Ausjet Inkjet & Laser Supplies Blog
Pgi5/Cli8 Chipped Cartridges Coming Soon
Compatible Pgi-5/Cli-8 cartridges with chips arriving very soon
It's taken a long time but finally quality compatible Pgi-5/Cli-8 cartridges with chips should be available at the end of next week. These compatible cartridges are so popular the chip manufacturers currently can not produce enough chips to reach demand. You can be assured of the colour accuracy and ink quality of these cartridges as the ink is from Sensient. Pre-order now as quantities are limited.
Breakthrough in Epson 73N Series compatible cartridges
Initially it seemed Epson had again taken a huge leap forward with the new chip on the 73N. Early reports were that it would take over 6 months to develop a chip so that a Procolor cartridge could be developed for it.
But we have been suddenly informed that the new chips for 73N/93N may be launched at the end of this month. Of course there is no guarantee that everything will go to plan but it looks like 73N Series of Procolor cartridges may be available in 5 to 6 weeks.
Senator Christine Milne on Q&A tonight
The Senator will be appearing on the panel of Q and A tonight. Q&A tv show brings together five panelists - from politicians to academics and comedians to media commentators - to tackle questions posed by the studio audience, viewers watching at home and online. This is a great chance to get our industry problems in front of a tv audience.
It's too late for us to be at the studio but you can send questions in by going to the following link http://www.abc.net.au/tv/qanda/have-your-say.htm. Remember Q&A tonight (Thursday) on ABC1 at 9.30EST.
Senator Christine Milne has also presented the following questions on notice to all Federal Ministers and the Environment Minister. The letters can be viewed on our website at the following links:
To the environment minister
To all Federal members
The above information about Senator Christine Milne has been kindly provided by ACRA.
Sage Mini - $1195.00 - We have a few remaining
If you have ever thought about purchasing a vacuum filling machine this is the perfect opportunity for you. We have a small quantity of SAGE MINIs remaining at only $1195.00 - that's a $600 saving over the normal price. This machine is ideal for small operators or multiple locations.
Myths about inkjet ink - Part 1
By learning about the properties and the formulations of inkjet inks, we arm ourselves with the knowledge to better understand cartridge problems that we encounter. In Part 1 of Myths about inkjet inks we look at a overview of the make up of inkjet inks.
Distilled or RO Water
Pure water in most inkjet inks is the largest component of the ink. Pure water is exactly neutral at a PH of 7.00 and it is important to remember that all components of the ink are water soluble or in the case of pigments are a suspension.
Glycol or other Humectant
Humectants are extremely important in a inkjet ink. Without humectants the ink would clog or dry in the inkjet cartridge nozzles in an alarmingly short period of time. Remember, most modern day inkjet nozzles are about 10-20 micron in diameter. So it's extremely important for the ink to contain the correct percentage of humectant. With inkjet inks its a trade off - too much humectant can result in long drying times. Depending on the humectant used, too much may also result in the ink being too thick (viscous).
Colorant
The pigment or dyes in the ink produce the color of the ink. It's important to remember that the quality of the dye or pigment can be the main determing factor in the quality of the ink from the customers perspective. Colorants are the main cost involved with inkjet inks, the cost of colorants cannot be hidden. A better quality colorant is more stable, more reliable, produces better colours with better light and smudge resistance and with pigments smaller and more advanced pigment dispersions. Remember that very low cost inks which are on the market cannot contain a higher grade colorant as the colorant in many cases is more expensive than what these inks sell for.
PH Buffer
A Ph Buffer effectively sets the ink at a correct PH. For example most inks are in the PH range of 7 - 9.5 (Alkaline). The PH of the ink in our case must be compatible with any existing ink remaining in the cartridge and also compatibility with the cartridge and the printers purge system. The PH of the ink must not vary too much as components like the colorant will only stay in suspension or solution at a certain PH.
So by adding various solutions into the cartridge that are not compatible with the ink - like tap water which contains chlorine etc and an unknown PH can cause issues with the ink which of course can affect printing or the cartridge reliability. It's also important to remember that the PH of tap water can be between 6 and 8 generally depending on where you live - pure distilled water is PH 7.00 and contains no additional chemicals.
