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    I must say that your service is absolutely exceptional and I have recommended your company and products to several friends today; all are serious "printer" people.I retired last year and my friends are all into, or are still working in the photo industry. Sincerely,Gerhard

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    Dear, just to let you know than i realy appreciate your costumer service.
    Thank you
    Denis

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    Just a Thank you and all the best
    Grigore

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    Ce message est simplement pour vous dire que j'ai bien reçu la commande XXXXXX et que je suis très satisfait de la rapidité de la livraison et aussi de la qualité de l'encre. C'est la première fois que j'utilise de l'encre "autre que l'originale" et pour le moment je suis très satisfait. Soyez certain que je vais vous référez à mes amis et collègues de travail et c'est certain que je vais commander à nouveau de chez vous. Merci beaucoup.
    Stéphane

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    Je veux seulement vous dire un gros merci pour la rapidité avec lequel vous avez traité ma demande et aussi pour le petit extra en papier photos,c'est très apprécié.

    Céline

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    I received my order, thank you for your great customer service..
    Judy

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    Hello:

    It is not often people write emails or letters of praise but consider this one of the rare ones!
    I must say, ordering your product was about the easiest imaginable. Coupled with the fact that it arrived here basically “next day” I am thoroughly happy. To tell you the truth, I was expecting to have to go pay full retail for one black cartridge thinking that your’s would take at least a week to arrive but I was wrong, the order arrived before I could even go out to get one!
    Congrats people, I WILL tell all my friends and neighbours about you!

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US regulator guns for HP printer cartridge clones

Posted on July 12, 2010 by kflack

THE US International Trade Commission (ITC) is investigating a complaint from the maker of very expensive printer ink, HP, that some of its rivals are making the stuff a lot cheaper.

The investigation is based on a complaint filed by HP claiming that some dodgy foreign rivals are flogging knock-offs of its cartidges at lower prices.

It claims that certain inkjet printer ink cartridges are being sold containing printheads and components thereof that infringe patents asserted by HP.

Named in the investigation are MicroJet Technology, Asia Pacific Microsystems, Mipo Technology, Mipo Science & Technology, Mextec America, SinoTime Technologies, All Colors of Miami, and PTC.

The ITC said that it has not yet made any decision on the merits of the case. Its Chief Administrative Law Judge will assign the case to one of the ITC’s six administrative law judges, who will look into HP’s allegations

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Canon Sues Chinese Companies to Block Copycat Cartridge Refills

Posted on July 1, 2010 by kflack

June 29 (Bloomberg) — Canon Inc., the world’s largest maker of cameras and office equipment, filed patent-infringement claims against China’s Ninestar Image International Ltd. and retailers over technology in printer toner cartridges.

The claims target cartridges made by Ninestar and nine affiliated businesses in China and Hong Kong, as well as 10 U.S. companies that sell the products. Canon lodged a complaint yesterday with the U.S. International Trade Commission in Washington to block imports of the cartridges and filed a companion civil lawsuit in federal court in New York.

Canon, a Tokyo-based company that gets about 28 percent of its revenue from the Americas, contends the Ninestar cartridges infringe two U.S. patents.

The cartridges can be used in Canon and Hewlett-Packard Co. printers, according to the ITC complaint and the lawsuit.

The patents relate to the rotating drums inside the cartridges and how they connect to the printer. Laser beams scan across the drum in a pattern matching the image to be printed and powdery toner sticks to the device before being deposited on the paper, according to the complaint.

Canon said it opened a manufacturing plant last year near Newport News, Virginia, where it plans to produce “millions” of cartridges. The ITC is a quasi-independent agency set up to protect U.S. markets from unfair trade practices, including patent infringement.

Cannon in December settled complaints against companies in Japan, including Ninestar’s Japanese unit, over unauthorized inkjet cartridges. Officials with Ninestar didn’t immediately return an e-mail sent to their U.S. distribution center in City of Industry, California, seeking comment.

The ITC case is In the Matter of Toner Cartridges and Components Thereof, Complaint No. 2743, U.S. International Trade Commission (Washington). The civil suit is Canon Inc. v. Ninestar Image International Ltd., 10cv4999, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York (Manhattan).

