How to Dispose of Our Empty Ink and Toner Cartridges

While we all use smart phones, tablets, PC’s and laptops there is no getting away from the fact that we need to print our documents. But before we start to print it is always a good idea to see how we can save costs and be kind to the environment at the same time. This will involve a combination of the paper, ink and toner we use. A simple way to reduce our carbon footprint while printing and our selves save some money on our ink cartridges is to print by duplex. This feature is available on some printers allowing us to print both sides of the paper at the same time. Also, if your printer has a feature that automatically removes blank pages then this will save you more as well. In the past I have given tips on saving money on your ink and toner but closer inspection of the features of your printer before you buy it will give you a better chance of saving money and doing your bit for the environment.

Another thing to consider is the ink and toner that you actually put on the paper. Toner ink is a powder that is used to create the text and pictures on your document. In the early days of course it was a simple carbon powder substance very messy to handle. In later years the carbon was mixed with a polymer to improve the print quality. In laser printers the toner ink is actually melted with heat in the printer and fused to the paper, opposed to the liquid printer ink contained in an inkjet cartridge. The toner ink cartridges of today are housed in sealed units and you are not encouraged to fill them yourself but rather to take them to a recycling centre.

What should we do when we run out of printer ink? Well, if we are intending to buy replacement ink cartridges we should also think about what we are going to do with the empty cartridges. There are millions of ink and toner cartridges used each year and statistics suggest that 95% of them go to landfill. Here are some more statistics taken from the United States where surveys into the impact on the environment have been taking place.

1. It can take about 5 litres of oil to produce a new laser toner cartridge.
2. In the USA, it is estimated that 8 ink cartridges are thrown away every second.
3. In North America, estimates put the number of ink and toner cartridges discarded in Landfill each year at around 350 million.
4. A typical laser toner cartridge will take up to 400 years to decompose in the earth.

Shocking statistics I know, but what can we do about it in Ireland? Firstly, we can think about how we are able to dispose of our ink cartridges when they are empty. Secondly, instead of throwing into the bin for landfill we can collect them and when we have enough gathered we can make the trip to our local Council amenity/recycling centre. There are containers in all refuse sites that will accept used ink and toner cartridges. If we all start this practice today, we can surely make a difference to our own carbon footprint.

First Published at Printerinkcartridges.ie

How to Smart Order the Best Value Ink Cartridges in Ireland

In this article I will attempt to help you find the best value ink cartridges in Ireland. In the past people have relied on shopping locally for their ink cartridges but in recent times the advent of the internet has opened up a whole new world of shopping for ink cartridges. You can still take the time consuming trip into town to see if you can finds a parking space or you can order smart order your ink cartridges in Ireland online.

Smart online ordering is a process that eliminates the need for spending too much time randomly searching for your cartridges only to turn up with suppliers here, in the UK and even further afield. When you are searching for ink and toner cartridges in Ireland, first of all make sure that you include the nearest largest city in your Google search. For example if you live in Drogheda, Dundalk or Wicklow, include the search term ink cartridges in Dublin in your search.

These are the terms that will put you in touch with the bigger online suppliers that are trying to capture the sales on ink in Dublin – in other words the bigger cities. These are the ink and toner suppliers that will usually have the best deals and also will have free ink cartridges or gifts to tempt the online shoppers from the bigger cities. Because the larger suppliers are trying to increase their sales of ink in Ireland they are targeting the larger businesses in the hope that one big sale will result in repeat business. So again, if you are in Waterford or Kerry, it’s worth searching for ink cartridges in Cork as the online suppliers again will be targeting the largest city in the south of Ireland based on the market share they hope to gain from that part of Ireland.

Likewise, for the west of Ireland you should be searching for ink cartridges in Galway, you can ignore the local suppliers who may rank in Google for their local address but check out the bigger online shops who offer next day delivery of their ink cartridges in Ireland. Ink cartridges are available as original brand, compatible and remanufactured, the price difference between the first two is astounding.

To get the best deals you will have to shop online but to ‘smart shop online’ will lead you to top deals, cheapest prices, free cartridges and even in some cases free gifts. Your repeat business is worth a lot to any online supplier and you should be rewarded for your loyalty.

