Lexmark has introduced the industry's allegedly first inkjet photo printer with a built-in CD burner. The P450 allows users to create digital archives on disc in addition to printing 4x6-inch images at up to 4,800 dpi. Other possibilities offered include printing photos directly from a Bluetooth cell phone (with an optional adaptor) and viewing photos on the TV using a standard video cable (not included). The printer will ship in October with a suggested retail price of USD 200.
HP has unveiled its first products featuring an inkjet technology that promises a faster development cycle and consequent lower cost (up to 50%). The new printhead components are fabricated as a single unit through a photolitographic process instead of being welded togheter in postproduction. This allows the placement of 3,900 nozzles or even more on a single printhead. The first product to sport the technology will be the Photosmart 8250. Equipped with six Vivera ink cartridges, it will print 4x6-inch prints in as little as 14 seconds. The 8250 will be available this month for USD 199. It will be followed this fall by the Photosmart 3000 All-In-One series.
Dell has unveiled a black-and-white laser printer priced at USD 99 that is expected to spark a price war in the SOHO market. The model 1100 prints up to 15 pages per minute with 600 dpi resolution. Dell is also offering a 2,000-page toner cartridge for its new printer at USD 65. Lexmark, which manufacures Dell’s printers, sells a similar product for USD 94.
Epson has settled two patent infringement lawsuits against Hong Kong-based Multi-Union Trading Company, one of the world's largest suppliers of after-market cartridges, under the PrintRite and other brand names. The court decided that 75 Multi-Union cartridge models infringe a combination of 30 Epson patents. The original lawsuits were filed in April 2001 and April 2005.
Lexmark suffered a new setback in its case against a company called Static Control Components (SCC) envolving technology designed to allow use of generic cartridges in printers. The US Courts of Appeals, Sixth Circuit denied a request to consider reimposing a injunction against SCC. In 2002, Lexmark filed a lawsuit claiming that SCC’s Smartek chips violated the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). Later, a judge issued a preliminary injunction banning the selling of Smartek chips, but this was lifted in October 2004. The case is going to trial next December.
