In our increasingly flexible and mobile working lives, the ability to access both the internet and office documents at any location, whenever needed, has driven the development of sophisticated but instantly portable technology devices such as the smartphone and the tablet.

However, the need to store, access and share increasing exabytes of media data has seen the rise of cloud based services, including a new generation of cloud-enabled printers, enabling the printing of vital documents anywhere, anytime using either a mobile, computer, or tablet.

Dell are the latest global brand to offer their business customers a cloud –based printing service to, “... help reduce daily operational costs, streamline company processes and make organisations more efficient”.

Previously, another leading printer brand, HP, launched Google Cloud Print, which allows printing directly to any HP ePrint-enabled printer from any Google Cloud Print supported app on any computer or smartphone. This means that there is no longer a requirement for a printer to be connected to a print driver or PC. The way the printer itself is set up or the use of the paper feed tray, printer ink cartridges, toner cartridges or compatible ink cartridges remains exactly the same.

Increasingly, many company employees now work a proportion of their time out-office or on the move, where access to a PC / laptop to printer cable connection is simply not available.

In addition, there is now likely to be further restrictions in today’s security sensitive workplaces with an ever present concern to protect key company data. Consequently, the majority of company office workers will have no authorisation to give permission for a printer driver to be installed when connecting to an unknown printer network from a laptop.

Even when a company employee needs to print at another office or at home with a different or newly-purchased printer, the same limitation still applies. The issue is further complicated by the introduction and widespread use of the iPad and other smartphones and netbooks, which run on Google Chrome OS. Many of the first versions do not have an onboard printing capability or will only allow a basic support of a restricted number of current printers.

Although some manufacturers have introduced printers which do offer an option to directly print images from commercially used smartphones, they however, do not possess an embedded printing system and simply convert images to print data, unsuitable for document printing.

The printing of hard copy documents still remains a widespread necessity for essential applications within many organisations. Adopting a cloud-based service for printing wherever or whenever required is now seen as a major step forward to improving time management, customer service and overall productivity.

It has been estimated that global sales for tablets reached 17 million in 2010.  Present forecasts are for annual sales to hit 200 million in three years as the current growth rate of 160 per cent is faster than desktop PCs, netbooks, laptops, mobiles and smartphones!

As a low-cost, portable yet rugged-build alternative to the notebook with key applications of instant online access, emailing and file sharing, tablet use is spreading to all industry sectors, from retail to education, medical to engineering, in the office and out in the field.

Undoubtedly, destined to become an invaluable technology tool for consumer and professional alike, currently, a real challenge exists if there is a hard copy printing requirement. Simply, most tablets are being manufactured without a printing capability, and those that do are usually restricted to specific devices. This may also mean printer connectivity issues, possibly impacting ink use with specific printer cartridges. Printers and adapters, which are able to accept content directly from tablets, can be both costly and time-consuming to set up.

However, for those businesses or home offices who definitely need to print from their tablet/s, the process is not impossible and it is recommended to take the opportunity to double check all cabling, PC set up and connectivity, and stock up on printer supplies of ink jet cartridges or toner cartridges.

Firstly, the good news is that a number of mobile apps conveniently offer printing capabilities from a tablet computer and most mobile printing apps will search for use with a wireless printer. A traditional USB-connected printer will most probably require  a separate printing utility to be installed on your desktop or laptop, which will be able to connect your tablet to the printer software on your computer.

Attempting to get a tablet to communicate with a printer may present difficulties, especially if printing is from a desktop using one of the print utilities. It’s vitally important to carefully read the set-up instructions for the app, printer and printer software as there can be a number of potential conflicts, e.g. an app incompatible with your type of printer.

However, once installed, most apps will let you print directly from the application you’re using and many also have extra features for organising files or printing from a cloud service.

Alternatively, you could also try printing via Bluetooth! Most tablets possess on-board Bluetooth wireless capability which means a Bluetooth-enabled printer can be linked up with a tablet, which has been correctly configured. If your printer is not Bluetooth-enabled you will need to first purchase a Bluetooth adapter. Once each device has found each other and connected, printing from a tablet is direct and fast.

The only slight drawback is that printing is only possible within an extremely  limited distance between printer and tablet and Bluetooth printing provides very little control over number of copies and collation, among other usual basic functions.

As tablet technology develops and new versions enter the marketplace, no doubt, the printing function will be addressed.

