Inkjet and Toner Trends - Lyra Research Summary

According to Lyra’s Hard Copy Industry Advisory Service reports (that analyzing the inkjet and laser printer markets), Lyra has made some predictions for potential trends over the next 4 years. 

In summary:

1) Inkjet sales are expected to rise to around 64 million by 2014 (a 13.8 percent increase from 2009)
2) Color laser machines are expected to gain in sales as well.
3) Black only (monochrome) laser printers are expected to fall in sales, in line with recent trends. 

The reports also discuss possible causes such as the negative impact of the economy, managed print and the trend towards sharing MFP (multi function printers) in office environments.

For the reports or more information the contact is at lyra.com

HP unveils mobile, Internet printer

Hewlett-Packard (HP) announced a new printer with a detachable tablet, part of the company's strategy to integrate the Internet into its printing business.

Printers used to be seen as a necessary extension of the desktop PC. However today, since more and more people and companies store their information on smartphones or the Internet, HP wants to ensure everyone is still buying printers and ink.

HP's new printers will have the ability to print directly from the Internet without going through a PC. As the world's biggest seller of computer printers, HP's strategy is to position itself as the leader and innovator in the printer and ink space. Question is will Epson, Lexmark, Canon and the other giants follow suit? This is a given. Competitors such as Canon, Xerox and Ricoh have already introduced printers capable of printing documents and data from smartphones, but they are mostly aimed at business customers using office software from Google or Salesforce.com.

HP's mobile printing announcement comes 1 month after competitor Epson released its new line-up of WorkForce all-in-one printers that also feature small-business tools such as a two-sided 30-page automatic document feeder, high-dpi scanning and a 250-sheet tray. The specifications that are similar to HP’s, at nearly identical price points.

Both companies are targeting the same customer but sets them apart? Epson focuses on its ink technology that is fade, smudge, and water-resistant. HP however, focuses on mobility, a sector that’s exploding and has yet to show even a fraction of its potential, according to industry experts. The type of printer businesses opt for largely depends on their industry standard, brand recognition, and reliance on mobile devices.

The good news is that with large companies like HP and Epson targeting the small-business sector, startups have more choices than ever before and can buy products that perform at levels that only enterprise companies could afford in the past. Ink and toner included.

Top 4 Things to Consider When Buying Ink or Toner

If you are shopping around for replacement ink or toner for your printer, there are a few criteria that should be considered as essential.

Before you buy any inkjet or toner cartridge, you should be thinking about :

1. Cost of the ink / toner
2. Quality of the printouts
3. Convenience of getting the ink or toner that you need
4. The Environmental impact of your purchase / use of ink or toner

Depending on where you buy your ink and toner cartridges, you may be trading off some of the above considerations, but you don't necessarily need to.  

Buying original brand cartridges (such as Original brand name HP cartridges, Epson cartridges, Lexmark cartridges, Dell cartridges etc) will probably yield the best overall quality, but the cost will be much higher than other alternatives.  Convenience of ordering original ink or toner cartridges may be about the same as compatible alternatives, but the environmental impact of OEM (original equipment manufacturer) brands is surely higher than refilled / remanufactured equivalents.  It takes hundreds or thousands of years for an empty cartridge to decompose, and it takes lots of oil to manufacture a new one.  

Buying professionally refilled or remanufactured cartridges will save you usually 30-50% as compared to buying original brand printer ink cartridges.  Quality could be equivalent, or below the original brand quality standards, depending on where you buy your refilled ink cartridge or refilled toner cartridge from.  The quality of 123 Refills brand refilled or remanufactured cartridges is held to very high and rigorous standards, ensuring that the quality of the ink or toner cartridges is as close to the original as possible.  DIY Refill Kits can save you even more (often around 40-70% off original cartridge prices, even more depending on the model), and quality is only slightly less than professional refills because the parts of the cartridge have wear and tear.  Typically, quality is around 95% to 100% on the 1st refill (not noticeable), and drops by around 5-10% per additional refill, so we recommend refilling the same cartridge 1-2 times before switching to a new cartridge (or professionally remanufactured cartridge), and then starting the refill process again.  Some customers even refill their cartridges 3-5 times with no significant or noticeable quality issues.  Of course, the number of refills you can get before noticing a drop in print quality depends on the type of cartridge you are refilling, and the wear and tear of parts inside your cartridge - some cartridges wear out faster than others.

Convenience is an important part of buying any product.  Finding the printer ink supplies you need quickly and accurately, and having them delivered to your door as fast and economically as possible is very important.  123 Refills offers fast and accurate shipping options, including free shipping on US orders for ink or toner (currently free shipping is offered on orders over $60).  123 Refills also offers ink cartridges, toner cartridges and ink refill services in store, see www.123refills.com for locations.  

Finally - consider the environment before you buy a new inkjet cartridge or toner cartridge. It takes thousands of years for an inkjet cartridge or toner cartridge to decompose, and millions land up in landfills. US consumers also use over 700 million gallons of oil a day.  Considering that it takes around 3.5 quarts of oil to manufacture a new toner cartridge, and 2.5 ounces of oil to make a new inkjet cartridge, buying refilled cartridges (or doing your own ink refills or toner refills) will help save the environment and conserve valuable natural resources. 

123 Refills has been saving its customers on ink and toner for more than 7 years and helping to save the environment at the same time.  Rethink how you ink...

Investopedia ranks printer ink as the 5th most outrageously overpriced product

6-outrageously-overpriced-products: Personal Finance News from Yahoo! Finance

"You may be able to buy a surprisingly affordable printer at your local office supply store, but don't start celebrating just yet. The printer companies make their biggest bucks on ink.

Over the life of your printer, you'll probably pay more than 500% of the total price of the printer itself on ink refill cartridges. At $30, a 42ml cartridge of black printer ink comes out to 71 cents per ml. On the other hand, the Red Cross charges $200 for 500 ml of blood, which comes out to about 40 cents per ml."

Buying compatible ink from 123 Refills saves customers around 50% on average compared to buying original brand ink from office supply stores.