Continue reading »]]> Photography can be a rather expensive hobby and once you have spent out on lenses, bags, tripods etc., there can be little money left in the kitty for software tools like photo editors. Thankfully, there are some very good free tools out there and in my software “kitbag”, I have the following:

• Image Browser
• Exif Editor
• Photo Editor
• RAW Tools
• Panorama Stitch Software
• HDR Creator
• Image Recovery Software

For this first article, I shall be looking at “FastStone Image Viewer”, my preferred image browser. To download and for more in-depth details, go to the FastStone website here.

FastStone Image Viewer:

FastStone Image Viewer is an image browser, converter and editor.

So why might you want to use FastStone Image Viewer when Windows already comes with the Windows Photo Gallery program? For a start, Windows Photo Gallery doesn’t auto-rotate images taken in portrait orientation, leaving you to either manually rotate each one or put up with the discomfort of twisting your head round all the time! Thankfully, there are no frustrations like this with FastStone Image Viewer. Also, Windows doesn’t come with native support for RAW camera files or Photoshop (.PSD) files built-in so any files in this format can’t be viewed in Windows Photo Gallery. FastStone Image Viewer has great file support and works with JPG, GIF, TIFF, PNG and PSD files amongst others. The RAW camera support is excellent and the program can open the following RAW images:

• Canon (CRW, CR2)
• Nikon (NEF)
• Pentax (PEF)
• Fuji (RAF)
• Minolta (MRW)
• Olympus (ORF)
• Sony (SRF, SR2, ARW)
• Panasonic (RW2)
• Adobe (DNG).

The main program screen is as you would expect, with a folder tree on the left and a file list on the right:

Selecting an image in the file list automatically gives you a preview of your image in the preview pane on the left and you can also view the image’s histogram.

Image Properties (EXIF Metadata) such as shutter speed or aperture can be viewed by clicking the EXIF tab in the same dialog window:

If your image has GPS location data, you can click on an icon for Google Earth. This will show you where your image was taken on a satellite map of the area. You can then upload your image to Google Earth or view images other people have taken there.

Double-click an image to view it full screen. The full screen viewer allows you to zoom right in on your image with just one click of the magnifying glass icon – very useful for checking whether your photo really is as sharp as you hoped.

In the full screen viewer there are 4 different fly-out menu panels offering useful shortcuts to all program features. This is designed to allow you to work directly on your image without having to exit the full screen viewer. Which menu panel you are presented with depends on which part of the screen you move the mouse to. For example, if you move the mouse to the top of the screen, that menu panel allows you to quickly select a different image to view without having to exit the full screen viewer. More usefully, it has a compare feature where you can compare up to 4 images side by side.

The following are screenshots for each fly-out menu panel:

Top menu panel:

Bottom menu panel:

Right menu panel:

Left menu panel:

There is also a right-click menu, giving quick access to various program commands such as copy/move and printing etc.

FastStone Image Viewer offers the standard editing tools including image resize, crop, clone/heal and red-eye removal.

However, much more powerful editing tools such as sharpen/blur and adjustments to lighting/colours/levels/curves are included.

For example, selecting the Adjust Lighting tool gives you the following dialog window:

This is very simple to operate, just adjust the sliders to see instant results in the preview area. The other adjustment tools work in exactly the same way and it is even possible to apply adjustments to selected areas of an image. Selection tools are however limited to rectangle, oval or freehand. The editing tools provided are certainly a very useful introduction to photo editing for beginners and even the more experienced could find these tools useful from time to time. However, these editing tools would be unlikely to replace the need for a dedicated image editor due to the lack of layers, layer masks and other more advanced features.

Other useful features included with FastStone Image Viewer are image watermarking, batch rename, batch convert and a slideshow builder. This includes various options such as how long to play each image, image transitions (there are a massive 156 different ones to choose from) and music tracks to play (you can even choose multiple tracks). I found it very easy to put together a nice slideshow in a matter of minutes.

In conclusion, FastStone Image Viewer is a very capable program with excellent image compatibility, a wide range of features and a pleasing user interface.

Alternatively, another good image browser is Irfanview which can be downloaded here.

I hope you have found this article useful and if you have anything you want to add to the discussion or any questions, please let us know in the comments section below.