Purchasing ink cartridges online definitely trumps buying on the high street! It would be fairly true to say that online printer supplies are more likely than a high street store to display an entire range of inkjet cartridges from all the major brands like HP, Epson, Canon & Dell to toner cartridges from less well known brands like Ricoh, Infotec and Oki, to name just a few!

There simply is no comparison for quick, easy product searching and ordering of printer cartridges without leaving your chair! And of course, the best bit of all – cheap ink cartridges at online competitive prices!

We all know the online shopping revolution is well and truly here - most of us do it everyday for home and office buying and now we can easily order using a smartphone or tablet PC anywhere, anytime. Today’s challenge is knowing from which of the numerous online suppliers to trust with your order.

A reliable supplier online is crucial for all the usual reasons, but when buying say, low cost compatible ink cartridges, it’s important to remember, you will not get a manufacturer’s guarantee. Most original printer manufacturers state in their warranties that they won’t accept repairs from damage caused by refill or compatible ink cartridges.

Quality is the key everytime. This can be evaluated by the quality of the website itself, and if it’s active and regularly updated. Although not a hard and fast rule, the longer a company has been established, the more likely it is they will provide a quality product as a result of product, service and customer experience.

That means stock availability! Some brands can be more difficult to find than others, especially when you’re looking for compatible cartridges and can be less widely available than recycled cartridges. It’s always worth checking regularly to see if the  company you choose consistently stocks your particular brand.

Contact telephone numbers are vital. That means you can call and speak to a human voice with any questions you may have to confirm guarantees and returns policies, damaged or lost orders or problems caused to the printer. All the relevant FAQs should be clearly presented on their website too.

Customer service is paramount and will affect an online supplier’s reputation, customer reviews, etc. A good supplier is more likely to be  willing to help in genuine circumstances where a problem needs to be addressed.

The key always is to select a company who has been around online for a good while, with a clear and carefully organised website, a comprehensive range of high-quality cartridges with your brand always in stock - and offers a phone service to customers who have problems.

A reliable printer ink supplier will help you save money on your replacement ink carts, which is just what you were looking for!

Reports featuring snippets about inkjet printers or ink cartridges are generally all about a slight version upgrade or hot new wi fi applications. It’s amazing to learn that the two news reports this week from the world of printing featured no printer cartridges or toner cartridges whatsoever! Not surprising when you discover that standard inkjet cartridges would definitely not be able to handle the printing demands of these two particular incredible printing machines.

Interestingly enough, the printer ink cartridges principle is referred to in both applications. The first report concerns the development of an unique inkjet printing process for creating solar cells. Used to form solar photovoltaic panels installed on property rooftops, they convert the sun’s solar energy to electricity for general light and heating consumption.

The technology uses a material composed of elements including, copper and selenium, which possesses a much greater solar efficiency than silicon currently used to manufacture solar photovoltaic panels. The material, known as CIGS, was then printed onto the surface of the cell, applying a technique similar to a standard inkjet printing approach, but with a special type of ink.

Solar cells of 5 per cent efficiency were produced and the aim is to reach 12 per cent to make the product commercially viable. While solar energy is clean and sustainable, the manufacture of conventional silicon cells, which have an efficiency from 20 to 25 per cent, is an expensive and complicated process.

Finding a balance between costs of production and efficiency could become key to future manufacture of solar cells, and the cheap manufacturing costs of the inkjet approach is seen as a "significant development".

The second type of new printer in the news is a 3D printer that prints layers of chocolate instead of ink or plastic! Incredibly, even though still a prototype, several retailers have already expressed interest in purchasing the new chocolate making machine!

While industrial 3D printing using plastic and metal is already widely used in to speed up design work, chocolate printing, just like any other 3D printing technique, starts with a flat cross-section image , similar to images produced by ordinary printers. A 3D shape is then printed layer by layer, using chocolate instead of ink, to form a 3D shape. Once a layer is completed, it solidifies, and the machine proceeds to the next layer.

In 2010, there was an attempt to develop "food printers" and once the present prototype becomes a finished product, it may find a role in the restaurant and food preparation industry.  Further possibilities could combine chocolate with digital technology, including design and manufacturing online at a social networking website.

Soon ordering printer supplies could take on a whole new meaning!

