It’s new cartridge Tuesday! This week we are focusing on four of our newer toner cartridge releases, compatible cartridges to replace the Dell KD580 black, JD762 cyan, JD761 magenta, and GD918 yellow. Each of these compatible toner cartridges is designed for use in the Dell 5110cn color laser printer. Let’s take a quick look at each of the cartridges.

The Dell KD580 is also know by Dell part number 310-7890. It is a compatible black toner cartridge that yields up to 10,000 pages. If you buy the cartridge directly from Dell you can expect to pay $54.99 for the cartridge. Our 100% compatible version will cost you $45.49.

The JD762 cyan and the JD761 magenta can also be found under different Dell part numbers. The cyan is also know as 310-7892, while the magenta is also know as 310-7894. Both of these compatible cartridges yield 8,000 pages of print, the same number as the Dell manufactured product. These Dell manufactured cartridges are priced at $151.49, while the compatible replacement versions are priced at $149.99.

The yellow GD918 follows in line with all the others. It can also be found under Dell part number 310-7896. The compatible version yields 8,000 pages and is priced at $151.49. The Dell brand cartridge yields the same number of pages and is priced at $169.99.

These cartridges are fully guaranteed to print with the same quality and page yield as the Dell manufactured cartridge would, and our customer test groups rated the product quite high.

If you have used this cartridge, let Pacific Ink know what you think.

It must be the recycling time of year. Quite a few of our latest posts have involved the recycling efforts of printer manufacturers. Well, here comes another one!

Dell has launched a free recycling service in many markets worldwide. The program provides free recycling of any Dell branded product and creates responsible disposal of Dell computers and peripheral equipment (printers). The program does not require you to make a replacement purchase.

So, if you’ve got some Dell products lying around your home or office that you don’t use, now’s the time to get rid of them - the right way. Visit the Dell Recycling Page.

Shameless plug - Please don’t send them your empty printer cartridges. Send those to us. We’ll remanufacture/recycle them in to cartridges that can be used again. This provides you with a recycled, lower cost alternative to Dell brand cartridges. We are not sure what Dell does with all of the empty printer cartridges they get back as part of their recycling program. But, so far as we can see they are not recycling them to provide a environmentally safe, lower cost alternative. Give us a call (toll free: 1-877-838-6843) to find out how to get free shipping labels or check out our inkjet cartridge recycling mailer.

Now Available! A remaunfactured cartridge for the Dell 810 All-in-One-Printer and the Dell 725 Color Inkjet Printer.

On 3/6/2007 Pacific Ink released a remanufactured cartridge for use in the newer Dell 810 and 725 printers. These remanufactured cartridges are fully factory processed, meaning they have undergone extensive cleaning and machine refilling processes. Each cartridge is guaranteed to print with the same results you would expect from a Dell brand cartridge.

The Dell version of this cartridge is known by a few different part numbers (JF333, PG324, or 310-7518). It is also a very unique cartridge in the sense that the printers that use it only take one cartridge. It is a single cartridge that contains cyan, magenta, and yellow. There is no black cartridge. The color cartridge combines colors to create the color black on your printed pages.

Users on the Dell web site have rated this cartridge 3.2 stars out of 5.

The remanufactured (or recycled) version of this cartridge is created by using empty Dell casings and putting them through an extensive remanufacturing process. Each cartridge is print tested multiple times before it is packaged for sale.

As always, using a remanufactured cartridge will save you a few dollars over using the manufacturer brand cartridge. The JF333 is for sale on the Dell web site for $21.99. Pacific Ink the remanufactured product for $19.99. Each cartridge also comes with a postage paid baggie you can use to send your empty cartridge to be recycled (please, don’t throw then in the trash!).

Buy Cartridges for: Dell 810 All-in-One-Printer | Dell 725 Color Inkjet Printer

PC Mag has posted a review of the Dell Photo All-in-One 926 and they aren’t too impressed by it. They gave it a rating of 3/5 due to its sub par text and photo printing quality.

The Dell 926 is a multifunction printer that can print, scan, and copy and it also has limited faxing capabilities. Dell rates it at 20 ppm for black and 15 for color, but PC Mag says the actual printing speed is slower than the 926’s predecessor, the 924. But, the 926 is fast enough and isn’t any slower than printers from Dell’s competitors. The print resolution is 4800 x 1200, which is pretty standard and might explain why the print quality for photos isn’t so great. The 926 comes with a standard black and color cartridge, but you can also buy a photo cartridge to get the benefits of printing with six inks.

The poor photo and text quality led PC Mag to not recommend upgrading to this printer if you already own a Dell. On Dell’s own site, customers gave the 926 a 3.4/5, so obviously they weren’t too impressed either. Most of the customer reviews there mentioned the print quality as a “con” and they also complained about how hard it was to get Dell ink cartridges. Print quality aside, the number one reason to probably avoid Dell printers is the availability/price of Dell ink cartridges. Dell ink is consistently the most expensive on the market, and because you can only buy the cartridges online, there can be issues if you run out unexpectedly or if you have limited internet access.

