Network enabled – will you be connecting the new printer to a home or office network?

Compatibility – The newer printers are all USB-compatible, which means they will work for Windows 98/2000/XP, and with Mac System 8.1 or higher.

Operating Cost – Calculate the cost of replacement ink cartridges and paper, because printer users must continually purchase more ink cartridges and toner when the old ones run out or dry up. Be aware that the cost of paper, toner and ink can amount to more than the original cost of the printer within a year or so.

Warranty - be sure to purchase a printer that includes a manufacturer’s and/or store warranty (at least 90 days).

The above is a simple list of factors to consider. Be sure you take the next step and do your comparision shopping for any additional savings. Finally be sure to ask lots of questions so you make an educated choice, this is an investment.

Printers Available

A number of printers, copiers, and all-in-ones can be found at Concord Supplies.

The APC Back-UPS RS 1300 VA Battery Backup System is an affordable way to not lose your work — or your mind — in a power outage.  Through this UPS backup system, battery-protected and surge-only outlets reserves power capacity and run time for connected equipment that require battery back-up. Boost Automatic Voltage Regulation preserves battery life and maximizes runtime by correcting low voltages without discharging the battery. Audible alarms provide notification of changing utility power and UPS conditions. Power conditioning protects connected loads from surges, spikes, lightning, and other disturbances. Battery replacement without tools reduces risk of load disruption. Automatic battery self-test ensures early detection of a battery that needs to be replaced. Hot-swappable batteries for clean, uninterrupted power to protected equipment while batteries are being replaced. Adjustable voltage sensitivity adapts the UPS for optimal performance in specific power environments or generator applications. Intelligent, micro-processor battery management for maximum battery life. LED status indicators help you to quickly understand UPS status.

In short, Apple will put an end to the default installation of countless drivers on a computer.

As indicated by individuals familiar with the latest Apple software release, the software will only install a select subset of printer drivers.  This installation will also include support for any currently attached printers or those that had been installed on the same Mac with previously installed versions of Mac OS X.

According to sources, they have indicated the Apple software will review devices attached by a USB connection.  It will then scan the network for any printers that might be available through Bonjour.  This will give the system the ability to create a short list of drivers that will need to be installed.   For any printers that are attached after the initial installation, the Apple Snow Leopard software will cause the “Software Update” to check for any drivers that are available online.

This new approach marks a dramatic change for the Apple Snow Leopard operating system and will certainly be appreciated by those who seek an efficient method of managing their printer driver installs.

For more information regarding this new software, visit Apple’s Snow Leopard website.

When to Buy a Printer

Unlike most retail industries, printer bargains are less likely to be seasonal in nature. Typically, back-to-school, holiday, and inventory-clearance (i.e. late Jan. to early Feb.) seasons are usually opportune times to purchase a high quality printer.

Where to Shop for a Printer & Printer Ink

To find the best everyday prices on printer ink hardware, Concord Supplies recommends:

• Nextag
• Google Shopping
• Bizrate

Get Big Discounts at ConcordSupplies.com: Printer Ink | Ink Cartridges | Toner Cartridges | Printer Paper

As one might guess, OEM printer manufacturers are eager to dispose of dated printer model inventory when a new generation of machines will soon be launched.

Justin Joseph from Canon printers states “Customers should always keep their eyes open for new printer or new technology announcements. Often, these announcements coincide with the beginning of the calendar year and the end of the summer.”

Determining the Type of Printer

When purchasing a new laser toner printer or inkjet printer, as yourself “How will this printer be used?”

• If the printer will be used in a small or home office, a MFP or multi-function printer (print, fax, scan, copy) may be perfect.
• If you’re only interested in basic printing, a black and white laser toner printer may be the most economical choice.
• If you seek high quality photos or sharp graphic arts printing, a higher end inkjet printer may be the optimal printer for your needs.

A Summary – Buying a Printer

In the end, a printer purchase decision must be based on the total cost of printer ownership (printer hardware, printer ink, printer toner, printer paper, printer maintenance, etc.). Given the typically high priced OEM original printer ink cartridges and toner cartridges, compatible printer ink and compatible printer toner is your best option for reducing long-term printer ownership costs.

For individuals or businesses that print black and white documents, a color printer is a waste of money. However, if an individual or business is printing graphics, artwork, or photographs, then choosing a color printer is a wise investment.

Inkjet Printers or Laser Printers – What’s Ideal?

A buyer’s next decision is deciding between an inkjet printer or a laser printer. While nothing beats the high quality and speed of a color laser printer, choosing a laser printer is the most expensive route. Typically, a color inkjet printer can provide buyer’s with reasonably good quality at a more reasonable price.

What Color Printer Speed Do I need?

