HP affected by toner shortage

Hewlett-Packard warns distributors:

When parts of Japan were devastated by a earthquake a month ago, there seemed little doubt that the printer and supplies industry would be seriously impacted and there would be shortages of some key products. Now, according to an April 12 article, it seems that the industry’s top vendor, HP, which is dependent on Canon for production of laser printers and MFPs and toner cartridges, has sent a letter to various partners indicating that it is concerned about the future availability of certain toner cartridges and LaserJet devices. According to the CRN story, HP has warned its partners that in response to potential shortages it is restricting distribution of some toner cartridges.

HP has been experiencing shortages of the HP CE285A (or 85A) toner cartridge for months now, and just before the earthquake struck, it was said that another SKU, the CE278A (or 78A), was in short supply.

Canon had problems in ramping up production to meet demand for certain HP toner SKUs before the disaster in Japan, and now the firm faces an even bigger challenge. Some of its manufacturing facilities have been offline for weeks, and transportation systems and other key infrastructure in Japan have been disrupted. Although more manufacturing facilities in Japan are coming back online, all it takes is a disruption somewhere in the supply chain, a shortage of a crucial component in a toner cartridge or laser printer, to impact Canon’s ability to manufacture finished SKUs. HP is expecting to see some shortages and is taking the necessary steps to limit their impact by rationing distribution of some toner cartridges.

Why didn't Okidata go with new model numbers here?

Okidata sent me the following service notice.  They updated some printer models which require unique replacement parts when compared to the previous versions of the same models.  Manufacturers usually change the model numbers to accommodate parts identification and compatibility.  

This could get confusing...

ML600/ML300T/ML400 Serial & Network Card Compatibility Information

Oki Printing Solutions has recently released the ML600 Series and updated versions of existing printer models for the ML300Turbo Series and ML400 Series. The model names and equipment part numbers have not changed. However, there are changes to internal parts and also an updated RS-232 interface option for these products. In addition, there is a new NIC, part# 72008701 replacing part# 70046502, which will work in all versions of the printers. Please see the chart below for the serial # revision changes to determine compatibility of these two options for the newer version of printers.

If you have any questions please contact Oki Customer Service at 1-800-OKIDATA.

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 The revisions referenced in the table below can be found on the S/N label of the printer.

See serial number example directly below, the last two characters determine the rev level, which determines compatibility.

 

Additional Note for Service Providers - Due to internal part changes to the latest revision printers, there are updated iIlustrated part manuals, based on the revision of the printer serial number. These include many new part numbers, and these new numbers are identifed on the RSPL with the latest revision as part of the description, see example below:

ML420 Example: PCB: EXB ASSY MAINTENANCE SPEC (REV. E0)

Here's a unique way to recycle old printers.

It's like The Monster Mash, but it's The Printer Smash:

The event was hosted by The Hacktory in Philadelphia, PA.  The people at The Hacktory say they usually send old laser printers and inkjet printers to a recycling facility.  That's exactly what we do with them, too.

BTW, if you ever wanted to know what to do with your old printers, to keep them out of landfills, then you could drop them off at SE Laser.  We offer free printer recycling.

Drop off old printers at the rear of our facility, please.  Address:

Southeastern Laser

1738 Louisville Dr.

Knoxville, TN  37921

Hours: M-F, 8-5.

Surgeon Creates New Kidney by ‘Printing’ It

A surgeon specializing in regenerative medicine on Thursday "printed" a real kidney using a machine that eliminates the need for donors when it comes to organ transplants.


"It's like baking a cake," Anthony Atala of the Wake Forest Institute of Regenerative Medicine said as he cooked up a fresh kidney on stage at a TED Conference in the California city of Long Beach.

Scanners are used to take a 3-D image of a kidney that needs replacing, then a tissue sample about half the size of postage stamp is used to seed the computerized process, Atala explained.

The organ "printer" then works layer-by-layer to build a replacement kidney replicating the patient's tissue.

College student Luke Massella was among the first people to receive a printed kidney during experimental research a decade ago when he was just 10 years old.

Read more here.  And here.

Take a picture. It'll last longer.

Send us a picture of your printer problem for quick trouble-shooting.

Send by email.

New Product: HP CP4025 Compatible Toner

HP CP4025 Compatible Toner

Replaces CE260A-CE263A

Black
Retails @ $157.99
Our Price $130

Colors
Retail @ $285.99
Our Price $185

Free Delivery Nationwide.

Do compatible cartridges void the printer's manufacturer warranty?

Q:  Do compatible cartridges void the printer's manufacturer warranty?

A: No.  HP's warranty statement says, "If a non-HP print cartridge is found to be the direct cause of printer failure or damage, HP will not cover the repair related to that non-HP cartridge."  The same is true for other manufacturers, including Dell, Brother, Canon, Okidata, Samsung and Xerox.  At Southeastern Laser, we further warrant our print cartridges so that we will repair any printer damaged by one of our compatible cartridges.  This type of damage is extremely rare.