Are your printer ink cartridges secret agents? Could inkjet cartridges be secret spies for the government? It’s not so ridiculous and far-fetched an idea as you might first think!

In a bid to prevent the counterfeit printing of paper money, official certificates or otherwise classified documents, secret technology was created over twenty years ago to enable the originator of forgeries to be tracked when produced on sufficiently advanced, high quality printing machines.

Fortunately, for the average printer supplies consumer, this does not actually involve printer cartridges, compatible ink cartridges or toner cartridges, let alone cheap ink cartridges purchased online!

In fact, the method is still classified information but it is known that the principle of detection is based on microscopic dot pattern encryption. The way that you can discover this for yourself is to simply print any image ( without text) and carefully examine under a strong bright light. If you look closely enough, you should begin to pick out an almost imperceptible pattern of yellow dots covering the entire surface of the page.

The microscopic encoded dots, which are date and time stamped, enable government or other official security agencies to track back to locate the printer that originally created the page. Although, news of investigative activity surrounding the ‘yellow dot code’ surfaced around 2004/5 and again in 2008, technology industry insiders generally refer to the ongoing official secrecy maintained around the subject.

However, it was probably an unforeseen consequence of the considerable price reduction in colour laser printers, which means that it’s almost certain that, irrespective of size or price, countless numbers of small or home–based businesses, as well as company and corporates will have a printer containing the tracking technology. Previous research has found that top brand colour laser printers aimed at the home user market were shown to contain yellow dot encryption technology.

Less fortunately this time, there is nothing that the printer-user can do to prevent any single page printed on a ‘yellow dot code’ compliant laser printer to be, theoretically, tracked  back. However, it’s equally almost as certain that given the considerable advances in tracking technology in just the last 5 years alone, a new-generation of highly sophisticated and impossible-to-detect encrypted tracking sensors would have replaced the yellow dots.

And you won’t be able to find it under the light of the halogen angle-poise lamp sitting on your office desk at home!

There are now many ways of replacing inkjet cartridges, from buying compatible ink cartridges or cheap inkjet cartridges to recycling/tank refilling and even upgraded versions from the same original brand manufacturer. With so many new versions being made available it not only becomes more difficult to know what is now best suited for a particular model of printer, it may also be practically impossible to know just how long the printer ink can be reasonably expected to last, whatever the daily requirement.

In addition to expected frequency of daily use, ink yields may also vary considerably based on the types of images printed, print settings, paper type, humidity and temperature. No single yield standard can duplicate a customer’s actual printer usage. Other important factors include image quality, fade resistance of prints, reliability and printer features.

Although most printer ink cartridges state the printer ink yield on the side of the box, this may only provide an estimated number of pages which can be printed from one single ink cartridge. Furthermore, figures can vary between different brand manufacturers either using a printer's test settings or recording normal test page results.

However, in recent years many of the major manufacturing brands have collaborated to achieve an agreed standard which provides customers with a reasonable basis for comparing printer performance. The ISO/IEC 24711 and 24712 standard was created by the International Standards Organization for Standardization (ISO) with the support of national standards institutes throughout the world, independent experts and industry representatives.

Following implementation, the ISO/IEC standard is widely recognised as the most reliable method to test inkjet printers under standard conditions for the purpose of comparing achievable ink yields from various competitive printers. This means the ability to cross reference between Epson ink cartridges, Canon ink cartridges, HP ink cartridges, Lexmark ink cartridges and ink cartridges produced by the other brands involved in helping to advise on the standards.

Yield testing, conducted in accordance with the ISO/IEC 24711 and 24712 standard, consists of operating at least three printers at a controlled temperature in Default Mode with each using at least three cartridges of each model, not including the first set of installed cartridges. A set of five patterns is printed continuously, in consecutive order on plain paper with print commands from a current PC model running a Windows OS.

Cartridges are only replaced when the printer indicates cartridges are empty and will not print without replacing the cartridge. This is because some inkjet printers will refuse to print after the ‘low ink’ warning appears, while others continue with enough ink remaining to produce a third more quality printed output. Studies have found that single ink cartridges waste just under a fifth of their ink capacity, while nearly three quarters of ink is wasted by some multi-ink cartridges and are more likely to be mistakenly discarded when 'low ink' warnings appear on the printer.

Finally, declared yields are rounded down (not up) in amounts within the standard +/- formula built into the ISO standard to assure accuracy and reliability.

