Bernard Cassidy, product manager for hardware and software security at Ricoh, reveals how new printer systems are creating new challenges for IT managers.

Bernard Cassidy joined printer specialist Ricoh in 2002 and is product manager with responsibility for managing the marketing of security hardware and software products, black and white printers (in the 45-75ppm sector) and low-end document management software. He is also instrumental in managing decentralised host printing solutions.

Previously he has worked as a sales training officer advising the sales team on the key aspects of Ricoh’s hardware and software systems.

Before joining Ricoh, Bernard worked in IT recruitment after graduating from Plymouth University in 1999 with a degree in Business Studies.

Read full interview here.

This can be a big hassle, especially if you are not computer literate. These days, printer and digital cameras come with loads of software that allow you to edit photos and to print different variations of them. The problem is that other than doing some redeye reduction, most people are really only interested in printing standard 4 x 6 or 8 x 10 copies of their photos. Sometimes accomplishing this can be difficult as well as costly, since every print you mess up on can use up a lot of ink. Well, someone recently asked the resident computer expert at the San Francisco Chronicle what the easiest way to print photos was.

Read the article here.

PacificInk has a very interesting article about a problem that shows up sometimes when refilling cartridges. People call us up and say that they just refilled their cartridge and installed it and already it’s giving them white lines. This doesn’t mean that something went wrong in the refilling process; it just means that the full amount of ink isn’t coming out like it should.

A common cause of this problem is people refilling old cartridges. If you take an ink cartridge out of printer and leave it out for more than a few days, it’s going to start to dry out. If you leave it out for a couple of weeks or months, it’s definitely going to dry out. So then if you refill one of these cartridges, you are going to be getting prints like you would if the cartridge was running out of ink. Since you just refilled it, obviously the problem isn’t because there’s no ink in there, it’s because the ink that is in there can’t get through the nozzles. For this problem, we usually recommend soaking the cartridge.

The other thing that could be causing white lines or streaks in your prints from a refilled cartridge is the condition of that cartridge. All cartridges wear out eventually, and when they do, they start performing like empty cartridges. A lot of inkjet cartridges can be refilled up to 10 times, but on average it is more like three or four refills per cartridge. The print head of the cartridge is very fragile, and eventually it will either get scratched or worn out. Otherwise, another part of the cartridge like the nozzles will wear out and your prints will deteriorate. While it’s unfortunate that you can’t just keep refilling cartridges forever, if you take care of them and if you don’t let them get dried out, they should last you a pretty long time.

Via PacificInk.

PcMag has a very interesting article about affordable and reliable photo printers. Here are some of their conclusions.

One of the advantages these printers have over either a kiosk or an all purpose printer is that they're small and light enough to take with you anywhere. Some, like both of the Canon printers included here—the Canon Selphy DS810 and Canon Selphy CP510 Compact Photo Printer—include battery options so you can print photos without a power outlet. If you want the flexibility to take photos and hand them out on the spot—at a little league baseball game, for example—that's a must-have feature.

Another advantage this category has over all-purpose printers is that, for some printers at least, it's easy to find out exactly how much it will cost to print a photo, so you can factor that cost into your buying decision. Two of the printers included here—the Canon CP510 and Samsung SPP-2040 Digital Photo Printer—are thermal dye printers, which means they print using dye rolls with repeating panels of cyan, yellow, and magenta dye, plus a clear panel that coats the print to protect it.

Canon Selphy CP510 Compact Photo Printer
The Selphy CP510 keeps the price low by leaving out memory card slots, but it will print from PictBridge cameras as well as computers. And it combines its low price with a low running cost to make it one of the least expensive dedicated photo printers available—in both the short and long run.

Canon Selphy DS810Canon Selphy DS810
Built around an ink-jet engine, and able to print from PictBridge cameras, memory cards, and computers, the Selphy DS810 lets you chose between output quality on the one hand and print speed and cost per photo on the other. It's a good choice if you snapshot quality is all you need for most output, but you want the ability to step up to a higher quality for selected photos.

Samsung SPP-2040 Digital Photo Printer
The SPP-2040 can print from cameras, memory cards, and computers, and it includes a 2-inch LCD for previewing photos on memory cards before printing. It's fast for a dedicated photo printer, but the cost per photo is relatively high, making it most attractive for those who either insist on top speed for the price, or don't print many photos.

Read full article here.

Whatever your preferred print size--the photographers' 11x16, the scrapbookers' 12x12, or the layout designers' 13x19--these medium-format printers will handle it beautifully. They can handle media as wide as 13 inches and take sheetfed pages as big as 13x19 inches, usually referred to as Super B in the United States and as A3+ elsewhere. If you want to print big, honkin' panoramas, your choices are more limited: only Epson offers a roll feeder, which lets you print as large as 13x44 inches.

Cnet's editor, Lori Grunin has a very interesting article about four best inkjet printers that print large formats. Canon i9900, Epson Stylus Photo R1800, HP Photosmart 8750 Professional and Epson Stylus Photo R2400 are a very interesting solution for those who need large format printing.

Read the full article here.