Printing Your Photos At Home: An Affordable And Reliable Option

28 November 2019
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home printing , printing , photography , camera , photo printing service , photograph , photo frame , how to guides

We’re now taking more photos than ever before; it is estimated that by the end of 2019, as a society, we will have taken over 1 trillion photos. With the majority of people capturing images on their smart phones so that they can share memories and moments instantly, the option to print photos from the comfort of your own home has become an increasingly popular option.

Companies such as HP and Fujifilm have created products which allow people to print images on a small scale anytime, anyplace and straight from their pocket. But what happens when you want to print larger images that you can frame, share with friends or print at a greater volume? This is where your home printer can help!

Should I print my own photos?

There are many online photo printing companies and although they can be a great option, they can take anywhere from a couple of days to a week to print and send your order, this can be costly and there is no guarantee that your images will come back how you expected. Printing your own photos is not only cost effective, it’s almost fool proof too.

Many people consider a printer to be an investment, as the world of home printing can open many doors for those of us who want ease and efficiency.

The process of uploading and sending your images to a second party leaves opportunity for mishap during the printing process including image pixilation and poor production value.

If you want a quick turnaround and the ability to manage the quality, sizing and quantity of your images, using your home printer is the most practical option.

How to print photos at home?

We know that printing your photos at home is an easy and quick option, but it’s essential to have the right materials before you start printing. You’ll need to have good quality photo printing paper, a guillotine or a pair of scissors, and a printer. Make sure your printer has enough ink before you begin!

For PC users, Windows 10 features a very good in-built photo printing tool, making it easy to print any image stored on your computer at the click of a few buttons. You can easily change settings for paper type, image size, print quality and much more from here.

You can also place your images into a word document and change the size to suit you, or you can use a template which will guide you on the correct image size, ensuring that no paper or ink is wasted in the process.

Many people also use the Piccollage app or similar (Available for iPhone, Android or Microsoft Store for free) to create a selection of snapshots or memories organised on one page for printing.

If photo printing at home is something you wish to get the best out of in the future, we recommend spending a little more on a high quality printer that can use several individually coloured cartridges. Canon have always been popular with photo enthusiasts due to their use of specialist grey and photo colour cartridges.

If you would like advice on printing your own images at home, or any other printing queries, please get in touch and one of our experts will be happy to help.

Visit our website for printing products or for professional printing advice.

3 Common Printer Problems and How To Fix Them

It’s very common and frustrating to run into issues with your printer. Just when you thought you were back up and running, your printer malfunctions and stops working again.

We’ve rounded up 3 of the most common printing issues and solutions to get you back to printing in no time.

Leaking Ink Cartridges

Ink cartridges contain pressurised liquid and naturally this means they can be at risk of leaking from time to time. However, there are some precautions that can be taken to minimise the risk of ink leaking when opening and installing your new ink cartridges.

The main reason that an ink cartridge might leak, is when the nozzle cover is removed before the pull strip is taken off. You must ensure that where the cartridge features one, the pull strip is removed prior to the nozzle cover as this will allow the cartridge to release any pressure inside the ink chamber. If the nozzle cover is removed first, pressure is instantly released through the nozzles and this is when ink is likely to find an escape route!

Although cartridges might suffer agitation during their shipment to you, it is rare that any damage or leakage will occur. Please do not attempt to install any cartridge that looks like it has leaked in transit. Do get in touch with our friendly support team straight away and we’ll be happy to send out a replacement.

We also recommend opening ink cartridges in a careful and controlled manner, away from any expensive rugs or clothing and not above your open printer as even when opened correctly, there is still a small risk! See our previous blog post for more help on cleaning up any ink spillages.

Blocked Print Head (Poor Print Quality)

If your documents are printing streaky, faded or have missing text, the chances are your printhead is either blocked by a minute amount of dried or congealed ink or there could be a small air bubble in the system. This can occur for several reasons and can happen regardless of the type of ink cartridges you are using.

To unclog your print head, we recommend you run the ‘nozzle check’ or ‘print quality’ tool first as this provides the best indication of the problem. If the test pattern features missing print in a certain colour, this also indicates the cartridge or nozzle that has the blockage.

The ‘clean printhead’ or ‘head clean’ function can then be performed from your laptop, computer or direct from the printer tools or maintenance menu. After completion, we recommend printing the nozzle test sheet again in order to compare the results. Some printers will prompt you to do this before asking if you’d like to run another head clean. Alternatively if the results are improved, you can end the process at this point.

If your print quality is not improved by 3 consecutive head cleans then a deep routed blockage may be causing the problem. Some printers feature a ‘deep clean’ tool which we only recommend using once if the regular clean fails to show any improvement (due to the high volume of ink used and heat generated during the process).

