Lexmark's upgrade locks users out of using third-party cartridges

Lexmark's upgrade locks users out of using third-party cartridges

Many Lexmark printer owners have downloaded a software upgrade for their printers which effectively locks out third-party and refilled ink cartridges.

The upgrade promised to ‘improve’ users’ printers, but it contained a hidden file they were unaware of.

The upgrade is irreversible these printers can ONLY be used with genuine Lexmark inks installed. The website www.inksave.co.uk believe this is an anti-competitive, restrictive practice and campaigning for this to stop.

Lexmark posted a message on Facebook explaining their reasoning for the upgrade.

“We have seen multiple postings in regards to Lexmark’s update and ink usage on our inkjet devices. In January of this year, Lexmark released an update for its current line of inkjet printers that addressed a number of issues, one of which was the unauthorised use of third-party ‘cloned’ versions of the #100 Ink Cartridge,” Lexmark said.

The company tried to justify it's action citing “environmentally sound business policies” of recycling and disposal.

Lexmark said that customers are given "clear information" when they buy a printer that these devices should only use genuine Lexmark cartridges. Most customers clearly didn’t realise the upgrade they downloaded would lock out third-party cartridges.  Lexmark insists that customers are “also informed (third time) when they choose to download the firmware update, which enforces the original printer functionality.”  It went on to say that customers can have certain original Lexmark cartridges refilled, either by themselves or a third party and they will work in the printer.

The Office of Fair Trading has been asked to report on Lexmark’s practice.  In the meantime, if you're a Lexmark owner - BEWARE THE "UPGRADE" - and if you're in the market for a new printer - ask for some genuine free and impartial advice from www.inksave.co.uk - who have 10 years' experience in the consumables market, but don't sell printers so have no axe to grind.

HOW LONG WILL MY NEW PRINTER CARTRIDGES LAST?

Printer cartridge manufacturers do try and give some indication of how long any particular cartridge model is likely to last.  They use terms like "standard yield", "moderate user", "high capacity", "XL" and the like - all of which are a little woolly to say the least.  In an attempt to clarify this and enable customers to make an informed decision, some years ago the International Organisation for Standardisation (the people who create and control the ISO... quality standards) created a complex page yield testing method - known as ISO/IEC 24711.  Much of the technical detail is shown on HP's website here: http://h10060.www1.hp.com/pageyield/en-019/articles/inkjetPageYields.html?cCode=us but in simple terms page yields are quoted on the basis of a certain amount of ink/toner hitting the page.

When you print emails, letters and the like, on a typical A4 sheet you might cover about 5% of the paper with ink or toner - so 95% of what you see is still plain white paper.  If a black cartridge is quoted as - say - "450 x A4 page yield based on 5% coverage" and all you ever printed were typical emails and letters, you could fully expect to get around 450 pages before the cartridge needed replacing.  At www.inksave.co.uk we try and make quoted page yields clear where the manufacturer provides the information.

But as usual, it's not quite that straightforward...  There are variables like whether you use bold print, or draft quality.  Even the design of the font you use can make a big difference.  If you choose Ariel as opposed to Times New Roman for example, page yields will change.

The very big change comes when you start printing photographs, maps and pictures.  Compared to the typical 5% coverage value above, when you print a photograph you are covering 100% of the paper with ink or toner.  Printers obviously mix colours and the use of any particular colour will vary depending on what's being printed.  Holiday snaps on the beach will use a good deal of blue (cyan) and yellow (sea, sand and sky) but rather less red (magenta).  Quoted page yields therefore rather go out of the window!

In the unlikely event you wanted to print a number of white A4 sheets completely black - covering 100% as in a photo - the "450 page" cartridge above would actually only deliver around 23 pages!

So remember - page yields are a general guide ONLY - different types of printing will make actual page yields vary enormously.  If you have any queries on this matter see www.inksave.co.uk or call one of our friendly team on 0800 9700 346 Monday to Friday. 

  

HOW to choose a new domestic printer

Choosing a new domestic printer - GREAT CARE IS NEEDED!  Here we explain a little of the history, the pitfalls and how to overcome them.

Most homes and home based offices now employ at least one printer, and although laser printers are becoming increasingly popular, most people still use inkjet printers in a domestic or small business environment.  They are usually reliable, and you can also produce your photo's on them so they suit most people. (Photo paper must never be fed into a laser printer - they run at very high temperatures and melt it!)

Although quite important, the cost of buying a the printer itself is nowhere near as important as the cost of running it.  A typical home-use printer might last (say) 5-7 years.  During that time it will need replacement ink cartridges numerous times.  Therein lies the story...

When you see a colour printer on offer at £30 or even £20, it really does look like a terrific bargain.  Surely nothing can go wrong?  12 month warranty.... Does the photo's... Dive in!  Then you set it up, print a few things out, and the "low ink" warning comes on.  So, you either pop back to the shop or get on the web.  You're ahead of me now aren't you...?  That "bargain" printer is going to cost £40 for a couple of ink cartridges.  Every couple of months.  Over 5 years that's around £1200.  Ouch.  Not such a bargain then.

