Thursday, September 6, 2007
How much will a $50 dollar printer really cost you? If you factor in the cost of replacement ink cartridges, it could be a lot more.
These days, if you go down the printer isle at your local office store, you may see a few printers hovering around the $50 mark. You might think "Wow! What a great deal", but is it all it's cracked up to be?
Lexmark was first manufacturer selling $50 printers. The printer was a loss-leader and the sales of replacement cartridges subsidized the low initial cost. The cost of 1 set of replacement cartridges exceeded the value of the machine itself.
Many people who never owned a printer before didn't realize Lexmark's strategy. They were so excited by the printer price that they never thought about the cost of the printer cartridges themselves. As time went on Lexmark continued their strategy and also began to decrease the size of their ink cartridges. Their cartridges got smaller and smaller and required more frequent replacing.
Consider this:
One Lexmark 10N0016 OEM Black cartridge retails for about $30 and will yield 410 pages at 5% coverage
One Lexmark 10N0026 OEM Color cartridge retails for about $32.00 and will yield 275 pages at 5% coverage
It was commonplace to buy Lexmark printer for $50 just for the ink cartridges, and throw the printer in the garbage and just buy another one. Hewlett-Packard has now followed suit and is using the same strategy to takeover market share.
Several new printers will enter the market in July 2006. Many of which are cheap to buy (starting at around $25.00), but can be expensive to operate. Many of these new cheap printers do not come with connection cables or both ink cartridges which entices users by lowering the initial price.
Over the course of a few years however, the low cost of the machine will be overshadowed by the large amount spent on replacement inkjet cartridges
The inkjet cartridges that most of the new HP printers use contain only 5 Milliliters of ink. In comparison, about 4 years ago the most common HP black cartridges contained 42 milliliters of ink. That's almost 8 times more printing at about 1/3rd the cost (per milliliter of ink).
A lot of people who owned printers in the past, are shocked when they see how fast their new printer goes through ink.
Not very many people realize the actual operating costs of these printers until they gone through a few sets of replacement cartridges.
HP's goal now is too own the market and squeeze competitors out of the picture by taking over retail shelf space with as many models as possible. Most have the same basic features, but the machines they have on the shelf, the less space for competition. Hewlett Packard hopes to captivate people in with their reputation, and a low-priced machine.
If they can get the customer to buy their printer, they can rely on a continuous stream of supplies for the life of that printer.
So here's what you need to know… It is critical that you investigate the price of replacement ink cartridges before you purchase a new printer. Comparison-shop both the printer and cartridges at the same time.
A short list of printers to avoid are printers using the HP 21 and HP 22 ink cartridges. (these contain only 5 milliliters of ink)
PSC 1410 Series, Officejet 4315, Deskjet F340, F380, HP Fax 1250, HP Deskjet 3910, Deskjet 3940 Series, Deskjet 3915, Deskjet 3930 Series
Printers Using HP 92 and HP 93 ink cartridges (5 milliliters of ink)
PSC 1510 Series, PSC 1507, Officejet 6310, Deskjet 5440 Series, Photosmart 7850, Deskjet 5440 Series
The only customers who should consider these particular new HP printers, are those who print infrequently (less than 3 cartridges per year).
HP makes quality printers, however we recommend simply seeking out a model that does not use the #21 and #22 or #92 and #93 cartridges. Many more of these new HP printers will be released this month.
Another good option is to investigate other printer manufacturers such as Canon, Brother, or Epson. Many times their inkjet printers will give reviews that are as good or better than HP.
The key point to remember, is to always take into account the operating costs of the machine you are considering -- not just the initial price.
ASAP Inkjets offers epson ink cartridges and laser toner at up to 80%
below retail store prices.
Signup for their free newsletter for tips & discount coupons at:
subscribe@asapinkjets.com or visit: http://www.asapinkjets.com/
Logical Data Recovery Solutions
Logical data errors can occur on the fixed drive, dynamic memory on a device, or the floppy and zip disk. And it leads to data loss or problems with stability of operating systems.
Symptoms of Logical Errors
Logical errors are identified when files, folders or, sometimes, even partitions are missing.
When a file contains partial or no data at all, it is a logical error.
Data that is available but incorrect is again an error of this type.
When drives report a negative amount of free space it is due to this problem.
Logical Data Recovery
Logical data recovery is rebuilding files damaged by malicious intentions of users or due to viruses. Most of the files lost due to logical errors are recoverable, for the data may be intact though it might not be accessible.
There are different methods of recovery. The method to be used is dependant upon the nature of the error and the extent of the damage.
Recovery of Smaller Files
The recovery of smaller files is very easy if they are textual. Each cluster holds about 32kb. A system programmer will look at the drive and move important data to another file. A 100% recovery is possible.
Files that contain graphics require undamaged FAT for a complete recovery. Otherwise software expertise is required to make a file recovery.
Large Files and Fragmentation
Normally, large files are allocated on a number of consecutive clusters. File recovery is possible in such circumstances. But, over a period of time, the size of the files becomes larger. They get fragmented, for consecutive allocation becomes difficult. The clusters close-by would have been occupied by other files. It is difficult to locate highly fragmented files. They might be present on the drive, but their recovery is not possible.
