14 DAY TRIAL // As some of you might already know, printer cartridges aren't the most environmental-friendly solutions on the market. In fact, looking at the high number of companies that need to use printers, the overall effect on the environment is rather considerable. However, that might be subject to change, as new developments in printing technology have surfaced.
PRC Technologies, a division of Print Recovery Concepts Inc, announced yesterday that it had made a environmental breakthrough in printing for offices, public schools and colleges. The company will offer the first laser printer cartridges based on toner powder derived from soybeans. According to PRC, these cartridges will be compatible with the most popular brands of laser printers, and will be supplied under the SoyPrint brand at prices comparable to other solutions currently available.
While soy ink has been available for some time, this is the first time that a soy toner cartridge for laser printer has been announced.
According to Debe Overhaug, president of Print Recovery Concepts, a printer cartridge contains one pound of toner powder, while U.S. businesses, schools, institutions and governments consume over 100 million cartridges per year. "That means the United States consumes as much as 50,000 tons of petroleum-based toner powder each year. Now every office employee can help reduce dependence on oil every time they put a toner cartridge in their printer," Overhaug explained.
After completing months of extensive testing, PRC reports that the newly announced solution provides a print quality and number of pages per cartridge that matches the brand-name versions. According to the company, the SoyPrint-labeled cartridges will not harm the printers. For the time being, the SoyPrint cartridges will be available only in the U.S.
"As we developed this soy cartridge, we realized if we looked at the entire printing process, any office can significantly reduce the environmental impact on our planet," Overhaug said. "This is truly the most environmentally sustainable way to print."
For more information about the new SoyPrint cartridges, interested users can access this dedicated website.