The Ink Technologies blog is set up to help users answer questions they may have without having to enlist others.  There are 8 categories of helpful blogs written by one of our printer experts.  Each is full of useful information that tackles the typical questions and most common issues that standard users encounter.

For broad questions about ink and toner, refer to the categories ‘Ink Cartridge Tips’ and ‘Toner Cartridge Tips’.  These categories will provide simple comparisons and facts about different features and functions of printers and cartridges, as well as basic instructions, such as installing a cartridge.  

There are categories that are designated specifically to assist users when the printer is not working the way it is supposed to.  These categories are ‘Error Messages’, ‘Print Quality Troubleshooting’ and ‘Other Troubleshooting’.  Regardless of the age or price of your printer, sometimes things just don’t go right.  The blogs in these categories will not only help users diagnose the issue, but hopefully even repair it unless it is a problem that requires a technician.

The category ‘Choosing Your Printer’ is a basic guide to the perks and drawbacks of certain features and types of printer.  There are so many options on the market, the blogs in this category will break down the benefits of different kinds, and help users understand what type of printer will be most suited for their needs.  For instance, would your home office be better complimented by an inkjet printer or a laser printer?  Should wireless be a factor in your decision?

The final category is ‘FAQ’, also known as frequently asked questions.  The blogs in this category explain to the average-Joe the technical terms and internal operations of printers.  Most users do not know the inner-workings of these kinds of machines, and this category is there to put it into Layman’s terms.

Though certainly known more for the innovative computer technology, IBM also offers high-end laser printers for offices and homes.  These machines are fast, reliable, and produce a quality that is more than sufficient for a professional environment.  Some offer multiple functions, such as scanning, copying and faxing, while others are dedicated printers.  Either way, consumers will be satisfied with any IBM printer.  Like all electronics, though, problems can arise, some coming from within the device and others caused by users.  Here is a list of the few most common errors and simple solutions.

Error 22: Out of Paper

This is self-explanatory.  Refill the input tray with paper.

Error 24: Incorrect Manual Feed

If a user is attempted to use the manual paper-feed slot while the printer is using the automatic document feeder, this error will come up.  Be sure to only use the manual feed option when the printer is specifically set for it.

Error 31: Paper Settings

This error usually means that the size of the paper in the tray does not match the paper configuration that is set in the paper settings.  Changing one or the other should take care of it.

Error 89: Overloaded Output Tray

Once so many documents have been printed but not taken off the tray, the machine will stop printing because the output tray is considered overloaded.  Clear the printed pages off the tray and continue.

Error 9920: Incorrect Temperature of Fuser

This could be an issue with the lamp, fuse or thermostat.  Monitor these parts to make sure they are functioning properly.  If they are, it is possible the problem is the voltage.  If you notice these parts are not working right, you may need to replace them or let a technician take a look.

Error 970: Fan Not Working

If the fan is not turning on, this error will appear.  Fans are important because they keep the hard-working machines from overheating.  Contact a technician for this one.

Do you have an IBM laser printer?  Depending on your model number, there may be upgrade options that you did not know about.  If the model number of the machine that is used regularly in the office is IBM Infoprint 1332, 1352 or 1372, the opportunity to purchase a separate multi-function device that can attach to the base unit and turn it into an all-in-one laser machine will save space, time and money in the work place.  But how does it work, and are the additional features and functions worth the extra money?

The machines that can be attached to the current laser printer in your office are IBM M22, M26 and M30.  Each offer different speeds, features and sizes.  All comes with a one-year warranty, but traditionally IBM devices are some of the most reliable on the market. 

All three IBM attachment devices offer scanning, copying and faxing at a standard resolution of 600×600 dpi.  The scanner has monochrome and color capabilities as well as a scan-to-email feature.  The fax portion has a 33.6 Kbps modem speed and an overall fax quality of 400×440 dpi.  Here is a short list of the differences:

M22

This is the smallest of the choices, weighing less than 12 pounds and taking up less than 20 inches of width space.  It lacks a duplex printing feature.  There is a helpful LCD screen on the front panel joined by an array of navigational buttons.  The M22 has the ability to deliver 25 pages per minute and scan 25 images per minute.