So its best to clean inkjet cartridges with a dedicated inkjet cleaning solution or at the least pure water and not tap water.
Surfactants
Surfactants are commonly used all around us - most cleaning products contain surfactants. You may not know what a surfactant is but in inks it lowers the surface tension of the ink - which is critical in the ink drying time on the paper and the spread of the ink drop. Surface tension of different inks vary between cartridges and whether the ink is designed for a black text type ink or a colour or photo ink.
Co-Solvent
Co-solvents are used to change the viscosity of the ink or help a colorant or other component becoming part of the solution or suspension.
Biocide
Biocides are added in less 1% of the formulation - they are designed to prevent microbes and bacteria from growing in the ink and changing its properties which will effect the PH, viscosity, surface tension and colour in many cases. This is extremely rare and I have only ever seen ink been affected this way once in over 10 years.
Other agents
There are quite a few other agents which can be added to an inkjet ink for various reasons. UV inhibitors can be added to some dye colorants to help UV/fade resistance. Water soluble binders or resins can be added in very small quantaties to aid in reducing smudging in a ink. There are many many more additives that are used for various purposes. You wont be surprised to hear that many of these unqiue additives like many things in our industry are all patented.
SENSIENT INKS
We promote Sensient inks (a $billion corporation) because they are an ink centric company that employ all of the above factors in their manufacturing processes. They only use premium products and state of the art technology and practices which is why they are the world leader in the production of cartridge specific inkjet inks.
In part 2 we look further into the properties of ink and how it all works in a ink cartridge.
Epson 9 Pin Resetter & Remax Show News
The Remax show in Zhuhai China was quite an eye opener. Although not as large as the Rechina show in Shanghai it was really well organized by The Recycler. Suppliers were well represented, numbers of participants and visitors were up on last year and the consensus was that the show was worth while. We found it very easy to find our way around. Zhuhai city was very different from any other Chinese cities we had visited. It is a holiday/tourist area just across the border from Macau which is a serious gambling mecca and turns over more than Las Vegas. Zhuhai is a charming “old” city that was designed by a European and it shows. However it has not lost its “Chinese flavour” for friendliness or value. Four of us had a 5 course dinner in a famous Chinese restaurant and the bill came to U$35! There is a massive underground air conditioned shopping mall at the border post (10 min’s from the city centre) where you can bargain for almost anything and everything. Much bigger and better than the equivalent in Shanghai and you don’t get continuously harassed by every Tom, Dick or Wang trying to flog you a Rolex or Mont Blanc knock off!
Our main objective was to investigate/clarify certain chip issues, find out the latest on the CLI-8 compatible chips/cartridges, obtain a progress report on the 9 pin Epson chip re-setters and inspect some new ancillary refilling equipment which we will be bringing in to test.
- It’s unfortunate but from all reports Epson introduces new models and changes the firmware on existing models every three months. The biggest effect of this firmware change seems to be that a small percentage of aftermarket chips on compatible cartridges will need to be upgraded as well. So if you have a customers printer that will not accept the cartridge or shows ink out , new versions of the chip will solve the problem. So explain to your customer and inform them a newer cartridge with a upgraded chip will work and that it’s not too far away.
- Cli-8 issues. At this moment in time there are two types of compatible chips available with other chip manufacturers coming on board soon. Both current types appear to have the same functions and are both re-settable by our current re-setter. The major difference at this stage is that the chip which will be on the compatibles we will be selling from mid July will be IP free and will not impinge on any of Canon’s patents.
- Epson 9 pin re-setters. We sent 4 different sets of 9 pin cartridges to our supplier that is developing this chip re-setter. The good news is that they have already reset 2 types of cartridge and expect a break through soon to reset the other sets.
- We saw an excellent and well made inkjet centrifuge which we have ordered for testing. It spins at 1900rpm, has a twin universal cartridge holder, very small footprint and will (hopefully) retail for under $750.
- We also saw and ordered samples of a new patented refill kit. This is different to any refill kit we have ever seen as it can represent good value to re-fillers. It uses a simple vacuum system. We will keep you updated on our testing results.
- We also had a long chat with Sensient about new inks and their advanced technology they build into their inks. More information about the technical aspects of the inks will be included in future technical bulletins.
