Ausjet Inkjet & Laser Supplies Blog


New Products: Koala Inkjet Papers

By on 27 July 2010 click here to comment

The new Koala range of Inkjet Papers is a Premium range of coated Inkjet papers that will bring out the best colours from your inkjet printer. Irrespective of what printer brand these papers will bring the inks to life!

Not all inkjet papers give the same results. Koala papers are manufactured in a ISO4001 and ISO9001 factory and provide papers for some of the largest distributors in the world. They have been developing inkjet papers for 15 years and have the very latest in state of the art multi-coating equipment. The factory has also attained 100% green certification. 

Some of the advanced properties you will find in Koala Papers are:

  • Bright White Base Coating
  • Unique Advanced Inkjet Coating
  • Up to 7 Layers of Coating Per Sheet
  • Quick Dry
  • Water Resistant
  • Acid Free
  • Designed to work with all brands of inkjet printers.
  • The Resin Coated photo papers are universal for Pigment and Dye printers. (Traditionally its quite difficult to get a true photo paper that works well using dye and pigment inks)

The Koala range covers Matte papers(high resolution), Photo Papers in single and double sided (in Matte, Hi Gloss, Semi-Gloss and Soft Silky), Sticker Papers and Magnet Papers available in A4 and 4x6(A6) size. Their is a wide range of gsm(thickness) and different coatings to suit everybodies tastes.

Click here to see the complete range of Koala Papers



Technical Bulletin - Reciclamais Expo

By on 29 June 2010 click here to comment

Reciclamais Expo

olá!, I was lucky enough to attend the Reciclamais show in São Paulo, Brazil on June 8-10th 2010. This Expo is regarded as the most important show within Latin America and is associated with Recharger magazine.

Flying to Brazil
As you can expect the flights from Australia to Brazil are not short, I started to count the hours including all the stop overs on my itinerary: After counting with all my fingers and toes I still hade many hours to go, so decided it was best not to know. I wasn't really that worried about the long flights, because I had a plan: The plan was to learn Portugese, I figured I could learn the language and be fully up to speed by the time I got there. There's nothing better than leaving things to the last moment they say! I had this really nifty program on my phone, which speaks Portugese to me and then I would try to repeat it. After getting a few weird looks during the flight I decided ummmm...... maybe better to watch the in flight movies instead.

Santiago
Santiago airport was great fun, a 5 hour delay and three gate changes all without any notice. Luckily I ran into some fellow Australians and Brazilians who have been studying English in Australia. I sometimes play a game, I must admit this is not a normal game but maybe this is because I'm not normal; anyway enough of that, the game is 'Pick the Nationality': Its not always the easiest game, but when you see some young guys wearing board shorts and tee shirts you know they have to be Australian. For some reason our nationality has decided that board shorts and a tee meets international travel standards. Outside temperature in Santiago was 6 degrees and it's winter in Australia, right!

The Expo
The expo was located at the Expo Centre Norte, Yellow Pavilion. Luckily between my pointing and basic Portugese I was able to get the taxi driver to the correct pavilion ... you know, the yellow building. The same could not be said for many other international visitors: I heard horror stories of some people driving around for hours looking for the building. My plan was working, my Portugese was coming in handy, and talking to yourself in the plane has its advantages!!

The expo had 126 booths and at many of these booths were companies that we had never had contact with before: It took three days to fully get around to all the booths. With a large number of the exhibiting companies from Brazil it was very interesting to see what products were available to the local market. I must mention that the remanufacturing industry in Brazil is very large and there were many international companies at this expo trying to gain some market share. There are two trade associations in Brazil: ABRECI and AGRECI, which is the equivilant of our ACRA. There are over 20,000 remanufacturing companies registered with these trade associations: Thats 20,000 registered, and I wonder how many more are not registered!

I was pleasantly surprised that at most booths somebody had the skills to speak to me in English, sometimes translators were used but all up the language barrier was not as big a problem as I first expected it to be. It was not that uncommon during my travels to hear of young Brazilians coming to Australia to learn English. In fact, just like Brazil and South America seem an exotic tourist destination for us, it seems Australia and New Zealand are also well regarded as great holiday destinations for them as well. The local distributor of Sensient ink in Brazil has a phone with a AC/DC ring tone on it and he was quoting lines from Crocodile Dundee to me. I guess that's what we are famous for!!

As well as the Brazilian companies at the expo, there was also a wide range of international companies.: Many companies from China, Taiwan,   Korea and some European companies were showcasing their products. You also had the major industry brands at the show, including Sensient, who were there assisting their distributors. In Brazil there has been lots of issues with the Formulabs name which is the previous name for Sensient inkjet ink. A few companies were selling ink under the Formulabs name even though it was not ink from Sensient, which is pretty naughty! This just shows you how well regarded Sensient ink is in South America.

We discovered different and unique products and we are investigating their suitability for our market. Many of the filling machines, centrifuges, etc. were slightly different to what we have seen before. It's interesting to see how people attack the same problem from different angles  around the world... We continually try to source the best products suitable for our market from around the world and this is one of the main reasons we travel to these expos.