Since the mid-nineties when digital cameras and home colour printing started to become hugely popular, the big manufacturers like HP, Epson, Lexmark, Brother, Canon (and many others) have tapped into this gigantic market.  They have been racing to make their printers better, faster and more user friendly.  Almost every day a new "improved" model or range is launched.

In the early days printers came with ink cartridges filled with a realistic amount of liquids.  It didn't take long before the manufacturers discovered just how much money they could potentially make selling ink cartridges in this exploding market.  Some bright spark in marketing suggested that if ink cartridges contained half the ink, they'd sell twice as many!  Consequently ink cartridges have become much smaller and are now generally filled with rather less ink - many with LESS THAN ONE TEASPOONFUL.  Because they could make such huge profits selling ink, it became prudent to sell printers cheaply (even at a loss) to hook customers into buying the ink cartridges. 

End users quickly get fed up when they think they're being had - well don't you?  Consequently people began to look for ways of reducing the cost of running their printers at home.  Refilling empty cartridges with refill kits became very popular, and it wasn't long before a whole new market emerged - cheap printer cartridges - either brand new copies or professionally refilled and repackaged empties.  Copies are known as "compatible ink cartridges" and refilled ones "remanufactured in cartridges".  Costing a fraction of the price of genuine inks, these soon became incredibly popular and a huge dent was put into the profits of the big boys.  They had to respond...

Most of the printer manufacturers started building micro-electronics into cartridges in an attempt to stop people using compatible or remanufactured cartridges.  They use patents and very expensive lawyers to protect themselves, with, it must be said, considerable success.  Many ink cartridges are now destined to fail electronically when they have delivered a pre-determined (small) amount of ink.  No amount of refilling or trying to use copy cartridges will work - the electronics make sure of that.  FOR THIS REASON ALONE YOUR CHOICE OF NEW PRINTER SHOULD BE MADE VERY CAREFULLY!

In view of all the above, we have recommended many customers to a range of BROTHER printers.  Genuine Brother ink cartridges are sensibly priced, and contain a realistic amount of ink.  Copy cheap ink cartridges are also widely available, and extremely reliable - there are no nasty electronics in the way.  So - if you spent (say) £65 on a Brother DCP-195C printer/scanner/copier machine, and ran it on compatible ink cartridges for 5 years you could save a packet, compared to the above example.  As you can see here -  http://www.inksave.co.uk/product/DCP%7C195C/ a bundle of 6 cartridges are available for £15.95.  A couple of bundles a year would mean that over 5 years your ink costs would be less than £160.  So - SPENDING AN EXTRA £20 OR £30 ON A PRINTER FROM THE OUTSET MIGHT SAVE YOU OVER £1,000 IN INK COSTS OVER THE LIFE OF THE MACHINE.  CHOOSE CAREFULLY!

At www.inksave.co.uk we sell loads of ink and toner cartridges, but don't actually sell printers.  You can therefore be absolutely certain of impartial advice about printers from our helpful friendly staff.  Give us a call on 0800 9700 346 for free advice.

Cheap Ink Cartridges

If in the past, you have succumbed to tempting offers to buy cheap (heavily subsidised) printers, you will now be facing the consequences of over inflated prices on consumables. Many of our customers were just like you, tired of having to spend so much money on ink cartridges especially when there are cheaper exceptional quality ink cartridge options available.

Of course the manufacturers don't want to lose sales on inks after selling you a heavily discounted printer, so they try to prevent you from purchasing cheap ink cartridges like the compatibles or refilled printer ink cartridges by saying 'non original ink cartridges may damage your printer and render the warranty invalid'. Of course this is rubbish but may be enough to prevent you from exploring the cheaper options because of fear. In reality, you only likely to encounter problems if you purchase cheap ink cartridges from an untrusted source. We guarantee all our products are of the highest standard.

For your information, there are three types of cheap printer ink cartridges. OEM or 'original equipment manufacturers' ink cartridge which has the manufacturer's name on it. Compatible ink cartridges which are compatible with your printer model but doesn't have the manufacturer's seal on it. Re-manufactured or refilled ink cartridges. Refilled or re-manufactured ink cartridges have been disassembled or refilled by the original manufacturer and distributed for re-sale.

These days the internet is the best place to buy cheap ink cartridges but you should always choose someone like ourselves who will offer you great pre and post sale customer service, advice and guidance if you need it. So if you are still a little cynical about the purchase of cheap ink cartridges please feel free to call us first and we will do our best to answer all your concerns.

We guarantee to save you money on your ink cartridges and the very best of customer service.
We are seldom equalled, and never beaten.

www.inksave.co.uk
Call us free on Tel: 0800 9700 346 (Mon-Fri 9am to 5:30pm)

How to change your Ink Cartridges

This video is to show you how to change your ink cartridges and reset the printer alignment.

