Wirth Consulting has just completed a Hands-On Test Report on what we feel is a really important digital imaging device, the $599 Epson B-510DN Business Color Ink Jet Printer. It hasn’t gotten a lot of marketing support (when was the last time you saw an Epson commercial?), but it is a ground-breaking product. What’s that [...]
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A Closer Look At Remanufactured Ink Cartridges—A Bargain Or Not?
Call it what you will—remanufacturing or refilling—the practice of third-parties refilling and reselling ink and toner cartridges has always roused the ire of original equipment manufacturers (OEMs)–as well as their legal staffs–and for good reason, of course, as these supplies represent important recurring revenue streams for OEMs. In February 2010, computer-maker Dell decided to get [...]
Does HP’s Smart Install Live Up to its Name?
On Monday, April 26th, we received a surprise from UPS—the delivery of an early production version of the Hewlett-Packard LaserJet Pro M1212nf MFP. In case you’ve been living in a cave with no Wi-Fi Internet access, this little gem retails for $199.99 and was just introduced earlier this month. It’s HP’s latest and least expensive [...]
A Look Beyond A3 And The Dealer Channel
It’s a given that in this economy, hardly any customers will be purchasing products that they don’t really need. Purchasing something just because it’s fashionable and/or may be needed in the future just doesn’t cut it any more. It’s also a given that customers are seeking more efficient and less costly ways to purchase office-imaging [...]
New Battle In The War Over Ink Costs: Page Yield Versus Ink Quantity
The subject of consumables’ pricing for digital-imaging systems has always been a touchy one, and not just for ink-jet printers and All-in-Ones. At the high end, many vendors are reluctant to disclose consumables’ pricing, fearing to incur the wrath of dealers who would like to keep such information under wraps. In the color ink-jet printer [...]
New Web-Enabled Color All-in-Ones Make Great Holiday Gifts
Considering the state of the economy, the forthcoming holidays are as good a time as any to invest wisely in a family holiday gift that is both fun and productive. That is indeed a rare combination of traits for any product to have—until now. The recent introduction of two innovative All-in-Ones equipped with groundbreaking Web [...]
It’s Amazing – Printer Prices Keep Dropping Despite The Economy
We’ve all been aware of how pricing for digital-imaging equipment (printers and MFPs) has dropped over the years, especially those of us who remember that the first B/W Hewlett-Packard 8-ppm LaserJet cost $3,495 in 1984 while the 8-ppm B/W Apple LaserWriter PostScript printer (right) cost $6,995 in 1985. Why revisit this phenomena now? Consider this: [...]
Fast Ink-Jet Printing Technology Is Nothing New But ‘Really’ Big News
As you probably know by now (here), somebody (Xerox) finally introduced a high speed ink-jet page printer/MFP (as opposed to roll-fed printer) for general consumption. While it may not be the first of its kind, the fact that it’s from Xerox, replete with all the trimmings (top-notch engineering, marketing and support), makes this especially big [...]
Universal Print Drivers Test the Definition Of “Universal” (Part 1)
When I hear the term “Universal Print Driver” (UPD), I think of it in relation to the many print-driver related problems that I’ve encountered with print drivers over the years in extensive testing of hundreds of printers and MFPs, during my business travels, and in personal use. While UPDs have been out for quite a [...]
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Let’s Not Bicker And Argue About Who Is ‘Overcharging’ Who For Ink
by Terry Wirth on February 1, 2010 in Ink-Jet, Opinions
One of my most treasured comedic film moments comes from “Monty Python and the Holy Grail.” Michael Palin, after witnessing considerable carnage in and around his castle makes this plea: “Let’s not bicker and argue about who killed who.” Anyway, since I was broken in under the direction of Arthur Kallet (a co-founder of Consumers [...]