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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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Epson strikes back as Ink Sales suffer

Posted on February 24, 2010 by kflack

Tuesday, May 08, 2007

Epson strikes back at Calidad inks as Ink Sales suffer

“Tests show Calidad inks not suitable for printing photographs” screamed the headline from an Epson press release.Third party ink suppliers are estimated to be at approximately 30% of after market ink cartridge sales, printer manufacturers like Epson are waging a PR war against cut price competitors.

Razor Blade Model

As most consumers of inkjet printers probably know, printing manufacturers like Epson, Lexmark, HP, Canon that most inkjets now sold are more or less disposable products retailing at ridiculously low prices where they recoup their costs woth overpriced inkjet cartridges. Similar things are happening in the emerging color laser printer space.

3rd Part Inks Thrive

There is a healthy and growing market for third party ink suppliers which sell replacement ink cartridges significantly below the prices of OEM cartridges. This has the effect of eating into the after market ink sales of printing manufacturers and it also lengthens the printer replacement cycle as consumers will tend to keep printers longer if they can source reasonably priced ink refills.

Political Wars

Faced with a challenge to their business models by third party after market ink sales, OEM suppliers are becoming more aggressive in their anti-third party rhetoric.Epson warned against the use of third party inks in its printers with the release of “independent test results” which purport to show that one of Australia and New Zealand’s best known third-party ink brands, Calidad, has one of the poorest results for print life ever measured.

Epson Claims

“The Calidad ink cartridges appear to contain low-stability dye-based substitutes for Epson high-stability DURABrite pigment inks. The Calidad inks have poor resistance to atmospheric ozone that may be present in homes and offices, and the Calidad inks also give up waterfastness when printed on plain paper,” Mr Wilhelm said.

“When Epson users see these results they should be in no doubt that using third party inks in their Epson printers will lead to rapid fading and loss of their precious photographs,” Epson’s Marketing Communications Director, Mike Pleasants said.

“I am sure that no parents would want to give or receive as a gift a framed photograph of treasured children, friends or relatives, or that special occasion, that can suffer significant fading in less than a year,” Pleasants said.

3rd Party Manufacturers fight back

Despite the claims from Epson, however, the third party market has hit back with its own report which refutes any suggestions that third party ink products are inferior to the more expensive OEM products.

A new survey by Lyra Research and published in Recharger Magazine revealed that

48% of respondents who had used non-OEM supplies said that they have never had a problem with a non-printer-brand cartridge.
6% have had many problems, defined as more than 10 percent of the time, and
44% have had “just a few problems,” defined as less than 10% of the time.

Overall, 93% of color laser printer users and 92% of color inkjet users said they either have had no problems with aftermarket cartridges or have had “just a few” problems, according to the survey.

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Printing goes Wireless at Lexmark

Posted on February 24, 2010 by kflack

Friday, April 20, 2007

Lexmark makes wireless printing AIOs
 
Lexmark is launching a new range of printers in the UK, with a new selection of wireless printers .

‘The company previewed the products at its Global Press Event in Kentucky, with Jeff Willard, vice president and general manager at Lexmark, and Jeff Meredith, director of product marketing, claiming the company’s new range will help consumers increase productivity.

Less than $100

The Lexmark execs said there’s been a surge in the number of homes with an all in one in recent years, largely due to increased affordability. Lexmark sees itself as central in driving this growth, having introduced the sub-$100 colour inkjet in the US in 1997 and sub-$200 all-in-one in 2001.

Wireless represents the Driving Technology

But wireless networking is expected to be one of the top drivers of productivity over the next five years, according to results of Lexmark’s 2007 Wireless and Printing survey. The company said printing has evolved, but wireless printers have previously been too expensive and complicated. In 2007, however, Lexmark predicts this will change.

“Wireless is the next big thing in inkjet printing and we will be providing easy-to-use and affordable wireless printers,” said Willard. “Lexmark will drive the explosive growth in the printing category and give customers access to something they previously couldn’t afford.”

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Third Party Inkjet Cartridge Product Reliability and Warranty

Posted on February 24, 2010 by kflack

Wednesday, December 13, 2006

Third Party Inkjet Cartridge Product Reliability and Warranty

 
Satisfaction Guarantee
Most third party products offer expiry dates of 3 years from the date of manufacture. Longer than many people keep their printers. Although most Third Party manufacturers only offer 30-90 days of satisfaction guarantee it is not because they experience a higher failure rate thereafter but simply so that they do not have to keep inordanite amounts of funds reserved for futre potential claims.

Warranty

Most companies set aside x # of $ for warranty purposes and in effect it would not make sense for them to carry forward multiple years of sales percentages for the product. Our statistics shows less than 1 in x thousands of cartridges fails, and most of these failures are attributable to user related or printer equipment problems. Similarily 30-90 days is sufficient to allow for new clients to properly evaluate their satisfaction levels with the product.

We have never refused a warranty claim for any failed product in the company history for any reason (attributable to the product, or delivery) regardless of date. I am sure not all companies can attest to that claim.

Note: We review our suppliers and track failure rates extensively. We routinely test products from various manufacturers and select only those products offering the highest overall reiliability.

Not all inkjet Cartridges are made the same
Some 3rd party manufacturers have lesser quality ink formulas that can dry out resulting in clogged heads and premature replacement of inkjet cartridges. (See our earlier article on Npyrol). Similarily, the manufacture of the cartridge itself will determine its fit within the printer and its overall seal. Thirdly many cartridges are refillable by using a cartridge resetter. Not all Third Party manufacturers use chips that support being reset.How can you as the end user determine who makes the best inkjet cartridge?

Check out Newsgroups
Customer Feedback Sites
Research how inkjet products work so that you understand what you are buying
The length of time the company has been in business
Feedback from friends

Manufacturers Warranty
No inkjet manufacturer will void their warrany for their printer simply because you use 3rd party inkjet products (Its illegal)

What products have the highest failure rates
Something that none of the inkjet manufactures will ever tell you or publish you can find out here.

Worst
 
The 3rd party market for Lexmark Remanufactured cartridges definately offers the lowest reliability. As Dell uses Lexmark manufactured products (To their Specification) we’ll let you decide where they stand.

Better
 
HP has a well established market and proven technology. We’ll give them a passing grade and you can be confident with the industries re-manufactured products. Again not all remanufactured products are put through the same testing /cleaning prior to being refilled so beware of extreemenly low cost, or fly by night companies.

Best
 
Canon and Epson compatible cartridges are by far the best overall third party products on the market. Due to their simpler design (No Heads) there is less to fail. They are the overall winner in any customer satisfaction survey, and we wouldn’t hesitate to promote them to anyone.

Filed under: FAQ, Inkjet Info | Tagged: , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »