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Epson reveals secrets behind development of Micro Piezo technology

OEM discusses evolution of its Micro Piezo printhead technology 20 years after it was first developed.

Recalling the conditions which led to the development of its Micro Piezo technology in the 1980s, Epson explains that most of its printers in the 1980s were serial impact dot matrix (SIDM). However, the market for these devices declined as the use of personal computers and office laser printers increased, and so the company began to research inkjet and other printing technologies.

Epson states that as its early inkjet printers struggled to make an impact on the market, it began researching a different type of printhead, under the guidance of Minoru Usui, who is the current Global President of the company.

The team recognized that the main issue facing them was the piezo element that was included on the glass printheads used in the early Epson inkjet printers, as they were unable to generate enough power to fire an ink droplet despite applying 100 volts in an attempt to cause the element to change shape, generate mechanical pressure and force ink out. It was for this reason that they decided to improve the piezo in some way.

The new piezo element was able to move the element up to 1 ?m using just 30 volts, compared to the 0.1 ?m achieved using 100 volts with the previous piezo element. This meant that sufficient power could be generated to fire ink straight and accurately, with the low voltage also meaning that the driving circuits could be smaller, allowing smaller printers to be manufactured.

After deciding on the structure of the new print head, the team needed to make it viable for volume production and commercialize an inkjet printer using the new printhead, and therefore formed an emergency project team consisting of staff from various departments within the company and headed by Usui.

The first printer containing the new technology, the Epson Stylus 800 monochrome inkjet printer, was then launched in 1993, with the world’s first 720 dpi printer, the Epson Stylus Color, launched in the following year. The product was a success, despite its high cost of $1,000, due to its high resolution and print quality.

Epson has recently announced the development of the next-generation printhead for future Epson inkjet printers, created by combining the company’s experience with the latest MEMS manufacturing technologies, with the company planning to utilise the new printhead in business inkjet printers for the office and in industrial printing systems to begin with.

Visit Priceless Ink & Toner for your Epson ink or toner supplies

Source: Epson reveals secrets behind development of Micro Piezo technology

Happy Father's Day 2013

Wide-format graphics -- major opportunity for print service providers

InfoTrends study reveals digitally printed wide-format graphics are critical part of marketing mix.

The study, titled "Wide Format Printing: A Critical Element in the Communications Mix", surveyed key decision-makers in organisations in the US that provide digitally printed wide-format graphics and those that purchase wide-format graphics across six industries – advertising media, entertainment/amusement, events, healthcare, hospitality, and retail – concluding that wide-format graphics represents a major opportunity for print service providers.

Among the study's findings were that wide-format graphics are a major component of communications spending, representing a sixth of survey respondents' overall marketing budgets; with 6.5 times as many buyer respondents expecting to increase their wide format spending in the next 12 months than those expecting to decrease it.

Providers of wide-format graphics also reported growth, with respondents reporting volume increases outnumbering those that didn't by 5:1. Previous wide-format market forecasts provided by InfoTrends support these results, with the company expecting the retail value of wide-format printing in North America to increase at a compound annual growth rate of 7.9%, reaching $23.6 billion by 2016.

InfoTrends' study includes the analysis of the key market and communications trends driving purchasing of wide-format digital graphics, insights into the key trends in applications, order volume, frequency and online ordering, evaluation of buyer demands and strategies to reach buyers, and assessment of providers' volume trends, technology use and substrate usage. It also examines products and services that wide-format providers are adding to better service customers and expand.

Check our web store for wide-format printer supplies

Source: Wide-format graphics are a “major opportunity” for print service providers

Your referral will make a difference!

Xerox Seizes 55k Boxes of Counterfeit Consumables

Continuing efforts to protect customers from counterfeit consumables and products, Xerox recently conducted raids in China and Dubai and introduced a new program to help detect imitations.

The raids resulted in the seizure of more than 55,000 boxes of counterfeit consumables and parts for numerous Xerox products – merchandise slated for distribution in the United States, Germany, Netherlands, Turkey, Russia, Brazil, and South America.

According to The Imaging Supplies Coalition, the estimated impact of counterfeiting in the imaging supplies industry is more than $3 billion annually worldwide. As a member of the Coalition, Xerox works with Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) to combat illegal activities in this industry.