First Published at Printerinkcartridges.ie

Save Earth and Save Money Using Remanufactured Ink and Toner

As we all become more and more aware of our eco responsibilities should we be turning our attention to how we can make a difference to our planet with the ink cartridges we use? Certainly every home and office can use large quantities of ink and toner every day and not give much thought to the carbon footprint we leave behind. An average office can use up to a full ink cartridge every 2 -3 weeks and while they may try their best to ensure the empty cartridges are recycled, there very isn’t the facility to do this and therefore they end up in the bin with all the other general rubbish.

Using remanufactured ink and toner can help us reduce the amount of ink cartridges manufactured as the process involves re-using the original cartridges. The way it works is simple in that there are collection centres across Ireland that will take back your empty toner cartridges. These cartridges are then taken back to the factory and checked for their suitability to be reused. If they are selected for refilling, each ink cartridge goes through a rigorous cleaning process and is then refilled, interestingly with more printer ink than the cartridge originally held. The ‘chip’ is reset and the cartridge is packaged as new and sold as remanufactured ink at a discounted price. The remanufactured cartridge looks as though it has never been used before and appears to be ‘new’ and in the majority of cases will perform to the same standard as the original cartridge.

The instant saving on money is the first noticeable advantage of buying remanufactured ink and toner but the impact on the earth is probably more important. If the ink has been used for a second time then it is cutting down the manufacture of an ink cartridge by 50%. Rolled out across the planet this will make a tremendous difference to our carbon footprint. Those are sent for recycling as remanufactured cartridges but don’t make the grade, usually because of cartridge damage, will be dismantled and recycled for their materials. These materials can be used in the manufacturing of compatible ink cartridges. These are ink and toner cartridges that are in effect ‘clones’ of the original cartridges but will work just as well and again are cheaper than the original brand cartridges.

The benefits of using remanufactured or compatible ink toner are certainly first noticeable with the savings on cost but there are more far reaching benefits for our planet by choosing to use these cartridges. The reliability of these eco friendly ink cartridges may be a concern to some users but a good supplier will stand over the cartridges they supply and make the risk for the customer minimal.

First Published at Printerinkcartridges.ie

Ink or Toner - Which is More Suited to You ?

When it comes to choosing a new printer, many people are unsure whether to purchase an inkjet or laser toner printer. The main difference between ink and toner printers is the volume and type of printing that is to be produced by either printer. For example if you are producing reports in an office have very little use for colour in your printing then it is likely that a mono or black ink toner printer will suit your needs better than a printer that uses colour cartridges. Laser printers are available that will print only in black and the toner ink for them can be bought at a reasonable price if you consider using compatible toner ink.

Toner cartridges in Ireland are widely available on-line at greatly reduced prices and can result in businesses saving themselves quite a lot of money on an annual basis. Of course there are colour laser printers too that will print full colour and the toner ink for these will come in four cartridges black, cyan, magenta and yellow. The colour laser printer is for the heavy user who needs to print out colour documents and again these printers will produce high volume output at speeds much faster than inkjet printers. The cost of these laser printers and the toner ink they use will far outweigh the cost of a simple inkjet printer but will be more economical in the long run.

The inkjet printer is more suited to the home user who produces lower volumes of printing. This may be for a family with children attending school who need to print out documents on an ad-hoc basis. These printers are low cost initially to buy and again can be cheap enough to run if you concentrate on using good quality compatible ink cartridges. Likewise for the toner ink, using good quality compatible laser toner cartridges will save up to 40% off the cost of an original brand cartridge. An inkjet printer will typically produce 250 -300 pages at approximately 5% coverage per set of ink cartridges.

A laser printer will print thousands of pages depending on the model and of course this will be reflected in the cost. There seems to be a throwaway society now for most consumable items and unfortunately the inkjet printer seems to be falling into that category. It’s no longer viable to have an inkjet printer repaired, as the cost of replacing it will certainly be less than buying a replacement printer. In the case of a laser printer, the cost of the repair is likely to be less than the cost of replacing the printer.

First Published at Printerinkcartridges.ie