If speed is important, potential buyers should remove lower-end inkjet color printers from the consideration list. Typically, mid-range color inkjet printers will print text pages at a rate of 14-17 ppm. Laser color printers on the other hand typically print color at 26 pages per minute with a first page printing in less than 10 seconds. At the end of the day, the faster the print speed, the more a buyer will be paying.

What Color Printer Resolution is Best?

When selecting a printer, check the printer’s specifications to determine the resolution or dpi (dots per inch) – traditionally, the higher a printer’s dpi, the higher the image quality. For the most part, a printer resolution of 600 x 600 will be more than adequate for most printing jobs. Photo printing quality however requires a dpi of 1200 x 1200 or greater. Additionally, it’s important to ensure the color printer offers a range of resolutions so that users can select alternative resolutions based on the particular printer job needs.

Get Discounts on Printer Supplies: Printer Ink | Ink Cartridges | Toner Cartridges | Inkjet Cartridges

Should I Consider the Color Printer Toner Cartridges Costs?

To achieve the highest quality prints, attaining a true black color within the print is key. Arriving at this color requires that inkjet printers use a separate black cartridge. As one might expect, better colorization of prints within inkjet color printers can be gained through the use of a separate inkjet cartridge for each color.

When compared to inkjet printers, changing a laser printer toner cartridge is much more expensive. Typically, laser printer toner cartridges utilize four independent toner cartridges containing magenta toner, yellow toner, cyan toner, and black toner. Although laser toner cartridges are more expensive to replace, the overall costs per page are typically less.

In the end, careful consideration must be given to the volume of printing that required. Through an evaluation of the potential supplies costs, one can get a better understanding the long-term printer ownership costs.

Are Color Printers Reliable?

Unfortunately, given the recent trend towards the bundling of PCs and “give-a-way” printers, the low-end color printer segment consists mainly of disposable printers that are very unreliable. Read more about printer reliability.

For this reason, it is typically more economical to spend $500 on a high quality printer that will be used over a longer lifespan than spend purchase a new printer each year. Prior to purchase, examine the color printer’s construction and build quality. A well constructed machine will have a print head that is separate from its cartridge. Additionally, a well articulated warranty from a reputable brand name printer company will provide confidence in the machine’s ability to last over years of intense usage.

Is Testing A Color Printer Before Purchase Wise?

Typically, it’s highly recommended that one test a printer in the store prior to purchasing it. Buyers should evaluate how the color printer prints varying types of page content (text, artwork, photos, etc.). In the end, it comes down to the buyers’ needs and the subsequent quality of the prints observed across the products under consideration.

A printer driver is a piece of computer software that converts textual, visual or other type of components to be printed into data elements that can be understood by a specific printer.

Need a printer driver? Read on…

• Windows Printer Drivers – Microsoft Windows printer drivers use GDI (Unidrv or PScript-based) or XPS (XPSDrv) printer drivers.
• Unix Printer Drivers – UNIX systems (i.e. Mac OS X), use printer drivers that are typically implemented as filters.
• DOS Printer Drivers – MS-DOS systems are unique as each application was shipped with its own printer drivers, which were essentially descriptions of printer commands.

Popular Printer Drivers by Brand

Choose your brand below to find the latest printer drivers, copier drivers and fax drivers.

Windows Printer Drivers Installation Screens

When installing printer drivers on a Microsoft Windows computer, the screen pictured below will be shown.

Yes, that’s a shocking figure. It makes gas at $4 a gallon look downright cheap. An article published in The Economist sheds light on this astounding monetary value. To offset these costs, many consumers are quickly choosing to use compatible inkjet cartridges, ink cartridges, and laser toner cartridges. These high quality alternatives to original printer ink and toner can save consumers up to 80% off brand name OEM prices.

To make your life easier, help you save money, and further reduce the cost of printing, Concord Supplies provides a number of helpful printer ink and printer toner tips.

These helpful tips are can be utilized across color, monochrome, and black & white printers alike. Additionally, the advice applies to the use of inkjet cartridges, ink cartridges or laser toner cartridges.

How to Choose a Printer

Selecting a printer is always a difficult decision. For starters, Concord Supplies recommends a 2 step approach

1. Printer Ink Style – Decide which type or style of computer printer is most appropriate for your needs (i.e. inkjet cartridge printer, ink cartridge printer or laser toner cartridge printer)
2. Printer Reviews – Conduct printer reviews research to gather printer specifications, evaluate printer reliability, and analyze printer performance.