"Counterfeit production is not just an OEM issue. It impacts governments, re-sellers and customers due to lost taxes and investments in poorly made products", said Irina Maslennikova, vice president, Global Supplies Business Group, Xerox. "Purchasers who think they are cutting cost with counterfeit items are instead jeopardizing the safety of their equipment and the quality of printed materials".

Ways to avoid counterfeit products

Buyers should look for authentication labels as one way to safeguard against counterfeit products. For example, Xerox products have a holographic security label with a unique serial number and barcode. If labels are tampered with or removed, buyers should take notice and are encouraged to inform Xerox of the purchasing source.

Another way buyers can avoid counterfeit products and supplies is to validate their authenticity. This can be easily done by registering them with Xerox’s new loyalty program, Genuine Xerox Rewards. The validation process is just one feature of this program which lets customers redeem points for Xerox equipment or retail merchandise when buying authentic Xerox solid ink and toner.

Source: Xerox Seizes 55,000 Boxes of Counterfeit Consumables in Raids

3-D Printer will Make Food like Star Track-Like Replicator

The International Space Station may soon have its very own Star Trek food replicator.

Earlier this month, NASA awarded a $125,000 six month grant to the Systems & Materials Research Cooperation to design a 3D printer capable of printing a pizza from 30-year shelf stable foodstuffs.

Founded by Anjan Contractor, SMRC built a basic food printer from a chocolate printer to win NASA’s Small Business Innovation Research Program in a trial video. The design is based on an open-source RepRap 3D printer.

Contractor and SMRC will begin construction on the pizza-printing prototype in a week. Pizza has been one item missing from astronauts menu for years. The 3D printer would "build-up" a pizza serving by first layering out the dough onto a heated plate then adding tomato sauce and toppings.

But this is not an ordinary pizza, as the proteins would be provided by cartridge injectors filled with organic base powders derived from algae, insects and grass.

Of course, one can see an immediate application of 3D food printing technology for long duration space missions. Contractor and SMRC envisions 3D food printing as the wave of the future, with the capacity to solve world hunger for a burgeoning human population.

Could a 3D food printer be coming to a kitchen near you?

Curiously, printing confectioneries and pet food pellets would be the simplest application of said technology. Printing a soufflé and crowned rack of lamb will be tougher. 3D printing technology has made great strides as of late, and RepRap has made a printer which is capable of printing itself. Those who fear the rise of Von Neumann’s self-replicating robots should take note…




The International Space Station is due for the delivery of its first 3D printer in 2014. This will give astros the capability to fabricate simple parts and tools onsite without requiring machining. Of course, the first question on our minds is: How will a 3D printer function in zero-g? Will one have tomato paste an insect parts flying about? Recent flights aboard a Boeing 727 by Made in Space Inc have been testing 3D printers in micro-gravity environments.

Further afield, 3D replicators may arrive on the Moon or Mars ahead of humans, building a prefab colony with raw materials available for colonists to follow.

Will 3D food replicators pioneered by SMRC be a permanent fixture on crewed long duration space missions? Plans such as Dennis Tito’s Mars 2018 flyby and the one way Mars One proposal will definitely have to address the dietary dilemmas of hungry astronauts. Biosphere 2 demonstrated that animal husbandry will be impractical on long term missions. Future Martian colonists will definitely eat much farther down the food chain to survive. SpaceX head Elon Musk has recently said in a Twitter response to PETA that he won’t be the "Kale Eating Overlord of Mars", and perhaps "micro-ranching" of insects will be the only viable alternative to filet mignon on the Red Planet. Hey, it beats Soylent Green… and the good news is, you can still brew beer from algae!

Would YOU take a one way journey to Mars? Would you eat a bug to do it? It’ll be interesting to watch these 3D printers in action as they take to space and print America’s favorite delivery fast food. But it’s yet to be seen if home replicators will put Dominos Pizza out of business anytime soon. Perhaps they’ll only be viable if they can print a pizza in less than "30 minutes"!

Source: NASA Looks at 3-D Food Printer for Star Trek-like Replicator

Let's help the victims of the devastating tornado in Oklahoma!

Memorial Day 2013

United Nations highlights growing significance of remanufacturing industry

Report published by United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) highlights growing significance of remanufacturing industry.