Continue reading »]]> We have recently been sent a P2000 laser printer by our friends at Pantum for our feedback and eventually a full review. Whilst testing and correspondence with Pantum is underway I wanted to share with you our unboxing and first impressions of the printer.

Unboxing Video

Before Opening

My attention was first drawn to some selling points on the outside of the box which brag of a respectable 20 pages per minute and a 20,000 page duty cycle which seems very high for a machine with this specification. The printer has a standard USB connection only and is neither wireless or networkable.

There is also mention of a toner saving mode which I am keen to see in action and if/how it affects the quality of prints. Low power consumption is also a big selling point for Pantum as they seem to pride themselves on how eco-friendly their printers are.

From the stats listed on the box it would appear to be a very compact and light printer:

• Dimensions: 380 x 261 x 236mm (15.0 x 10.3 x 3 inches)
• Power: AC 220-240V, 50/60Hz, 3.0A
• Net Weight: 5.3kg (11.68lb)

From these specification this printer seems to be designed for a small office environment.

Box Contents

The printer itself seems very well packaged and there is a small bundle of additional goodies included. A non-UK power cable (which I had expected since it was sent direct from the far-east) came to hand first  along with a software discs and setup instructions. It was however refreshing to find a USB A-B cable with the printer which is a first in my experience.

The toner included is a PA-100E and I am not sure what capacity this indicates as the official flyer lists the following toners as compatible:

• PD100L = 700 Pages
• PD100 = 1500 Pages
• PD100H = 2300 Pages

The Printer

Conclusion

Continue reading »]]> We recently took a call from one of our manufacturers regarding printers and toners coming into stock from a new printer manufacturer named Pantum. I must admit that at first I was hesitant and far too many memories of hunting down incredibly rare Tally Genicon cartridges for customers came flooding back. However the more I heard about this company, the more excited I got…

Who are Pantum?

Pantum are a China based manufacturer or printers and cartridges with a refreshing approach to business. This is largely due to their ties to remanufactured and compatible cartridge manufacturers Seine Technology and Ninestar.  Pantum have taken the existing ideals of producing affordable and environmental friendly products and applied it to the production of their own robust printers.

What makes them so special?

In my many years of working in the printer industry I have witnessed technology giants like Epson, Panasonic and Kodak producing their own printers with varying levels of success. The only real consistent trait being the high running costs of these printers. So the arrival of printer manufacturer with such strong ties to quality, affordable printer cartridges could be revolutionary for the industry.

Running cost it not Pantums only focus. The printers in their existing range contain a higher percentage of metal and hard rubber components and a longer life printer engine. This is reflected in the monthly duty cycles of their printers boasting 20,000 pages from entry level machine and an impressive 40,000 pages from the high speed printer.

Pantum also have a strong focus on producing an environmentally friendly product that reduces the amount of waste toner by 11% and conserves power as well.

What do you think about them?

One thing that is certain about Pantum is that they mean business. Everything I read on them suggests that they intend to become a globally recognised brand that want to genuinely change printing for both in home and office environments. Their experience in the compatible cartridge industry should serve them well and I hope they are able to gain ground in an industry that has been dominated by big names for as long as I can remember.

In my mind their success is dependant upon one key factor… running cost. If the consumables are available at a price similar to those of remanufactured cartridges for big name printers I believe consumers will be happy to invest in such a Pantum printer. I speak to dozens of people everyday about their ink and toner cartridge needs and the majority of them would love to but the manufacturers own, but the prices demanded genuinely prohibit them from doing so.

If however consumers can buy a printer from an established brand at a subsidised price and run it using a quality remanufactured/compatible cartridges that cost less than the Pantum consumables the future may not be so bright.

When can I get one?

There are a few Pantum printers in the UK and I am lucky enough to have received one this morning for some testing and feedback for them before they go on sale. I will update this post when they are available and I look forward to sharing my findings with you.

What are your thoughts on Pamtum printers? Would you be interested in buying one? Please let us know in the comments below.

Continue reading »]]> The Brother MFC-J5910DW is a reasonably priced A3 printer with an excellent set of features. It is however slightly lacking in the print quality you would expect from an A3 printer.

