Picture
It's practical to think before you do anything else. Unless you don't belong to that type of person, guess it would be better to consider changing some irregular habits. Same with printing practices, in order to cut down expenses a strategy can be considered a good plan to break some old records.

To minimize printing expenses due to high priced consumables such as ink cartridges and toner cartridges, plus the electricity a machine consumes during its operation, there are easy ways to consider. Printer consumables are resources that you can't avoid to buy for your machine, so instead of eliminating them which is actually not possible, find a way to shrink the need to frequently buy a new one.

Less consumption means less demand, right? Before you get to print anything, think if it's really important for you to have a hard copy of it. If yes, recheck the file for any errors or anything that might cause you to reprint it. Doing so will prevent wasting ink/toner consumables, paper materials and electricity.

Send it through email and not as a printed copy. As much as you can attached a file or image in an email, do so, instead of printing it then carrying or sending it to the receiver. If you can practice this, you can eliminate hassles and more of it, and noticed that you don't have to use your printer just to let someone have its own copy. Same thing applies on you, carrying bulky files and documents like office papers and reports, that's old school, try saving your files in a storage device then just view it using a PC, laptop or projector anytime you need.

If it's really required to have a hard copy then go have it printed, but make sure you wouldn't end up having piles of draft copies and test pages. Again think before you print. Ask yourself, are all these pages need to be printed, does it need to be in full color copy or just plain black, should you include the page numbers and footers or probably not? Those are just my examples, you can have a lot of questions to ask yourself before hitting the print button. Well of course there are instances that a file composes of several pages, and you have no choice but to print all of it, then a good suggestion is to consider using compatible cartridges. These replacement cartridges are not substandard, major printer manufacturers recycle their own products, so what's the reason you shouldn't opt for it? Using remanufactured toner cartridges and ink cartridges, or often called recycled printer consumables, won't harm your printer. Take note that using an original cartridge from a branded manufacturer may result to print errors just as using compatibles.

 
Picture
From the technology used in wine press, Johannes Gutenberg derived his own idea and created his own printing press based on the technologies he had at that time. He was able to build a printing machine out of wood materials, a machine that feeds in paper and slides it out after printing. It became popular all around the world and was widely used by many professionals, and eventually it was divided into two types mainly the inkjet and laserjet printers.

A printing system called "moveable-type" which originated from China, was perhaps the second development stage of the printing press. It looks really huge compared to its modern version in the late 60's, the electromechanical writing machine or commonly known as the typewriter. Before, the printing press used metal pieces with embossed letter carvings stamped with inks, these are then pressed onto the paper sheet creating the printout.

Now have you wondered what kind of ink was used back then for printing books and readable materials? Long before the genius Gutenberg invented his marvelous printing press machine, ink was already used for printing purposes. Traditionally, people used water-based inks for block printing, however when Gutenberg tried it in his machine, the water-based ink run off the letters. The paper material they were using before was actually damped, this is to allow the ink to withhold effectively onto the paper. So Gutenberg came up with another idea, a thicker ink should be made, which led to the birth of oil-based ink.

Gutenberg was successful on developing the oil-based ink, his mixture includes lead, copper, sulfur and titanium, hence the printout glitters at some time. Nowadays, ink materials are produced in mass volumes especially by most printer manufacturers for they need to manufacture ink cartridges for their machines and electronic products. Improvement goes along the way, which results to ink mixtures that contained less metal elements.

Aside from the typical ink cartridges that the market offers, there we also have soy-based or bio-based inks, as well as those eco-friendly toner cartridges and ink cartridges which are more efficient to the environment. It took years of research and development until finally, the printing press spread out all around the world and was widely used by most publishing companies. Authors and newspaper publishing companies greatly benefited from it, and they should be thankful solely to the printing press inventor by the name Johannes Gutenberg.

 
Picture
To many, switching to green printing practices means saving money, but to some people who are environmentally concern, it isn't just saving but helping the environment as well. Businesses and consumers are both getting benefits in the process, and it's very useful in the user's end for they get what they need with the same value for almost half the price.