Compare Printers – Inkjet Cartridge / Ink Cartridge & Laser Toner

When trying to decide between using an inkjet cartridge printer, an ink cartridge printer or a laser toner cartridge printer, Concord Supplies suggests you follow these basic printer guidelines:

Inkjet Cartridge and Ink Cartridge Printers

• Best if you want low upfront hardware costs
• Designed for low volume printing (i.e. lower than 10 pages per day)
• Ideal for color photo printing of digital images
• Typically, printer ink drying time is required to ensure the print(s) have properly dried

Laser Toner Cartridge Printers

• Best if you want long-term low toner cartridge and printer supplies costs
• Designed for high volume printing (i.e. greater than 10 pages per day)
• Ideal for black and white prints
• Typically, no printer toner drying time is required

Printer Reviews Research

After determining the type of printer, prospective buyers should thoroughly research the topic using popular product and computer hardware review sites.

A few of the computer printer reviews resources we recommend:

• CNET Printer Reviews
• PC Magazine Printer Reviews
• Computer Shopper Printers

3 Steps to Replace Xerox Phaser Ink

Follow these 3 simple steps to replace your Xerox Phaser solid ink sticks in your Xerox Phaser printer.

1. Open the Xerox Phaser printer output tray and ink load door to add Xerox Phaser ink sticks as needed
2. Add the appropriate colors in their respective color-key shapped receptacles
3. Close Xerox Phaser ink printer output tray and Phaser ink load door

Xerox Phaser Ink Printer Instructions

Please keep in mind, if any one of the Xerox Phaser solid ink colors is low or depleted, the Xerox Phaser printer will stop and present the message “Stop add color ink.” If this occurs in your Xerox Phaser printer, follow these steps to resolve the issue:

1. Empty output tray
2. Open the ink load door
3. Add ink sticks (See diagram)

Read more about Xerox Phaser solid ink and it’s recycling and environmental benefits.

Genuine Xerox Phaser Ink & Compatible Xerox Phaser Ink

If you are transitioning from Genuine OEM Xerox Phaser solid ink sticks to Compatible Xerox Phaser solid ink sticks, it is very important that you finish the old Xerox Phaser solid ink. Failing to do this may lead to a color shift as the two different kinds of inks mix. Once the old prior to replacing it with new Xerox Phaser solid ink has been completely eliminated from the system, the color will return to normal.

Get Discount Phaser Ink:
Phaser 8400 Ink | Phaser 8500 Ink | Phaser 8550 Ink | Phaser 8560 Ink | Phaser 8860 Ink

The following outlines a number of helpful inkjet printer and inkjet cartridge tips:

1. Turn Your Inkjet Printer Off – This sounds like an overly simple solution, but the printer will often reset itself if you power it off and on. To do this, don’t shut off the power strip. You’ll have better results if you use the on/off button on the printer as it enables the reset and properly parks the printer head.
2. Print a Test Page – Most printers have a built-in diagnostics program to help you troubleshoot. Typically, running a test page involves pressing a button or two as you turn on the printer. Many printers also use a combination of indicator lights to help you pinpoint the problem. You can visit your inkjet printer’s manufacturer’s web site for more information.
3. Clean Inkjet Printer’s Surface & Interior- Keep the inside of the printer clean using tweezers and/or compressed air to clear out the debris and paper snips from inside your printer.
4. Clean the Inkjet Printer Head – If your prints are too light or contain white spots or horizontal lines, you may have a clogged print head. This is especially likely if you haven’t used your printer routinely. Most printers have a “clean the head” option that you can read about in the manual or online.
5. Cancel an Inkjet Print Job Manually – By selecting “printers” from the Windows XP “Control Panel” you can manually cancel a inkjet print job. If you have numerous printers, then select View Installed Printers. When the Printers window opens, double-click your printer’s icon. You will see a list of current print jobs. Right-click the job you want to cancel and then select Cancel Printing.

   Get Discount Printer Supplies: Inkjet Cartridges | Ink Cartridges | Toner Cartridges
   

6. Update Inkjet Printer Driver – If you’re experiencing problems visit your printer manufacturer’s web site and download the most current printer driver. The driver tells your printer how to talk to your computer and newer drivers typically offer bug fixes and enhanced functionality.
7. Ensure Inkjet Prints are Dry – Let prints dry thoroughly, especially photos. Remove prints from the printer’s output tray before they stick together. Let them dry for at least one hour; some manufacturers suggest letting them dry for a full 24 hours to be perfectly safe.
8. Regular Inkjet Printer Maintenance – In additional to regularly cleaning your inkjet printer cartridge heads, your should utilize your inkjet printer’s software tools to align and reset the inkjet heads. Running these once a month is recommended.
9. Inkjet Print Sizing – When printing photos remember that pixels have a relationship to the size of the print. The average printer has three settings: “Draft,” which is optimized for images 150 pixels per inch; “Normal” (often times the default) which is optimized for 300 pixels per inch; and “Best” which is optimized for 600 pixels per inch or higher.
10. Visit the Inkjet Printer’s Manufacturer Website – If all else fails, visit the respective inkjet printer manufacturer’s website to get helpful support, review the owners manual or read support forums for more information.