Number 231 - July 2002

Cartridge Care Report
By Shirley Stirling, OMUG Secretary Olympia Microcomputer Users Group
The May 2002 General Meeting speaker was Drew Hendricks of Cartridge Care. I loved his colorful metaphors and generous advice. Here is a list of tips I garnered from the evening:     Use Inkjet printers regularly - Per-page print cost goes down dramatically with frequent inkjet printer use. Print at least once per week, preferably daily or every other day.     Lubricate Inkjet rollers - If your printer does not pick up paper, the rubber roller is probably dry and old. Apply Simple Green on it with a lint-free cloth purchased from a store such as Radio Shack. For general maintenance, apply Simple Green twice per year to the rubber roller.     Clean Slider Bar - The slider bar in an inkjet printer that the carriage travels back and forth on should be cleaned occasionally to remove paper dust. Light machine oil (an oil made from petro-chemicals) from a store such as Radio Shack is best. Do not use 3-in-1 oil or sewing machine oil. Clean off the old oil before adding new. If you use WD40, never spray directly, spray on a rag and then apply.     Use only a little oil - A tiny bit of oil is best - more is not better.     Get rid of paper dust - Paper dust is an enemy of printers. Eliminate it. You do not want the printer carrying paper fibers through wet ink.     Empty Spittoon every 15-20 cartridges - The printer spittoon holds discarded ink pigment empty it every 15-20 cartridges.	Avoid moisture - Moisture is an enemy of a printer. Don't use water even to wash the outside of a printer.     Don't stock up on cartridges - Time is an enemy of suspension and printer ink is actually a pigment suspended, so don't stock up on cartridges. Just buy one ink cartridge at a time, two if changing cartridges every six months. When you buy, try to find the manufacture date to find the latest date.     Remanufactured cartridges are the same or better than new ones. Further more, according to the Moss-Magnusson Warranty Act, all manufactures of equipment are specifically prohibited from voiding warranties because someone elects to use a consumable not of their brand. Therefore, it is illegal for a printer manufacturer to invalidate a printer warranty based on use of refilled or remanufactured cartridges. There must be a direct causal relationship established in equipment failure to do so.     Consider printer design - Printers that keep paper in a flat position have fewer problems.     Take care regarding ozone - HP LaserJet 2 printers emit ozone and need good ventilation.     Call Cartridge Care by phone at (360) 459-8845 in Lacey or via e-mail at drewhendricks@hotmail.com. Cartridge Care deals in remanufactured cartridges and will deliver in the greater Olympia area even for delivery of a single cartridge. Also, every cartridge sale includes any needed service related to the cartridge. They remanufacture and sell LaserJet cartridges and also sell Inkjet cartridges remanufactured by CartridgesRUs.
Number 231 - July 2002