FREQUENTLY ASKED
QUESTIONS
Here are some answers to typical questions
and concerns. If you don't find what you need here, contact us by clicking
on the INFO button.
Pricing
and Billing Information
Q: How can I pay for my order?
A: You can pay for your order online using your MasterCard, VISA or
American Express credit card. Your transaction is processed on Yahoo's
secure servers. Ordering online is the fastest way to process your order,
but if you prefer, you can also send in your order by mail using a personal
check or money order (see below for details).
Q: Can I order by phone or fax?
A: Yes. You can phone (508) 431-1300 from 9am - 5pm EST, Mondays thru
Fridays or Fax your order anytime to (508) 223-3718. Be sure to include
your phone number, name, credit card information and full billing and
shipping address on faxed orders.
Q: Can I order by mail using a check?
A: Yes. To order by mail using a personal check or money order, figure
the cost of the items using the prices on this web site and add in $5
for shipping and handling within the United States (any quantity) or
$13 for overseas orders. Massachusetts residents are required to add
5% sales tax. Please make your check payable to "Planet Earth Traders
Inc." and mail your order and check to this address:-
Planet Earth Traders Inc.
InkLot.com
41 Pleasant Street
Ste. 2A
ATTLEBORO MA 02703
Please make sure your order clearly specifies the item numbers,
quantities, your name and shipping address and a phone number or e-mail
address to contact you in case of any problem.
Q: When will my credit card be charged?
A: Your credit card transaction is cleared as the order is received
and your card is charged on the day that we ship your order.
Q: Do I have to pay sales tax?
A: Only residents of Massachusetts are required to pay 5% state sales
tax.
Q: Do you accept purchase orders?
A: We only accept purchase orders from Schools and the Government.
Policies
Q: What is your return and exchange policy?
A: If your cartridge is damaged or does not print to Original Equipment
Manufacturer (OEM) specifications when you receive it or if you have
received the wrong cartridge, please let us know by calling (508) 431-1300.
We will immediately give you more information on how to return your
product for a full refund or exchange.
Q: Is my privacy kept confidential?
A: Yes, we keep all information confidential. We only ask the necessary
information to ship your order and we will NEVER sell or rent your information
out to anybody. All customers will have the option of receiving our
free newsletter.
Technical
Stuff
Q: Will using INKLOT.COM inkjet cartridges
void my warranty?
A: Your printer manufacturer cannot void your equipment warranty if
you use a non-OEM cartridge. The brand of supplies you purchase is your
decision. You are not required by any machine manufacturer's warranty
to use only its brand. Our cartridges are manufactured and guaranteed
to work within the tolerances and specification of your machine.
Q: Why don't you sell Lexmark and HP
cartridges?
A: Inkjet printers divide into two types, those such as HP and Lexmark
that include the print head as part of the cartridge and those (such
as Epson and many Canon, Xerox, Brother and Apple printers) that have
a permanent built in print head in the printer and use replaceable ink
tanks. Cartridges with integral printheads are covered by extensive
manufacturer's patents relating to the design of the printhead and it
is impossible for third party manufacturers to copy them. Consequently
the manufacturers control the supply and the price which is expensive
(typically in the $15-$40 range). For these types, your only alternative
is remanufactured (recycled and refilled) cartridges or refill kits.
Remanufactured cartridges are usually not much cheaper than OEM and
with typical remanufacturing industry defect rates in the 1% - 5% range
can be unreliable as there is no guarantee of their past history. Refill
kits can give good results, but they are often messy (ink spills) and
sometimes can be totally useless as well as requiring a certain amount
of technical dexterity and patience. For these reasons, INKLOT.COM does
not sell remanufactured cartridges or refill kits.
Q: What are the advantages/disadvantages
of cartridges with built in print heads?
A: The main advantage is that the printhead is renewed each time you
replace the cartridge which insures high print quality. The trade off
is that the cartridge is complex and the cost is high, you have to perform
an alignment step each time a cartridge is replaced and there is no
competitive replacement market. In most cases, the life cycle cost of
a printer (including the cost of cartridges) using integral print head
cartridges is likely to be much higher than a printer using ink tank
cartridges.