See our blog post on How to Fix Blocked Print Heads for further details on the possible causes, preventions and fixes to this particular problem.

Low Ink Error Message

If you’re using remanufactured ink cartridges, you might find that an error such as ‘low ink’ or ‘replace ink’ occurs, even straight after installation. This is because the chip on your ink cartridge is reporting low ink from the previous use before being remanufactured.

Because the chip can’t be reset on these cartridges, it will register as empty even after it has been remanufactured, refilled and installed in your printer.

This issue can generally be resolved by holding down the resume button (commonly the button featuring a circle within a triangle) on your printer for anywhere up to 20 seconds until you can hear internal movement. Overriding the ink monitor can vary depending on the printer that you have so this may not work for you. Again, please contact us if you believe this is affecting your cartridge and the fix above doesn’t work.

This is perfectly normal and unfortunately is one of the downsides to using a Remanufactured Ink Cartridge. If this is a reoccurring issue that is getting in the way of your printing and day to day tasks, we suggest using genuine OEM ink cartridges where ink monitoring is available. These cartridges can also be easily recycled so jump over to our recycling page for more information.

Conclusion

Printing issues can prevent your productivity and cause troubles with day to day tasks, with the problems outlined above being the 3 most common issues we receive queries about. If you have a specific printing problem you’d like us to cover in a future blog post, please don’t hesitate to let us know!

If you find yourself having printer problems, get in touch with us and one of our experts will assist you in getting back to printing.

Happy Halloween From INKredible

Steph here, one of Inkredible’s customer service team.

Halloween is one of my most favourite times of the year when we can express our creative traits and personalities. The million-pound question is what is your costume this year? Have you been inspired by recent box office films such as the creepy movie IT 2, or have you opted for a classic character like Frankenstein’s Monster. There is so much material to base our spooky themes on, but what is interesting to know is how this all came about.

The Celts, who originated 2000 years ago, believed that when summer met winter, the division between this world and the otherworld was at its thinnest allowing souls to pass through. This was known as the festival of Samahin and was celebrated by honouring Ancestors on the night of the 31st of October. Food was prepared and huge bonfires were lit in memory of them.

It was believed that harmful spirits also passed through this breach, so people wore costumes to disguise themselves from the ghastly monsters.

In light of the origin of Halloween, we have tasked our cutest ‘trick or treater’ to warn off some unwanted guests in our Darlington warehouse. These 8-legged residents do give a couple of our Inkredible packers a scare when hiding under pallets.

18 October 2019
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printables , masks , halloween , crafts , colouring , moneysaving

Print Your Own Halloween Masks

After you've printed your favorite design to create a spooky Halloween Candle, why not complete your frightening look by downloading and printing our creepy Halloween masks!

We have 4 pre-coloured designs to choose from, in both full mask and eye mask variations depending on what you prefer. To keep the kids busy, we've also included each design in Black and White, so get the felt tips out and let their creativity run wild!

Simply click the download link below, print out the masks you desire, cut them out and attach some elastic through the holes at each side. Alternatively you can attach some old lolly sticks to use them as hand-held masks.

We recommend printing the pre-coloured masks on your printers 'high quality' setting whereas the Black and White uncoloured masks should be fine on a standard print setting.

We'd also use either 130gsm or 190gsm Matt Photo Paper for the best quality possible. This also provides greater strength than standard 80gsm printer paper and the mask is likely to last that little bit longer.

Halloween Colouring Sheet

If you've already downloaded and printed our Halloween Part Invites and plan on having a houseful of kids after 'trick or treating', why not hand out our Halloween themed colouring sheet to keep them quiet while you have a well deserved cuppa!

Halloween Mask Printables

Halloween Colouring Printable

18 October 2019
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crafts , candles , printables , halloween , Kids

Print Your Own Halloween Candles

What do you need?

Pillar candles
Tissue paper (or paper napkins)
Inkjet printer and paper
Glue stick
Scotch tape
Hair dryer

How do I create my candles?

STEP ONE

Cut the tissue paper a few inches smaller than the printer paper and then scotch tape the tissue or napkin to the paper. When you are finished, run an iron over it a few times on the lowest setting to make sure it is perfectly flat. Once done you can then print the image on to the tissue paper.

STEP TWO

Cut out your image. It is advised to cut through both tissue and the paper, this also makes it easier to cut round.

STEP THREE

Wipe some glue around the edges of the design and stick the image to the candle- this helps to prevent the tissue paper from moving when you use the hair dryer.

STEP FOUR

Hold the hair dryer a few inches away and go over the design. The candle will heat up and the tissue paper will begin to merge into the candle. The white parts of the tissue paper will start to disappear and by magic you will have your Halloween candle!

