The Best Way to Recycle Cartridges

Every year Americans use and throw away more than 243 million laser and ink cartridges—contributing over 200 million pounds of non-biodegradable waste to our nation’s landfills. The real shame is that all of these cartridges can be recycled—and users can make
money doing so. Spent cartridges are valuable because the casings and many internal parts can be reused three to ten times in
remanufactured cartridges. Parts that can’t be used in remanufacturing can be recycled for other uses. For example, plastic casings and other plastic parts can be granulated, then molded into weatherproof beams, planks and other building materials to construct piers, benches, boardwalks, decks and outdoor signs, just to name a few uses. So, what’s the best way to recycle cartridges? All the major OEM (original equipment manufacturer) producers, such as HP, Canon and Lexmark, encourage users consumers to return cartridges directly to the company. In most cases, though, consumers receive no payment for doing so. Added to that—and this is a well-thought-out strategy
on the part of OEM producers—returning empty cartridges directly to the OEM deprives American cartridge remanufacturers of the components needed to produce competing OEM-compatible cartridges.

A better, more-profitable way of recycling is to return your empty cartridges to us. Most cartridges have a market value that we are willing to pay for. Returning cartridges to our company sends them into the remanufacturing supply stream, ensuring that American companies can continue to produce remanufactured alternatives to higher-priced OEM products. We can recycle your empties whether you use OEM, compatible or remanufactured cartridges—even if you don’t buy them from us. Give us a call to find out how easy and profitable cartridgerecycling can be! ■

Beyond PPM, DPI and MDR

When selecting an office machine, it is important to look at such factors as how fast it prints (ppm), maximum resolution (dpi), monthly duty rating (mdr), along with processing speed, installed memory, paper handling options, etc.

You should also pay attention to how suitable the machine is ergonomically. An ergonomically sound machine promotes human health (or at least doesn’t harm it), is easy and comfortable to use, and lends itself to human efficiency. Here are some factors affecting ergonomics that you should consider as you evaluate office machines:
• Weight and size: Is the machine light enough that people will be able to move it when necessary? Consider, too, the machine’s “footprint” and the amount of space required for proper cooling, easy access to paper trays and servicing.
• Cabling issues: Make sure the
machine can be placed where it is convenient. to use—rather than in the only spot it fits. Find out how long cables would have to be to get everyone hooked up. Will they be too long for reliable data transmission?
• Consumables: Some laser printers take an all-in-one toner-and-drum cartridge while other models separate the toner cartridge from the drum assembly. All-in-ones are easier (but more expensive) to use. In machines that use two separate cartridges, you’ll need to stock and replace both, but the drum assembly less frequently.
• Control panels: Are buttons
well-marked, easy to read and easy to operate? Can the screen display be read and understood easily? ■

A. When they no longer work properly.
B. Every six months.
C. Annually.
D. Every time the toner cartridge is replaced.

Answer: We agree with you if you chose “C. Annually.” By the end of 12 months, the inside mechanisms of most printers will have accumulated a significant amount of paper dust, dirt and toner particles. Operating the machine with this debris inside will eventually affect print quality and degrade parts, often causing other problems to develop. With annual cleanings, your printers will not only print better, the service technician doing the cleaning gets a good look inside regularly, and can spot developing problems before they shut down your printing operations. ■

Printing a whole Web page wastes ink if you only want a hard copy of some of the content. Here’s an easy way to print selectively. Place the cursor at the beginning of the text or pictures you want, then hold down the left mouse or track-pad button and drag the cursor to the end of your selection. Release the button. Left click on the File menu, then on Print. In the Print menu, change the Page Range from All to Selection, then click Print. If the selection appears in color but you only need to have it in black, you can conserve your color ink cartridge by changing the color option to Black Only before printing.

With more people using handheld devices to conduct business away from the office, there’s an increasing need to print documents on the road, too. HP has come to the rescue with the

Deskjet 450wbt wireless mobile printer—a small, high-performance printer that offers photo-quality resolution and full range of wired and wireless connectivity options.

At just 4.2 pounds and with a battery that prints up to 350 pages per charge, the 450wbt is a great traveling companion. It’s cover converts to a 45-sheet feeder tray that can handle a variety of media types and sizes.

Print speeds are quick too—up to 9 pages per minute black, 8 ppm in color. The 450wbt is able to receive jobs from select Bluetooth wireless–enabled PDAs and mobile phones, or you can print using Fast Infrared from other mobile devices, including digital cameras, Pocket PCs and notebooks. It also comes with USB and parallel ports. To find out more about this capable open-road side-kick, give us a call!

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