M26

This device is similar to the M22, but can print up to 50 sheets per minute and does allow for duplex printing.  This unit measures 22.4×16.9×7.5 inches and weighs just about 15 pounds.

M30

This is the most expensive choice, as it features touch screen editing and navigation.  It processes documents and scans as quickly as the M26, but does take up more space with a 33×21.5×12 inch frame and a weight of 26 pounds.

Overall, all three IBM multi-purpose machines will be an excellent addition to an office environment.

When printing, either at home or in the office, occasionally you may notice a few dark or faded spots on the printed pages.  If this happens, there is no need to call the expensive technician- at least not before you try cleaning the rollers.  This is a common issue with printers that are used frequently, as normal wear and tear will eventually affect quality.  The problem is easily fixable by the average Joe, especially with an internet full of helpful tips, like this one.

Cleaning the rollers in the paper path:

Pull out the paper tray until it will not go any further, then lift it gently and remove it.  The rollers sit back behind the trays, so you will need to reach in the empty tray slot and grab the rollers.  Of course each is attached by a prong of sorts and will need to be taken off of it in the same fashion you would remove an empty toilet paper roll.

Make sure the cloth you use is clean and cotton, and dampen it with isopropyl alcohol.  Thoroughly and carefully wipe down each roller, removing dust and ink or toner particles that may have gathered.  Do not put the rollers back in until they are dry.  It is recommended to let them sit and dry out for a few hours, if not overnight.  Reattach each one to its prong, and make sure you here it snap into place.

Cleaning the feed rollers:

Be sure to unplug the printer for this one, as you will need to open the case of the machine, which can differ from model to model, so you may want to consult the manual.  Instead of removing the rollers, reach inside with the cloth doused in isopropyl alcohol and manually turn the rollers as you wipe the junk off them.  Let them dry for a while.

Once all of the rollers are dried and back in place, print a test page to make sure quality has been restored.

Printers have many different features that will appeal to various consumers.  Some printers use powder toner while others use liquid ink or even solid ink.  Some printers have multiple functions, like copying and faxing, while others are simply dedicated printing machines.  Some printers offers networking and are designed to excel in an office environment, and others are built to be personal printers.  Depending on your needs at work or home, it is important to understand each device and which will be best suited.  A feature that is rarely discussed, but could make a huge different in productivity and quality is the path of the paper.

There are three standard paper paths, each with benefits and downfalls.  These three paths are commonly referred to as an L-shaped path, U-shaped path and a straight path.

The straight path allows users to print on a variety of media types, even if they are thicker.  Some units can even print on CDs.  The wide range of canvases that can be printed on makes this path good for an office, though it does take up more space than machines that use other paths.

The U-shaped path typically stores paper in an input tray that sits below the output tray that catches finished prints.  The paper is pulled through and makes a U shape during production, then comes out on the tray sitting directly on top of the input tray.  This path makes it difficult to print on thicker media types, but does make room for larger trays, so hundreds of sheets can be loaded on the input tray.

The L-shaped path holds the paper vertically and pulls the paper down when printing.  The paper than bends at a 90 degree angle and comes out of the machine horizontally.  The small trays can usually be folded in, making these types of machine the most space-friendly.  Though it will not be able to store as many pages as printers using the other two paths, it will be ideal for personal use.

Printer owners should not have to worry about maintenance upkeep because the reliability and durability of these machines gets better with each year of production.  For the most part, users will only need to be able to swap out expired toner cartridges.  It may seem like a simple task to some, but for people who have never done it, the task can be intimidating.  This is a simple tutorial for inexperienced users trying to get through the process and need a little guidance.

A lot of toner cartridges are being made with handles these days, making it easier to pull out of the printer when empty.  Once you remove a seemingly empty cartridge, though, be sure to put something under it like a sheet of newspaper, as leaking is always a possibility.  The new cartridge will come in a sealed bag inside a box.  Remove the bag from the box, and carefully open the bag, unless you see that toner has already leaked excessively inside the bag.  If this is the case, the product is defective and you should return it to the vendor.

