by: Bill Smith
Think you got a great deal on a printer? Like the rest of us, you probably paid $50 to $75 for a decent Epson or Lexmark printer. What?s the catch, you might have asked? Most salesmen would say there is no catch. They?d probably go into a rant about how the printer market has gotten more competitive, driving prices way down. While that?s a true statement, it isn?t the primary reason for such inexpensive printers these days.
So, why are printers so inexpensive? It?s pretty simple ? printer manufacturers need you to buy their printer model so you?re forced into buying their outrageously-priced ink cartridges. It?s kind of like the relationship between a gasoline company and car manufacturer, except in this situation the printer company is supplying both the automobile and the fuel. Gas companies wouldn?t make any money if no one owned an automobile. In the case of printer manufacturers, things are a little different. They don?t make any money on selling printers ? they make their money by selling you the replacement ink cartridges.
It makes a lot of business sense when you think about it. A consumer buys a printer every few years, but may buy ink as much as once every three months. Printer manufacturers would much rather have this steady stream of income. Consumers don?t factor ink cartridge costs into the equation when they buy a printer. They look at the features and price tag. Sure you?re getting a great printer and not paying a lot. But if you use your printer on a fairly regular basis, the cost of ownership over a year or two (thanks to high priced ink cartridges) may exceed $500.
Before you buy your next printer, remember to do some research on printers, paying particular attention to the cost and longevity of the ink cartridge replacements. A little research ahead of time can save you hundreds of dollars. We don?t recommend Lexmark printers because Lexmark ink cartridges are generally mc more expensive than those of other brands, like Canon or Hewlett Packard. Because Lexmark embeds a special chip right into the cartridge, the cost of buying replacement Lexmark ink is astronomical.
About The Author
Bill Smith is an expert on printers. Read more about printer and ink at http://www.castleink.com.
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Printers: What Really Happens When You Hit ?Print?
Printers: What Really Happens When You Hit ?Print?
by: Bill Smith
You just poured hours upon hours into a lengthy research paper. All that?s left to do is print it out. And that?s the easy part, right? Sure looks easy from the user perspective, but it?s actually quite complicated. A series of critical processes kick off as soon as you kit the OK button.
The first thing that happens is your software application (MS Word, Excel, etc) sends the data you want to print to your printer driver. The printer driver is nothing more than some software that translates data into a format that your specific printer can understand. When you buy a new printer, it generally comes with a CD. On that CD is the printer driver software you need to enable your specific printer to talk to your computer.
The printer driver takes the translated data and physically sends it along to your printer. It?s able to connect to the printer via the USM connection interface....
Printers: What Really Happens When You Hit ?Print?
Have you let a spy into your computer?
Have you let a spy into your computer?
by: Maria Marsala
Yes, it's true. You may have inadvertently invited a spy into your computer. This spy is known as "spyware, adware, or trojans", and once it is in your computer it starts taking statistical information as you travel the Internet. In some cases, it may send you pop-up ads and slow down your computer. A wired.com article, mentions it "could even collect your credit card information".
How did you invite the spy?
Maybe you visited a website you knew and enjoyed only to find that it was recently purchased by a pornography site. The new company has imbedded "spyware" into the home page and now, in many cases without your knowledge, it is on your computer.
Maybe you downloaded a free or paid program and as part of the package you were provided with an added secret bonus ? a ?spyware? program. Spyware may also be placed on CD?s you purchase,...
Have you let a spy into your computer?
Starting Your Computer Career: More Questions To Ask A Tech School Before Writing The Check
Starting Your Computer Career:
More Questions To Ask A Tech School Before Writing The Check
by: Chris Bryant, CCIE #12933
If the school offers a placement service, ask to talk to the people working in that department and ask them how they go about placing graduates.
Most schools offer a list of companies that they've placed students with.
Get this list and start calling some of these companies.
Ask to speak to their HR department, and ask them for their opinion of the school.
Even if they don't say a lot, their tone of voice can speak volumes.
Ask to meet some of their teachers, and don't be afraid to ask them how long they've taught at that particular school.
If the average teacher has been there a while, that's a good sign.
If there seems to be quite a bit of turnover at the school, that's not as good a sign.
Another key area is the availability of the computer labs during...
Starting Your Computer Career: More Questions To Ask A Tech School Before Writing The Check
Another Kind of Computer Game
by: Allan T Price
The term computer game might have one more meaning than you realize.
You are familiar with one kind, games that run on computers? They are set in eras from prehistoric and Roman times up to the present, and into various wonderful and depressing future worlds.
There are also games in the physical world, played with pens and paper and imagination which involve the characters doing things in the virtual world of the Internet.