Ausjet Stocktake Closing Dates
Please note that we will be closing for our annual stocktake on Friday the 27th of June 2008.
We therefore advise that if you need stock urgently orders must be placed before 1pm on Thursday 26th of June for prompt delivery.
Our new website has been a great success already with many customers using it to place their orders, find supplies, download our latest price list and their order tracking information. Our website is open 24/7 so do check it out when you get a chance. If you have not yet received your username and password by post please contact us and we will e-mail or call you with these details.
As our website is brand new we would appreciate any feedback (positive or negative) as we realise that there is always room for improvement.
Don't Forget About Our New Range of Laser Toner Cartridges and Reman Inkjets...
We have dramatically increased the range of laser toner cartridges and remanufactured inkjet cartridge we sell as well as reduced pricing. Please contact us for a copy of our latest price list which includes these products or go online.
Additional to our current laser cartridge range include:
Brother TN8000, TNO4 SERIES,
HP 4600,HP3500/3550, HP3600, 3700, HP3800, HP4600 series
Kyocera TK17, 20, 55, 65, 110, 120, 310
Samsung 1610 universal, 1710 universal
Additional to our remanufactured inkjet cartridge range:
HP 74XL, 75XL, 98, 99, 100
Lex 16, 26, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 82, 83
Canon CL41, PG40
Samsung M40, (M50 next week)
Dell 7y743, 7y745, T0529, T0530, M4640, M4646
Brand New Ausjet Website Launched!
Hello and welcome to the all new and vastly improved Ausjet Inkjet and Laser Supplies website.
Logging In For The First Time:
The first thing you will notice is that you will need to login to view your account, pricing, order online or download a price list. To login simply click on the login link at the top or bottom of any page. You will receive your login details by post. If you have not yet received these details click on the forgotten password link and we will send you your login details by email (this will only work if you have an email address registered with us.)
New Customers:
If you are a new customer you will need to register as an Ausjet re-seller before gaining access to pricing, online ordering etc. To register please click on the "become a re-seller" link on the top right of any page.
Features Of Our New Website:
- Online Supplies Finder - find all the supplies we sell for any cartridge or printer model at the click of a button.
- Realtime stock status – find out in real time if an item is in-stock or available for backorder.
- 24/7 online ordering with real time pricing and freight quotes – know exactly what you will pay at the point of order including special pricing arrangements, freight and other charges.
- Online order tracking and past order history – track the progress of current orders and view your ordering history as well as your current account balance.
- Unique QuickOrder tool allows you to place an order quicker than ever before!
- Download your latest price list in Excel, Tab, CSV or if you require a customized format.
- The Ausjet Blog – All the latest news from the inkjet industry including product releases, industry news and developments. Subscribe to the Ausjet Blog RSS feed or read it online.
- Advanced drop shipping service for online businesses allows you to integrate your website inventory and order system with Ausjet which will ensure timely and accurate order processing. Items are sent out with your company logo and packing slips including customisable labels for ink bottles.
- Full descriptions & images of all our products now ensures you have everything you need to properly market our products both on and offline.
If you have any questions about using our new website or need us to reset your password for you please call (07) 3823 5433 or click here to contact us by email.
Increased Laser Range and Lower Prices
We have dramatically increased the range of laser toner cartridges and remanufactured inkjet cartridge we sell as well as reduced pricing. Please contact us for a copy of our latest price list which includes these products (new items are listed at the bottom of this newsletter).
New State Of The Art Ausjet Website Coming Soon...
We have spent months developing what we believe to be the best online system in the industry today. All Ausjet customers will receive their login details for the new system soon which will act as a brilliant business tool for all in the industry. Some features of our new system include an advanced online supplies finder, 24/7 online ordering, real time stock status, real time shipping quotes, advanced drop-shipping system, online warranty and returns centre and lots more. Watch this space for more info and look out for your new username and password in the post.