Green printing practices may start even at the the time you will buy a printer. It's not only the way you print that matters, more importantly you should also pay attention to the machine that you're using. Is it rated with Energy Star, or certified for energy efficiency? U.S. Environmental Protection Agency or EPA provides guidelines and metrics that aren't that high to consider for a printer not to pass. To make it more simple, while choosing a printer just ask the tech guy in charge of assisting you, ask about the energy usage and efficiency of a particular model you want.

Most high-end printer models in the market nowadays are typically with features and functionality that are not just energy or cost efficient, but are eco-friendly as well. Some good features include : Duplex (double-sided) printing, which is needless to explain why it's an effective feature, Eco-mode and Sleep-mode are also excellent. Additionally, using high-capacity printer cartridges may reduce cost-per-page with every print. Xerox ink blocks for ColorQube printers are unique and ideal to consider.

If you really want to save more while aiding in the sustainability and environment protection. Switch to using eco-friendly toner cartridges and ink cartridges for your printer. These printer consumables are commonly available in the market in bargain prices. The big names in print industry also recycle their supplies and products, so how can you say recycled printer cartridges are substandard? It's not always on the brand or model or price that quality can be measured, it's on the way you print.

 
Picture
It's quite unusual to see an office or any working environment not to have any printing machine, or even a stand-alone copier, fax and scanner. Actually even an individual who works at home requires such devices. Honestly these devices are the fruits of technology which became widely popular due to the fact that most offices and professionals needs a printing machine. However, these printers require consumables such as toner and ink cartridges which harm the environment.

Of course we can't just eliminate printers and other electronic devices just in order to get rid of their consumables. What will happen if we forbid people to use such machines, how can they be more productive and what can they use to replace it? So to solve the problem with printer consumables, recycling has been applied by several manufacturing companies into their products. Hence, these companies prevent the cartridges from filling up the landfills or worse contaminate the surrounding areas where people dump their wastes.

Regardless of how complicated the process there is to recycle a single piece of empty cartridge, its effect is enormously worth it. Considering that the manufacturers don't need to use virgin materials and resources to reproduce products, the amount of energy and natural resources that the process can save may reach up to 80%. If you try to draw it as pie chart, looking at the bigger fraction, it seems like your playing pacman and the 80% space gets to eat the remaining 20%. Kidding aside, sooner or later researchers will find a way or rather a solution to max out the advantage of recycling.

Although a few consumers are more concern of saving their hard-earned money rather than the environment, in the process of cartridge recycling manufacturers, consumers and the environment as well are all getting benefits. You know for a fact that cartridge recycling also has a certain limit, and those components which can no longer be recycled are still reuse.

If you're not yer participating to any recycling programs or organizations, here's a good thing to consider. Wise consumers doesn't only use recycled toner cartridges and ink cartridges to save money, they also sell them to recycling plants that accept return cartridges for a price. Sounds great isn't it, you get to earn a few bucks while making yourself environmentally responsible.

 
Picture
Ricoh USA, one of the well-known manufacturers of copier, printer, fax machines scanners and similar machines related to the Print Industry, is not only known for its electronic products but also for its commitment to the environment. Their acts and efforts aren't widely known yet, and it doesn't matter so long as what their doing is noble and aids in sustainability.

Ricoh as not everyone knows, is quite impressive to spend roughly $3000 a month for their recycling project which includes collecting used or empty printer toner and ink cartridges. These information are mainly from their recycling facility in Malaysia alone, since I haven't gotten much details about the company's other recycling areas. Additionally, Ricoh also collects unused or worn-out printer equipments, copiers and other electronic devices to ensure that these products are disposed properly and that they wouldn't end up in the landfills.

The company's reliable technical supporters are the ones responsible for collecting the printers, copier, etc., from customers who want to dispose it. Instead of just letting those products become land-fillers, they're taking them to Ricoh's recycling plant. Through recycling electronic products, Ricoh was able to manufacture brand new printers and copiers from used components and materials.

