"THE INKSIDER" _______________________________________ August 2002 Newsletter #13-0829 ======================================= Hi <>, This newsletter only goes to people who subscribe to it. Unsubscribe instructions are at the bottom of the newsletter. This newsletter is brought to you by Atlascopy.com. Company Goal: Offer you, the consumer, a cost savings alter- native to expensive OEM cartridges. Our cartridges are 50 to 80 percent less expensive than OEM's. We also have Refill Kits, which can save you up to 90 percent. We accept articles for publication in this newsletter. If you have an article or just wish to express your opinion please write to bshultz@atlascopy.com. ============================================================== We have completely re-designed our web site. Navigation is much easier now. We heard you and took many of your suggestions. Come and take a look at our new facelift! http://atlascopy.com ============================================================== This month's edition features the following: 1. News from the InkJet Industry New Epson Stylus C82 printer New HP PSC 2110 and HP PSC 2210 all-in-one printers New Canon MultiPASS F60 & F80 all-in-one printers New Lexmark X125 all-in-one printer 2. New Products at Atlascopy.com *** Look for special on C6578AN *** 3. General Tips on Getting the Most for Your Money ============================================================== Editorial Three out of four leading printer manufacturers have introduced an "all-in-one" this month. This seems to be an indication that this format is starting to catch on. What is an "all-in-one"? It's simply a type of printer that offers a inkjet printer, scanner, fax and copier ALL-IN-ONE package. Now, they are even adding more features like accepting digital camera memory cards and printing boarder-less photo quality prints. Prices are very affordable considering what you get. For example the HP PSC 2110 retails for $249 and the Lexmark X125 retails for $179. These prices are sure to be discounted by the major supply lines. Personally, I have only one problem with all-in-ones and this comes from my technical background in repairing them. If the machines breaks you will lose your printer, fax, scanner and your copier for at least the times it takes to repair it. Not a good scenario if you are up against a deadline and you just lost four of your machines at once. Aside from that I think all-in-one technology will be very prominent especially in the SOHO area. It's combination of products into one space saving package definitely appeals to the small business owner with very little space on an already crowded desk. HP, Canon and Lexmark all released a all-in-one this month and we feature them all below. If you never thought of buying one you may change your mind after you read about these amazing printers. Some of them can actually fax in color! Keep on printing. Barry Shultz ============================================================== 1. News from the InkJet Industry LONG BEACH, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 26, 2002-- Advancing off the platforms of one of its most successful and popular products to date, Epson America is launching a new ink jet printer that provides even greater performance and value for home and small office customers. The new EPSON Stylus C82 takes the throne as Epson's new flagship, all-purpose ink jet printer, selling for $149 and offering customers several new technical advancements including improved formulas of Epson's long-lasting DuraBrite(TM) inks. The Stylus C82 replaces the Stylus C80 and is Epson's fastest four-color desktop printer ever made, using a new high-speed Micro Piezo print head that delivers up to 22 pages per minute (ppm) in black and up to 11 ppm in color(1). This printer also takes advantage of a unique and highly advanced imaging technology known as Resolution Performance Management(TM). This feature enables the Stylus C82 to place up to six different ink droplet sizes as small as three picoliters at resolution levels as high as 5,760 x 1,440 optimized dpi for sharper text, greater detail and brighter colors. This product is tailored especially for customers who demand the highest level of text and photo quality possible on plain or recyclable paper in addition to fast output, reliability and low cost of operation Epson has engineered a more advanced formula of DuraBrite inks made exclusively for the Stylus C82. These pigment-based inks are designed to not only produce durable, detailed output on a variety of media, but also offer richer colors and even greater highlight and shadow detail than the previous formula used with the Stylus C80. Unlike prints from traditional dye-based inks, output from DuraBrite color and black inks can be submerged in water without the ink coming off the page. This feature is designed to give creators of fliers, menus, signs, postcards and almost any other printed output the ability to produce documents and images that will withstand damage caused by moisture-based threats such as rain, spills or people with wet hands. DuraBrite inks also have a light-resistance rating of up to 80 years on certain specialty media and an unmatched 70-year(1) rating on plain paper, making it possible to safely place prints in areas where light would normally cause images to fade quickly. Bleed-through is reduced