Hewlett-Packard is boosting its effort to effectively recycle used inkjet printer cartridges, Wednesday introducing a new process that manufactures new cartridges from recycled cartridges that are separated and rebuilt from scratch.

The “closed loop” process gives used HP inkjet cartridges a sustainable end-of-life value and puts the material back to good use while being environmentally friendly.

The process first breaks down plastic in printer cartridges made of PET (polyethylene terephthalate), after which additives including fibers and resins are used to strengthen and regenerate the plastic. The remolded plastic is then used to manufacture new HP inkjet cartridges.

The plastics or cartridges are not melted, refilled, resold or sent to a landfill, HP said. The process also applies to other products, like PET water bottles.

The process, which went into pilot in 2005, has already resulted in HP manufacturing 200 million printer cartridges. The process will go into full manufacturing now.

Each inkjet cartridge contains 70 percent to 100 percent recycled material. Users will find the process beneficial as cartridges with new material perform better than used or refilled cartridges.

HP allows users to return inkjet cartridges worldwide for free in most cases through its recycling program, said Ken Fleming, marketing director of supplies for HP. In some cases, a postage-paid return envelope is provided by HP with the inkjet print cartridge box.

The process will apply only to HP cartridges, the company said. No external inkjet cartridge brand is being put through the new recycling process.

Before the implementation of the new process, not all plastic recovered went into making new cartridges. They were used by others to manufacture products including auto parts and toys.

The inkjet cartridge recycling initiative is the latest in HP’s broad effort to be environmentally friendly. HP recently announced that it would implement more energy-efficient technologies across its PC lines to reduce computer energy use by 25 percent in 2010.

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The grim economic picture darkened further today with news that the price of ink for printer cartridges has reached an all time high of $1000 a barrel on the New York futures exchange. The world’s most traded commodity has seen a steady rise in price over recent months due to supply problems, increased demand from China and a failure of consumers to send their empty cartridges to the charity recycling centre and just leaving them in their desk drawer instead.
(more…)

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Recently, we told you that Polaroid launched a new color mobile printer that uses no ink. Yes, there is a way to print images without a single drop of ink. The trick is in a special type of paper developend by Zink Imaging (”Zink” also stands for “zero ink”). The paper incorporates color crystals that are be activated by heat of printhead.

Now here is a video of a “dive” inside the paper, so that you can have a look at how the crystals work:

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OKI Data Americas, which markets its products under the OKI® Printing Solutions brand, today announced that the C5550n MFP won the highly-regarded Government Computer News (GCN) “Reviewers Choice” designation in the magazine’s January 7 color MFP roundup.

Receiving an overall “A-“, GCN editors praised the color MFP for its ”no notable flaws and superior performance” that took the competition by surprise. The review noted that “in terms of color quality, the OKI C5550n MFP was the best of the printers that use standard toner” and also touted the device’s ease-of-use with one-touch features – all ideal for government agencies.

“OKI Data Americas has closely listened to our customers’ needs and intently studied the industry’s trends to develop a highly competitive line of MFPs – this recognition from Government Computer News proves that the industry experts are noticing our commitment,” said Mike Garofola, Sr. Marketing Manager, Color Products at OKI Data Americas, Inc. “As the review points out, consolidation and cost are the two greatest concerns for most organizations. But in this expanding MFP market, only a well-designed device that both maximizes cost savings and improves office workflow and productivity is worth purchasing.”

The C5550n MFP is designed as a solution to meet the needs of most small-to-medium sized workgroups. The MFP provides all-in-one functionality with convenient print, copy, scan and analog fax features that enhance workflow performance and its media flexibility enables users to print high-quality materials in-house. Users will also have the ability to further reduce costs by combining separate office equipment into one space-saving device.

The C5550n MFP offers the fastest monochrome print and copy speeds in its class,1 up to 32 pages-per-minute (ppm); and competitive color speeds of up to 20 ppm2. At an estimated street price of $1,499, the C5550n MFP delivers brilliant 1200 x 600 dpi print quality and maximum media flexibility, including 8.5 x 47.24-inch banner capability in a versatile, compact device. It is available in North and South America exclusively through OKI Printing Solutions authorized solution providers.

The product builds on parent company OKI Data Corporation’s history of leadership and innovation in color printing. It is based on the 7th generation of printing technologies advanced by OKI Data Corporation, such as digital LED technology and Single Pass Color. This technology allows OKI Data to manufacture products that require fewer moving parts.

Every product comes with a one-year Overnight Exchange warranty and an industry-leading five-year warranty on the digital LED print heads. Like all OKI Printing Solutions products, the C5550n MFP is backed by comprehensive support from authorized OKI Printing Solutions solution providers. In addition, the company provides live, toll-free technical support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, with agents based in North America.

Search for Okidata toner cartridges you need

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Couple of days ago, Canon U.S.A. Inc. announced the new PIXMA iP2600 Photo Printer featuring photo-lab-quality printing, fast output speeds and a stylish design to capture the attention and satisfy the needs of consumers. Continuing to build on its single function printer line, Canon delivers increased printing speeds, adds Auto Image Fix technology and a sleek design.

