999inks announces a Fan Contest for the month of July

How much do I love 999inks.co.uk?  Let me count the ways.  Better yet, show us in pictures!

999inks is the one place for all of your printing needs. Hopefully you know by now how great it is to find all of your ink at discount prices, so you never have to pay high street prices.

How much do you love 999inks? Show us how much you love 999inks, or how much you need 999inks, by submitting a photo in the "Fan Photos" section of our Facebook page, and you could win a Polaroid Mobile Photo Printer!

Want an additional entry? A second Polaroid Mobile Photo Printer will be given to a Twitter follower who tweets the link to their photo!

Become a Fan of 999inks on Facebook. Once you are a Fan, simply post a Fan Photo! Open to UK & throughout Europe.  Entries accepted through 30 July 2010. 

PRIZE DETAILS:

* 2 Polaroid CZU-10011 PoGo Mobile Photo Printer will be given away. 1 winner from Facebook, and an additional winner from Twitter.

* The revolutionary PoGo is portable, stylish and practical, coming with everything you need to print the most impressive, full-colour, instant digital photos without ink. Because of its small, compact size, you can slip it into your pocket and take it everywhere.

* Impressive photo prints on the spot, directly from a digital camera or mobile phone. Send photos from your camera or phone wirelessly, or connect via USB.

* Features PictBridge, Bluetooth and a Li-ion rechargebale battery

Enter now, and you could be a lucky winner!

Lexmark Printers To Be Sold Through UK Apple Store

The connections between printers and Steve Jobs' branding behemoth Apple may not be immediately obvious; yet the two realms are strangely entangled. Last year for example, printer manufacturers like Hewlett Packard raced to become the first company to release an iPhone application for their wireless printers. Now meanwhile, speculation is rife as to when Jobs will announce printer compatibility for the recently released iPad. Printers and Apple have proved natural partners.

Yesterday's announcement by Lexmark that they will soon begin selling wireless printers through the UK Apple Store then is less surprising than first appears. Indeed other manufacturers must be kicking themselves that they missed the cross-branding opportunity.

Initially only three Lexmark printers will be available through Apple: the Interact, Interpret and Prospect wireless printers. Each of these models includes Smartsolutions software, enabling (with the proper app) nearly instantaneous printing from your iPhone. Moreover though these printers normally cost £120-170, Apple is offering a special deal: anyone that buys a Mac alongside their Lexmark printer receives a £70 rebate.

Hewlett Packard and other ink cartridge producers will doubtless be watching closely to see how the promotion fares.

Of course those who take advantage of the offer will need to keep their Apple-friendly Lexmark printer stocked. For great quality ink cartridge and paper supplies, 999inks.co.uk remains your premier online retailer.

Epson Release World's Fastest All-In-One Office Printer

Small business owners frustrated by the glacial pace of their printing equipment may rejoice: Epson have recently released the fastest All-In-One printer in the world. The Workforce 520 prints 15ppm (pages per minute) in black and 5ppm in colour, in addition to scanning documents at 2400dpi resolution direct to your email inbox.

Currently retailing in the US for $129.99, the Workforce 520 features ink cartridges great for reducing costs too: the colour cartridges are sold separately, meaning you need only replace individual colours as they run out. The Workforce 520 therefore saves not only time but money too. Of course, as soon as the printer becomes available in the UK, look forward to quality discount cartridges from 999inks.co.uk.

Sand Printer Provides Seagulls With Reading Material

Ever wanted to print a document viewable from space? Without petitioning HP to make a 100ft tall printer with ink cartridges to match, you couldn’t have found much luck.

Until now that is – because the sand printer by conceptual designers Zanadesign produces letters several feet tall. The only things to worry about are the tide, and that the Spanish wheel only prints the words ‘Cadiz 2012.’

The brainchild of Tomás Silva Alonso, a graduate of London’s Royal College of Art, the sand printer is powered by positioning small children inside the circumference, and convincing them to push.

Though the words ‘Cadiz 2012’ commemorate 200 years of the Spanish constitution, meaning that the wheel was created in the spirit of peace, how the children are made to push we can’t imagine.

The sand printer came into being after Alonso sent the idea to Cadiz council, winning first prize in a ‘Promote Cadiz 2012’ competition. The council soon contacted Alonso, and asked him to develop a working model.

Made of inorganic materials, the sand printer impacts on the beach without making a negative impression on the environment. What’s more, it gives the seagulls something to peruse whilst chewing on stolen chips.