Following the announcement by HP, together with GoogleCloud Print, of a direct printing capability from computer or smartphone to any HP ePrint-enabled printer, news of another partnership being forged - this time by Kodak and VMWare – also aimed to streamline the use of inkjet cartridge printing.

The launch of a Virtual Operating Environment (VOE) service by the two global brands is intended to produce significant cost savings, increased efficiency and failproof security protection by a cloud-based hosting of multiple "virtual" servers, simultaneously, on a single, physical server. It is confidently expected that businesses, from SME to corporate will find both their IT operation and general productivity will be improved by the additional control and simplification of printer ink cartridge operated devices and increased speed efficiency.

All business still require the printing of hard copy on a daily basis, and in today’s mobile oriented working environment, where  documents are now likely to be needed to be printed anytime anywhere, the application of 'mobile to printer' will no doubt become standard. For the larger commercial print or  publishing requirement, increased server capacity via elimination of physical servers means substantial cost, space and energy reduction, vital to survival in today’s eco-aware and tough economy.

The availability of printing by the use of a smartphone means you can now have a mobile office wherever you are located and any printing software required can be easily and directly downloaded. It’s still important to remember to check paper tray and ink cartridge levels before commencing.

The following should be read as a general guide only .

To print from your printer-enabled smartphone ...

Press – Main Menu.

Use the arrow keys to navigate to the Programmes section.

Go to the Printer programmme - press "OK”.

If your phone doesn't have a printing programme ...

Open the web browser to download a selected printing software.

Open the Printing programmme.

Highlight the section "Add a Printer" - press "OK".

Enter the information for the printer to be used.

Close the Programme.

Open the file to be printed.

Go to the Programme menu and select "Print".

Select printer and press "OK" to print document.

Printing documents via the cloud is becoming more widely available, especially since the first of the new generation of cloud-printers - branded as Google Cloud Print - which was launched by Hewlett Packard one year ago.

Earlier this year HP announced that Google Cloud Print users would now print directly to any HP ePrint-enabled printer from any Google Cloud Print supported app on any computer or smartphone. This would  finally eliminate the need for a print driver or PC connection to an inkjet cartridge or toner printer!

When Google Cloud Print was first launched 12 months earlier, it was discovered that older printers would still need to be connected to the web via the use of a computer. Now it’s a straightforward process of just signing into the Google account, typing in the unique e-mail address of the HP ePrint-enabled printer, and clicking the “Connect my printer” button. The way the printer itself is connected or the use of printer ink cartridges, toner cartridges or compatible ink cartridges remains unchanged with Google Cloud Print.

Within a commercial / business environment, purchasing printer supplies and printing hard copy, remains very much  a widespread necessity, even though it’s more likely that each document will now be carefully considered before clicking the “print” button. The cloud printing option can bring cost-efficient print management and easy use, especially for the increasing numbers of out-office or remote working and mobile workforce.

Up until now, an on the go, “OnDemand” requirement for printing a document would simply not happen because there was not a printer available, or only with authorised use. In today’s network security conscious workplaces, many corporate/company users are faced with restricted or disabled administration rights, which will not allow any printer driver to be installed when connecting to new networks, say via a laptop, with an unknown printer.

This is still the case if a remote worker wants to print out-of-office, e.g. at home or another office with a different or newly-acquired printer.  In addition, a growing number of devices, such as the iPad, smartphone and netbook, which use the Google Chrome OS, either have no printing capabilities at all or a basic support of just a few current printers.

Where some printers offer the option to directly print images from commercially used smartphones, which lack an embedded printing system by converting images to print data, this method cannot be used for the printing of documents. Thus. the breakthrough to make it easy to print wherever and however required was a top priority.

Today, users increasingly access the web via mobile/smartphone and use mobile apps. Apps supported by Google Cloud print currently include Gmail and Google Docs for Mobile, and Chrome OS, due to soon expand to include third-party apps.

Recent revelations concerning a breach of security of the Sony PlayStation Network, which allowed hackers to access millions of customers’ personal data, including passwords, once again highlights the huge problem of net security and sophisticated cyber crime tools. A less well known and potential data security risk is the humble document printer!

Gone are the days when it was simply a matter of topping up printer supplies, checking enough paper was in the feed draw, ensuring all inkjet cartridges or toner cartridge were sufficiently full and keeping a watchful eye on feeding documents correctly to avoid nasty paper jams!