With an attractive piano black design with rounded edges, many technology features and a value price point, this desktop printer departs from the traditional to stand out among its competition in this class. Canon brings high-end features into this category with blazing speeds and microscopic ink droplets being placed as small as two picoliters at up to 4800×1200 dpi color resolution. The Canon PIXMA iP2600 Photo Printer can deliver photo-lab-quality borderless 4″ x 6″ photos in approximately 55 seconds.

The PIXMA iP2600 Inkjet Printer is an easy-to-use model capable of printing borderless photos from wallet size straight through letter size. Unlike many previous sub-$50 printers, the iP2600 Photo Printer even includes a paper output tray to neatly hold all printed photos and documents. As an attractive addition to the home office or a student’s desktop, printing from 1,472 nozzles helps to ensure speedy printing of documents, presentations and Web pages at speeds up to 22 pages/minute (ppm) for monochrome, and up to 17 ppm for color.

With only two FINE cartridges for consumers to concern themselves with, ink management is fast and easy. Included with the four-color PIXMA iP2600 Photo Printer is a pigment-based black ink cartridge and a tri-color dye based cartridge, allowing for improved sharp text printing with pigment black ink, plus vibrant photo quality.

The PIXMA iP2600 Photo Printer employs the Canon ChromaLife100 system for long-lasting photo prints. When using the FINE print head, select genuine Canon photo papers, and select genuine Canon dye inks, prints can resist fading for up to 100 years when stored in an archival quality photo album. The 100-year-lifespan rivals that of many traditional film-based photos, long considered by consumers to be the benchmark for image permanence. Prints produced on Canon Photo Paper Pro with ChromaLife100 have up to a ten-year gas fastness when exposed to open air. ChromaLife100 prints, when created using Canon Photo Paper Pro or Photo Paper Plus Glossy, have up to a 30-year light fastness when displayed under glass.

The new Canon Photo Paper Plus Glossy II offers vivid color with a high-quality finish to consumers who are looking for a professional look in their prints at a reasonable price. As a five-star paper with an average cost as low as $0.10 per sheet, this paper has the look and feel of high-quality photo paper fresh from the printer. During the printing process, the dye is fixed to the surface of the paper producing a deeper black and a clearer overall photographic finish. The color reproduction is stabilized faster than ever before enabling consumers to enjoy their memories right away.

The new PIXMA iP2600 printer has an estimated retail price of $49.99

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The Finnish Institute of Occupational Health (KTL) said in a statement Thursday that its study had concluded that laser printers emitted ultrafine particles during use. It seems the particle emission results from toner processing during printing.

KTL added that while the health impact of the printer emission had yet to be established, it was advisable to make sure office ventilation systems functioned properly.

There is however no reason to make special arrangements as normal, sound ventilation is sufficient,” said Timo Tuomi, the head of the study.

KTL tested four common makes and models under laboratory conditions and discovered that the test chamber’s fine particle level rose considerably during the printing of 200 sheets.

The institute said the study had identified neither the origin nor composition of the particles and added that further studies were needed.

This study follows ones carried out by the Queensland University of Technology, Australia, and by the Canadian Broadcasting Company, Canada. Both previous studies concluded that the particle emissions of laser printers were comparable to those from cigarette smoke.

Another study and same vague results that “require further investigation.” I think they should publish finale results that don’t need any refinement.

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The other day, Xerox Corporation announced the development of “non-contact flash fusing” - a major technology breakthrough in high-speed color printing. The innovation enables color xerographic continuous feed printers to achieve speeds of nearly 500 color pages per minute.

By flashing a high-intensity Xenon light more than 2,000 times per second, Xerox printers fuse the color toner at speeds that rival black-and-white continuous feed printing while creating high quality images.

In conventional toner-based printers, the entire paper is heated and the toner is pressure-rolled onto the paper. This limits print speeds to only 110 pages per minute and restricted printing on surfaces that have adhesives.

Xerox’s new flash fusing method depends on newly developed color toners, which melt and fuse the image entirely through the energy from the Xenon lamps, producing up to 650 images per minute in monochrome and 493 images per minute in full color.

In order for flash fusing to work, Xerox scientists had to change how cyan, yellow and magenta toners absorb energy from light. So they created color toners that contain special energy-absorbing material. This allows the individual color toners to absorb enough energy and fuse as fast as the black toner, which absorbs all light.

As a result, the toners are laid down in the order of their absorption rate - with the black at the bottom. As each toner is overlaid on the preceding toners, the energy builds with each flash providing just the right amount of light to fuse each color perfectly.

Flash fusing is the technological cornerstone of the Xerox 490/980 Color Continuous Feed Printing System, the fastest, full-color toner-based continuous feed device of its kind
as well as the newly announced 650/1300 Monochrome Continuous Feed printer and the 495 Monochrome Duplex Continuous Feed printer:

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