Q: What are the advantages/disadvantages
of ink tank type cartridges?
A: Ink tank cartridges are available from alternative suppliers and
there is a very competitive second source market with prices typically
at 70 - 90% off OEM list. The built in printhead on the printer does
not require realignment on replacement of the cartridge(s) but may eventually
become defective or clog. If this happens, the printer will require
service or replacement (usually cheaper) but in many cases the cost
of a new printer is comparable to the cost of one or two integral print
head cartridges. For this reason, printers using ink tanks usually have
the lowest life cycle cost.
Q: I want to buy a new printer, what
is the best one?
A: Be careful, don't just buy the sale of the week model at your local
office supply store. Users requirements vary depending on application.
First decide on the basics, print speed, general or photo type printing,
price range etc. Before you buy, check out the cost of replacement ink
cartridges (reckon 1 cartridge prints around 500-1,000 pages or 1-2
reams of paper) and figure out the likely annual cost of operating the
printer with your typical usage. Choose accordingly, a wise decision
can greatly reduce the future cost of consumables.
Q: My cartridge includes a special chip.
Will your compatibles work?
A: Yes. Many of the newer printers (such as Epson C62 or C82) include
cartridges with built in chips. Our compatible cartridges also include
an identical chip. On replacing an OEM manufacturer's cartridge with
a compatible, you may get a message from the printer driver indicating
that you are using a non-OEM cartridge but there will not be any loss
of functionality. These chips do not directly measure the amount of
ink in the cartridge but are a type of non-volatile memory that identify
the cartridge type and store an estimated log of the remaining ink based
on the amount of use of the associated printhead.
Q: How durable is your ink?
A: For general everyday use, you will find our dye based inks are comparable
in quality and appearance to OEM brand inks. Some color change/degradation
in sunlight is likely to occur after a few months.
Q: How many pages will your cartridges
print?
A: Our compatible cartridges contain an identical volume of ink to the
OEM versions and will print an identical number of copies. You can consult
the manufacturers web sites for their exact specifications. Obviously
the number of copies depends on the ink coverage and cartridge size
but you can reckon typically on 500-1,000 sheets of paper per cartridge
(1-2 reams) for most of the home and small office type inkjet printers.
Q: The colors in my printout are not
correct, is there something wrong with the ink?
A: Our compatible inks are very seldom a problem. The most likely reason
for a color shift (too red, too yellow or too blue) is that some of
the nozzles in the print head on your printer are blocked and need cleaning
or the ink from the cartridges did not charge perfectly first time around.
What happens in the color printing process is that 3 images are superimposed
on each other, a cyan, a magenta and a yellow and one of these layers
is not of sufficient density to mix to the correct final colors. This
happens if some of the nozzles are blocked and insufficient ink is being
deposited, more severe blockages will also produce bands in the image.
Look for a utility program which is usually part of your printer driver
that lets you clean the nozzles and check that they are all working
perfectly. If you have a printer icon in the system tray bar at the
bottom of your screen, try right clicking on the icon with the mouse
and this will often reveal the printer utilities (otherwise refer to
your printer manual or if you have no documentation, go to the manufacturer's
web site e.g. www.epson.com or www.canon.com to download documentation).
Try a cleaning cycle and then print out a test pattern. All the bars
for all the colors in the test pattern should be present, if not, you
need to repeat the whole cleaning cycle again. Sometimes it takes 3-5
cleaning cycles (and some patience!) to get things working perfectly.
Once the test pattern is correct, your colors should print close to
true. Many printer drivers also include some capability to adjust the
colors slightly but you should not normally need to use this tweaking
unless you want a very fine color match, in any case do not make these
types of adjustments until you are sure that the print head is functioning
perfectly.
Q: I replaced a cartridge and my printout
only consists of a few dots or lines. What is wrong?