Today’s advanced generation of printers, especially those models possessing wireless connectivity and offering an email and web browser facility, are prone to the more serious hazard of being a target of system hacking.

By not making it always compulsory for users to create a new device access password and just offering a default password instead – often printed in the manual - printer manufacturers have allowed hackers  to exploit this common security lapse to gain outside access to internal company printers.

Most businesses have been careful to maximise protection against external breaches of their computer network by installing and updating antivirus software, firewalls, email and online content security. However, unfortunately, few are aware that unsecured networked printers are also vulnerable to system intrusion.

A further serious security issue is the easy access to the printer’s hard drive where stored images of all recent print jobs can be hacked into like a desktop computer. Another main security breach can occur as a result of ‘uncontrolled printing’ where sensitive company / personal and financial details could be unintentionally left on a printer and retrieved by unauthorised personnel, especially where a shared printer is being employed.

Shared printer are often introduced to reduce costs by replacing desktop and personal printers with advanced multifunction peripherals. Performing as document-processing hubs, these type of printers are able to scan to email or file destinations, hold documents in a print queue on local hard disk drives as well as operate standard print, copy and fax functions. In the above scenario, documents could be emailed out leaving no trace of the sender by using the printer itself as the outgoing email address.

Many systems actually encourage recognising potential security hazards with the intention of changing user behaviour before printing. Short of disabling the WiFi connection, it is however, important to become aware of vulnerable areas by monitoring the lifecycle and printing history of important data documents.

Latest printers can have built-in security features such as an  integrated hard disk drive overwrite capability for automatic erasure of sensitive data from a printer's hard disk after file processing. A further option is hard disk encryption for archival retrieval and during data transmission, and document status detection requiring authorisation to print.

Selecting the right ink cartridges or the correct type of paper suitable for a specific printing purpose can be a bewildering process. The endless choice of printer supplies available on the market is truly staggering, only matched by the many different types of printer, all with similar but varying specifications.

As with the process of knowing which inkjet cartridges, compatible ink cartridges or laser toner cartridges will perform best in your printer and for your particular applications, so too is the necessary investigation into selecting from the endless different types and ranges of printer papers available. Not all are manufactured for the same purpose and not all will work in every type of printer.

It’s because printer ink cartridges and paper are the two key consumables you will most often need to purchase, it’s important to do your homework to obtain the desired results - and genuinely keep costs to a minimum! Buying cheap ink cartridges online is now very straightforward as the quality is comparable to brand names, yet one common mistake made when trying to keep down costs of buying paper is trying to use gauges of card stock incompatible with your printer, which will cause a ’paperjam’.

Here are the most common types of paper generally available and their intended uses:

Matte Paper: Used for regular colour printing or photo printing but slightly heavier than bright white paper, and with minimum surface sheen. While ink printed on matte paper is less likely to smear or cause fingerprints than glossy paper, the finish is not as vibrant. Generally available as premium grade, photo-quality matte, semi-matte and double-sided.

Glossy Paper: Mostly used for photo printing, giving a sharp, vibrant finish, closely resembling a traditional photo. However, being easily spoiled by fingerprint smears or dust, it’s important to always handle carefully. Glossy paper can be purchased in several different variations, including long lasting colour-life paper, semi-gloss and premium-grade. Brand-specific glossy photo papers are also produced to work with individual printer models.

Bright White Paper: Used for everyday, all-purpose printing of basic documents and images in every home, office printer and copier. Usually, a much less heavier weight, with a smooth, non-textured surface, and can be printed on both sides. Crisp, brilliant white with cool blue undertones, the shade might vary from brand to brand, but the black text and colours always stand out. 

Card Stock: Often used for printing business cards, postcards and office stationery, card stock is a sturdy, thick paper available in a number of different weights, often the thickness of an index card and available in many colours, from traditional white to reds, greens and blues. Always check to see that a type of heavier card stock is compatible and will work with your particular printer.

CV Paper: Mostly replaced by sending via email file attachment for downloading, there will be occasions when a hard copy will be requested. When there is a requirement, always select heavier weight paper in traditional brilliant white, ivory, or a slightly off-white shade, and there are also textured papers available in fine linen or parchment. Good quality paper comes with a watermark which should align in the same direction as the printed text.