Although Ink Jet printers only appeared on the consumer market in the late 1980s, they had been under development for more than twenty years by that time. In the mid-1970s, printer companies realized the potential of the technology that would make dot matrix printers obsolete.

The challenge, however, was to come up with a way to create an affordable Ink Jet printer that would reliably create high-quality printouts.

Technical challenges
The quality of the printed page depends largely on the relationship between the ink, the print head, and the paper. Researchers had a hard time creating a controlled flow of ink from the print head onto the page, and preventing the print head from becoming clogged with dried ink. Once these challenges were met by Canon and Hewlett Packard in the late 1980s, liquid Ink Jet printers began to come on the market.

Different styles
Continuous Ink Jet printers were developed by IBM, and use electrically-charged droplets to coat the page with ink very quickly but also waste a lot of ink. This technology never caught on with consumers, but is used today in industrial settings, for labeling cartons and addressing direct mail. The more popular design among consumers is the drop-on-demand Ink Jet printer, invented by Siemens in 1977. These printers, which spray ink only where needed, are slower than continuous Ink Jet printers but less expensive.

Most drop-on-demand printers, including those made by HP, Canon, and Lexmark, use thermal technology to push the drops of ink out of the print head; Epson uses its own technology, called piezo-electric, to achieve the same effect. The Ink Jet printer has come a long way since it became available almost twenty years ago: Hewlett Packard’s DeskJet printer, which was among the first available to the public, was priced at $1,000 in 1988!

If you’re like most Ink Jet printer owners, you only look inside your printer when the printer ink cartridge needs to be replaced. But the ink cartridge is just one element of a pretty complex mechanism — let’s take a look inside your Ink Jet printer.

The print head
At the heart of your Ink Jet printer is the print head, which houses the nozzles responsible for spraying the ink onto the printer paper. Some printer manufacturers now build the print head into the ink cartridge, so as to keep the price of the printer itself down, and to increase the lifetime of the printer.

The print head and ink cartridges (together, called the print head assembly) are pushed back and forth across the page by the stepper motor. The print head assembly travels across a stabilizer bar, to ensure even and precise motion.

Rollers
Paper is pulled into the printer from the paper tray or feeder by a pair of rollers, which control the rate at which the paper advances past the print head assembly. The rollers are powered by the paper feed stepper motor.

Twin Ink Jet technologies
Most Ink Jet printer manufacturers (including HP and Canon) use thermal bubble (bubble jet) technology to transfer ink to the page. In these printers, tiny resistors heat the printer ink to form bubbles. As these bubbles pop, ink is fired onto the page.

Some other Ink Jet printers, including those manufactured by Epson, use piezoelectric technology instead. This technique involves a piezo crystal, housed in the ink reservoir of each nozzle, which is stimulated by an electric charge. That charge causes the crystal to vibrate, forcing ink out through the nozzle in which it is located.

Most people wait until they’re hired to order business cards.But as you’ve probably figured out already, doing what MOST people do is NOT the way to get hired. (Especially if your strengths are in less measurable or verifiable areas such as persistence or interpersonal skills.) Yes, there are procedures and applications and rules of protocol, but don’t kid yourself.

Whether your degree is in Home Economics or Mechanical Engineering, as long as you’re looking for a job, you’re in Marketing. Your product? Yourself. You want prospective employers (or prospective customers, if you’re planning to begin as an entrepreneur) to see you as someone with that something “extra”.

Why not market yourself with personalized business cards?

Business cards are affordable, portable, versatile, and accepted everywhere. For less than $150, you can have your name, address and photo in front of 2,000 likely employers. Here are some tips to get you started (and they’re just as applicable AFTER you land your dream job, and need to order new cards.

Designing your card:
1. Keep it simple, yet classy.
Use a legible font and keep it large enough to read by the bifocal crowd nothing smaller than 10 points, if possible. Tailor the color scheme and graphics to your preferred industry (you wouldn’t expect a future attorney to have rainbows on his or her card.) Most cards are still (unfortunately) printed in black ink on white stock, so using color is a simple way to make your card noticeable but still professional.

2. Keep the card uncluttered.
The most essential information on a typical business card is your name, your company, and your primary phone number. Recent grads should substitute their degree (e.g. MBA, Harvard University) for the company name. If you do include other numbers (such as fax, pager, or cell phone numbers), put your primary number in bold text. It’s most visible if it’s located at the lower right-hand corner of the card.

3. Put a photo of yourself on the card? Maybe.
Business cards with photographs are less likely to be thrown away, and more likely to be placed on top of any pile of cards.If you have a unisex first name such as “Pat” or “Chris”, an unusual name, or if you’re trying to enter a “relationship” field such as real estate or counseling, this could be important. However, the downside of photos is that they can “date” you, and play into people’s subconscious prejudices. You might be better off by polishing up your networking and interview skills, so that interviewer is unlikely to forget you anyway.