Drug Dealer Squirreled £1,700 In Printer

999Inks.co.uk News: Drug Dealer Squirreled £1,700 In Printer


A 20 year old male who kept cannabis in his home for a drug dealer squirreled £1,700 in payment inside his printer, a Liverpool Crown Court hearing found this Tuesday. The home of Ashley Moorcroft was searched by police the day after he was caught holding a bag of cannabis and £1,825 in his car. Pleading guilty for possession of the drug, Moorcroft has been sentenced to 6 months in prison and ordered to perform 180 hours unpaid work.

According to a 17 December 2009 article by Linda Roughley at Crosbyherald.com, police caught Moorcroft on the evening of May 1st in Blundellsands. He was seen walking to a Silver BMW from his own car, where on return he was questioned by police. Officers noted the strong smell of cannabis in the vehicle, and Moorcroft’s extreme nervousness. On searching the car, the police found a bag of cannabis in the roof lining of the driver’s side.

Initially Moorcroft protested that he didn’t know to whom the cannabis belonged. However, he soon conceded that he was holding it for a drug dealer. On being arrested and taken into custody, Moorcroft was found with £1,825 about his person. It was on the following day that police searched his home on Merrilocks Road, and discovered £1,700 hidden inside his printer. The money was stored in the ink cartridge slot.

Moorcroft pleaded guilty to counts of possessing cannabis and concealing criminal property, when his trial was held at the Liverpool Crown Court. His 6 months sentence has been suspended for 12 months, and he must perform 180 hours unpaid work.

HP To Roll Out Web-Connected Printers in Spring 2010

999inks.co.uk News: HP To Roll Out Web-Connected Printers in Spring 2010

A new range of printers from Hewlett Packard enable printing from the internet without the need for a PC.


Some might query the value of a printer that lets you print straight from the internet without using a computer. What’s wrong with right-clicking from the desktop to receive your desired image? Yet at Hewlett Packard, Vice President of Marketing for the Imaging & Printing Group Ralph McNeil is certain this is the future of printing. In Spring 2010, he intends to begin global distribution of a new range of printers that enable users to produce documents straight off the internet, without the need for a PC.

In an interview with Marketnews.ca, Mr McNeil outlined his vision for the new printers. He said that the internet printers operate using a large touchscreen, eliminating the need for a computer. The details of the interface have yet to be finalised though, and this is something Mr Macneil recognises is crucial: "The easier it is, the more I'm going to use it," he told Gordon Brockhouse, in an article dated 11th December 2009. Regarding the value of the new printers he is more certain. He asserts that the expanding internet does not detract from the printed image, but increases the number of potential documents to be produced. "Where does it [the HP web printer] take you? To a repository of value on the Internet."

In 2009 HP greatly expanded their range of web applications, with programs that enabled users to print from their iPhones. A similar app for the Blackberry is expected soon. Mr Macneil anticipates that the HP web printers will mark another new platform for printing, making 2010 “a very exciting year” for the printing brand.

HP Printers Proved Best in Lab Study

999inks.co.uk News: HP Printers Proved Best in Lab Study

Two HP printers have been demonstrated to be superior to comparable machines from rival brands, in an independent study conducted by print consultancy and testing firm SpencerLab. In two separate tests for inkjet and laser printers, the HP printers were shown to produce higher quality printing on almost every tested criterion. These included: default print quality on standard paper, colour print quality on glossy paper, and draft print quality on plain paper. The HP printers tested were the (toner based) HP Officejet Pro 8500 All-in-One and the (inkjet based) HP Officejet 6500 All-in-One. The results for both US and EMEA markets are available at Spencerlab.com.

For the inkjet tests, the HP 6500 was compared with the Brother MFC-5490CN, the Epson Stylus Office BX600FW, and the Canon Pixma MX860. Of a total of 9 tested criterion, the HP Officejet performed best on 8, losing out to the Brother 5490CN regarding black-and-white printing on default copy setting. For other printing settings, the outputted prints of the HP machine were described as ‘vibrant and smooth’ or ‘with good saturation.’ For the laser test, the HP 8500 performed comparably, beating its competitors in all 5 criteria, and was described as ‘overall superior.’ The HP laser printer was tested against the Brother MFC 9440CN and the Samsung CLX-3175FN.

The SpencerLab tests were designed to replicate printer use in typical office conditions, with the choices of ink cartridge and paper type intended to reflect this. In the laboratory firm’s press release, it was stated that SpencerLab scientists were “particularly interested” to see how the latest HP printers performed, given that HP was one of the earliest manufacturers of ink-based technology. In short, they were “not disappointed.” The Vice President of Operations and Director of Spencer Lab, Catherine Fiasconaro, said: “HP is maintaining its solid reputation with the OfficeJet series [providing] a versatile product.”