TOP TIP!

This is great fun for the kids, especially during school holidays to keep them entertained! Why not get the kids to design their own pictures, simply scan them in and print them on to tissue paper. The possibilities are endless!

Halloween Candle Stencils

Epson Release Latest Inkjet Printer Range

Epson XP-2100/XP-2105

Epson XP-3100/XP-3105/XP-4100

Epson WF-2810DWF

Epson WF-2830DWF/WF-2850DWF

Home Printing

First up is Epson's entry level offering for home users, the Expression Home XP-2100 and XP-2105 models.

These 3 in 1 machines offer everything you'd expect for home use including wireless connectivity, print, copy and scan functions and a neat 3.7cm LCD screen. They can output Mono A4 prints up to 27PPM and Colour prints can hit 15PPM.

Next up are the XP-3100, XP-3105 and XP-4100. Although they are very similar to the entry level models, they do offer an increased Mono printing speed of 33PPM while the larger XP-4100 features a 6.1cm LCD screen and has a more substantial home office footprint, weighing in at 6.6Kg

Business Printing

Business users are also catered for with the entry level WorkForce Pro WF-2810DWF.

A small 4 in 1 office printer featuring print, copy, scan and fax facilities and built to the similar small footprint of the new home printers. Output has been increased however with the WorkForce printers able to provide 33PPM Mono and 18PPM in colour on standard A4 printing paper while it can also complete a 10cm x 6cm glossy print in 38 seconds.

The WF-2830DWF has a 3.7cm LCD screen while the WF-2850DWF has a larger 6.1cm screen. Both models feature an Automatic Document Feeder making for easier scanning and copying. All Printers in the WorkForce range use individual inks so you can save money by only replacing the colour used!

Epson 603 Black (3.4ml)

Epson 603XL Black (8.9ml)

Epson 603 Cyan (2.4ml)

Epson 603XL Cyan (4ml)

Epson 603 Magenta (2.4ml)

Epson 603XL Magenta (4ml)

Epson 603 Yellow (2.4ml)

Epson 603XL Yellow (4ml)

08 October 2019
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halloween , printables , crafts , colouring , moneysaving

FREE Halloween Party Invite Printables!

Having a spooktacular Halloween party this October?

Then check out our quick and easy printable Halloween party invitations and FREE bonus colouring sheet to keep the little nippers occupied!

We have 2 scary designs to choose from in a handy pdf format, so just print as many as you want or send the file to anyone else in need. Feel free to share with friends, family or colleagues on social media or via email! (We recommend Matt Photo Paper for the best results).

Don't spend pounds when you can print these for pennies!

A6 Halloween Invites

Halloween Colouring Printable

06 September 2019
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TS8350 , TS8352 , TS6350 , TS6351 , New Canon Printers , CLI-581 Printers , PGI-580 Printers

Canon Announces Latest
All-In-One Printers

For those home users that require style and substance, the latest Canon All-in-One compact home printers might be just what you’re looking for. Canon have released four new printers this month, designed to use the latest PGI-580 and CLI-581 range of ink cartridges and are targeting the young, artistic and creative… Just in time for that return to College or University

Canon are also releasing a new two tank printer in the coming months in Pink and Mint Green variants if you really want to jazz up your office!

Style and colour co-ordination are important considerations for many consumers and Canon are leading the way in the printing industry by producing printers in several colourways to match your office or interior design. The new 5 cartridge printers are named Pixma TS6350 and Pixma TS6351 and are coloured Black and White respectively, while the more expensive 6 cartridge printers, Pixma TS8350 and Pixma TS8352, are coloured Black and Red respectively but each feature a stylish Silver/Grey trim around input ports.

Features of the 580 and 581 range

Whilst the PGI-580 and CLI-581 are the latest range of ink cartridges from Canon, they are sold alongside the previous but still very popular PGI-570 and CLI-571 range. Both cartridge ranges feature the same ‘FINE Technology’ and ‘ChromaLife100’ ink system but with one subtle change… Canon’s new 580/581 range has placed the emphasis on colour home printing by introducing a Photo Blue cartridge in place of the usual Grey cartridge.

This change in direction could be a game changer for consumers as they can now produce High Quality colour prints at home. In our experience, we find Cyan is generally regarded as the most used cartridge in colour printing so the new Photo Blue should help provide greater vibrancy in colour prints and a reduction in grain when printing in the blue to white colour range.

As well as being lifestyle themed in design, the 6 cartridge printers also benefit from automatic paper width sensing, optional 5ghz wireless band as well as the standard 2.4Ghz and a large 4.3” touchscreen.