You can check out the Dell customer reviews here.

That’s what a former employee of HP is saying. Karl Kamb, who is being sued by HP, filed his own lawsuit today that HP paid someone to spy on Dell just prior to their entry into the printer market. HP sued Kamb in 2005, saying that he was secretly involved in a rival company while still working and HP and that he stole secrets, resources and possibly money from HP.

Back around the end of 2002 when Dell was about to enter the inkjet printer market, HP allegedly paid Katsumi Iizuka, a former Dell president, to supply them with information. HP funneled those payments through a corporation that Iizuka set up. HP doesn’t deny that they hired him or that they paid fees to his company, they just deny that they were spying. Supposedly there are some emails where Iizuka gives out inside info like release dates for Dell printers. All this is just another headache for HP in their string of their troubles last year with spying.

HP accused of spying on Dell’s printer plans [CNET]

Dell says they plan to cut prices on their ink cartridges by up to 50% in order to gain a market share from HP in the UK market. They hope this will double their market share every year. Currently they only have about 7% of the overall printer ink market, while HP has around 54%. Dell can do this in England because it’s a much smaller market, so it would basically be the equivalent of testing these prices in one state and seeing what happens. Also, they basically need to do it because their brand isn’t as entrenched over there as it is in the U.S. We all knew Dell for their computers, so it was easy for them to start selling printers. Dell is a worldwide brand, but over there, they don’t dominate the PC market the way they do (or did) here.

Based on the current ink prices for Dell brand cartridges, if the prices do go down by 50%, it might make economical sense to fly over there and buy a boatload of them.

Dom Perignon for printers: Dell aims to slash high price of ink [The Business]

Dell announced that they were releasing two new all-in-one printers: the Dell Photo All-In-One Printer 926 and the Dell Photo All-In-One Printer 966. These two are both upgrades of existing models. The 926 replaces the 924 and the 966 replaces the 964.

Dell rates the 926 at 20 ppm for black and 15 ppm for color. The max resolution is 4800 x 1200 dpi and you have have the choice of printing in four colors or using a photo cartridge for six colors. It is PictBridge enabled and also has memory card slots. It will retail at $100, so it is intended as an entry level model for people who don’t rely on their multifunction for business use.

The 966 is a little more fancy and is rated at 32 ppm for black prints and 23 ppm for color. It has a built-in fax machine and an automatic document feeder, two features that the Dell 926 lacks. It has the same resolution and connectivity options as the 926, but it features a 2.4″ LCD not found on that model. It will retail for $200.

Both printers are currently on sale. Whoopee.

Dell Unveils Two All-In-One Printers at DigitalLife [PC Magazine]

Today we had a complaint from one of our customers regarding the Dell 720 printer. We sent out a monthly newsletter that listed our most popular cartridge (the HP 56) and our most popular printer (the Dell 720). The HP 56 popularity is based on sales and the Dell 720 popularity is based on how many people viewed that page. So the issue was that the customer took that as sort of an endorsement from us because we listed the printer as popular, but didn’t make any mentions of its shortcomings.

My response was we were just listing the data, not saying the Dell 720 was good. I then cited some past examples of how we have always advised against buying Dell/Lexmark printers due to their high ink costs and quality issues. But at the same time, it was a fair complaint since we like to try to help our customers get the right printer. We see ourselves as not just an ink supplier, but also as a resource for printer-related questions/concerns.

Going back to the main issue…the Dell 720 probably does stink. Dell inkjets are automatically a pain due to the ink costs, but most of them are entry-level models not known for their longevity. Now, we’ve heard lots of feedback about how no one really likes their Dell printers, but is there anyone out there who disagrees? We’re curious as to whether or not there are people out there who are actually like Dells.

So, if anyone has any feedback (on the Dell 720 or otherwise), let us know.

Today Dell began their recycling program where they will pick up your old computers or peripherals from your house. If you purchase a Dell computer or laptop, they will pick up your old computer and monitor for free, even if it isn’t Dell brand. This is pretty convenient, since getting rid of a computer or monitor can be a pain sometimes, since they can be considering hazardous waste. Since Dell is one of the biggest contributors to computer-related waste, it’s good to see that they are taking a step in the right direction.

By the way - don’t bother recycling ink cartridges or toner with them. Let us handle that.

Dell Product Recycling [Dell.com]

Dell is moving into a new market as they announced they would be selling their color laser printers in Japan at about half of what everyone else charges. Selling them for half as much sounds pretty crazy, but Dell is known for undercutting their competitors on certain products, so maybe they will actually try it. According to the article, Dell will be selling a printer that is $770 compared with the normal price tag of almost $1700.

This is big news for other printer manufacturers because in Japan, the market for color laser printers has been growing by 20% every year. Right now the big boys over there are Ricoh, Canon, Konica Minolta and Epson. It shows how different the market is over there that Ricoh is on top of that list and HP is nowhere to be found.

Dell to launch color printers in Japan [CNN]