The report, titled "Green Economy and Trade: Trends, Challenges and Opportunities", was published on 8 May and features a section on remanufacturing in which the environmental benefits of remanufacturing are highlighted, along with the industry’s "increasing significance" in certain fields and global regions, such as China and Africa.

The aim of the report was to identify international trade opportunities that arise from developing a green economy, identify policies enabling industries to pursue these opportunities, and help to develop the capacity necessary to establish a green economy through sustainable trade; with remanufacturing being promoted as an opportunity for creating green trade opportunities.

Noting that remanufactured products can save consumers "typically in the order of 30% to 40% less than comparable new products", the report states that remanufacturing "offers potential for new national business ventures within developing countries" as well as new export opportunities. It adds that in certain fields, such as motor vehicle components, electrical data and communications equipment and laser toner cartridges, remanufacturing is growing in significance, particularly in China which is “making remanufacturing a key part of their industrial strategy".

The environmental benefits of remanufacturing are also mentioned in the report, which states that "remanufacturing operations worldwide are already saving approximately 10.7 million barrels of oil each year" as well as saving "significant volumes of water and raw materials". It therefore concludes that remanufacturing is a good way for governments to "clean up municipal waste, save energy in domestic industry and create jobs".

A further benefit of remanufacturing detailed in the report is that remanufactured goods are able to "meet the criteria for new goods without additional quality and safety requirements that sometimes apply to refurbished goods", with some countries agreeing that import restrictions should not be applied to remanufactured products and that such products should be treated in the same way as new goods.

While the report shows remanufacturing in a positive light, it recognizes that a "major obstacle" for the industry is the need for "active cooperation from original equipment manufacturers (OEMs)", noting that as there is no end-of-life tax on product disposal, incentives are created for OEMs to "build obsolescence and replacement into their business model in order to save costs from value chain modernization".

It adds that "remanufacturing contributes towards fostering incentives for value chain modernization by creating new business models that focus on services instead of products" and that the incentive effect of remanufacturing can be enhanced by end-of-life waste disposal taxes of manufacturers "making component re-use and recycling attractive tools for cost saving".

We at Priceless Ink & Toner Company as a Platinum Green Business Bureau (GBB) member are always trying to be Earth-Friendly and help preserving the environment. Check our website and do your part be choosing a remanufactured ink or toner cartridge

Source: United Nations report promotes remanufacturing

Color Typewriter

What a great idea!
A color typewriter - for drawing, not for typing! And if you ran out of colors for your printer, visit us at www.priceless-inkjet.com

Say 'No' to the New Internet Sales Tax!

Why YES, while the snow was melting and Americans were busy with Spring cleaning and planning a wonderful Summer Vacation, our Boys (Harry and The Internet Tax Tag Team) were busy conspiring to stick their cruddy little hands into your pockets. True they haven't done much work on creating a workable Budget and finding ways to eliminate Billions in Government Waste programs (the robotic squirrel is still getting his millions in funding) but they quickly jumped on their "Mega-Retail Protection Act" because they knew nobody was watching.

Friends, family members, customers, hard working Americans, you just can't sit back this time and take on the chin!

You need to write or call your Representative today and tell them that this is the wrong thing to do. We as Americans are truly "Over Taxed" and under represented. Washington and the States need to clean up their own wasteful spending. There is no "Fairness in this Taxing Bill" and will result in small businesses closing, less employment, less competition and less consumer spending. This Tax Bill is the Brain Child of Wal-Mart and the other Mega Box Stores, who would like to destroy their online retail competition and the end result will be ... You the American Consumer will pay higher Online Pricing, along with a New Sales Tax that may end up being as much as 10%. Wal-Mart and the other Mega-Retailers will make more money and invest in growing their businesses overseas. Is that the "Fairness" that Senator Reid speaks about or is it a matter of Campaign contributions and more Crony Capitalism? Believe me, Staples would love to see companies, such as "Priceless Ink" simply go away.

