

While your top-of-the-line camera matters, your prints won't measure up unless you put just as much thought into your photo printer.

Specs that matter

Release Date:September 23, 2008
Notable Features:Large-format photo prints, PictBridge and memory card slots for PC-free printing, 5 individual ink cartridges, HP Vivera inks for brighter, smudge-free prints, high-yield compatible ink cartridges, HP dual drop volume technology provides better photo detail
Green Features:Energy Star, HP Planet Partners cartridge recycling program, print heads made in part from recycled materials, individual ink cartridges reduce ink waste, HP Auto Sense technology detects paper size to print correctly the first time
Pages Per Minute:32 (b/w), 31 (color)
Seconds Per Photo:18
Resolution:1200x1200 dpi
Paper Trays:1 (plus automated 4 x 6-inch photo tray)
Paper Capacity:125
Interface:USB 2.0, PictBridge, Memory Cards, Bluetooth (optional)
Compatibility:Windows and Macintosh
Dimensions:22.83 x 15.31 x 7.13 inches
Weight:16.7 pounds
Warranty:1 year

About Printer News
Your one stop source for information about new business- and consumer-class printers, Printer News covers everything you need to know. Well, almost everything. If you have anything to add to our report, please post it below.

April 28, 2009

Canon PIXMA iP3600 Inkjet Photo Printer Hungry for Your Photos

By Kara Hiltz

Printer News: High-Quality Inks Boost The Canon PIXMA iP3600 Photo Print Resolution

DBZ-544-PN500

When you focus all of your energy into one area, you tend to see better results. The Canon PIXMA iP3600 zeroes in on superior photo printing to bring you lab-quality photo prints.

The Canon PIXMA iP3600 uses FINE technology and ChromaLife100+ inks to create 9600 x 2400 dpi resolution for its borderless photo prints. In addition, you can print straight from a camera with PictBridge. Dual paper feeders enable you to switch quickly between paper types because you can feed paper from either the front tray or the top-loading tray.

You can print monochrome documents at fairly high speeds (about 26 pages per minute), but color graphics slows down the print speed to about 17 pages per minute. Canon clearly put all of their eggs in one basket with the Canon PIXMA iP3600, but at a retail price of $79.99, you won't pay for features that the printer doesn't have.

Summary

Color inkjet photo printer best for photo enthusiasts
MSRP: $79.99

Manufacturer

Product Page
Canon PIXMA iP3600

Supplies

Specs that matter

Release Date:August 26, 2008
Notable Features:Borderless photo printing, dual paper feeder trays, PictBridge, Paper output tray sensor, up to 9600 x 2400 dpi resolution, FINE technology print heads and high-quality inks for superior photo prints, Auto Photo Fix
Green Features:Certified Generation Green thanks to Energy Star, RoHS compliance, 4 in 1 and 2 in 1 printing, individual ink cartridges, hardware recycling program, refurbishing program
Pages Per Minute:26 (b/w); 17 (color)
Seconds Per Photo:41 (4 x 6-inch borderless print)
Resolution:9600 x 2400 dpi
Paper Trays:2 (two-way paper feeding)
Paper Capacity:300
Interface:USB 2.0, PictBridge
Compatibility:Windows and Macintosh
Dimensions:17.0 x 11.7 x 6.0 inches
Weight:12.3 pounds
Warranty:1 year

About Printer News
Your one stop source for information about new business- and consumer-class printers, Printer News covers everything you need to know. Well, almost everything. If you have anything to add to our report, please post it below.

Subscription Center

Email

Library

Browse our Blog