My House of Ink

Although many businesses are trying to go green and paperless, fax machines are still commonly used around the world. Some people may see them as old-fashioned and nearly obsolete because e-mail is so widely used, but fax machines are useful, efficient and inexpensive business tools. If you need to send a copy of a document quickly, sending a fax is much faster than scanning it into a computer and then attaching it to an e-mail.

Thermal fax machines work by using heat to melt a special ribbon, called a thermal fax ribbon, against a piece of paper to create a print-out. The ribbon can be made of a base film that has an attached substance that makes up the ink. The ink is typically made of one of three materials: wax, resin, or a wax/resin composite. Thermal ribbons that have wax ink are often less expensive, but the print-outs they produce can smudge easily. Ribbons with a resin material are more expensive, but produce high-quality documents that don’t smudge easily. Thermal ribbons with a wax/resin composite are a good middle ground for both price and print-out quality.

My first job was at an office-supply superstore, and one of our most popular products was printer ink. Oftentimes a customer would dash into the store and go straight to the ink aisle to find that one cartridge he needed. He would frantically search for the correct ink, and then inevitably call out to an employee for help. The problem? Usually he needed to print something, found he was out of ink, and then ran to the store without stopping to write down the make and model of his printer or the type of ink cartridge he needed.

I could usually help this type of customer figure out what kind of ink they needed, but it was always a frustrating experience for them. I watched as they strained to remember what type of printer they had, or as they picked up box after box and said, “I think it might be this one.” Ordering ink online is much easier because you are usually sitting right next to your printer while you order – checking the type of ink you need is a snap. All kinds, from Lexmark to Canon to Brother printer ink, can be found online and ordered in a snap. Since it can take a few days to ship ink cartridges, it’s always a good idea to order extra to have on hand for the next time you run out.