Model used for this demonstration is a HP Deskjet 380.

Original Ink Cartridges or Remanufactured?

Even more so in these hard times we are always trying cut costs, and whilst Ink Cartridges for most of us, don't require changing very freqently, it's still an expense which could be cut by choosing remanufactured Ink Cartridges instead of the originals. But when should you choose between the two options?

If you use your Inkjet printer "very occasionally" i.e. at least once a week. Then it's probably safe to say you could use remanufactured Ink Cartridges and have no problems. However, if you use your printer less than that, and it could stand for 2 or 3 weeks bewteen use, then you really should use original Ink Cartridges because of the long term relaibilty. This ia also true for printing photo's which you would want to cherish for decades.

Learn more about remanufactured or compatible Ink Cartidges

Contact us here

What you need to know

Ink Cartridges: What you need to know: download this in pdf format (46KB) One of my seo clients at www.inksave.co.uk recently explained to me the difference between ink cartridges, ink tanks and printer head inks. Like myself, the vast majority of us are now very familiar with our own personal computer. However, alongside most computers sits a printer. With the permission of my client, I hope to explain some of the fundamentals (and explode a few myths) about the different types of printer - and in particular the type of ink cartridge they use. Domestic and small office environments usually operate at least one inkjet printer. This market is dominated by a handful of key players – namely HP, Epson, Lexmark, Canon, Brother and Dell. Other manufacturers like Olivetti and Philips also sell inkjet printers, but on a smaller scale. Ink cartridges (also known as inkjet cartridges) come in many different shapes and sizes and vary enormously. It is essential to have exactly the correct cartridges for your own printer model - many look pretty much identical but have different micro-electronics which is often the danger when trying to save money by using a compatible ink cartridge.  Some printers only take one or two ink cartridges, whereas some take up to ten individual ones. Choosing which printer you should invest in based on ink consumables can be very tricky, although there are many good websites that allow you to navigate easily to your printer model so you can only order correctly matched cartridges. Make sure you click on the right printer model though! Different types of ink cartridges; INK TANKS As the name suggests these are simply plastic tanks filled with ink. There is often a sponge inside to stop the ink slopping around as the carriage moves left to right at great speed. The print head (the bit that marks the paper) is an integral part of the printer. The ink drops into the print head, which regulates flow, mixes and sprays it on to the paper in the very tiniest droplets imaginable. Older printers may take one black ink cartridge alongside one tri-colour (or 5-colour) cartridge. More recent models have the black ink cartridge (sometimes more than one) alongside a number of individual colour cartridges - the obvious advantage being when one colour runs out, you don't have to throw away a cartridge containing residual ink of the other two or 4 colours. This system is preferred by Epson and Brother. Also many Canon, a few HP and some more recent Lexmark inkjet printers use the ink tank method of delivery. The main advantage of a printer using ink tanks is that they can be fairly cheap to run. Very reliable compatible ink cartridges are widely available for most Epson, Canon and Brother models for a fraction of the cost of manufacturers original branded (OEM) goods. Provided the generic ones are built to at least ISO9001 quality assurance standards you can expect good print quality, and page-life at least as long. Horror stories of them ruining printers are largely unfounded. If a printer is used regularly it will usually give reliable performance whether running original branded or compatible cartridges. If left switched off for weeks at a time it is sometimes necessary to run the "print head cleaning cycle" built in for that very reason. Manufacturers are very keen to sell you their own branded (and very profitable) products, and will jump at any chance to scare people away from using lower cost alternatives. Cheap ink cartridges are not necessarily cheap and nasty! PRINTHEAD INK CARTRIDGES Unlike ink tanks, when you change a print head cartridge you are installing a completely new print-head every time you replenish the ink supply. As you can imagine, there are complex micro-electronics involved in the accurate delivery of heated ink to paper, and as a result printhead cartridges are generally more expensive to buy than simple ink tanks. The argument for printhead cartridges is that the highest level of print quality is maintained, irrespective of the age of the printer. There is certainly logic in that argument, but it's fair to say modern ink-tank printers (as described in the paragraph above) do maintain a high level of print quality for a long time at a lower cost. Manufacturers insist that printhead cartridges are designed for single use only (typically delivering between 150 and 450 pages) and should then be replaced by a new one. In fact many once-used cartridges are either simply refilled or professionally recycled. Remanufactured cartridges (as the professionally recycled ones are known) are thoroughly cleaned, emptied, refilled in a vacuum chamber with system-matched inks, and then print tested to ensure fine quality. Many contain more ink than new ones from the factory - up to three times as much, so they cost less and produce more pages. Reliability is good as long as you buy from an established reputable cartridge dealer with a track record of good customer service. In the event of any problem arising you need to know it can be sorted out without fuss or expense.