Features

For just over £100 you get the following features from this printer:

• A3 Borderless Printing
• Fax machine
• Wireless connectivity
• Networkable
• Automatic Document Feeder (35 Sheets)
• A4 Scanner/Copier
• 4.9cm LCD Sceen and Touch Panel
• PictBridge Support
• AirPrintTM and Google Cloud PrintTM

Design

This printer means business and its design reflects this. The design is simple practical and it is easy to navigate its variety of function using its large buttons and touch panel controls. As a A3 printer with so many gadgets bolted onto the size of this printer should not come as a surprise to you. Its physical size is 51.4cm x 46.1cm x 26cm, so you would be hard pressed to stash it away quietly in a corner or under your desk.

The MFC-J5910DW uses a space saving laser printer style papertray instead of the gravity fed paper popular in other A3 printers.

It is worth noting that the paper tray must be adjusted to take A3 paper which causes the tray to stick out a further 4.7 inches. This design also means that the paper has to turn a full 180° inside the printer, which limits the thickness of the paper that can be used to 220gsm.

Setup

Setting the printer up by USB, Ethernet or Wi-Fi is easy thanks to the installation software that takes you through the process step by step. The ports for USB and Ethernet connection are tucked away under the scanner bed so those brave enough to set up the machine without assistance may find this part problematic.

As with all of Brothers current inkjet printers the cartridges are easy accessible from the front of the printer behind a small door. This simple design makes the changing of each of the individual black cyan, magenta and yellow inks easy.

Printing & Scanning

The print quality of text from the printer is acceptable but not quite as sharp as other inkjet printers I have used. When printing graphics I was happy to note a substantial amount of detail was being captured, although the colours produced were not as vibrant as I would have hoped. Don’t get me wrong overall the print quality is great for the price of the machine, but it you want exceptional quality I would recommend looking at some printers in Epsons six colour PX range.

If you would like to check out the print quality of this printer for yourself you can order a sample print from here.

Sadly the Brother MFC-J5910DW does not also have an A3 scanner and document feeder like the MFC-J6510DW. However in my experience it is very rare a copy of anything larger than A4 is needed. The scanner itself faithfully captures the images and with a maximum scan resolution 1200 x 2400 dpi the results look great.

Cartridge/Running Cost

My favorite thing about Brother cartridges is the large size of the ink cartridges they take and the MFC-J5910DW is no exception to this rule. The standard capacity cartridges are the LC1240 which give upto 600 prints each (at an average coverage of 5%). The real selling point as far as cartridges go is the high capacity LC1280XL cartridges that can print a maximum of 2,400 pages per cartridge.

The running cost drop even further if you should decide to use compatible cartridges that we currently offer for as little as £2.24 per cartridge.

Our Verdict

In conclusion the MFC-J5910DW is another affordable and recommendable A3 printer from Brother. The print quality may be a little lacking for users who need very high quality results but the majority of users should fine the prints for than acceptable.

If you have anything to add or have any questions please let us know in the comments below.

Continue reading »]]> The Brother MFC-J430W has the perfect set of features for an office printer and is available and a price tag that won’t break the bank. However whether it is right for your office depends on what you typically print.

Features

• Built in Fax
• Wireless
• Copier & Scanner
• 100 Sheet Paper Tray
• Automatic Document Feeder
• Borderless Printing

Design

The printers overall design is very inoffensive would look great in most rooms/offices. The layout of the buttons of the front of the printer is very clear and makes running off a quick copy nice and easy.

With the typical low profile Brother design the  MFC-J430W has a pretty large footprint  but remains compact due to the paper being loaded into a laser printer style paper tray in the bottom of the printer. This design contrasts strongly with the majority of printers on the market which have top loading paper and makes placing these printers anywhere but proudly on your desk next to impossible.

 This design does however not come without its drawbacks. The fact the paper has to turn 180° inside the printer means this model can take a maximum paper thickness of 220gsm. This is probably not a deal breaker for the typical office user the printer is aimed at but is worth keeping in mind.

Setup

The initial setup of the Brother MFC-J430W printer is simple as the software included takes you through it every step of the way. The instructions given adjust depending upon your input so if you are connecting it via wireless the process will be different to those connecting by USB. This is handy as the two points I commonly get asked about during the setup of a printer is in connecting wirelessly or locating a Brothers printers elusive USB port.