Players, and the referee, sit with pen and paper pretending to be using computers. Instead of clicking a mouse to make a computer barbarian use his sword, these gamers roll dice to have their character ?Google? their enemy?s name, or hack into their computer.
Yes, this seem ludicrous even to me, and I?ve done it.
Remember, paper-and-pen role-playing games have evolved since their invention, just like personal computers and computer games. So, while...
Another Kind of Computer Game
Computer Graphics: They're Not All The Same
Computer Graphics: They're Not All The Same
by: Mandar
Graphic images on your computer come in two different forms, raster images and vector images. Raster images are made by programs such as Photoshop and Corel Photopaint. Vector images are produced by Adobe Illustrator, Freehand, and CorelDraw. While the results from these different programs can look similar, the ways in which they are made are very different.
Raster images are made up of millions of individual squares, or pixels, of various colors. The more pixels you have, the better the image will look. The number of pixels, or resolution, is usually expressed in dots per inch (dpi). Images on the Web are shown at 72 dpi. A high-resolution image would run 300 dpi or higher. Some types of printing can get into the 1600 dpi range. Much like a mosaic, a raster image can look smooth from a distance but as you zoom in closer you can see the individual pixels.
A vector image is drawn from...
Computer Graphics: They're Not All The Same
Inkjet Printers: Stating The Trend Of Todays Printing
by: Jinky C. Mesias
Inkjet printers makes use of inkjet ink which a very complex formulation that makes possible for the ink to infiltrate almost any type of surfaces. Inkjet printers are also commonly used by home owners as well as various businesses. The usual inkjet printers used are bubble jet or thermal printer that are best for everyday printing needs. However, when it comes to printing for the business industry although a bubble jet or thermal printer may do some of the easy printing jobs but for some of the complicated printing requirements like the use of codes and markings in order for prints to attach to certain materials like plastic, metal, cardboard as well as glass an industrial ink specially formulated for inkjet printers are required. The inks used on such type of printers are water-based coupled with a user-friendly print delivery system.
There are many advantages derived...
Inkjet Printers: Stating The Trend Of Todays Printing
Do The Media Spread Computer Viruses?
Do The Media Spread Computer Viruses?
by: Joel Walsh
Summary: Could the mass media hype about computer viruses actually make the problem worse?
If you believe what you hear in the media, there are an awful lot of viruses going around. No, I'm not talking about the make-you-sick kind of virus, though they get plenty of airtime, too. I'm talking about the kind of virus that enters via your internet connection rather than your nasal passages.
What the mainstream media often don't tell you--at least, in most radio and television newscasts and in the crucial headlines and opening paragraphs of newspaper articles-- is that many of these "viruses" are not viruses at all.
What Computer Viruses Really Are
The main reason the mainstream media always are in alarm over viruses is that they tend to call any malicious computer program a virus. In reality, there are at least eleven distinct types of malicious software, or malware, commonly...
Do The Media Spread Computer Viruses?
What's The Point For Computer Optimization?
What's The Point For Computer Optimization?
by: Ted Peterson
I am sure you've heard a lot of things about computer optimization. Everywhere you look you see ads that invite you to "boost your performance" or "improve your computer". So, what's the idea? Is anything true about it? Does your computer really need optimization?
Unfortunately, it does. There are many weak zones in Windows operating system. Here are a few of them:
- registry
- hardware management
- internet connection
Registries are Windows's internal database. All sort of information are stored there, from hardware and drivers info to applications' settings. After each removal of any device, like a printer or video card, pieces of information remain there. The biggest problem is when you uninstall a program. Unfortunately, many applications fail to erase all their data on removal. A solution for this is to run "regedit" and manually search for all references...
What's The Point For Computer Optimization?
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Water Safety: Swimming Pool Hazards and Children
Water Safety: Swimming Pool Hazards and Children
by: Carl Pensington
Before you open your swimming pool for the season, or if
you are thinking of having a pool installed, you should
review the basic safety procedures. Even if you have had
that pool for a number of years, your family should review
the procedures to make sure that children don't become
victims of a water tragedy. Especially where children are
concerned, it only takes a moment...
hedge funds Computer printers Water Safety: Swimming Pool Hazards and Children
Inkjet Printers Getting in Demand
Inkjet Printers Getting in Demand
by: Karen Nodalo
Inkjet has grown widely and it is commonly used by most of the printing companies. For all we know, inkjet ink is a complex formulation that formulates on any porous surface and enables us to print different kinds of printing. Even homeowners have printers at home. it can either be an inkjet or a bubble jet printer that perfectly meets the standards of good printing.
There are two types of inks, which...
Computer printers Inkjet Printers Getting in Demand photo printers The Printer Cartridge Game
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