4. Economize by creating personal networking cards.
If you want to avoid the possibility of having 957 special “job hunting” cards to throw away after you’re hired, create a personal networking card. This is a card that contains only your basic contact information. To personalize it for your job search, print your degrees, experience, et cetera on self-adhesive address labels (the 1″ by 2 5/8″ size works well).Stick those labels on the back of a small group of cards and print more labels as needed. You’ll still be able to use the cards after you get a job, because the basic information will still be relevant.

Your consistent use of a well-designed business card will show other business people that you’re both professional and serious about your career. Get in the habit of using them as an excellent promotional tool.

Add unlimited dimension to creative crafts with your computer, Ink jet printer and specialized media. Ink jet printing opens the door to thousands of colors. Why print them all on white paper? If you can think it..you can Ink jet!

Unleash your imagination. Specialty papers are just the beginning of endless media alternatives to standard printer paper. High-resolution photo papers in glossy and matte finishes transform family photos into enduring memories. Parchment and confetti papers add elegance and personalization to text printing, making treasured gifts and display items out of your favorite writings and adding warmth and cordiality to your invitations and greeting cards. As wonderful as these papers are, they are only the beginning of what you can do with a little imagination and your Ink jet printer.

Metallic Ink jet media is available in gold, chrome, and silver. Although metallic Ink jet media accepts print in either color or black and white, generally black and white prints will present better on gold. If you print yellow on silver metallic media, it will look like a gold inlay. Orange printed on silver looks like bronze.

This transformation takes place between the ink and the media so you don’t have to apply difficult text and photo manipulations to achieve elegant results. Add dazzling effects to photos and text with holographic film. The base color of holographic media is silver. Holographic film reflects the full color spectrum and presents your print project in a rainbow of colors, changing along with the angle of view.

Super Color Shrink is a pliable plastic that accepts Ink jet print. After printing, you bake the plastic and it shrinks and hardens, reducing the size of your image and adding texture to your project. Super Color Shrink is available both transparent and white art sheets.

Even if you can’t paint like Monet or Van Gogh, you can still create a masterpiece on canvas with Super Color Art Canvas. Designed for use with Ink jet printers, Super Color Art Canvas is actually a specially coated nylon surface that renders your images and photos so beautifully that you probably won’t even want to frame them! Cling Window media makes window posters and removable art that adhere to most glass, plastic and baked enamel surfaces.

As you probably know, it is impossible to print the color white, but you can make white embossed prints with Ink jet embossing paper and white embossing powder. Ink jet embossing paper keeps inks from drying. Sprinkle your prints with embossing powder and then heat the image with an embossing tool or heat gun and watch as your design becomes an embossed raised image. Find both white and clear embossing powders at any good craft retail store. Preserve embossed images with a clear acrylic spray.

Apply your designs to unpainted wood, marble, slate, and leather with Ink jet rub-on decal paper or use water slide decal media to decorate glass, metal, ceramics, candles..

Combine imagination and specialized Ink jet media to extend your creativity to the limit. The possibilities are endless when you think Ink jet!

One of the most frequent requests I have heard throughout my career is “May I have your card?” Whether it’s a sales call or business-to-business (B2B) networking, the practice of swapping business cards is the most common way to make an introduction. So why do so many merchant level salespeople (MLSs) arrive at meetings and trade shows without them?

I’m always surprised when, during the “get to know you” part of a committee meeting, someone in the room announces they have “forgotten their cards.” Or when someone visits our booth at a trade show and is unable to leave a card because they don’t have any with them. In sales, forgetting your business cards is like forgetting your pants.

The most effective way I’ve found to remember people I’ve met is to retain their business cards. During our conversations, I often take quick notes on the back of the cards that I can refer to later, such as jotting down a reminder about something from our meeting, an action item I have agreed to or something they have committed to me.

Once back at my desk, I review the stack of cards. I write thank you notes, delegate action items, pass along leads and the myriad of follow up details that occur after a business trip. Without the cards, I’m left only with an attendee roster and pads of paper.

Your cards should include your name, phone number, fax number, e-mail and street addresses and company logo. This information should be produced in a color and font that are easy to read. I recently received a business card that had been printed with pale lavender five-point type in order to fit all of the information the proprietor wanted on the card. A lot of information was there, but I couldn’t read it-even with my bifocals on!