The individual black, cyan, magenta and yellow ink cartridges are inserted behind a small door on the front of the printer making installing and changing them easy.

Printing & Scanning

Prints produced by this machine should be more than acceptable for office use. The text is sharp, the colours are reproduced adequate and the speed of printing is comparable to Epson/Canon/HP printers of a similar price. If the printer is to be used to produce photos you may find the colours produced lack vibrancy and look a little washed out due to only four inks being used in this machine. You can however request a sample print here if you are concerned.

The quality of scans produced are reasonable with a maximum resolution of 1200 x 2400dpi. It is worth bearing in mind that the MFC-J430W is not a photocopier so running off a quick copy of a single page document may take a little longer than a dedicated machine. The process of copying multi-page documents is made much quicker thanks to the  automatic document feeder built into the printer.

Cartridge/Running Cost

Like all Brother inkjet printers the cartridges used in this machine (LC1240 & LC1220) are of a good size. They can produce up to 600 pages at an average page coverage of 5%, which makes them one of the most responsibly sized ink cartridges on the market at present. If you decide to use compatible cartridge in the printer then your printing cost will fall dramatically as the LC1280 cross compatible cartridges we stock offer up to 2,400 pages from the black cartridge and 1,200 from each colour cartridge for as little as £2.37. This results in the cost of ink when using compatibles coming in at under £0.01p for each page.

Our Verdict

The Brother MFC-J430W should be a valuable addition to any office thanks to its built in fax, copier and document feeder. It may not give the most vibrant colours when printing photos but is more than acceptable for general paperwork. These points combined with the low running costs when using compatible cartridges make the MFC-J430W a thoroughly recommendable printer.

Continue reading »]]> A cost effective way of speeding up your computer is to upgrade the RAM (Random Access Memory). Some may find this daunting, but the reality is that it is in-fact one of the simplest procedures even novices can use to drastically improve system performance.

Checking your Operating System

To avoid any unnecessary overspending, you need to determine whether your OS is 32-bit or 64-bit.The reason for this is 32-bit OS’s can only utilize a maximum of 4GB of RAM (3.6GB to be exact).

The following table specifies the limits on physical memory for Windows 7.

The following table specifies the limits on physical memory for Windows Vista.

The following table specifies the limits on physical memory for Windows XP.

Checking your Motherboard

• DDR SDRAM – The first in the series of DDR that super-seeded standard SDRAM
• DDR2 SDRAM – The second edition that has much higher clock speeds.
• DDR3 SDRAM – The Third and most current edition, again much higher clock speeds, up to double those of DDR2.

You will also need to bear in mind that all the memory modules above come in Two distinct types. DIMM and SODIMM.

• DIMM – Dual In-line Memory Module, used for desktop computers. Much larger in comparison to SODIMM’s.
• SODIMM – Small Outline Dual In-line Memory Module, used for laptops/notebooks and netbooks.

The reason for the two types is due to space constraints and cooling limits with notebook/netbook style computers.

SODIMM’s are generally more expensive than their DIMM counterparts due to manufacture costs, nevertheless you can still buy laptop memory that will reach the same clock speeds as desktop memory.

The easiest way to find out which version of DDR RAM you require is, to look in the user manual that came with your computer. If you do not have the manual or you have lost it, some of the major memory vendors have all the information available on their websites. Visit Crucial or Kingston to use their memory advisor tools.

These tools will also allow you to find out the maximum bandwidth (Clock Speed) supported by your mother board. For example, if you have a DDR2 motherboard, you are more than likely going to be buying DDR2 PC-6400 RAM (800mhz Clock speed with DDR). More importantly they will make sure that the components you buy will be compatible with each other.

The higher the FSB (Front Side Bus) running on your system, the faster your machine will process data. The FSB is the “Communication pipe” between the CPU (Central Processing Unit) and the memory modules.

The other factor in the speed of RAM is the CAS (Column Access Strobe) Latency, this is the actual speed at which the memory processes data. The “Latency” is the time delay between the initial data input to final output. Latencies only need to be worried about if you consider yourself an advanced user, as they are the only people who would notice any significant difference.