since EPSON DuraBrite inks rest on the surface of the paper, which is ideal for applications that require double-sided printing. This reduction in dot gain also makes it possible to create ink droplets on paper that are 30 percent smaller than dye-based ink, resulting in superior detail and sharpness. The EPSON Stylus C82 includes four separate "snap-in/snap-out" ink cartridges to maximize ink yield -- one extra-large black ink cartridge and three color ink cartridges (cyan, yellow and magenta). Since these individual color inks can be replaced at any time, efficiency is maximized, lowering the total cost of ownership. Each cartridge also contains a chip that relays ink level information on screen to the user via the printer driver, while self-sealing valves preserve the inks up to six months once removed from the printer. Therefore, reinserted cartridges that haven't been fully depleted can be reinserted for later use. The EPSON Stylus C82 is capable of large-quantity printing when needed. The printer's paper input tray holds up to 150 sheets of 20-pound paper at a time, reducing the number of times a user will need to refill the tray during a large print job. It also has the capacity to print as many as 5,000 sheets per month. Additionally, the Stylus C82 offers both USB and parallel connectivity for simultaneous use of either Macintosh or Windows platforms. ============================================================== HP Leads Market Shift to All-in-one Printers PALO ALTO, Calif., Aug. 26, 2002 HP (NYSE:HPQ) today announced a new family of all-in-one printers designed from the ground up to meet the changing needs of consumers. The company's all-in-one lineup offers consumers breakthrough print, scan and copy technologies that historically have been reserved for the newest single-function devices. With a compact, modern design, affordable prices and industry- leading photo quality, the new HP PSC 2110 and HP PSC 2210 all-in-one printers round out the company's largest product rollout of personal printing and digital imaging products this year. According to the most recent Gartner Dataquest report, sales of all-in-ones grew 98 percent in the first quarter of 2002 compared to the same period of 2001.(1) "After listening to consumers' needs, HP is delivering a full range of digital imaging products that produce photos that look like they were developed by a professional photo lab," said Larry Lesley, senior vice president, HP Personal Printing. "With these all-in-ones we've built on our printing and imaging heritage and expertise to bring consumers -- without compromise -- the latest print, scan, fax and copy technologies in one convenient and affordable device." Product Features Up to 4,800 x 1,200-optimized dots per inch (dpi)(2) for clearer, brighter and sharper photo-quality printing; Color layering technology from Photoret IV -- HP's innovative photo resolution enhancement technology that delivers true-to-life digital photos and fast, professional results for brilliant everyday color printing. Six-ink printing with an interchangeable photo cartridge; Exclusive and enhanced HP Photo Proof Sheet technology to print faster -- select a border and choose the size of your printed photo from one device without involving your computer; Non-PC printer options -- the HP PSC 2210 all-in-one allows you to print directly from your digital camera's memory card, such as Compact Flash, Secure Digital, SmartMedia and Sony Memory Stick; Fast print speeds -- the HP PSC 2110 all-in-one prints up to 14 pages per minute (ppm) in black while the HP PSC 2210 prints up to 17 ppm in black; Premium photo supplies -- photos resist fading for generations with optional six-ink printing when used with HP Premium Photo papers; Small, convenient, innovative design; Fast, convenient flatbed faxing in black or color for sending short faxes and receiving faxes of any length. HP's exclusive and newly enhanced Photo Proof Sheet allows consumers to easily print their photos from a HP PSC 2210 all-in-one printer. To print a sheet with thumbnails of the images, consumers insert a memory card into the card slot and press the proof sheet button. The consumer then selects the desired photo(s) and size by filling in the appropriate bubbles with a dark pen, and then scans the page. Once the proof sheet is scanned, the selected pictures will be printed automatically from the same machine. Consumers also can print borderless photos on HP's 4 x 6-inch HP Premium Photo paper and can reduce and enlarge the size of an original copy from 25 to 400 percent, making these devices ideal for the home or office. With HP's recently introduced Premium Photo Papers and enhanced HP inkjet cartridge technology, consumers can easily capture and print images that rival the quality and color of traditional photos and will last for generations. U.S. Pricing and Availability The HP PSC 2110 and HP PSC 2210 all-in-one printers are expected to ship to U.S. retailers within the next four weeks. The HP PSC 2110 all-in-one will sell for an estimated U.S. retail price of $249 and the HP PSC 2210 all-in-one will sell for an estimated U.S. retail price of $399. ============================================================== NEW CANON MULTIPASS PRODUCTS FEATURE MORE PRODUCTIVITY OPTIONS FOR SMALL OFFICE/HOME OFFICE USERS Enhancements to Flatbed MFP Line Include Faster