In addition, RIcoh USA also facilitates several return programs for printer toner cartridges, container and maintenance kit. The company pushes it all by encouraging most of its customers to recycle their printer supplies by participating in any of their return programs. Out of these used supplies, they managed to produce recycled toner cartridges and ink cartridges which reflects the company's environmental responsibility.

Mr. Peter Wee, COO of Ricoh Malaysia, mentioned that their company will be focusing on SME (Small and Medium Enterprises). Probably in the mid quarter of this year, there's an expected launching of new laser printers from Ricoh which aims to boost the company's venture in the field of small and medium enterprises.

 
Picture
Printer cartridges just like any other consumables in the market also have their own expiry date. Although there are no actual proofs about the harmful effects or disadvantages of using expired printer cartridges, let's just put it this way, an expired food may caused food poison, period. Even if it still looks good to use, it's best not to try it in your printer, unless you'll take all the risk that may result from using it.

A printer cartridge's expiration date is visible from its label or packaging so you don't have to worry how you'll know when will it expire. If they will still work or not, I can't give much details as even I haven't tried using an expired ink or toner cartridges. But do you know that even a good as new cartridge may become useless just like an expired one, even if it hasn't reach its expiry?

Printers which are not frequently use tend to have clogged ink cartridges or toner build up. If the cartridge inside the machine is left unused tendency is it might end up useless over a period of  time. The ink thickens inside the cartridge then eventually turn compact due to chemical changes. Hence a new cartridge should also become as worthless as an expired cartridge if not use regularly.

To ensure you won't experienced such problem, better use the cartridges all the way until it deteriorates instead of letting it dried for nothing. On the manufacturer's part, expired printer cartridges means loss in profit. Low consumer demand will result to cartridges supply being stocked on shelves and storage rooms of retailers. It was a nice thing to know that printer cartridges can be recycled, and many manufacturers especially the big names in the print industry recycle their supplies. One thing is for sure, manufacturers, consumers and the environment are all benefiting from recycling printer consumables. Most customers prefer it over OEM since they're much affordable and produce less carbon footprints. These eco-friendly toner cartridges are one of the solutions that may help on reducing ecological effects of technology to the environment.

The next time you go shopping for replacement cartridges, check the label and packaging and see the expiration dates. Prefer the ones with longer expiry date so you can still make use of it once the current cartridges in your printer runs out of ink.

 
Being a geek doesn't mean you can't do more things to save the environment aside from loving the fruits of technology. Actually you are more responsible of doing such task to protect the environment where you live. How can we say so? Since you're patronizing IT industry products like gadgets, equipments, machines, and devices, those high-tech materials can potentially harm our planet. Hence, you should be mindful of its possible effects and how can you be of help on reducing such negative impacts of using and disposing tech materials.

Handheld devices like smartphones and tablets are undeniably irresistible, I confess that I do have each of those but certainly I know how to properly handle and make use of them without harming the environment. Do you know that Apple also has their own Recycling Program? For iOS gadget lovers, which includes me although I'm not a fan, you can send in or drop off those unused or damage devices for recycling purposes. If I may recall, I've read a post about Apple making a cheaper version of the iPhone5 using recycled components from returned handsets. Sounds too good to be true, but believe my it'll soon happen.

Don't be addicted to gaming consoles, just enjoy it but make sure of setting limits and barriers to yourself. Too much is not always good. Self-control is the key to avoid addiction to such products. Indeed it is nice to spend some time just playing without worrying about the real world. But once in a while it wouldn't be that much if you consider turning it off and be one with the nature. Plus, reducing your time from gaming products and similar devices will lead to much lower electricity bills right.

If you're a camera and photo enthusiast, or say you're in to photography, aside from having digital cameras like DSLR and the likes, you might also have a photo printer to get those captured images printed. Cameras don't produce that much harmful effects to the environment, ironically they capture heart pounding scenery of beautiful places that who knows when will it fade its beauty. While the printer you use may lead to negative ecological effects, especially if its consumables are not disposed of properly. Drafts and initial printouts more likely generate tons of wasted paper materials and inks, not to mention the money you spent to purchase those supplies. One of my recommended solution is to use recycled toner cartridges and ink cartridges for your printer. They're made from refurbished components of original cartridges, thus conserving resources, also these alternatives are half way cheaper compared to branded supplies.