A: Regardless of manufacturer, this frequently happens after cartridge
replacement. On insertion of a new cartridge, a plastic seal on its
base is punctured by a spike shaped duct in the base of the cartridge
holder. Ink flows down through this duct into the print head where the
printing process ejects it in tiny droplets through dozens of very fine
nozzles using either piezoelectric or resistive transducers. More often
than not, when you insert a new cartridge, a little bubble of air gets
trapped in the duct and causes an airlock, preventing the ink from flowing
freely to the print head. To flush out these airlocks after replacing
a cartridge, the printer will usually automatically perform what is
called an ink charging cycle. A single ink charging cycle is often insufficient
to clear the airlock and when you try printing, you either get no printout
or just a few lines and dots. The solution is to repeat the ink charging
process and this can usually be forced by utilities built in to your
printer driver (see also the answer to the previous question). You may
need to repeat the ink charging cycle several times but be aware that
ink charging can consume quite a lot of ink, so only do it a sufficient
number of times to insure correct operation. Most printers perform a
nozzle clean/ink charge cycle when you turn on their power and frequent
power on/off cycles can result in a lot of ink use and a short life
for the cartridges. For this reason, it can make sense to leave your
printer powered up even when you turn off your computer and many user
manuals recommend this. Most printers use very little power when idle
and electricity is much cheaper than cartridges.
Q: There does not seem to be any liquid
ink in my cartridge. Is this normal?
A: Yes. The ink in a cartridge is contained in an absorbent medium like
a sponge. Ink flows out very slowly similar to the way oil flows in
a lantern wick. The sponge packing serves to both filter the ink and
stop it foaming and sloshing around as the print head oscillates back
and forth. For this reason, there is usually no evidence of liquid ink
even in a new cartridge and an old exhausted cartridge may still look
as though it contains ink.
Q: Is ink toxic?
A: Although ink can produce nasty stains, it is biologically fairly
inert and is quite safe to handle. In case of an accident, here is what
to do. Getting ink in your eyes is probably the most serious situation.
If this happens, immediately flush eyes with room temperature, low pressure,
clean water for 15 minutes. Seek medical attention if eye irritation
continues. If you get ink on your skin, wash affected areas with soap
and water and wash any soiled clothing before re-wearing. There is a
low probability of an allergic reaction through contact but consult
a physician if irritation continues after thorough washing. Intentional
inhalation (sniffing) of ink vapors is inadvisable, remove an affected
person to ventilated fresh air and consult a physician if necessary.
Ingestion of ink may cause an upset stomach, seek medical attention
if the upset continues.
Shopping
Cart Issues
Q: How do I continue shopping after I
have already added a product to my shopping cart?
A: Continue shopping by clicking the CONTINUE shopping button that is
located at the bottom of the order page, you can then choose further
items and add them to your shopping cart. When you are satisfied with
your order, click on the CHECK OUT button.
Q: How do I change the quantity of products
I wish to purchase after I have already added them to the cart?
A: Click the SHOW ORDER button and place your cursor on the Quantity
[ ] box. Type in the new quantity desired (enter 0 to remove or delete
the item) and then click on the UPDATE QUANTITIES button.
Q: I clicked the "Continue Shopping"
button on my cart and then added another item but it does not show up
in my cart. What is wrong?
The Yahoo Shopping service makes use of a cookie on your computer to
locally store the items and quantitities in your cart until you complete
the order. If you have cookies disabled on your browser (for your own
security preferences) this defeats operation of this process and additional
items will not show up in your cart. Either enable cookies while you
are on the InkLot.com web site (in Internet Explorer use Tools/Internet
Options/Privacy/Advanced buttons and delete the tick in the Automatic
Cookie Handling Box) or if you prefer not to do this, fax or phone your
order in to us (see details above).
Shipping
Information
Q: What is the shipping cost?
A: The shipping and handling charge for all domestic US orders is a
flat rate $5 regardless of order size. Export orders have a flat rate
$13 shipping charge.
Q: When will my order be delivered?
A: Most orders are delivered within 3-5 business days depending on geographic
locations.
Q: How is my order shipped?
A: Small orders are shipped via US Priority mail, larger orders (over
2lbs. weight) by UPS ground.
Q: How do I cancel my order?
A: If your order has not gone through the processing stage, you can
call in (508-431-1300) and cancel your order. If the order has already
been shipped, you must wait until you have received your order and then
return or exchange it at a later time.
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