Print Speed, Direct Photo Printing, Borderless Printing and Copying LAKE SUCCESS, NY, August 26, 2002 - Recognizing the increasing market demand for multifunction office devices, Canon U.S.A., Inc., a subsidiary of Canon Inc. (NYSE:CAJ) today introduces two new desktop flatbed multifunction products (MFPs) with even greater functionality to extend the productivity of small office and home office users. The Canon MultiPASS F60 offers printing, scanning and copying while the MultiPASS F80 adds faxing capability. Both products also offer the extra convenience of direct photo printing and high-speed borderless printing and copying and both MFPs feature Canon's patented Advanced MicroFine Droplet Technology for exceptional output quality. "The new MultiPASS F60 and F80 products demonstrate our depth in the fast-growing flatbed MFP market and offer an even stronger feature package for customers in search of an all-in-one device," said Hiroaki Yokoyama, director and assistant general manager of marketing for Canon U.S.A.'s SoHo Products Division. "By adding hardware and software to facilitate borderless photo printing -- a feature that is in high demand -- Canon's new MultiPASS products incorporate the best of Canon's digital imaging technology and will offer shoppers an extremely competitive choice among the other products now crowding the MFP shelves." The Canon MultiPASS F60 and F80 are based on Canon's S750 printer engine, and offer print and copy speeds of up to 20 pages-per-minute (ppm) for black-and-white and 13 ppm for color, based on letter size output. The MultiPASS F60 and F80 create photo-quality prints with a resolution of up to 2400 x 1200 dpi, due to Canon's Advanced MicroFine Droplet Technology. This revolutionary ink ejection process separates and ejects prescribed-volumes of ultra-fine ink droplets from a high-density multi-nozzle head with precise accuracy, enabling high-speed, high-quality printing. The MultiPASS F80's 30-page automatic document feeder (ADF) enable printing and copying on an assortment of media, including plain paper, glossy photo paper, transparencies, magnet sheets and even t-shirt transfers. To satisfy the demands of today's digital camera users, both the MultiPASS F60/F80 include a PCMCIA Type II memory card slot so that Canon and other selected brand digital cameras can print directly to the all-in-one unit. The PCMCIA adapter will support a variety of memory cards, including Compact Flash, Smart Media, Memory Stick, and Secure Digital. Both MFPs also ship with Canon's exclusive Easy-PhotoPrint software. Easy-PhotoPrint is designed to print digital camera images with ease-of-use, speed and quality. Easy-PhotoPrint automatically sets the optimum driver settings for beautiful photographic output from the MultiPASS unit. Easy- PhotoPrint also features Exif Print to create photos that more closely match the photographer's original intention. Borderless printing and copying has also been added as a new feature to the MultiPASS F60/F80. Both MultiPASS models can produce four-color borderless 4" x 6" prints in less than a minute, providing customers the fast photo printing speed they expect from a direct-connect printer. The two MultiPASS products also produce borderless letter-size copies and prints. Rounding out the needs of the home office user, the MultiPASS F60 and the F80 can also copy and scan. Both MultiPASS units copy in color at resolutions of 1200 x 1200 dpi and can reduce or enlarge originals from 25% to 400% in 1% increments. Scanning can be performed on the generous-sized platen or on through the automatic document feeder (ADF) on the F80, with color optical resolutions of up to 600 x 1200 dpi. For those needing faxing capability, the MultiPASS F80 can fax in color with its Super G3 modem (33.6 Kbps)*. Faxes can be sent and received directly from the desktop, using the MultiPASS Suite 4.2 application, or sent from the F80, using one-touch dialing and the ADF. Both the Canon F60 and F80 include Canon's innovative ThinkTank System, an intelligent ink-management system of individual ink tanks designed for efficiency, ease-of-use and less ink waste. The MultiPASS F60/F80 use the BCI-3 series of ink tanks for black, cyan, magenta and yellow, and end users replace only the individual color ink tank they have depleted instead of replacing an entire cartridge. Canon's ThinkTank System also has an optical ink sensor that triggers an on-screen warning so users are alerted when the ink has run low. The Canon MultiPASS F60 and F80 will be shipping in mid-September at retailers nationwide at a suggested "street" price of $299 and $399, respectively. Both MultiPASS units include a one-year limited warranty with Instant Exchange. ============================================================== Lexmark X125 All-In-One brings color, functionality and value to the small office/home office -- Print, Fax, Scan, Copy - X125 features four office essentials in one compact solution. NEW YORK, NY Jun 25 2002 Designed for small office/home office (SOHO) settings where space is at a premium, Lexmark International, Inc. (NYSE:LXK) today introduced the Lexmark X125 All-In-One Office Center. The X125 combines color print, standalone fax, scan and copy capabilities, offering exceptional value, a compact design and convenience that cannot be matched by purchasing separate peripherals. "Lexmark