Removing/Installing RAM

Desktop Memory installation – DIMM

1. 1. Unplug the computer from the electrical socket. Remove the computer’s side casing/cover making sure you follow any manufacturer guidelines.
2. 2. Before handling the memory module, touch an unpainted and grounded metal object (like a tap or door handle) or use a grounded antistatic wrist strap.
3. 3. Remove pre-existing memory (If it is obsolete) by pressing down on the ejector tabs. The tabs are located at either end of the memory socket.
4. 4. Make sure that you align the notch on the module with the notch on the socket, it can only fit in one way so don’t force it.
5. 5. Press the memory module into the socket so the tabs snap into place and secure firmly in place. Don’t use excessive force otherwise you may damage the motherboard.
6. 6. Replace the computer side casing/cover and reconnect the power.

Laptop Memory installation – SODIMM

Continue reading »]]> The Brother MFC-J825DW is a feature rich inkjet printer that won’t break the bank but won’t necessarily delivery the quality of prints you would expect from such a machine.

Features

The feature set for this printer is more than slightly impressive and includes the following:

• Networkable (Wireless and Ethernet)
• CD/DVD Printer
• Duplex Printing
• Automatic Document Feeder
• AirPrint^TM and Google Cloud Print^TM compatible
• Fax Machine
• Pictbridge Compatible
• Media Card Center

Design

Brother printers have a tendency to be very similar in design and I have seen so many I struggle to tell them apart without checking the badges. The MFC-J825DW is no exception.

The printer is black in colour and has a low profile design with the scanner and document feeder on top. It has a series of large buttons and also has a sizeable LCD screen which make using the printer independently  of your PC/Mac with ease.

Another brother staple is the laser printer style paper tray which takes upto 100 sheets of paper and 20 sheets of photo paper at the same time. It is however worth noting that to switch between A4 and  6″x4″ you have to adjust the tray manually which is not ideal. It is however worth noting that this design limits the thickness of the paper that can be used to a maximum of 220gsm so those who like to use thicker paper for photos etc may be dissapointed.

However the low profile design coupled with the paper tray means the Brother MFC-J825DW takes up less room than other printers on the market.

Setup

Setting up the MFC-J825DW is refreshingly stress free affair. The software provided takes you through the installation every step of the way regardless of if you decide to physically attach it to your network or utilise its wireless functionality. Using this software also helps those unfamilar with Brother printers to avoid the eccentricities of the machine such as the USB and ethernet port being tucked away under the scanner unit. The cartridge are installed behind a small door on the right hand side of the printer which makes changing them equally simple.

As the printer is also AirPrint^TM and Google Cloud Print^TM compatible you can print directly from your IOS (iPhone, iPad etc) or Andriod device using the iPrint&Scan app.

Printing & Scaning

The speed of printing is respectable at a maximum speed of 35 pages per minute in black and white but is a little less for colour printing.

While the print quality of text is more than acceptable and the image quality is great for a casual user, the photographers among us may find the quality lacking. The Brother MFC-J825DW has a maximum print resolution of 6000 x 1200 dpi and the colours are not as vibrant as those found on 5+ colour printer like those produced by Canon and Epson. If you are concerned that the print quality may not be up to scratch for your needs you can order yourself a sample print from here.

The scan quality is excellent with a maximum resolution of 1200 x 2400 dpi and also very fast with an average copy speed of under 20 seconds. The automatic document feeder can hold a maximum of 20 sheets of paper and makes copying documents much quicker. It is however worth noting that although the printer can print in duplex it cannot scan duplex as well so copying double sided documents will take a little longer.

Cartridge/Running Cost

The LC1240 and LC1220 inks compatible with this printer are pretty sizable offering up to 600 pages from a Brother original cartridge. However if you were to decide to use compatible cartridge in the printer the numbers really start to make sense. For example the LC1280 cross compatible cartridges we stock offer up to 2,400 pages from the black cartridge and 1,200 from each colour cartridge for as little as £2.37. This means the ink cost per page when using compatibles comes in at under £0.01p.

Our Verdict

The Brother MFC-J825DW offers a ton of features for the money and can deal with pretty much any printing job you can throw at it. I can’t help but feel a printer this feature rich should be able to produce higher quality prints and be able to deal with thicker specialist papers so draw in photographers and designers. It is however thoroughly recommendable to any home/small office user that needs a versatile and reliable machine.