My opinion is that the Brazilian remanufactured market is very similiar to ours in many ways, with remanufacturing (recharging) stores making up the majority of the market. A quick walk from my hotel and I discovered a small remanufacturing store with a locally made vacuum filling machine offering a while-you-wait service. We then tried to start a conversation, and I must say their Portugese was very good and so was my English: Lets just say it wasn't a long conversation. We exchanged business cards and I took a few photos and the adventure continued...

Sensient                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         There were three representatives from Sensient at the expo and we spent a great deal of time discussing various details about their inks, future ink releases, different markets, marketing materials and many other topics we hope will strengthen their brand and help you, our customers. I'm not sure if you know but Sensient is not a small company, their turnover is 1.4 billion US dollars a year and have been manufacturing inkjet inks for over 30 years. They have a very long manufacturing history and their doors first opened in 1893 under the name 'Meadow Springs Distillery'! This does not mean you can drink the stuff!!

We have existing inks compatible with the HP564/HP920/Pgi-520/Cli-521 cartridges, however, Sensient has recently developed a dedicated inkset for these models which offers 100% colour match with the OEM. Another soon to be available inkset will be the pigment inks for the HP940 CMYK cartridges.

Our current H4WL4 is a patented high density pigment black ink and we have received great feedback. Sensient is soon to release another HP Pigment ink which pushes ink chemistry to the limits again. We have samples of all the new inks and will commence our own in-house testing soon.

Sensient has also recently increased their inkjet ink range to cover a wide range of exciting new markets using new inkjet technology: We are researching these markets and will endeavour to bring you the information and inks neccessary to enter these lucrative markets.

The Lift!!
It seems no matter where I travel some object is trying to take me out, in this case it was my hotel lift. If you're on the 22nd floor of a hotel the lift is the way down, but it seems one particular lift had a mind of its own! In the morning I entered the lift and the door closed, I pressed 'ground floor' and nothing happened. Pressed 'ground floor' again - still nothing - and then silence... so there I was in Brazil stuck in a lift! Fortunately after a few minutes and a few prayers the lift started going down. Score: Lift 1, Shane 0.

Round 2: After a long day at the show and a few local beverages (Brahma) I headed back to the hotel: I arrived at the hotel and jumped into the lift which was empty and ready to go. It had been a long day and I had forgotten about my earlier adventures with lift No.5, but I soon remembered... All was going well, at Floor 22 the lift door opened and, I'm not sure if it was my lack of speed caused by an excess of brahma consumption or not, but, upon exiting the lift, the doors tried to eat my bag! However, using my brahma-inspired, new-found confidence, I managed to free my bag and outwit the lift. However, I never used lift no.5 again, even though it was always there waiting ominously to devour me!!

I was happy to call it a 1-1 draw!!

Football, Brahma and did I say Football!
The Reciclamais show started at midday and ran to 8pm at night for three days: Tuesday to Thursday. I believe this is a good time schedule for this type of expo for a number of reasons: The first is that it gives you time in the morning; the second is it does allow local businesses to attend the show after normal business trading hours; and the third is that, thanks to three generous sponsors, Brahma was available free everyday at the expo. I'm not sure what the plan with the free beer was - maybe they thought it would help them close business deals easier.

Did I say football (...soccer)
As you have probably heard football is basically a religion in Brazil. I was looking forward to seeing a local football game, but due to the fact that the World Cup was on, no games were played during that time. It's incredible that everybody you talk to knows about the Brazilian team. Everyone had two things in common - they all didn't like the coach as his formation is not attacking enough and they don't like their arch-rivals: Argentina.

I heard that if you are in Brazil when Brazil is playing the streets are like a ghost town: Everybody is watching the game on TV. São Paulo is a large city with around 12 million people and you can imagine getting from one side of the town to the other could take a while... I heard from one local that if they know they have to travel to the other side of town, they would wait for a Brazil game!!!!

Obrigado
  Shane


Technical Bulletin 29-06-10

By on 25 June 2010 click here to comment


Technical Bulletin 29th June 2010

Stocktake!!
This Friday the 2nd of July we will close early at 1.00pm for our stocktake
.

Compatible 73n Cartridges - Very Important Information!!
As part of our research into compatible 73N cartridges we have discovered a brand on the market that
claims up to 90% more printing than OEM. We have investigated this claims as we like to compare our competition cartridges against our Procolor range. We have found that this claim (in our opinion)  "Apples ain't Apples"
When you read the fine print on these cartridges you will find that there is only about 6 printer models where the cartridge would actually print more ink. The reality is, that even though the cartridges are sold with large print emphasising % more printing the reality is that there would not be many printers on the market today that would allow the excess ink to be used. Most of the models listed on the fine print are out of date.

Changes in Design of Procolor PB-37 / PB-57
You may notice that the design of the Procolor LC-37 and LC-57 cartridges have changed recently. This is a change of shape to the new style which is similiar to the Procolor LC-38/LC-67. This new shape is quite different to the OEM cartridges and therefore further protects the cartridge from OEM patents. The other advantage is that these cartridges are now a very easy proposition to fill, a simple removal of a clear silicon plug allows access to the fill hole. These cartridges are much simplier to fill than the OEM.

Patent infrigments in Europe with Compatible CLP-300 Cartridges
At the Reciclamais show I heard the news that many compatible brands of CLP-300 cartridges were infringing Samungs Patents in Europe. It would appear that the patent issue is on the internal workings of the cartridge.

New PGI-5 / CLI-8 Battery Powered Resetter
We have recently received a new type of resetter for the PGI-5 / CLI-8 cartridges. The resetter is light blue in colour and has some good properties. It will automatically identify the cartridge model and detect whether the chip on the cartridge is in a good state or not before resetting the chip. Since the resetter is operated by a small replaceable battery, it can easily be replaced by removing the four screws on the bottom of the resetter. The resetter will also reset the Procolor Pgi-5 / Cli-8 cartridges but has a slightly different reset procedure to the included instructions, the Procolor instructions will be available as a download from our site.

Foaming of inks - Why is this?
I'm sure you have all seen some inks that foam(froth) up more than other inks and you may ask yourself why this is so. Over the years I have seen some inks that foam up substancially. Long, long ago the first pigment 29A ink I tested was just terrible. Because the ink was filled under pressure the ink would foam up badly making it virtually impossible to fill the carridge with the equipment available. Recently I have heard complaints from some new customers that they were having filling problems because the ink they used (non Sensient)would froth up. You may wonder what is in the ink that causes it to froth up? The simple answer is that the wetting agent(surfactant) and/or dye/pigment is what creates the froth.

Obviously from a filling point of view we all require inks that are low foam in design. Foaming of the ink during filling can lead to slower filling time, less ink volume in the cartridge and/or air pockets in the cartridge sponge(foam). There is a few tricks to help reduce foaming.  In vaccum filling machines, a lower vacuum and decreasing the fill speed will help. This is why a vacuum filling machine with adjustable speed and vacuum is an advantage which is a big feature of our Sage range of refilling machines. With manual filling, adjusting the filling speed to a slower speed and positioning the needle to touch the side of the cartridge will help reduce the foam (just like pouring a beer).

Inkjet ink manufacturers should use the right quality surfactants and dye/pigments which will make the inks as low foam as possible. In this way refilling cartridges will be a whole lot easier and quicker. I have spoken to Sensient at Reciclamais about the foaming of other suppliers inks and they mentioned that they understood this problem in depth and that all their inks are designed as a low foam solution with manual and machine refilling in mind.

Dreaming about inks
I would like to say 'Sweet Dreams' to Sue (my boss) who apparantly reads my technical bulletin to help her to go to sleep!




Latest News 28th May 2010

By on 27 May 2010 click here to comment


Sensient Revive Tonic

It seems to be a well kept secret that we stock Sensients most powerful printhead recovery fluid. The revive tonic will work with both dye and pigment based inks and can be used in permanent printheads or as a soaking solution for integrated printheads to clear jets. It is highly recommended to rinse the printhead after soaking with pure water, as this is a very powerful cleaner. 

The price is now only $12.75 per litre and extremely good value for money.

Cartridge Citi - Qld Independent Retailer of the Year 2009

Congratulations to Col and the team at Cartridge Citi at Victoria Point Qld, which is a stone throw from our doors. Qld independent retailer of the year as voted by the Australian Retailers Association is a huge honor and shows the quality and service of work that Cartridge Citi provides. We are very pleased for Col and its great to see a customer of ours win such a prestigious award.

Laser Revive - 20 Years of remanufacturing/refilling and still going strong!

Congratulations to Bill and Jan and the team from Laser revive who have been providing outstanding products and service to their customers for 20 years in 2010. As you can imagine with working in this industry for 20 years they have a great deal of experience. With their permission we hope to bring you more details of their story in a future release.

H4WL4 Ink

In the last newsletter we mentioned that we are now official distributor for Sensient Inkjet Inks in Australian and New Zealand. We have been supplying Sensient ink for many years now and we have been very surprised by the feedback about our new H4WL4 (HP PIGMENT) ink. It's normally not usual to have people excited about inkjet ink, but our patented H4WL4 has become our 'star ink'. See what some of our customers are saying about this ink:

'H4WL4 is Fantastic! excellent sharpness, extremely versatile'
B.S, Cartridge World 

'I have been using H4WL4 for all Lexmark and HP Pigment Cartridges for several months and have never had a problem. I recommend it and have changed over to all Ausjet inks (Sensient) now.'
P.E  , Cartridge World

More DIY refill kits to our range

We have added the following DIY refill kits to our range. Refill kits have traditionally been very messy to use and not well designed, these kits are very professional and we believe a step up over most other kits available.

Smart DIY HP564 Large Black kit
Smart DIY Hp564 Cyan kit
Smart DIY Hp564 Magenta kit
Smart HP564 Yellow kit
Smart HP564 Photo Black kit
Procolor Lexmark 32 Black kit
Procolor Lexmark 42 Colour kit

Click here to see our complete range of premium DIY Refill Kits


 



Technical Update and Latest News

By on 13 May 2010 click here to comment

 

Sensient USA Announcement

We are pleased to announce that Sensient USA have granted Ausjet Inkjet and Laser Supplies (in addition to Australia) the sole distribution rights for inkjet inks for New Zealand.


Update on Development Of Chips

From earlier technical bulletins you would of heard about the new Lexmark 100/105 chip that uses RDIF(Radio) type chips. This type of chip is now also found in the Dell Series 21 cartridges , I had a quick chat with a chip manufacturer that we work very closely with, they mentioned that a solution is still quite a while away and in fact they have labeled it 'as a very difficult r&d project'.

Good news in that they expect a chip to be available for the HP564/HP920 by July/August. Which means that compatibles for these models should be available around the same time.

Internal Promotion

We are pleased to announce that Shane Foreman has been promoted to Manager of our technical support division. As most of you that have dealt with Shane will know that he is passionate about all things inkjet. His major responsibilities with be customer technical support, product/benchmark testing and aquisition. He will also act as our technical liason with our suppliers. Unfortunately his duties will also include attending overseas technical and printer consumables exhibitions. (He cried for days when we informed him). His next big trip will be to attend Reclaimais in Sao Paolo in Brazil. Well done Shane, it looks like your passion to get down and dirty (with ink!) is paying off! 

We are after 'Incompatible printers' !!

Advancement of chip technology and constant firmware changes from OEM printer manufacturers is making it more difficult to produce fully compatible chips. The most difficult chip in the last few years for the compatible chip manufacturers has been for the 73N cartridges, this is due to numerous firmware changes in the printers. The latest version from Procolor is Version 6.0N which has been very reliable with less than 2% overall return rate, but due to the numerous firmware printer versions we are encountering 'incompatible issues with some printers'. We have been spending a great deal of time discussing this issue with the chip manufacturer, but we need your help.

In our industry if we really want to solve these problems, we need to work as a team. If you do have any 73N cartridges returned due to incompatibility issues - we really need the printer model and the serial number which is located at the back of the printer. I do understand how hard it is to get this information from many customers, but as I mentioned before if we don't supply this information we are not moving forward.

The chip manufacturer has asked us if possible to send them any printers that are incompatible. It is a very strong possibility that the Australian/NZ market has some different firmware versions than other market areas, the only way we are going to solve this problem fully is to supply the information and printers they require to fix the problem. I know many customers once they realise that their cartridges can't be refilled or a compatible not available may look for a new printer which is lower cost to run. This could be a good way for us to get our hands on a 'incompatible printer', we really need to be proactive with this.

The problem is not as straight forward as you would imagine, for example it seems that the TX110 model seems to have more 'incompatibility issues' than other models. But we know a very high percentage of these printers will work with the Procolor V6.0N cartridges. We also know through testing that newer models are also compatible, in fact a model we purchased the other day works fine with no issues. But there is a select group of printers out there that aren't compatible, nobody can tell me exactly why. Rumours that upgrading the printer driver would cause the problem was tested by us and the chip manufacturer and all models after upgrading worked fine. Upgrading to Windows 7 was also a possible cause, but the chip manufacturers have tested this on over 15 models without any problems.

We also know that the cheaper model printers that use these cartridges have also known to have manufacturing faults. Its not uncommon to hear genuine OEM cartridges not been recognised. Has the OEM gone so far that even their cartridges are not recognised in some instances!!

If you have any further information on this issue, please don't hesitate to share the information with us. We all work in this industry, its my job and as part of your support team we want to find solutions for you, its also your business so lets be proactive and work together. 

To clarify, if you find a customer using Procolor 73N and it is incompatible with their printer, we need the printer model and the serial number which is located at the back of the printer. If it is possible that your customer no longer requires their printer then it could be sent to us so that we can organise to send it to the chip manufacturer. This way they can analyse the printer and find out what is going on!

Recicilimas June 8th-10th, Sao Paulo Brazil

Over the last few years we have been noticing many new innovative remanufacturing/refilling products coming out of South America. This year with all going well I will be attending the South American expo in Sao Paulo Brazil. The expo hosted by the recharger magazine will be in its 9th year and I'm really excited to be able to attend this event. The expo will cover 8000m2 in size which covers 120+ exhibitors and the technical lecture area. Each year the show is growing from strength to strength and forecasts are a minimum of 10000 visitors over the three days. For you our customers, we really hope to find new innovative products and new solutions. If you are also attending this expo can you please contact me, it would be great to catch up for a drink in Sao Paulo. Just remember this expo is a gathering of remanufacturers and if you have any specific problem, product or information you require please drop me a line and I'll do my absolute best to find out what I can for you.

Who is your printer talking to?

With the internet been standard these days on most computers, many of the printer manufacturers have decided that collecting information on the usage of their printers is now a possibility. With this information they can better understand how most customers are using their printers and hopefully use these statistics to design better printers for us. Of course OEMS are only collecting information about the printer so don't worry and this is very well explained. This is all above board and common these days for software programs to send information to the manufacturer to analyse problems etc .  When installing printers I have always noticed a tick box, you can tick the box if you want information from your printer sent to the manufacturer. But when installing one of the latest printers, this option was no longer an option and was part of the installation agreement. So if you wanted to install the printer driver to use your printer you also have agreed to this option. Is this information so important or irrelevant that we don't even have the choice anymore?


Dermot and Shane



Ausjet News

By on 7 May 2010 click here to comment

 

 


Latest News 7th May 2010




INTERNAL PROMOTION

We are pleased to announce that Shane Foreman has been promoted to Manager of our technical support division. As most of you that have dealt with Shane will know that he is passionate about all things inkjet. His major responsibilities with be customer technical support, product/benchmark testing and aquisition. He will also act as our technical liason with our suppliers. Unfortunately his duties will also include attending overseas technical and printer consumables exhibitions. (He cried for days when we informed him). His next big trip will be to attend Reclaimais in Sao Paolo in Brazil. Well done Shane, it looks like your passion to get down and dirty (with ink!) is paying off! 

SENSIENT USA ANNOUNCEMENT

We are pleased to announce that Sensient USA have granted Ausjet Inkjet and Laser Supplies (in addition to Australia) the sole distribution rights for inkjet inks for New Zealand.

UPDATE ON DEVELOPMENT OF CHIPS

From earlier technical bulletins you would of heard about the new Lexmark 100/105 chip that uses RDIF(Radio) type chips. This type of chip is now also found in the Dell Series 21 cartridges , I had a quick chat with a chip manufacturer that we work very closely with, they mentioned that a solution is still quite a while away and in fact they have labeled it 'as a very difficult r&d project'.

Good news in that they expect a chip to be available for the HP564/HP920 by July/August. Which means that compatibles for these models should be available around the same time.



 
Ausjet is
 a proud member of:

Phone: (07) 3823 5433 Fax: (07) 3823 5422
Email:sales@ausjetinks.com.au Web:www.ausjetinks.com.au






 



New Product - Smart DIY Refill Kits

By on 21 April 2010 click here to comment

 


New Product - DIY Refill Kit

Semi Automatic Patented Refill Kit
Easy to use - No Mess - No Syringes





The Smart refilling kit is truly a breakthrough
in do it yourself inkjet refill kits.
Click here to watch a youtube video and see how easy
and mess free it is for your customers to fill at home!



DIY Smart Canon PG40 / 50 Refill kit

containing 3 x black ink fills, 1 x Drill, 1 x Guide for the drill,1 x Filling Cradle, 1 x Instructions
DIY Smart Canon CL41 / 51 Refill kit
containing 2 x cyan ink fills, 2 x magenta inks fills, 2 x yellow ink fills, 1 x Drill, 1 x Guide for the drill, 1 x Filling Cradle, 1 x Instructions
DIY Smart HP21 / 27 / 56 / 74 / 92 / 94 / 98 Refill kit
containing 3 x black ink fills, 1 x Drill, 1 x Guide for the drill,1 x Filling Cradle, 1 x Instructions
DIY Smart HP22 / 28 / 57 / 75 / 97 / 110 Refill kit containing 2 x cyan ink fills, 2 x magenta inks fills, 2 x yellow ink fills, 1 x Filling Cradle, 1 x Instructions
DIY Smart Lexmark 16 / 17 Refill kit
containing 3 x black ink fills, 1 x Drill, 1 x Guide for the drill,1 x Filling Cradle, 1 x Instructions
DIY Smart Lexmark 26 / 27 Refill kit
containing 2 x cyan ink fills, 2 x magenta inks fills, 2 x yellow ink fills, 1 x Drill, 1 x Guide for the drill, 1 x Filling Cradle, 1 x Instructions



Ausjet is
 a proud member of:

Phone: (07) 3823 5433 Fax: (07) 3823 5422
Email:sales@ausjetinks.com.au Web:www.ausjetinks.com.au



Technical Bulletin 14-04-10

By on 14 April 2010 click here to comment

Technical Bulletin 14-04-2010

HP Introduces new 'Plug and print technology'
This new technology from HP enables customers to begin printing in as little as two minutes by connecting a netbook, notebook PC or desktop PC to the printer with a USB cable – no CD required. The software is installed on the printer and once the USB cable is connected installation starts on the computer. 'Smart Install' will be available on the new laserjet pro range, a video of the technology from HP is available click here to view

New HP564/920 Transportation clips now available
We have two new clips for the HP564/920 series cartridges, these clips look very similar to the OEM Pgi-5\Cli-8 clips. The two clips are the HP564 Pigment Black (large) and the other is for the cyan, magenta, yellow and photo black cartridges. The two clips are D6 (Large) and D7 (colours and photo black). These clips are a 'twist and push' type.

Thoughts on differences between ink brands
I have often been asked what is the difference between ink brands. Unless you know what formulation and colorants everybody is using its almost impossible to know. But its very important to use the best quality ink you can get your hands on. I once heard a mechanic say if you have an old clunker, don't use the cheapest oils - use the best you can get your hands on. He pointed out that due to the condition of the motor, a better oil will give you much better performance and the motor will most likely also last longer. He pointed out that this may be the best insurance you could have to keep 'old reliable' working well.

This saying can also be used when talking about 'intended for single use' printheads as well. We are all reusing a 2nd hand product and a product that does have an end life. We can't expect an ink cartridge to last forever and why should we! But by running the best available ink through the cartridge we give our customers a much better chance of getting more reuses out of that cartridge.

You may be wondering what is or isn't in the ink that can possibly effect the life of the cartridge? The following is a quick list of what I am aware of:

Ink starvation
The viscosity and surface tension of the ink affects the flow through the cartridge. An incorrectly formulated ink may result in 'ink starvation', when all of a sudden white appears on the page instead of the print. This is because the ink is not flowing to and through the printhead at the correct rate. While the cartridge is not printing ink the heaters/resistors are still firing which is overheating the area and could possibly be causing a weakness to the heaters/resistors.

Purity of the ink
Recent documented evidence has proven that damage to the resistors/heaters over time can be caused by using lower grade dyes and pigments. Of course when selecting dyes and pigments you have various grades you can choose from, this is purely a cost decision. OEMS use high grade pure pigments and dyes and so should you.

Drying of the ink
When the cartridge inside the printer is not used, it is capped. The capping system is designed to prevent the ink from drying inside the cartridge, but its not a perfect system. The longer the printhead is not used, the more likely the ink in the printhead will clog. Its critical to have the right percentage of glycols(humectants) in the ink. Lower percentages of humectants will increase the chance of the ink drying and blocking the nozzles. Depending on the severity of the blocked nozzle, the built in cleaning systems of the printer may not be able to recover it. These blocked nozzles will obviously then cause printing flaws and the heater/resistor will continue to fire without any cooling caused by the ink running through the nozzle.

PH
The correct PH range of the ink is also critical. Over time an incorrect PH may result in de-lamination and damage of the inner printhead seals.

Kogation
Kogation is the term used to describe a phenomenon whereby residues are deposited over time on a heater/resistor element. Kogation effects the volume, shape and velocity of the ejected ink drop. Kogation results in inaccurate placement of the drop and therefore affects print quality. Higher grade inks will often contain additives that are designed to remove kogation or prevent kogation as the ink runs through the printhead.


As you can see there is many factors that can affect the life and print quality of the cartridge once the cartridge has been collected from your business. With most ink cartridges containing between 5-15mls of ink these days, the cost of the ink per cartridge is approx 20 - 68 cents per fill using Sensient inkjet inks. The ink is the main component but when you look at it this way it is also probably a very minor cost of the filling process. Oils aint Oils - Inks aint Inks.


Why Sensient Ink?
Sensient are a billion dollar US company that specialises in premium inks and have made ink for the printer OEM's. This indicates why they are held in such high regard by their peers. We have been supplying Sensient ink for over 20 years and in that period of time can honestly say that we have yet to be disappointed. In any industry you will find products that cover the complete spectrum from rubbish to premium. When it comes to premium inkjet inks, Sensient are way ahead of the pack with premium quality, higher reliability and more refills per cartridge. Our new H4WL4 black pigment is an excellent example. We recommend H4WL4 as it has a higher optical density than the OEM equivalent and once you try it you will never go back to an inferior product.

Paper can make a big difference
The type of paper your customers uses also has a very big influence on the print quality. Factors such as ink bleed, dry time, feathering, bleed through, rub resistance are all factors that can be improved with a better quality plain paper. A open standard called Colorlok developed by HP is a big step forward for inkjet printers. For more information on Colorlok click here

I hope this information is useful to you.
Shane



Technical Bulletin 1-04-2010

By on 1 April 2010 click here to comment

Technical Bulletin 1-04-2010

Kodak Release New Series 10 Cartridges
Kodak have confirmed that they will soon stop selling the Series 10 standard cartridges and will soon release a Series 10XL version as its replacement. Even though the XL cartridges will rise in price kodak still claims that it offers the lowest total ink tank replacement in the industry.  Kodak has also released two new printer models, the EPS7250 and ESP Office 6150 in the USA featuring these new tanks. The new XL version cartridges are also compatible with all previous printer models that used the standard Kodak 10 (backward compatible).

H4WL4 - Why this ink is great for you?
I'm sure you have all heard the saying 'oils ain't oils', well its the same with inks, 'inks ain't inks'. There is a few very important differences between our patented H4WL4 pigment black ink and traditional pigment inkjet inks. I don't want to get too far into the science of it, as its rather complex. But with the H4WL4 ink you have a higher optical density than OEM HP inks, this means essentially the print to your customers eyes will seem darker(blacker). The ink also is surface modified which means that it will produce crisper black text over a wide range of plain papers. But probably the main advantage of this ink for our industry is that the pigment is free of resins (water soluble binders). This means that this pigment ink even when dry (clogged) inside a printhead, will be much easier to clean than a pigment which contains resins. So you have a much greater chance of recovering and refilling that cartridge again. H4WL4 can be used in a wide range of cartridges.

Better Vacuum filling and New Business Ventures
Recently as part of NASA's plan to add more industry focus to their space program, and help to compensate for the reduction of funding from the US Goverment. NASA and a consortium of inkjet remanufacturing businesses have signed an agreement to start filling empty inkjet cartridges in Space, with everything going well they plan to add another module to the international space station early next year. At the end of the day it all comes down to finances with NASA, as they continue to explore the universe they need the finances to support it.

This association with the ReSpace consortium is a perfect solution. Tens or thousands of empty cartridges can be launched into space every month at no extra cost on the Space Shuttle and can be returned the following month after the filling is complete. We believe that these cartridges will be the most reliable inkjet cartridges ever produced, in fact we think this is a total breakthrough. Universal agreement amongst worldwide experts agree that filling cartridges in the vacuum of space would be the perfect solution. Vacuum pressure in space is at least 100 times greater than any vacuum created on Earth. Does this mean 1000% more reliable cartridges? Only time will tell but its certainly exciting. One thing to remember is that there is lots of Space in Space, so we have no real problem with expansion and the lack of business regulations means that waste disposal is no problem. Ausjet, in keeping with our policy of only supplying the best have already placed an order for reman cartridges with NASA and are eagerly awaiting our first shipment.The Respace consortium is looking for new members and if your business is interested in this exciting new venture, you can contact Mr G. Raffe at 07 5436 2000
Membership in Australia is extremly limited and applications close at 5pm EDST today.













































 


















 



Technical Bulletin - 11th March 2010

By on 11 March 2010 click here to comment

 

Technical Bulletin 11th March 2010


Improvement to Ball Plug (30-Plug-Ballplstc-HP) 

We have made some changes to these plugs, the current plug is white in colour and the next shipment of plugs will be a natural colour and manufactured out of a different plastic. In our testing the new plastic is much easier to drill into with our hand screw drill, which means it will be easier to be removed and more suitable for the e-valve system as well.

We should also note that this ball plug is the only plug we recommend for the Pgi-520\Cli-521 series cartridges. It's very important to not use any plug that protrudes above the top of the cartridge as in many printer models there is absolutely no clearance between the top of the cartridge and the printer.

Plug Compatibility

HP15,40,45,564,920
Canon Bc03, Bx-3, Bci-3,Bci-6, Pgi-5,Pgi-520,Cli-8,CLi-521


Update on Lexmark 100 Series Cartridges..Continued

No good news I am afraid. As explained in the previous technical bulletin we have been investigating the new Lexmark 100 Series cartridges which are in the complete range of new Lexmarks AIO inkjet printers. The cartridge feature a new RFID type chip under the cartridge label. This chip is used to identify the cartridge and, I would imagine, ink levels. If you remove the chip the printer does not recognise the cartridge is installed.

Our initial impressions of our test printer, the low end 'S305' model is that the print quality and speed are surprisingly good. With individual ink cartridges, wireless capabilities and a 5 year warranty it sounds like a much better offering from Lexmark.

We installed the printhead and the four return program individual ink cartridges (black, cyan, magenta and yellow) and then installed the driver and the printer updates from Lexmark which is part of the installation procedure.

Upon opening the cartridges I did notice that they are 'return program' cartridges. Many of us are all too aware of the return program with other Lexmark cartridges, but I thought I would include here the actual writing that is on the box.

The following RETURN PROGRAM information is actually on the box and the foil inside the box. This means that your customer actually accepts the following license twice before even touching the cartridge. Although I doubt they know this.

This is the writing on the box and the foil packaging:
'Opening this package or using the print cartridge inside confirms your acceptance of the following license/agreement. The patented print cartridge and its content are licensed for a single use only. After the single use, the license to use the print cartridge terminates, and the used cartridge must be returned only to Lexmark for remanufacturing, refilling or recycling. Visit www.lexmark.com/recycle for return information. IF YOU DO NOT ACCEPT THESE TERMS, RETURN THE UNOPENED PACKAGE TO YOUR POINT OF PURCHASE. A replacement cartridge sold without these terms is available through www.lexmark.com'

Of course there is an 'A' version of the Lexmark 100 series which is not a return program version, but we can't buy one anywhere. The 'A' Version of the cartridge is one you really own, strange world huh!. The 'A" version is the only type that can be refilled, we were intrigued by what would happen if we kept on printing with the return program version and yes, as you would expect, the cartridge 'comes up as empty'. No matter what I tried I could not get the printer to print again until the cartridge was replaced with our only choice at the moment: a return program version cartridge.

I contacted Lexmark about where I could buy the 'A' version cartridges and they told me they are not available in this country yet and could not give me any idea of when that would be. In fact they asked me why i would want to buy such a cartridge as it is more expensive. The 'A' version is available in many overseas countries, but until we see the 'A' cartridge it seems very much like a refilling service can't be provided for this cartridge.


What is STMC Approved?

Somebody asked me this recently and I wondered how well known is STMC. I asked around the office and got some interesting comments. Believe it or not this is what I heard from one of my colleagues 'Shane the cake murderer' or 'Shane the cookie monster',of course they have no idea its STMC not STCM.

But in fact STMC stands for Standardized Test Methods Committee. Is a set of standards to evaluate a cartridge, more information on STMC is available at 
http://www.i-itc.org/what_standards.htm.

Our premium quality toner cartridges are all STMC tested, it's our industry's symbol of quality.


HP564 and HP920 Clips

We have finished testing clips for the HP564 and HP920 series cartridges and we are pleased with the results. The clips are orange in colour and very similiar in design to the Cli-8 type clips. More information will be available when the shipment of these clips arrive.



 
Ausjet is
 a proud member of:

Phone: (07) 3823 5433 Fax: (07) 3823 5422
Email:sales@ausjetinks.com.au Web:www.ausjetinks.com.au




Latest Industry and product information

By on 26 February 2010 click here to comment

Register online, its fast and free

If you haven't registered online with Ausjet why not!

Registering online gives you access to

  • Our latest prices and price (in excel and .csv)
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  • 24/7 online ordering
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  • Viewing your previous invoices
  • Free PDF downloading of refill instructions
  • Access to our latest technical bulletins and earlier bulletins
  • Access to our lastest specials and industry information

To register now..
https://www.ausjetinks.com.au/do/login?register

Dell remanufacturing Inkjet Cartridges
Dell has released a new line of remanufactured inkjet cartridges for HP, Canon, Epson and Lexmark printers. Dell quotes up to 30% savings compared to OEM and up to 20% more printing. They also display 'excellent reliability' as independently tested from buyers laboratory inc in October 2009. Dell has also mentioned that they do plan to release remanufactured cartridges for Dell printers in the future. It is unknown if these cartridges will be available in our neck of the woods.
More information on the Dell website

Dell cartridges 'blow a fuse' when  low on ink
The following information from Dell explains in simple terms how the cartridges blow a fuse when low on ink. This is why the cartridge from that time on will always display 'ink low'. The article also explains how to best use remanufactured/refilled cartridges in dell printers to avoid the annoying 'nag screens'
Click here to read more

So no need 'to blow a fuse', read the article and be prepared the next time a customer asks you this curly question.

Filling the Procolor 73N and 81N in a vacuum filling machine
At Ausjet we pride ourslves on finding refilling solutions - if the OEM can't be filled we strive to find another solution. The 73N and 81N is an alternative solution that more and more businesses are offering to their customers.

The reasons we recommend this solution is:
Quick filling time
Very easy cartridge to fill (can even be refilled successfully without a vacuum filling machine)
Chip can be reset while the OEM chip can't be reset
Reliable cartridge that can be refilled numerous times


Follow the following steps to see how easy it is to fill these cartridges.

Simple steps to fill
1) Use the brother refill tools, I know it sounds weird but actually the fittings for these tools fit exactly and allow the cartridges to be filled under vacuum. Make sure the brother fill tool has adequate quantity of ink to fill the cartridge.
2) Seal the vent hole with a reusable plug or sealing tape.
3) Push the refill tool fitting into the fill hole of the cartridge (remove the clear plug). Make sure the fitting makes a tight seal.
4) Insert the tool and cartridge inside the vacuum chamber. Turn the vacuum on and wait until the chamber reaches maximum vacuum.
5) Release the vacuum and the cartridge will fill as the vaccuum is releasing. Reinsert the clear plug.
6) Reset the chip with the Procolor 9 pin resetter.

 



Latest News 26th February 2010

By on 23 February 2010 click here to comment

 


Latest News 24th February 2010


Our HP02 Refillable Cartridges - Now include tank and chip together

Our ever popular refillable and resettable HP02 cartridges are now sold as one unit. Previously they were available as a tank and chip. One unit is a much better solution for your customer as they don't have to put the chip on the tank before use. Even more good news is that the price is now lower than before.


 Does your customer want a  FREE Pool table! (Up to $1250 Value)

Why not reward your major customer or reward your most loyal customer with a FREE POOL TABLE.

Buy $5000 worth of Procolor inkjet compatibles or/and ink and we will give you a 7Ft pool table complete with all accessories. (RRP $1000)

Buy $6500 worth of Procolor inkjet compatibles or/and ink and we will give you a 8Ft pool table complete with all accessories. (RRP $1250)

Click here for the complete details of this promotion
 


New POS Products

Optical Mouse - USB Sports Car Racer Red
Optical Mouse - USB Sports Car Ferrari Siilver

Sports Car Racer
Optical Mouse
(Available in Red, Blue, Yellow)

Ferrari Car
Optical Mouse
(Available in Black, Silver, Red and Yellow


You can find these highly detailed computer mouses(mice) and many more point of sales (impulse buy) products under electronics and gifts section of our website.

Coming soon.... Downloadable POS brochure for your shopfront.


Industry Video 'It's your choice' by Recycler Magazine

Recycler Magazine recently promoted a new industry DVD titles 'It's you choice' at Remax 2010 show. It was shown at an event called Saturday Night at the Movies.

This very informative video is designed to educate customers that they have a choice to use remanufactured/refilled cartridges as an option to the OEM cartridge.

Click here to watch the video



Cli-521 (Permanent) Mains Powered Resetter - Now Available
The mains powered version of the resetter is now available in stock.  Requiring a power socket on your workbench, this is a more permanent solution where portability is not needed.


Ausjet is
 a proud member of:

Phone: (07) 3823 5433 Fax: (07) 3823 5422
Email:sales@ausjetinks.com.au Web:www.ausjetinks.com.au