has seen amazing growth in the All-In-One category since first launching the X-series last year," said Tim Craig, Lexmark vice president and president of the company's Consumer Printer Division. "We believe we will help accelerate the category's momentum with the space-efficient, feature rich X125 - a competitively priced solution that empowers SOHO professionals with the ability to effectively infuse powerful color into their output - including faxes." Photo-Quality Printing The X125 All-In-One Office Center features Lexmark's award-winning core inkjet technology. With 2400 x 1200 dots per inch (dpi) resolution in black and color on all paper types and a seven- picoliter color drop size, text is sharp and photo-quality images are vivid and textured - giving business documents and presentations professional appeal. Lexmark's Accu-Feed™ paper handling system virtually eliminates paper jams and misfeeds, allowing SOHO professionals to print on a wide variety of media including transparencies, labels, multiple envelope sizes and postcards. The X125 boasts mono print speeds of up to 16 pages per minute (ppm), the fastest in the industry, and up to eight ppm in color. The Windows compatible X125 offers Universal Serial Bus (USB) connectivity. Black and Color Fax Capability - without a PC Boasting standalone black and color* fax capabilities, the X125's sheet-fed design and straightforward LCD screen make sending multiple page documents a fast and easy process. With speeds of up to 33.6Kbps and a fax memory that can store up to 80 pages, the X125 is well suited for efficiently sending and receiving lengthy documents. Crisp, High Resolution Scans The sheet-fed scanner offers up to 600 x 1200 dpi optical resolution (up to 9600 dpi enhanced resolution) and 36-bit color scan depth. Users will find the X125 perfect for scanning color photos and images to incorporate into business documents. Black and Color Copy Capability Offering added functionality to a home office, the X125 operates as a standalone color copier capable of generating up to 12 copies per minute (cpm) in black and up to 5 cpm in color. The LCD screen enables users to easily copy up to 99 black or color copies from one original, and to resize photos and documents from 25 to 200 percent. Pricing and Availability The Lexmark X125 All-In-One Office Center has an estimated street price of $179** (U.S.). The X125 will ship with one high-resolution black cartridge, one high-resolution color cartridge, power and phone cords, and a software bundle that includes ViewAhead Photo Editing Software and ABBYY Fine Reader Sprint OCR software. ============================================================== 2. New Products at Atlascopy.com There's plenty of new products up this month on Atlascopy.com. We encourage you to take a look at our website because we update product listings regularly. To speed your shopping along, here is a list of the latest items you can find on Atlascopy.com, with pricing and URL linkage: -------------------------------------------------------------- *** SPECIAL on HP C6578AN CARTRIDGES *** We came into some nearly expired OEM C6578AN's that we are letting go for only $38.95! These cartridges are selling on HP's web site right now for $54.99. The expiration date is August, 2002 but we are giving a full guarantee with them. We only have 20 and they are going to FLY out of here so order yours right now while your thinking about it. http://shop.atlascopy.com/ Click on the "Specials" link on the left. -------------------------------------------------------------- Refill Kit for the Lexmark Z55, Z66 LX310BK Black Refill Kit $14.95 LX310C3BK 4 Color Refill Kit $24.95 http://atlascopy.com/refills/atlasbrand/lex5.htm -------------------------------------------------------------- Generic Chipped Cartridges for the Epson C80 and C70 T032120 $14.50 T032220 $7.80 T032320 $7.80 T032420 $7.80 http://atlascopy.com/cartridges/epson/ -------------------------------------------------------------- Jetpak Mailers Jetpak has suspended recycling the 15M120/125 until further notice. The is due to high failure rate when refilling the cartridge. -------------------------------------------------------------- If you are looking for Greeting Card stock or Photo Glossy paper, then check out our Media and Paper section. Our films and papers are designed to perform equally well with Repeat-O-Type Brand inks and those offered by the printer manufacturers. http://atlascopy.com/media.htm ============================================================== 3. General Tips on Getting the Most for Your Money Epson Tip You should never run your Epson printer when the cartridge is empty. A virgin OEM cartridge should be refilled the first time when the level indicator reads 80% empty. Actually some will show empty when the cartridge is only about 2/3rds empty of ink (Epson knows about the air problems too). When you refill yourself, you can only inject about 60% of the ink that was originally vacuum injected by the factory. BUT - your printer doesn't know this and uses output (counts droplets) to determine the level of ink left in the cartridge. The refilled cartridge will start to go empty approximately when the indicator reads 60% empty - this is where many refillers get into trouble. ********************************************************* Lexmark / Compaq Tip All Lexmark cartridges have print heads attached to the cartridge themselves. The majority of the problem that refillers encounter has to do with the print head clogging up with dried ink. There are several methods you can use to avoid / correct this situation: 1. Refill as soon as the cartridge is empty, or better yet before it goes dry. 2. Never touch the print head with your fingers. They're easily damaged. 