Make sure you proofread your business cards before they are printed. You may think that the instructions you gave the person at Kinko’s were clear, but did they set your information correctly? Here’s an easy trick to use when proofreading to ensure what is to be printed is correct: Read each line backwards, from left to right and from bottom to top. This will force you to look at each word and number, instead of only skimming the information that you are so familiar with.

Also, have your cards printed on a paper stock that someone can actually write on. If your cards are plastic or a dark color they will be less useful to those who receive them, especially if they, like you, take notes on cards. While business cards that look and feel like credit or gift cards may be a novelty, they will most likely be tossed rather than kept as useful reminders for further action.

Check your sales agreement for instructions regarding logo placement on your business cards. Card associations and many banks and vendors have specific rules regarding the use of their logos. Additionally, be sure to include any logos (that you are entitled to use) that might lend further credibility to your business, such as from a trade association, chamber of commerce or Better Business Bureau.

If you conduct business in languages in addition to English, you might consider having your contact information printed on the back of your business card in these other languages. Or, you might add a line to your business card such as, “Se habla espa_ol.”

Keep a supply of business cards in your wallet, briefcase, car, computer bag and desk, and invest in a simple business cardholder to protect the cards and keep them looking crisp and clean.

Most importantly, give your business cards away.

Many sales managers monitor their sales staffs’ activities based on the number of business cards each rep collects during the day. You can easily rate the effectiveness of your daily routine by counting the cards your collect. You’ll have a better idea of how many leads you’re generating if you give a card each time you receive one.

Your business cards are one of the most productive pieces of collateral you will generate. Consider them the seeds of your business, and scatter them widely.

Each year, millions of empty toner and inkjet cartridges are thrown into the trash, ending up in our planet’s landfills or incinerators. Recycling these empty cartridges is easy, profitable and environmentally beneficial. It helps reduce solid waste, conserves raw materials and the energy needed to produce a new product. Most cartridges can be recycled up to six times - they are refurbished, refilled and then resold to consumers at a lower price than new branded cartridges. Recycled cartridges produce the same quality and output as new cartridges.

Ink cartridges are constructed out of plastic, petroleum-based products and take about 1,000 years to decompose. According to recent estimates, 20-40% of ink cartridges are recycled, meaning 60-80% end up in landfills. The recovery and reuse of empty printer cartridges diverts millions of cubic feet of material from waste disposal, saving us the millions of tax dollars needed to pay for additional landfill management.

Look at the instructions in the box of your new laser or inkjet cartridge to find out how to recycle your old one. Many companies will provide instructions, packaging materials and free postage if you wish to recycle your old cartridge.

The easiest way to find a recycling location is to search the Internet for organizations that accept used cartridges in exchange for cash. All sites offer pre-paid free shipping or pickup of used cartridges, and some pay up to $4 per cartridge.

Recycling used cartridges also makes a great fundraiser for schools, church groups, charities, high school sports teams and other non-profit organizations. It can also be a significant cost savings for businesses.

Several inkjet printer manufacturers also maintain recycling programs. However, your recycled ink cartridge doesn’t always make it around the loop.

Epson, in cooperation with Funding Factory, recently launched a free recycling program for its customers. Schools and businesses can get points for collecting and remitting empty cartridges to Epson. However, the cartridges are not remanufactured or refilled. They are incinerated. To be fair, mention must be made that the incineration is at an environmentally friendly waste-to-energy plant; however, it is easy to see that Epson is the big winner in this recycling effort. Their recycling plan takes cartridges out of the hands of remanufacturing plants that can offer less expensive remanufactured compatible cartridges to the consumer.

Hewlett Packard also has a free recycling program and they proudly announce that more than 1.8 million HP inkjet cartridges were recycled in 2003. Unfortunately, for the consumer, plastics and metal from the HP cartridges are also disassembled and made into new products. Other components are “used to generate energy or are disposed of in an environmentally responsible manner.”

Canon offers its customers several options for recycling toner cartridges, including a single return option, an up-to-eight multiple return options, and a bulk return option. Whichever you choose, a shipping label can be downloaded directly from their website. Return shipping via UPS is pre-paid by the company. It appears from many recycling and other eco-friendly programs displayed on their website, that Canon is a leader in environmental stewardship, however to date they have no recycling program in place for inkjet cartridges.

Lexmark’s recycling program is 100% free, as are the other printer manufacturer recycling programs. Customers request a kit using an online order form. Lexmark pays the postage both ways.

However, there is one major difference between Lexmark’s program and the programs of the other print giants. Lexmark works with Planet Ark and Close the Loop in Australia to ensure every collected cartridge is remanufactured or recycled. In addition, they have similar recycling programs in Latin American and South Africa. In Europe, every purchase of a Lexmark high-volume cartridge comes with a postage-paid recycling bag included. Now that’s closing the circle!