As Brothers first printer to include a disc printer it seems their inkjet range is taking further steps towards becoming recommendable in any situation. In the meantime this reviewer is waiting for the day when I can tell you about 6 colour Brother inkjet printer with print quality to match Epson/Canon photo printers.

Continue reading »]]> Customers often ask us questions like “How do I speed up my computer?” or “My computer has become very sluggish, what can I do?”. This article is going to show you 5 ways any Windows user can do just this using software that is either included on your PC already or available for free online.

By following these simple steps, you will help to revitalize, maintain and boost a deteriorating operating system.

 1. Disk Cleanup

The Disk Cleanup utility is already installed on your computer and will delete any unwanted data such as temporary internet files, system error reports, empty the recycle bin etc.

To access the Disk Cleanup utility:

• Clink on the Windows start button (Bottom left hand corner)
• Then “All Programs”
• Then “Accessories”
• Then “System Tools”
• Finally click “Disk Cleanup”

Alternatively you can search for it using the Windows search bar, this is also located by pressing the windows start button.

• First click on the Windows start button
• Then type “Disk Cleanup” in the search bar that pops up just above the start button
• Finally click Disk Cleanup

When the utility opens, select which drive you want to clean up. In most cases it will be the C drive that has the operating system installed so select this one and windows will calculate how much space you can free up.

A new dialog box will pop up allowing you to select which folder/files you would like to delete. Usually the temporary internet files use the most space as your web browser caches files to enable it to access commonly used web pages faster.

Once you have checked/un-checked the desired boxes press OK and confirm you want to permanently remove the files, after a few minutes the process will complete and the dialog box will close.

Another useful aspect of this utility is the  programs and features section under the “More options” tab, this will allow you to remove any unwanted or unused programs installed. In affect this is another way to get to the add/remove programs application in the control panel.

 2. Malicious software removal  (Malware)

Spyware and Adware can cause your computer to become sluggish and unresponsive. Spyware is malicious software that collects sensitive data without your permission, such as websites visited and even passwords.

Its extremely important to run a scan for this software once a week especially if you use online banking or make regular purchases online.

Most antivirus software facilitates spyware removal, however I recommend that you use Two different programs to ensure you are up to date with all virus/spyware definitions. AVG Free 2012 is a freeware antivirus application with built in spyware removal tools, it can be downloaded here.

Ad-Aware is another excellent spyware removal program which can also work as an antivirus application. Both of these pieces of software have the option of running a “Smart Scan” instead of a full system scan, this will significantly reduce the scanning time by targeting the most likely places malicious software may be hidden.

Ad-Aware can be downloaded from the Lavasoft website here.

 3. Disk Defragmenting and Error Checking

Overtime, your hard disk will fragment due to installing/uninstalling software, this is because of the way information is stored and how it is accessed. Fragmenting only affects performance of mechanical drives that have moving parts, it does not affect SSD’s (Solid State Drive), defragmenting an SSD can cause permanent damage.

Consolidating fragmented files on your hard disk will improve overall system performance and increase hard drive response times.

The Disk Defragmenter can be accessed in the same way as the Disk Cleanup utility:

• First click on the Windows start button
• Then on “All Programs”
• Then “Accessories”
• Click “System Tools”
• Finally click on “Disk Defragmenter”

Once open, click “Defragment now” and select which volumes you want to defragment. In most cases this will be the system drive, you can also defragment other drives/partitions if you wish to do so.

Once you have selected the desired volumes, click OK and it will begin to defragment. The time scale of this process will differ greatly depending on the amount of fragmentation on the drive.

Data packets need to be physically moved from one location to another and placed in order for efficient access, this can sometimes take up to Two or Three hours. Do not turn off your machine during this process, it may result in data corruption.

Alternatively I would recommend using IObits excellent disc defragmenter “Smart Defrag” here for free.

After a successful defragment, you can also check the disk for errors. This can be accessed via the “My computer” icon.

• Click on your Windows start button
• Then on  ”My computer”
• Right click on your system drive
• Click “Properties”
• Click the “Tools” tab
• Click the “Check now”
• Check the “Scan for and attempt to recover bad sectors” box
• Check the “Automatically fix file system errors” box (It may already be checked)
• Click “Start” to begin the process

If there are any bad sectors found it will automatically try and recover them, bad sectors can significantly slow disk performance, recovering them is vital for optimal disk performance.

