Despite the effort to go wireless, the computer age has not yet eliminated the paper trail. The average employee still prints 10,000 pages per year. Tech companies are racing to develop new technologies, hoping to take a bite out of the negative environmental impacts of the digital age and at the same time attract customers who value the environment.
Several more eco-friendly printers are in development and expected to become available in the marketplace soon. One is printer that uses disappearing ink. This special ink disappears when exposed to UV rays. A
business could receive the document, expose it to sunlight, and then reprint on the same page over and over.
A Japanese company named Sanwa Newtec has invented a thermal printer, also in development, that operates by thermally printing and erasing on recycled heat-sensitive PET plastic paper (peat paper). It
can be erased up to a thousand times. This technology eliminates the need for toner and ink cartridges, consumable products that end up landfills. This will be an expensive printer, which the company plans to sell for $5500 with the peat paper at $3300 for 1000 sheets.
Also in development are several pencil printers, which would print erasable copies. One innovative pencil/eraser printer, was invented by designer Hoyoung Lee. It functions both as a printer and eraser, using
leftover pencil graphite and collecting the eraser residue.
Though these products haven’t hit the market yet, there are recent developments and old strategies available today for reducing the carbon footprint of up one’s company. One fairly new advance is software
that eliminates those blank and unnecessary pages that sometimes get printed. It analyzes the pages, seeking out wasteful pages that contain ads or a ULR. It allows you to view and block irrelevant pages and
sections that aren’t needed, cutting down the volume of a print job. This software will track one’s usage and savings. Another new device is a printer that saves energy with instant on/off technology. It eliminates
the need to warm up and saves power and time. Now, eco-friendly printers are casting aside petroleum inks in favor of more environmentally friendly inks which are vegetable or soy based. Companies should also seek out printers which use automatic duplexing. This print on both sides of paper, reducing the paper waste. Lastly, companies can buy programs that will track printing, and paper and ink usage and costs. This
can be used to develop a strategy for improvement or motivate employees.
Of course, if you must print, using 100% post-consumer recycled and FSC certified paper is the more responsible choice. Also, use recycled toner cartridges and refill them. A company should assess their
carbon footprint and aggressively move toward a more environmentally friendly printing strategy.
Article provided by QuikShip Toner
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