Please take 5 minutes of your valuable time to send a similar message to your Congressman/Congresswomen. You can locate their email address at this Government website: http://www.house.gov/representatives/find

You may copy and paste the following message or write your own personal message, if you chose:

Dear Congressman (Congresswomen) ............................., As a voting Constitute in your District, I would ask you not to support the "Marketplace Fairness Act" or whatever they call it, because it is neither fair or necessary. As it is "We The People" are taxed and over burden with new Government Regulations in our lives. We prefer that Congress and the State work on cleaning up the waste and fraud which, already has been out of control for many years. The lame excuse that this "Tax Act" is required for companies such as Wal-Mart and other nationwide retailers to have fairness in the Marketplace is truly a lame reason to impose new taxes on the Citizens of our State and our shopping preferences. We ask you support the Citizens of our State and local Community and "Just Say No" to any new Tax scheme. We certainly will watch who votes with the People and who will vote with Wal-Mart and The Tax Tag Team. Every time a new Tax is paid, we'll remember. Thank you (You will be receiving a similar message from many of our friends and neighbors) Download as Word document

Thank you for your time and consideration regarding this important issue for the hard working tax payers. Our Government was quick to bail out the Banks and now the Mega-Retailers want a similar favor. Below are some links to interesting articles you can read or you may find a multitude of opinions online by searching Internet Sales Tax or Taxation without Representation. As more Americans become informed and realize that this new Scheme is really a way for Uncle Sam to begin testing the waters for a new Nationwide "Value Added Tax" referred to in Europe as VAT. THERE IS NO VALUE ADDED but you pay anywhere from 15% to 20% tax on commonly purchased goods.

http://www.ebaymainstreet.com/issues/internet-sales-tax http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3009690/posts http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ProphecyRNews/message/192204 http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324493704578432961601644942.html

Let's really stand our ground and unite the effort to stop this Internet Sales Tax. For those that feel their State needs additional revenue they are free to mail in a check for all their Internet purchases and pay the Use Tax, which already exists. Please forward this message to everyone that you know, who is concerned with paying a new tax!

Happy Mother's Day!

"Best Multifunction Photo Printer" award goes to Epson

Epson Expression Photo XP-850 recognised by Technical Image Press Association (TIPA).

Epson has announced that its Expression Photo XP-850 photo printer has been voted "Best Multifunction Photo Printer" 2013 by TIPA members, which include editors and journalists from photography magazines worldwide.

Members of TIPA judge products launched over a 12-month period in terms of their innovation, technology, design, ease-of-use and price-to-performance ratio; shortlisting those that stand out and deciding upon a winner for each category. The association has members in nine European countries as well as Australia, Canada, China, the US and South Africa; with the award being Epson's 32nd from the association since 1997.

Features of the winning printer include the ability to scan, print, copy and fax; wireless mobile printing capabilities using Epson iPrint; and the ability for users to email documents directly to the printer from anywhere in the world.

The printer also uses Epson's six-color Claria Photo HD Ink, allowing users to produce high-quality borderless 4" x 6" prints in 10 seconds; and is able to print on heavyweight photo paper and card using a rear speciality media feed. Furthermore, Epson Expression Photo XP-850 is able to print directly onto suitable CDs and DVDs so that family films and digital photo albums can be personalized.

Commenting on the award, Mary McNulty, Head of PR and Communications at Epson Europe, said: "TIPA members select the products to shortlist and vote on the winner. The panel has a huge variety of choice so we are very proud that the Epson Expression Photo XP-850 won the award."

Source: Epson awarded TIPA award for "Best Multifunction Photo Printer"

The "invisible printer ink" by Toshiba

Eco MFP Studio 306LP can "erase" specially designed toner to enable reuse of paper.

Techradar reports that the printer from Toshiba is able to "scrub clean" pages that have been printed using Pilot’s FriXion ink already used in the stationery company’s erasable pens, changing the blue toner into white so that paper looks almost new.

Noting that "80% of everything printed is discarded within half an hour", Toshiba applied the FriXion blue ink to a laser printer so that users can save money whilst also helping the environment by reusing resources.

Able to print on both sides of a page on any printer paper, the printer comes with a separate RD30 erasing unit which uses heat and pressure to erase the toner on a printed page, turning it white so that what was printed becomes almost invisible, although the article states that "if you squint, you can see the shapes of some of the letters under a bright light".

Toshiba says that paper can be reused "five or six times", with one employee claiming that he was able to reuse some pages up to fifteen times.

In addition, pages are scanned by the printer before they are erased so that users are able to recover a copy from the hard drive should they find that they need it again; and scans the page again once text has been erased to check for any marks that have been missed, with pages that are deemed too messy being diverted to a different paper bin to prevent it from being used again by mistake.