Canon cartridge history

For years, Canon cartridge ranges have featured a Black ‘Pigment’ cartridge for producing sharply defined text, alongside a further standard Black, Cyan, Magenta and Yellow. Canon also produced a few higher end professional printers back in the day which utilised an additional Photo Cyan, Photo Magenta, Red and Green. These were and still are to this day used by professional photographers and cost upwards of £500.

Several years ago, Canon introduced an extra Grey cartridge to some of their home printers to improve the finish and tone of printed photographs. Initially, just a couple of printers in the PGI-520/CLI-521 range took advantage of the extra cartridge before a major shift occurred upon release of the PGI-525/CLI-526 range, with over 40% of the printers capable of using the Grey. This continued with the popular PGI-550/CLI-551 range and the more recent PGI-570/CLI-571 range, both of which are still going strong. With the introduction of a Photo Blue, the sixth cartridge really is Canon’s secret weapon and the key feature that sets the 580 and 581 range apart from their rivals.

Home printing is making a come back

Advancements in printing technology are a welcome sight and lend weight to the argument that home printing is making a comeback. 20 years ago a home printer was an essential tool, which sat nearby the home desktop computer in most houses. In recent years, following the rise of portable technology like tablet computers, E-readers, smartphones and PDF file types, you’d have expected the demand for home printing to fall.

Luckily though, manufacturers like Canon haven’t been sitting on their hands and have continued to strive for innovative new ways to perfect their products, and it’s fair to say the market has noticed. The increase in ‘e-ticket’ services such as sporting, concert and flight tickets has promoted the printer to the forefront of the home office once more.

Environmentally friendly cartridges

Canon also strive to make their cartridges as environmentally friendly as possible. Every Genuine cartridge is 100% recyclable and reusable. They have even set up a Recycling scheme where empty Genuine Canon ink cartridges and toners can be sent back to them directly for reuse and they’re are actively encouraging their customers to do so. Not only does this help customers reduce their personal carbon footprint but it also further enhances Canon’s reputation, it’s win-win.

Name Our Mascots!

Name Our Mascots!

It's nearly the end of the Summer holidays and we know the kids will be driving you crazy by now!

Keep them quiet for 10 minutes by simply downloading and printing our ink mascot colouring sheet... Ask the kids to colour our characters in and give them a name.

Upload a picture of the completed picture to our Facebook page HERE and we will send you a £5.00 discount code to use on any future purchase!

(P.S. Adults are allowed to colour too! We know how lazy kids can be, especially at the end of the holidays!)

Free Download

How long has A4 been
the go-to office paper?

Imagine your business receiving letters of different sizes, or each member of your staff printing documents on different sizes of paper. Would this cause chaos and complete disorder in your office environment? Secretaries and office workers would have the difficult task of sorting, arranging and storing them!

It is this confusion that led to the creation of A4 as the standard paper size for offices, which measures 210 × 297mm or 8.27 × 11.69 inches. While other formats are still used, their frequency does not surpass that of A4. A4 photo paper can also fit into almost any kind of printer. Let's have a look at the history of paper sizes and why A4 was chosen as the size preferred for corporate use.

History of A4

The A paper series was created in Germany in 1922. The first series was composed of three paper sizes: A4, A3, and A2; A2 is double the size of A3, which in turn is double the size of A4. In other words, the A paper series is made up of sizes that are either double or half the size of its immediate counterpart. As the years went by, the A-series was accepted by many countries across the globe.

The UK adopted A4 paper in 1959. In 1975, the United Nations (which was established after the end of the second world war) adopted the paper format as an ISO standard. Within two years after its adoption by the UN, A4 printer paper was being used in more than 88 countries across the world. Today, it is used in Europe, Africa, and Asia, and has been adopted by all countries in the world except Canada and the United States. However, Costa Rica, Mexico, Colombia, Chile, Venezuela, and the Philippines still use the US letter format despite officially adopting the ISO standard.

How much does A4 paper weigh?

The weight of A4 can vary depending on its gsm, but 80gsm A4 paper, which is commonly used, typically weighs 5g. In comparison, a sheet of 80gsm A2 paper weighs 20g while 80gsm A3 paper weighs 10g.

A4 Paper - 5 Grams

A3 Paper - 10 Grams

A2 Paper - 20 Grams

Why did so many countries adopt A4 paper?

There are several reasons as to why the A-series was accepted as the ISO for paper use. As mentioned earlier, the A-series was invented in Germany in 1922. The system was adopted by many paper mills which were later destroyed during World War Two. As the economy recovered post-1945, new paper mills produced these paper sizes to carry on the tradition.The adaptability of A4 has also made it popular. For example, it can be used in any printer, saving office workers the hassle of looking for various paper formats for their different machines. A4 photo printing is also popular with designers for image resizing.