3. If the print head is clogged, make a solution of 50% vinegar, 50% water. Put about one eighth of an inch of this in an old cup or saucer. Set the cartridge's print head down in the liquid, and leave it there for as long as fifteen minutes. 4. Use a cotton swab or Q-Tip soaked in rubbing alcohol to gently blot (not rub or scrub) the print head and also the copper flex circuitry that runs up the side of the cartridge. A lack of good quality print (or in worst case scenario, none at all) is usually the only difficulty refillers encounter with these cartridges. First, follow the steps above to clean off the print head. If that doesn't work, chances are that there's air bubbles trapped in the foam inside your cartridge. Air bubbles are bad because they prevent the ink from reaching the print head. There are two remedies for this: either let the cartridge sit overnight, or force ink out of the print head by blowing air into the cartridge through the fill hole on the top. You can force the ink through the foam and push any air bubbles out of the print head by forcing air in through the fill hole. *********************************************************** Canon tip Canon Cartridge Leaks: (Canon tank type cartridges) 1. Sometimes the sponge shrinks when it dries and takes time to expand when refilled. Lay the cartridge on its side for a while after refilling to allow the sponge to expand. After a number of refills the sponge in the cartridge gradually loses its absorbency and will not hold as much ink. 2.A cartridge may also leak for a while if it is slightly over filled. Allow it to drip or keep blotting the print head to draw out the excess ink. 3. If you drilled the cartridge make sure the drill hole is sealed. The seal must be absolutely air tight. Use electrical tape or a hot glue gun for best results. You should be able to refill about EIGHT times before having to replace the cartridge. Make sure the cartridge has stopped leaking before installing it back into the printer. *********************************************************** HP tip Purge the Cartridge Most newer HP's now have the ability to purge the cartridge from the inside out. Purging the cartridge regularly is one of the most important steps in ensuring a long cartridge life. The purging cycle is NOT the same as the cleaning cycle. Check your printer manual for the procedure. The purge cycle consists of a process that heats all the jets in the cartridge and then cleans them from the inside out. All purge cycles produce a grid which consists of vertical and horizontal lines which represent all the jets in the cartridge. You can see at a glance if one of the nozzles are not firing. =========================================================== BFILL? We may have the Epson refiller owners' most useful tool, and the best part is it only costs 50 cents! I'm talking about the BFILL tool. The BFILL attaches to any injector and can suck the foam from a cartridge faster than a vacuum cleaner on steroids! Foam is the main reason why Epson cartridges stop printing. It's easy to use and you will be surprised how much foam a small cartridge can hold. We have a nice little primer complete with pictures for this useful little tool. Check it out here: http://www.atlascopy.com/BFILLinstructions.htm ============================================================ If you have a tip you would like to contribute you can e-mail it to atlas@dvol.com. ============================================================ If you would like to advertise in this newsletter please see our rate card at: http://www.atlascopy.com/ezines/index.htm ============================================================ Special note: Some of you are confused by our offering of two different web sites. Essentially, they both offer the same products but the difference is in the shopping cart area. Many of you asked for a shopping cart that retains the user information. The new site does that. Others complained when they were required to set up an account in order to purchase anything. So we are keeping both sites active to make everybody happy. The other difference is the new site has the ability to process credit cards in real time. The security is much higher and people get frustrated when their credit card is declined. If you want to order from the new site you MUST use the correct billing address, which is the address where your credit card statement is sent to. Also, the new site will not accept any International credit cards. If you are having problems with your credit card on the new site then you should use the old site. The old site does NOT have real time processing, we will run your credit card manually which means you won't get rejected, unless of course you deserve it. :-) The new site is at: http://shop.atlascopy.com The old site is at: http://atlascopy.com ============================================================ See ya next time! Barry Shultz Editor bshultz@atlascopy.com