While Toshiba has only used the technology on large business printers, it hopes that if the idea takes off it could become "an option for home printing as a separate toner cartridge".

Source: Toshiba introduces "invisible ink" printer

Changing Your Team’s Thinking On Being Green? Priceless!

Priceless Ink & Toner Company in Port Charlotte, FL is a major exporter and wholesaler of high-quality discounted printer accessories, ink and laser toner supplies in the USA and Europe. Priceless believes that price should not be a compromise for quality and offers a fine selection of maximum yield OEM and compatible inkjet, laser and ribbon products to their customers.

A member of the Green Business Bureau since May of 2011, Priceless Ink has reached the Platinum tier of Green Business Certification. Owner, Ray Slipatchuk, contacted us with a success story that he and his team experienced after joining the GBB and going green.

What was the initial staff reaction to greening your business?

I held an office meeting to announce that Priceless Ink was going green. You cannot imagine the facial expressions in the room. It was like a shock wave radiating through the organization. I probably would have gotten a better response if I fired everyone. However, the shock wore off within a day and most associates started to think about how our team could change to make a positive difference by making the right choices (of course it didn't hurt that I offered a $50 Olive Garden diner card for the best ideas). I was truly surprised by the way everyone embraced the green initiatives recommended for us in the GBB program, especially once they realized how it could positively impact our lives, families and community.

What have been some of the biggest challenges to going green?

There was one individual, Kim, who had a specific problem with being "all green". This young lady couldn't get over the idea that we were going to stop using Styrofoam cups. For years Priceless had provided coffee in Styrofoam cups. However, since being green is a total commitment, our team decided that the Styrofoam must go. It was a difficult change for Kim and initially she even snuck in Styrofoam from home. I decided to order a special and personal coffee cup for her (notice how beautiful it is in the photo!) to use in the office and asked that she try it for two consecutive weeks. If after that time, she couldn't break the "Styro habit", I would make an exception for her.

Well, you can guess the outcome. The beautiful personal coffee cup became a real hit with our entire staff; they'd compliment her coffee mug at every opportunity. Kim cherishes it, guards it and will not even allow someone else to wash it!

What positive results have you seen from going green?

From a financial point of view Priceless Ink has experienced substantial savings in business operational costs. Additionally, since our associates are proud of their accomplishments, they have gone into the community to help spread the word. This personal involvement has brought our company new business and opportunities in the local market.

We believe in remanufactured products especially if they are Made in the USA because they do favorably impact the environment and save the consumer substantial money and that's always a good thing.

Way to go, Priceless Ink & Toner Company! The Green Business Bureau is very proud of your progress and of the initiatives you are implementing to make your workplace greener. Thank you for your commitment to making a difference for our planet. Keep up the great work!

Source: Changing Your Team’s Thinking On Being Green? Priceless!

Happy Earth Day

Cartridge Shredding Project

Empties collector speaks of cartridge shredding business success and plans for the future.

After launching its cartridge shredding project last year, Germany-based Cartridge-Space has seen the business grow, with new facilities planned for the future as the project develops.

The project involves aftermarket companies selling non-reusable inkjet cartridges to Cartridge-Space, which takes a different approach to thermal disposal; preparing and separating each component of a cartridge – plastics, metals and sponges – by optimizing the editing process in the shredding so that nothing is wasted. Defective, non-refillable, production committee and overlaid ink cartridges are all purchased by the company.

Prices paid by Cartridge-Space for inkjet cartridges vary depending on whether the shipments are from Germany or elsewhere in Europe and the percentage of print heads included; with prices rising to $260 per ton for pallets of ink cartridges with print heads delivered to the company’s warehouse.

Commenting on the project, Cartridge-Space’s Andreas Steiner, said: "We decided to start purchasing inkjet cartridges as a special part of the main shredding project because thermal utilization of non-reusable cartridges etc. is no solution for us. We are a waste disposal management company and work in a very environmentally friendly way.

Through a new step in the separation process it’s possible for us to pay for defective inkjet cartridges."

Following the project’s success so far, Steiner stated: "At the moment, we are planning a brand new facility next to our existing one, and with our new machine we are able to shred an extra 250 tons of cartridges per month."

Source: Cartridge-Space discusses cartridge shredding project

Two iPad Minis giving away!