Data Recovery from Overwritten Files
Files that have been overwritten can never be recovered. An attempt at recovery can be made by using the Magnetic Force Microscope (MFM.) But this method is expensive and not practical. And if the files are overwritten more than once, data recovery is a complete impossibility. This is the method File shredders work on. They rewrite the files repeatedly to erase the previous writings.
Data Recovery from Files in Bad Sectors
The process works by installing commercial imaging software on an alternate computer. This computer should have enough space on its drive to store the entire image of the bad drive. The computer should not be used during this process.
Alternately, a slave drive can be installed on the bad computer. If an external USB drive is attached, it should be attached to the IDE ports on the motherboard. Once the imaging has been done, commercial logical data recovery packages can be run to recover the lost files.
The whole process might take from half-an-hour to a few days. It depends on the number of bad sectors on the drive.
The computer should not be used before an attempt at recovery is made. Once a file is no longer protected by an entry in the FAT, the locations of the file are viable to be overwritten by fresh data. And, if this happens, data recovery becomes a practical impossibility.
Logical Error Repairs
Logical errors can be repaired by two techniques:
Consistency checking is the first method. The logical structure of the disk is checked to ensure that it conforms to specifications.
The second method works at rebuilding the entire file system. The entire drive is scanned. The undamaged file structure is studied. File system structures and their possible boundaries are noted down.
Most of the logical problems can be repaired using either of these two methods.
Logical problems of a drive occur more frequently, than physical damage. When such a problem occurs, data recovery is possible by using commercial imaging software. However, data recovery software cannot guarantee complete data recovery or prevention of data loss.
Some commonly circulating myths on the internet claim to have repaired the hard drive by dropping it from a table onto the carpeted floor. Such methods should never be resorted to.
For more information on Digital Forensics see http://www.fieldsassociates.co.uk
What is Logical Data Recovery?
Anyone who has lost data would never forget the experience. Whether it is a business whose multi-million empire stops functioning or a university student whose study material evaporates the night before the degree exam, there is a nightmarish quality about it all. Depending on the importance of the data, and the costs involved, a recovery can be attempted, and the success rate is quite high with the firms in the UK.
The Symptoms
Most of us know about that sinking feeling one gets when the computer refuses to start up. Scandsk and chkdsk fail, the screen just remains silent. But there are some ‘preambles’ to this blackout. If your computer makes strange noises (not the usual hum or tone), if it becomes slower despite having enough disc space, takes forever to save files, or the files don’t open – something is wrong. A repeated virus warning despite scans must not be taken lightly either. Any malfunction concerning music or graphics files/folders is another bad sign. It is also not advisable to load too many files indiscriminately from the net on one’s hard disc as most viruses come in this way.
The Causes
Logical loss of data happens when the data written digitally on a disc is lost or corrupted. Physically, the disc itself may remain unaffected. The main causes are as follows:
Uneven Electric Supply: Yes, we all have the UPS around. But a major spike or surge may not be manageable by it, and the disc will crash through it. Unprotected plugging in of laptops is a common example of things going out of hand due to a sudden burst of electricity.
Accidental File deletion, Formatting, and Partition Deletion: In this case, a FAT or File Allocation Table entry goes missing. In most cases, the file itself is still there – but its original address has been changed – so it cannot be traced any more. Deleting an entire partition can be bad enough, and if the whole disc is formatted, then one is headed for deep trouble.
Malicious Deletion or Formatting: This is common in the case of corporate espionage and attacks. Recovery is much tougher here, since the perpetrator had come well prepared to damage things, and has the technical know how to do so.
Overwriting: If the file has been overwritten, it will be very difficult and expensive to recover it. In fact, if a file is deleted and then overwritten several times, it is impossible to gather all the pieces together again.
Fragmentation: Many people have the habit of creating folders, sub folders and so on, till the files are fragmented and a total maze has been created. To make matters worse, the folders have had continuous add-ons and editing. This is very common among home users storing e-mails of the entire family in one massive, miscellaneous, folder.
Virus: Virus infection is the single most common way of logical data loss. A virus duplicates itself automatically, deleting and corrupting programme files in the process. The beauty of the malicious software is that it is designed to be one step ahead of the latest anti-virus. In the case of big-time corporate espionage or sabotage, the innovations used to corrupt files can be utterly amazing.
The Remedy
Logical data loss can be tackled by the home-grown geek with his own toolkit - totally inexperienced user who feels running a scan or downloading free software is good enough, and experts who sweat over a titanic problem for several months. If the data is precious enough, it is best to entrust it to a dependable firm. After the specialists have identified the problem, they make an exact copy of the drive, and work on it. This is not as easy as it sounds, and depending on the damage, can take up to thousands of pounds and a very long time. There are some cases, though, where recovery can be impossible. Fragmented files can be recovered by searching through the entries, but an overwritten file can’t be traced. While it is true that imaging softwares have brought logical recovery within the reach of the layman, it is also true that one should not end up damaging the corrupt files even more by tinkering around without any idea as to what is to be done.
Firms in the UK
There are several good firms in the UK who do a credible job of data recovery. Directories can be accessed from the net, and most businesses depend on recommendations when it comes to choosing a firm. Ultimately it all depends on the need of the moment, and the individual situation.
For more information on Data Recovery see http://www.fields-data-recovery.co.uk