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Chesaning Ace Hardware store to hold ‘Free ink week’

Posted on May 11, 2010 by kflack

CHESANING — The Ace Hardware store in Chesaning, 207 W. Broad, will be holding “Free ink week” from today until Saturday, allowing shoppers to refill empty printer ink cartridges free of charge.

Select Ace Hardware stores across the state are partnering with Ink-O-Dem, the worldwide leader in integrated inkjet cartridge refilling and testing technology for retail and university environments. The product is capable of refilling about 95 percent of printer ink cartridges.

“INK-O-DEM’s Free Ink Week is a great way for people to try inkjet refills without any risk,” Tom Price, ACE Hardware’s Account Manager at INK-O-DEM said. “It’s especially suitable for people who have never refilled their inkjet cartridges before now.”

Of course you can always buy your new/refurbished replacement cartridges from Metawatch.

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Earth Day Inkjet News

Posted on April 21, 2010 by kflack

The Environmental Protection Agency says it is not truly recycled unless it is reused — through remanufacture, no matter what "it" is.

We are pleased to tell you that Metawatch sells only Remanufactured HP products.

Metawatch‘s particular contribution to saving the world’s environment has taken the form of selling remanufactured (HP) & generic (Canon & Epson) inkjet printer cartridges.

1. According to statistics available in 1998 an estimated 800,000 laser cartridges are sold every week. It is estimated only 240,000 are recycled. That means a potential of 560,000 one-time-used cartridges go to landfills every week! (And this was before the "explosion" in inkjet printer use!) The plastic used in a typical cartridge is industrial-grade and takes approximately 1,000 years to decompose. Our 6,000 ain’t that big a dent in the problem, but it is 1,000 years in our local landfills we’re talking about.

2. On average, three quarts of oil are used to make each new cartridge. That would mean we kept 4,500 gallons of oil from being used by some manufacturer. It is estimated 30 percent of all print cartridges are now recycled, not at all sure what that comes out in keeping down the cost of a barrel of oil.

Help us save the world, and buy HP Remanufactured Cartridges at Metawatch today.

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Desktop Inkjet Ink Trends 2010

Posted on February 25, 2010 by kflack

Excerpt Lyra Report (At a Cross Roads: The Past, Present, and Future of Inkjet)

Desktop ink jet ink manufacturers must continuously innovate in a market that is largely stagnant and has rising costs. Their clients, including both OEM and aftermarket players, demand the latest in dye- and pigment-based ink technology at a time when cartridge SKUs are being introduced at an unprecedented pace. Ink manufacturers must always consider return-on-investment even though demand for ink jet products is questionable and the market features widespread fragmentation. However, in the midst of the uncertainty, there is a consensus among those in the industry that ink jet has a future and that innovators will benefit.

Overall, Lyra forecasts that total worldwide desktop bulk ink shipments will decline slightly between 2008 (32.2 million liters) and 2012 (29.3 million liters). Looking at the desktop ink market by region, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) is expected to remain the largest market in terms of volume. North America will continue to be the second largest market in terms of desktop ink shipments, but it will contract at the quickest rate between 2008 and 2012.

An interesting and important trend is the slow growth of desktop inks in the emerging markets of Latin America and Asia. Although printers are being sold, consumers in China, India, Eastern Europe and South America have not adopted ink jet printing at nearly the same levels as those in developed markets. One obvious reason for the slow acceptance is the high cost of ink jet consumables. In recent years, Epson and HP have both expanded their ink jet product lines designed for low per capita income countries. Initial sales figures indicate that relatively low-priced OEM ink cartridges are driving sales in places such as China. Other factors for tepid growth are not unique to developing regions. Laser hardware is cost competitive and durable, and most consumers do not require a printer outside of the office.

Ink jet printer manufacturers often tout the benefits of their color pigment inks for photo printing. However, it is possible that office printing will be responsible for driving significant growth in the market for color pigmented inks in upcoming years. As a result of technological improvements, pigment inks can now be optimized for a wide range of home, photo, and office applications. Pigment-based inks are expected to capture a greater share of ink jet ink volume and eventually become the dominant ink type. As a segment, pigment-based ink shipments (black and color) are projected to contract only slightly between 2008 (15.5 million liters) and 2012 (15.1 million liters). As with pigments, developers have overcome many of the earlier limitations of dye-based inks. Still, dye ink volume and market share is expected to shrink from 52 percent in 2008 to 49 percent in 2012.

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