Try to monitor yourself, are you one of those who are doing those things above, or are you one of those who are just reading it and later on will forget about it? It always depends on your decision, should you go for a greener life style or stick from where you've been used to doing, that's your choice.
 
Long before people use pens and markers to create images and text on paper materials, then printing press came in and eventually was enhanced until printer machines became available in the market until now. Pictures and images before were hand drawn and simply created in a two-dimensional view. Then printers came in and people get to print pictures in monochrome, then color, and now in three-dimensional views. Printing is too easy nowadays, just a simple click or press will do the trick. But the artist from The Human Printer art project can show us an intricate way of creating images by mimicking the basic printing process of a printer through their bare hands.

Since 2009, the art project entitle The Human Printer started creating CYMK halftone printed images by hand. If you're familiar with Photoshop filter effect halftone, it is somehow similar to their way of creating wonderful works of art. An inkjet printer either sprays or drops ink onto the paper sheet until the whole image is printed. While the artists from The Human Printer use small markers to skillfully create images through dots. A single dot may not mean that much, but a collection of dots forming an image or an object can have a lot of meaning.

The talent and patience of these artists are truly beyond imagination. Halftone printing can be learned but patience is needed in this kind of art making. Colors and blending plays an essential part, you can't just mix them all and voila you have the image. Students from the University of Derby took several photographs and they manually  create CMYK halftone version of each images by hand.

To think that some of us are using photo editors to make photographs with the same effect, our life is just too easy. Just send the digital image to the printer then have it printed. These students and artists are remarkably talented and unbelievable, wish I had the same talent. Maybe for now, for us who don't have those magical hands we'll rely on Photoshop and a printing buddy to create halftone effects of images. Be sure to use environment friendly printer consumables like eco-friendly toner cartridges, ink cartridges and paper products.

If you want to see more of their projects and wonderful creations, you can check out this post for more halftone printed images by hand.
 
Picture
Is it good to hear that Lexmark has already ended their inkjet market and sold the patents to their long-term partner? Honestly it always saddened me to hear such news in the print industry that a company is closing or in a down-slope road. However, considering the fact that less manufacturers means less generated waste, still it has some good points.

Actually Lexmark is not really closing its business, but rather just putting an end to their inkjet printing business. The company plans to focus more on its laser printer business and some divisions. On a good note, Funai, their trusted long-time partner in the business of manufacturing inkjet printer acquired 1,500 patents, which means that they can now manufacture their own line of inkjet equipments. On the other hand, Lexmark made it clear that the company will still support all its inkjet customers.

To those who are using Lexmark laser printer, no one should worry about hearing a news that the company might as well close its laser-technology business. In fact, since the company will focus on the said division, we may expect possible improvements and development in the near future. The production of printer ink consumables will not be halted, thus customers who are using inkjet printers shouldn't think of it. Hopefully after the acquisition of Lexmark's inkjet technology, Funai continues the legacy not only by building its own portfolio of ink products, but also by being environment friendly. Having said that, what would happen to the collection and recycling program that Lexmark offers? The company's collection program for both Lexmark toner cartridges and ink cartridges had brought a lot of good benefits for the environment. Funai should also established its own recycling program and facilities to accommodate customers that would like their consumables being recycled.

This year's first half marks the demise of Lexmark inkjet technology, and will soon be revived by Funai Electric Company with a new branding. Regardless of who will undertake the business, I'm wondering how will this new company support sustainability and how long it will take for them to establish their own brand of inkjet equipments. 

    Author

    Fiel Mori Promotes Eco Friendly stuffs and creating environment friendly articles for everyone @PrintGreen



    Archives

    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012


    Categories

    All
    Eco Friendly
    Eco Friendly
    Eco Friendly Stuffs
    Eco Friendly Toner Cartridges
    Green Technology
    Hp
    Organic Stuffs
    Printer Cartridges
    Printer Paper
    Recycling
    Remanufactured Cartridges
    Technology