Additional to our current laser cartridge range include:
Brother TN8000, TNO4 SERIES,
HP 4600,HP3500/3550, HP3600, 3700, HP3800, HP4600 series
Kyocera TK17, 20, 55, 65, 110, 120, 310
Samsung 1610 universal, 1710 universal
Additional to our remanufactured inkjet cartridge range:
HP 74XL, 75XL, 98, 99, 100
Lex 16, 26, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 82, 83
Canon CL41, PG40
Samsung M40, (M50 next week)
Dell 7y743, 7y745, T0529, T0530, M4640, M4646
AFTERMARKET FIGHTS BACK AND WINS!
PREBATE STYLE RESTRICTIONS NOW INVALID
We have been informed by the I-ITC in the USA that the "US Supreme Court has unanimously decided in favour of Quanta vs LG Electronics (and therefore the aftermarket) in a case involving restrictions that a patent holder wished to enforce on the use of it’s product after it had been sold. The Supreme Court ruled that the patent holder’s rights to use its patents were exhausted by the first sale of its products. So terms attached to an agreement were unenforceable when patents were the underlying reason to support the validity of that agreement"
"The Court confirmed that the patent exhaustion doctrine is rock solid-the US Justice Dep’t also supported Quanta’s position"
This should see the demise of Lexmark's Prebate program and a slew of other abusive practices involving patents. There are other OEM’s out there playing around with Lemark type prebate programs so I hope they get the message.
OEM PRINTER CONSUMABLE PRICES TO BE INCREASED?
I mentioned in a previous newsletter that with rising metal and petroleum based raw materials it would only be a matter of time before the OEM’s had to increase their prices in order to maintain their massive margins. Well it looks like it may well happen sooner than later. It has been reported that Kodak in the USA (a new entrant into the market) are to increase their prices by as much as 20%. We should open a book on who will be the next to jump on the bandwagon. There are a couple of OEM’s out there that are not performing that well. I would expect them to now re-assess their position and push up their prices. They shall remain nameless but I am sure you can all guess who they are. This is good news for our industry as higher OEM pricing translate to better margins to re-manufacturers.
NEW CLI-8 / PGI-5 Resetter Released!
New Canon chip resetter is available for an unbelievable price of $49.00!
The unit is a stand alone unit so you don’t need it hooked up to a printer to reset the cartridges.
This resetter is a huge jump forward in technology and will reset all Pgi-5\Cli-8 cartridges, including the photos and red and green cartridges.
We have very low stock of this item so please act quickly.
New Range of Cartridges Released
New compatible inkjet cartridges HP10/11/12/88 series.
Our testing is completed with excellent results and our thanks to all those customers who contributed to the field testing.
These are a two part cartridge – one part with the chip +tank– the other part is the replacement tank. If you wish to refill these cartridges the tank is easily refilled and the chip can be reset with our current HP02 chip resetter. These are similar to our HP-02 compatibles.
We currently have limited quantities of these cartridges in stock but more are on the way by Air freight.
# HP11/12 Black cartridge and replacement tank are interchangeable.
Ausjet’s complete range of new HP and Lexmark compatibles.
HP- 02/10*/11*/12*/21/22/23/27/28/56/57/78/88*
* New additions to our range
Lex16/23/20/50/60/70/80
We have extended the range of our very popular remanufactured inkjet cartridges. These cartridges are now in stock and are the perfect alternative to the genuine cartridge. We have been so impressed with the quality and reliability of the HP90 series that we have decided to increase our range from our current supplier. Pricing is very competitive.
A little history on the Ausjet remanufactured cartridges – the Ausjet team tested over 28 different remanufactured brands over 2 years. The cartridges we now supply were by far the most reliable and highest quality product that was tested. This testing has been backed up by exceptional reliability and excellent field reports.
Ausjet’s complete range of remanufactured cartridges:
Canon PG-40*/CL-41*
Dell TO-529*/530*/7Y743*/7Y745*
HP 74XL/75XL/92/93/94/95/96/97/98*/99*/100*
Lexmark L-16* (10N0016) /L-26* (10N0026) /L-31*(10C0031)
L-32* (18C0032) /L-33* (18C0033) /L-34* (18C0034)
L-35* (18C0035) /L-82* (18L0032) /L-83* (18L0042)
Samsung M40*/M45*
* New additions to our range
We are getting great results from these cartridges and I was curious about their remanufacturing procedures. These cartridges are produced in a highly advanced facility where circuit testing, ultrasonic cleaning, foam cleaning and drying, filter cleaning or replacing equipment and vacuum filling is used. They also air pressure test the cartridges to guarantee that airfreighting will not cause leaking.
