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Monday, June 2, 2008

So Really. What is the Big Deal about "Ink Jet"??

A very astute question, from a smart guy. Who happens to read my blog.

What is the big deal about ink anyway? According to HP, 90% of all the print in the world is in ink, not toner. And just look around, look at all the items in your office or home that have printing - my favorite DVD covers, my Michael Crichton Novel, the coffee can from Trader Joe's, the labels on the Mondavi bottles, my copy of FaceFull all ink.

The question isn't what is the big deal with ink, it should be what has been taking so long! Ink is everywhere - not toner.

To start with, ink systems like Edgeline have less moving parts then the xerographic brethren. Less heat no static. Heat being the biggest difference. 266 degrees to be somewhat exact is the temperature needed to melt the toner (see The Fundamentals of Xerography). Heat wears on materials like plastic, or motors or delicate optics; have you ever heard of somebody burning their fingers when trying to clear a jam? The answer is "yes".

I am not referring to the Ink Jets you may have at home - you know the ones, the printer costs 39 bucks after rebate, and the ink costs $69.00! (Gotcha!). I am talking about business machines. I am talking about replacing all those hot, dry toner boxes in corporate America with cooler, energy efficient, robust and reliable machines. Machines that in the end do the same thing as the hot-boxes, put color marks on paper.

This was bound to happen. All things change and get better - DOS moved to Windows, MultiPlan gave way to LOTUS 123 which in turn gave it up to Excel. It is the natural order of things. The time has come to begin to move the mundane function of printing into it's next evolutionary stage.

This is not about technology it's about innovation. It isn't about marketing hardware advancement as much as it is about a advancing a philosophy.

Xerox is not putting any more money into "photocopiers". HP invested 1.3billion in a new technology (Edgeline) not in improving an older technology(xerographic).

Xerox and HP - two Great American companies - innovating into newer and more reliable printing. Innovations like the color television, the radio, the automobile, refrigerators, micro-waves...It won't be long until the copy-cats of the far east jump on the "ink-jet" band wagon.

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So to summarize - What is so good about ink vs toner?

- cooler temperatures
- less moving parts
- color control
- more consistent and reliable
- less energy use
- more environmental/green

Surround the above with:

- Easy to use
- Easy to maintain and remove mis feeds
- Native to the network/connectivity(print, scan)

You you have a heck of a package - not just an "inkjet"

1 comment:

  1. Ah, thank you for the clarification. I was likening them to the cheap $39 inkjets at home, which I hate... and I suppose the solid ink cartridges will be much more sustainable instead of the liquid kind.

    This is nice to know... thank you.

    ReplyDelete

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