 4. Disk Partitions  (Advanced)

Explained basically, a partitioned hard disk is one physical drive split into multiple parts. The reason “Advanced” is in the heading is because sometimes multiple partitions can slow down performance due to the hard drive having to access different areas.

Generally speaking, having Two partitions per drive is sufficient. One for the OS (Operating system) and one for data storage. By keeping the two separate, the system drive will be (in theory) less fragmented.

The data storage partition is where you would want to save all your files, i.e downloads etc. This partition wont be accessed as much as the system partition, therefore the adverse effects of fragmentation wont be detrimental to the overall system performance.

Hopefully the manufacturer/system builder of your computer will have already done this for you, all you need to do is use it in the correct way. Making sure you have a dedicated partitions for data storage and for the OS.

 5. Updates

Making sure you have “Automatic Updates” turned on will ensure you have the latest hotfixes and security updates for your OS, whether it be windows 7, Vista or XP.

Microsoft release regular updates to most of its OS’s (Even some of the older ones) to ensure up to date compatibility and general performance improvements.

Of course a sure fire way to improve speed on a higher spec machine would be to make sure you have the latest operating system available, Windows 7 in this case, soon to be windows 8!

If these basic steps are followed you should notice an overall improvement of your machine.

Please let me know your thoughts on the methods covered here and any additional suggestions to speed up your computer in the comments below.

Continue reading »]]> Millions of ink and toner cartridges are thrown away every year, often ending up in landfill sites. The plastics and metals they contain can take up to 1000 years to decompose. When your cartridge is empty, it is classed as waste and you have a legal responsibility to ensure that you produce, store, transport and dispose of this waste without harming the environment. This is called your duty of care. Re-using material which would normally have been thrown away has dramatic effects. It not only protects our environment but also slows man’s consumption of the earth’s already depleted resources.At Refresh Cartridges we support the UK cartridge re-manufacturing industry as much as possible by sending empty cartridges for re-use. Each cartridge is fully cleaned out, worn components are replaced and specially formulated ink or toner is inserted. The cartridge is then resealed and checked for quality before leaving the factory. Any cartridges which can’t be re-manufactured are recycled where the plastic and metal is separated, shredded and cleaned before being used in other products. None of our cartridges end their life in landfill.

Buying re-manufactured printer cartridges rather than new reduces the energy content of the goods, having a real impact on CO2 emissions. These savings can be genuinely and justifiably declared under the government’s forthcoming Carbon Disclosure initiative and in CSR statements.

Although this has not historically been the primary driver for purchase, the environmental benefits are increasingly being recognised.

Forward thinking businesses appreciate that their impacts occur not only in the products and services they deliver, but in the purchase of goods that are used to deliver those services.

If you have anything to say on the subject or you have any question please let us know in the comments below.

Continue reading »]]> For the past 18+ months we have been selling compatible HP 364 cartridges that require you to transfer the chips from HP original cartridges to a small plastic chip extender as detailed here. The feedback from these cartridges has been fantastic and the success rate very high. However we have recently been made aware of a change in the chip design of HP 364 cartridges that hinders the use of the chip extenders.

Video Description

How can I identify the new chips?

These new chips can easily be identified as they are roughly half the height of the chips that previously came on the cartridges.

How does this affect me?

The main difference is the raised black blob has been relocated to the underside of the chip and sits recessed into the cartridge. This makes the chips much more difficult to remove without damaging them and the majority of the time crucial bits of the cartridge will chip off while sliding a blade under the chip. Unfortunately even if you are able to remove the chip without damage, the black blob prevents it from sitting flat on the extender.

Can anything be done?

Sadly there are no known fixes at present, but we will of course keep you up to date should we come up with any alternate products that can be used with the new chip design. Currently with the exception of the HP Deskjet 3070, PhotoSmart 5510, 6510 and 7850 you can still use remanufactured cartridges with chips in these printers, but please take a moment to double check compatibility for your printer here.

If you have any experience with this issue or would like to share your thoughts please do so in the comments below.