They have provided us with a step by step guide of what is involved.
Steps used to remanufacture
* They only use virgin genuine cartridges to remanufacture *
1) Visual Inspection
2) Electronic Test
3) Ultrasonic cleaning
4) Soak the printhead nozzles in soaking fluid for 24 hours.
5) Remove lid and foam
6) Pure deionised water cleaning of cartridge
7) Clean or replace filter
8) Foam drying and cleaning
9) Fix foam in place
10) Weighing empties
11) Filling ink under vacuum
12) Semi finished cartridge weighing
13) Print testing using printers
14) Printhead sealing
15) Air Pressure test (simulate air pressure during flight)
16) Clean up original labels
17) Appearance trimming
18) Final Cartridge weighing
I hope this information has been useful to you.
Regards,
Shane
Ausjet Technical Support
Help Yourself, Help Your Industry!
This petition by ACRA is vital to our businesses and our industry – the petition states.
"The petition is to the Australian or New Zealand Federal Government to enact laws to prohibit the use of devices, contractual or otherwise or software that disable or prohibit the remanufacture of our empty printer cartridge”.
In this way we will reduce greenhouse gas emission and the waste of oil caused in the unnecessary manufacture of these products. By so doing we will adhere to best environmental practice of 're-using' product before recycling before sending further plastic components to landfill."
SIGN THE PETITION NOW:
Australia:
http://www.gopetition.com.au
NZ:
http://www.thepetitionsite.com
Please reply to this e-mail to receive a hard copy petition sheet to display at your shop or workplace to collect signatures.
TELL EVERYONE ABOUT IT:
- Put the link to the petition on your website and/or email the link to your customers.
- Contact local schools and environmental groups to help with the petition – it may also be a good way to get your foot in the door.
- Have a think about other ways to get signatures – I’m sure you will have some great ideas.
- Display the hardcopy petition form at your workplace or shop (reply to this emails for a copy)
It’s very important for everybody to get this petition out there and get as many signatures as possible.
Electronic Chip on the Epson 9 Pin Carts
I have had many emails flying around the world for quite a while now about these Epson 9 pin cartridges. I’ve been trying to find out how far away the resetters are and why the resetting is difficult.
Then all of a sudden they just appeared – the 9 pin chip resetters are now miraculously available. To reset back to full, the cartridge must contain at least 20% of the ink – which isn’t very practical for us .Why would the cartridge have to contain 20% of ink you may be asking?
The 9 pin chip is different to the 7 pin chip – the biggest difference is that it has an actual ink sensor that is attached to the chip. The sensor is in the cartridge and ink is in contact with it. A few of us old timers may remember the Epson S020025 cartridge which had a similar system all those years ago.
I’m not exactly sure how the sensor works but it could be measuring the conductivity – when ink is available there will be a conductivity reading when there is no ink zero conductivity or very low reading will be found.
In this system – a very small voltage would be applied between two small probes – if the electricity reaches the other side it is conductive. So in this case a very low voltage would pass through the ink – but when the probes are not touched by ink no electricity will pass from one side to the other.
From my understanding once the sensor doesn’t recognise ink any longer, information on the chip gets changed and at this stage can’t be reset back to full. We’ll keep researching and testing and if a solution is found we will get it you as soon as we can.
But remember we have Procolor cartridges available for these printers that work extremely well. It appears that our Epson TO-731 series can be refilled as the chip resets itself! So it’s not a total lockout for our industry.
I hope this information has been useful for you.
More Lexmark Return Program Cartridges
On the previous technical bulletin we mentioned the range of Lexmark return program cartridges that could not be filled. Going through the Lexmark website I have found a couple more cartridges:
Lexmark 41 (18Y0141A) & 42 (18Y0142A) are return program cartridges and are unable to be filled.
Recommend the following cartridges to your customer which can be refilled.
Lexmark 41A (18Y0341A) and 42A (18Y0342A)
The return program seems to be here to stay – so its important for everybody to keep up to date with what can and cannot be refilled!
