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Welcome to Inside CNET Labs, an occasional column on the ins and outs of testing tech goods for CNET Reviews. Here, we'll rant and elucidate, giving you a little peek into CNET's most geek-filled department.

I'm starting to question just how much printer vendors value their own products.

One of our prerequisites at CNET Labs is that when we test an inkjet printer for quality, we must use the best available paper provided by the vendor. This allows us to determine the highest quality threshold for the printer, which in turn allows us to fairly compare the … Read more

Hewlett-Packard is accusing European print supply maker Pelikan Hardcopy of unfair business practices in an ongoing legal spat over ink cartridges, the company announced Monday.

HP's German subsidiary, Hewlett-Packard GmbH, said in a second lawsuit filed in a German court that Pelikan's German subsidiary is selling two models of color inkjet print cartridges labeled as remanufactured products, when they are actually new. HP says it discovered Pelikan's supposed violation as part of the Imaging and Printing Group's worldwide testing efforts. HP one of the largest suppliers of printers and ink in the world. Pelikan is based … Read more

Seiko was once known for its coveted high-end watches, often sporting the latest timepiece technologies. For several years on the U.S. market, however, it's been associated more with department store displays that cram watches into their cases like passengers on Tokyo subways.

But the watchmaker is showing that it hasn't lost its techno-mojo by trotting out its "Spectrum" model, which features a display that uses high-contrast electronic ink from the aptly named partner E Ink. On display at Switzerland's BaselWorld show this week, the watch has a "360-degree continuous sapphire crystal" and … Read more

Kodak's PR folks have been working hard to get the press to turn out in force for an event tomorrow at the NBC studio where Saturday Night Live is filmed. We know SNL-vet Molly Shannon will be there, but in a nod to Apple and Steve Jobs, Kodak's PR folks aren't revealing what the product is that they're hyping.

If you read the Kodak tea leaves (and The Wall Street Journal), there's a good chance what we'll be seeing tomorrow is a new inkjet printer--or even a couple of new inkjet models. That in … Read more

The series of tubes is rife with rich content, but a few companies are finding ways to let us print it on demand.

Do you skip right to the blank-inside greeting cards like I do? It's not just that I hate the contrived sentiments preselected for me, but I want the power to customize. Ink2 could be a good option for extreme customization.

Any content you find on the Web is game. Choose an image, slap it on a card, calendar, or postcard. Fiddle with the layout, pick your text, font, color, size, style, and position. Add a photo … Read more

Not feeling Denise Richards-style laptop rage? Not down for paying to promote a TLC show on your tech? Here's how to give your laptop some custom love thanks to Craft magazine's blog.

I'm dying to try this, but sadly, I don't think I'll be able to find any Sharpie color that will show up against my old-school black IBM laptop. White (read: Apple) laptop owners only need apply. (Did anyone else think they were hip enough, anyway?)

Dear Motorola,

Congratulations on the phenomenal success of your Razr cell phone. It showed a true spirit of innovation and it sparked a cell phone design revolution that ushered in the thin handset craze. You certainly made the world sit up and notice your company once again. I just have one small request, however. Stop it already! After two years we're up to our ears in Razrs and we need something else. Please?

All right, I didn't write such a letter but I stand by my belief that Motorola has milked its record-breaking thin phone for far too … Read more

Motorola seems to have taken to heart Mae West's mantra of "too much of a good thing is wonderful." The once-staid, now-hip manufacturer announced today yet more versions of the Razr, otherwise known as the world's best-selling cell phone. Handsets in the Razr V3-Miami Ink collection (also called the Razr V3t) feature elaborate designs or "tattoos" on the exterior face of the phone. Created by designer Ami James of TLC's Miami Ink, the new Razrs will be available for T-Mobile on October 30.

The initial release will feature two versions of the V3t--a … Read more