Printing Giants, Lawsuits and You!

In recent months, you may have heard about a number of law suits brought on by printing giants such as HP and Epson against various companies that sell refilled cartridges. These law suites have created some undue worry amongst consumers. At the heart of these law suites, is the OEMs claim that the ink used in certain refilled cartridges infringes on their patents. Many consumers are further mislead by questionable language regarding their printer warranty information. That’s why we’ve decided to set the record straight and put your mind at ease.

First of all, the majority of current law suites pertain specifically to the inkjet refill stations operated at stores such as OfficeMax and Walgreens. These quick refill kiosks utilize an entirely different process than those currently employed by us. CRS Printek uses the latest technological advances in providing the highest quality compatible inkjet cartridges and no ink used by us violates any patents. Secondly, majority of our operation revolves around high-quality compatible toner cartridges which are produced according to the highest standards set by the industry and meet or exceed OEM specifications while saving consumers up to 30% over OEM prices.

Finally, many consumers are made to believe that using third-party or non-OEM cartridges may void their printer’s warranty. This could not be further from the truth as it would be a violation of federal laws. Only damage caused directly due to a faulty third-party consumable is not covered under the printer’s warranty. On those rare occasions, at CRS Printek we stand behind our product 100% and we will cover any repair caused by the usage of our products.

We encourage you to contact us to find out more about the current law suits, our compatible products, and your printing needs. ■

HP to Discontinue Old Cartridges

On November 1, 2006, HP will discontinue a number of its black toner cartridges. These cartridges have been used in printers that were introduced nearly two decades ago.

The lower demand for these printers along with HP’s recent introduction of an impressive line of monochrome and color laser printers, have contributed to its decision to discontinue select cartridges.

The following is a list of HP LaserJet printers that will be affected by this discontinuation as sorted by cartridge type: 92275A: IIIP, IIP, IIP Plus 92291A: IIIsi, 4si 92295A: IId, III, IIId, II

Still, those who have used these workhorse machines for many years, have a choice. Should you be interested in upgrading to a new printer, we will gladly discuss your options and recommend the best solution for your business.

And if you wish to continue using your existing printers, rest assured as we remain committed to delivering the highest quality compatible cartridges for your printers. ■

HP recently unveiled the HP Photosmart D7360 touted as the world’s fastest photo printer based on its scalable printing technology. The Photosmart D7360 prints up to 32 pages per minute in black and up to 31 pages per minute in color with a resolution of up to 4800dpi. 4x6 photos can be printed in as fast as 12 seconds. This printer is also capable of printing landscape and panoramic images in any size up to 8.5x24 inches with or without borders. The D7360 also boasts a slew of other unique features including a 3.4 inch touch-screen color image display which lets the user edit images without a PC. ■

Software Imaging’s ManageRight software allows IT management within an enterprise to customize printer drivers or their users’ printing needs. With ManageRight, a single driver can appear entirely different for separate groups of users, at the control of the IT
manager.

In addition, with ManageRight, features such as page overlays or watermarks can be made available to users who need them, but not to users who don’t. Other printer functionalities can also be restricted to select users in order to cut toner costs.

Because ManageRight is available as a driver plug-in, it can be implemented within manufacturers’ existing drivers. Call us to find out if ManageRight is right for you! ■

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tips on printing and environmental news.

Cost Tamers: Printing Black With Color

Most consumers are not aware that black and white prints made from color printers use the color inks as well. In order to produce black images and prints that are richer in color, printers use all inks including colors.

Monochrome laser printers offer the most cost effective solution for black and white printing. However, if you mustuse a color printer for all your printing needs, there are certain steps you can take to lower your consumables’ cost. Most color printers include black-only print options that can be selected from the “settings” dialog box.

Another option for lowering black and white printing costs is changing the print quality setting. Documents that do not require high resolution printing can instead be printed in draft mode. Contact us to determine the most cost-effective solution for your printing needs. ■

Next time you use your color laser printer to print a document, use a blue LED light and examine it carefully with a magnifying glass. You might be surprised at the results—tiny yellow dots that can be used to trace the document back to you or your business. Printer companies have been encoding their printers’ serial number and manufacturing code on every document printed with their color printers. For the most part, the millimeter-sized dots which appear about every inch on a page, hidden between printed words and margins, help governments track counterfeiters.

Although, this technology has been around for a long time, printer companies have not been required to notify their customers of its existence and attempts at disabling this feature could cause unrepairable damage to your printer. As always we’ll be happy to answer any questions or address any concerns you might have about your office printing needs.

The paper industry has recently been moving to a system that defines paper according to the number of grams per square meter. So if your printer’s manual says it can handle a maximum paper weight of, say, 135 gsm, that applies to any type of paper – laser, card or cover stock. ■