Remove the new cartridge from the bag and gently shake it from side to side so the toner is evenly distributed.  There will be a shipping seal that needs to be removed before installation.  Just pull the tab and it should easily come out.  Hold the handle and slide the cartridge into the allotted slot, and sure it locks into place.  Close the panel and print a test page.

If the cartridge is not being recognized, it is possible that the printer memory is stuck and will only recognize the previous cartridge.  In this case, remove the new cartridge, turn off the printer and unplug it for about 10 minutes.  Plug it back in, turn it on and install the cartridge again.  This process is called a ‘cold start’ and should reset the memory.  Any other issues, contact the vendor you purchased the replacement cartridges from.

Laser printers use toner, which is a powder.  Inkjet printers use ink, which comes in liquid form.  Though toner has more of a tendency to spill or leak from the cartridge, ink can cause clogging in the print heads and nozzles as particles dry and gather over time.  All printers offer a cleaning cycle that should eliminate most issues, but occasionally this process is just not enough to unclog the nozzles.  Sometimes users can still print with a small clog, but quality will surely suffer.  Other times, the color that is jammed will not print at all. 

There is a simple cleaning you can do yourself that should wipe the problem right out.  All you need to have is a towel, some hot water and a small amount of isopropyl alcohol.

Remove the cartridge that is causing the problem.  Depending on the type of printer you have, the print head will be either on the cartridge or inside the printer. 

For models that have the print head in the printer, such as all Epson inkjets, after the cartridge is removed, put about 10 drops of the isopropyl alcohol in the receptacle area which has the hole that ink flows through.  Once you have done this, run the auto clean a couple more times then let the machine sit for a few hours.

If the print head is on the cartridge, soak it in hot water overnight.  Even soaking a towel in hot water and letting the cartridge lay on its side on the towel overnight should help loosed dried ink.  Use a dry towel to thoroughly dry the print head before putting it back in the printer, and run the auto clean cycle a couple times.  If still clogged, try soaking the print head in the isopropyl alcohol rather than hot water.

If none of this breaks down the clog, you might just want to buy a new cartridge or call a technician.

Scanners are becoming more and more common in an office environment.  Some are stand-alone scanners while others are a part of a copy machine, fax machine or all-in-one printer.  In the last decade, scanners have changed the way companies file important documents and keep official records.  In addition, the scanner has virtually made fax machines irrelevant, as a document can be scanned directly to email and sent electronically.  Scanners with a flatbed surface make it possible for thicker materials to be copied or scanned, such as a textbook.  Scanners with automatic feeders have the ability to process multi-page scans without requiring users to hand feed each page.  However, this exciting technology does not come without issues.

Here are a few of the main error messages users get, what they mean and possible in-house remedies:

Error 200: System Not Found. Scan Not Performed

If the scanner is being used in a network environment, meaning it is connected to several computers at once, make sure the machine that is being scanned to has a functioning connection.  If a glitch in the network is not applicable, check to make sure the IP address of the machine online is correct.

Error 451: Admin Rights Are Required To Scan

More updated scanners have security features that prevent unwanted users from sending documents to the unit.  The system can be set up to only except documents from a single administrative machine.

Error 501: Remote Registry Access Denied

This is as simple as making sure the remote registry has been enabled.

Error 622: Machine OS not recognized

Years ago, various electronics were designed with limited compatibility.  Some machines will only work with Windows operating systems, so a MAC user trying to scan will get this error.

Overall, scanners will certainly benefit offices that have official documentation that needs to be stored safely and sent to customers or vendors around the world.  These errors can be frustrating, but should be fairly easy to fix.

In inkjet printing, a nozzle technology is used to dispense miniscule droplets of liquid ink over every inch of paper.  The smaller the drops are, the more accurate and vivid the final print will be.  Much like pixels of a digital camera, the higher the number, the better the color quality will be.  For printing with ink, the resolution of prints is measured by DPI, or dots per inch.  The size of the dots is measured in picoliters, which is a measurement so small it is unseen to most human beings.  This microscopic dot of ink is typically written pL, but pl is also widely accepted.

A picoliter is a subdivision of a standard liter.  It is estimate to be approximately one trillionth the size of a liter.  A liter is one cubic decimeter and a kiloliter is the same size of a cubic meter.  So, a picoliter is equal to 1,000 cubic micrometers, which are each one millionth of a meter.  Just one cubic micrometer has is equivalent to a single femtoliter, which is one quadrillionth of a standard liter.  To put this in a perspective that may be easier to understand, an average raindrop would be equal to hundreds of thousands of picoliters. 

There are two nozzle technologies that are used in inkjet printers.  One relies on heat, while the other uses vibrations.  The thermal method heats ink drops until they become vapor.  Once the vapor bubble pops, the vacuum effect pulls more ink into the print head, which is then distributed through the tip of the nozzle.  Piezoelectric technology uses crystals that can receive electric charges, causing them to vibrate and force small drops of ink out.  Even though there are two different methods used, both rely on the picoliter size dots to create a quality that is worthy of personal pictures and professional documents.

Having backup toner cartridges is essential to offices that print daily high volumes.  For users that do not print as much, ordering new cartridges when toner starts to run low will be sufficient.  But for users that go through thousands of prints each week, ordering a new cartridge every time one is needed will become a burden and the shipping costs will add up.  Buying in bulk will not only save money, it will simplify the printing process.  In a work environment, people should not have to worry about functioning equipment, and purchasing toner cartridges in bulk will ensure that.

For the best results possible, it is important to store extra cartridges in an appropriate place to maximize the lifespan and quality of the toner.  There a few easy-to-follow guidelines that will preserve these cartridges as long as needed.

Do not remove the new cartridge from the packaging.

Keeping the toner cartridge in the sealed plastic bag will protect it from acquiring any dust or other debris that could be lingering in the office.  If the cartridge is exposed to the elements, it could get clogged or damaged enough to diminish the quality of prints.

Keep out of the sun

Excessive sun exposure will damage and potentially ruin a toner cartridge.  It could melt the plastic or contaminate the toner.  For ink cartridges, it could dry the ink too much to be repaired.

Store at or below room temperature

Heat can have the same affect on a cartridge that the sun does.  Anything about the low 70’s could cause irreparable damage.  If the work place is always uncommonly hot, another option is to store the spare cartridges in a refrigerator.  Once it is needed, though, it is essential to let the toner warm up before installing.  If it is put into the machine when it is cold, the heat that is applied in the printing process could make the cartridge expand, damaging your printer.

There is a wide range of color printers on the market that appeal to particular demographics.  For instance, there are high-volume color laser printers that are designed to meet the needs of a fast-paced office and there are slow personal inkjet color printers that belong in the home and can be used for photo printing.  Depending on the number of cartridges, the different colors of ink, and the internal color depth, varying resolutions and quality can be obtained.

The internal color depth is a basic system that defines the extent of color tones that can be reached by a printer.  This is measured in bits.  As the amount of bits increase, the clarity of prints also does.  A standard computer screen offers a total of 24 bits of resolution while early computing systems only featured 18 bits.

Only two colors can be achieved by a printer that uses only 1 bit, which is considered monochromatic and provides consumers with the option of having a black-and-white only printer.  Users that desire a high quality of color prints should find a machine that can deliver “truecolor”.  This is a method that uses 256 shades of blue, red and green, creating 16,777,216 internal color variations.  With this amount of color tones available, photographs and graphics will be vivid and nearly an exact match to an original image.  The “truecolor” technology is 24 bits, which on Mac computers is referred to as millions of colors.

For users looking to venture beyond the 24-bit depth chart, a separate video card will need to be added to the machine.  Adding one of these cards, a depth known as “Deep color” can be reached which holds literally billions of colors.  Though the video cards have been on the market since the late 90’s, it wasn’t until 2008 that Windows programs became conducive with 30 and 48 bits.