We’ve all wondered about whether we should risk refilling our cartidges with compatible toner.  Especially us laser printer owners faced with throwing or sending away that huge plastic manufactured cartridge just because it’s ran out of ink.

Last year I was faced with a bill of several hundreds of dollars to replace the laser toner cartridges in my Lexmark laser printer.  The bill was actually more than the cost of the printer and I was not very impressed.

The manufacturers of printers both inkjet and laser printers make massive profits based on what I like to call razor blade economics.  The ploy is you manufacture a device (such as a razor or printer) and then make sure that using the product is hugely expensive.  If you don’t buy the consumables (the toner or blades) then the product is useless to you.

You can refill Toner Cartridges

Less than a decade ago, most devices which used toner were refilled from a plastic bottle of ink.

You’d simply open a stopper and refill with toner ink, it was quick and simple to do.  Nowadays these companies actually develop technology to stop you refilling the cartridges.

TONER FACT 1

The average toner cartridge takes between 1 and 2 litres of oil to manufacture.   Every time you re-use that toner cartridge that’s one less that needs to be produced.

TONER FACT 2

The average toner cartridge does not need replacing when it has run out of ink.  The only reason is that the manufacturers make much more money by forcing you to buy a new laser cartridge or by making you send it back to them for ‘remanufacture’.

Should I use Compatible Toner to refill ?

If your laser printer has just run out ink, and you are looking for a replacement, stop for a minute and look at that cartridge.

• Does it look like it has been manufactured to last one print run?
• Is it falling to bits ?
• Does it look damaged or worn out?

I can tell you now, if all it’s done is sit in your printer, it’s fine there is only one problem it has run out of ink.  That’s all, nothing else, 10 years ago we would have opened a little stopped poured in some toner ink and carried on printing.

Alas the firms making these printers have taken away the stoppers allowing us to refill them,  of course they make much more money by selling us new ones. But you can still refill the vast majority of toner cartridges with compatible toner.

So if you want to Save Money, if you want to help the environment and if you want to reduce profits for the big printer companies then refill your toner cartridges with compatible toner.    There are more and more companies appearing now that do this,  please feel free to recommend any that you’ve used.

This company is one I have used on several occasions – Toner Topup , extremely knowledgeable and they have hundreds of custom kits for specific printers.

Of course as long as it’s safe, there have been thousands of tests and the vast majority of us cannot tell tap water from bottled water. There’s certainly no health benefits and if you live in somewhere like the UK, USA or Europe then there’s no reason not to drink it all the time. The reason I’m having this slight rant is that I was in a meeting yesterday in London, in the cabinet in the meeting room next to the coffee machine were bottles of mineral water. Do you know where this water was from – Fiji, someone had had bottled water in Fiji and shipped it over to London to be drunk in a London meeting. It tasted exactly the same as tap water – what an incredible waste of resources.

It reminded me of the Only fools and Horses show some time ago, when they created their own water called “Peckham Spring Water” which they actually filled from a tap in their flat.

They sold thousands to health food shops and supermarkets at a huge profit.

Of course this parody is rather close to the truth, could you tell the difference. I suspect I could not and even if I could is it really worth the huge waste of resources to transport water from Fiji all the way to the UK.  The environmental cost must be enormous for a at best negligible benefit.

So if you live in country where the tap water is fine, why not give up buying bottled water.  Save those big plastic bottles, fill them up from the tap and put them in the fridge.   Fill up all your smaller bottles and take them to work, then refill at the end of the day.

If you don’t think it would make a difference – think on this, 32,200 tonnes of CO2 is produced in the UK every year simply by transporting this bottled water.  That’s not including the manufacturing of the bottles, extraction and advertising etc.  Talking of bottles, these also have to be dealt with – in  the UK again 50% of our plastic bottles go to be recycled in places like China.    All this pointless manufacturing, transportation for a product we have in abundance in our very homes.

So please think about wiping bottled water from your lives,  you just have to be a little organised and you can have cold bottled tap water from your fridge.  You’ll save a fortune and reduce a huge and utterly pointless environmental cost.

When you see companies promoting printer cartridge recycling, it is sometimes easy to get deceived by these companies motivations. Sure it’s great to recycle, reuse and save the environmental resources required to produce new cartridges. However I’m afraid this doesn’t tell the whole truth. There is a much more environmentally friendly option to recycling toner cartridges, and that is refilling them.

Don’t be misled, there is no real reason that toner cartridges shouldn’t be refilled many times BEFORE they are recycled. This would cut waste dramatically, even if the cartridges were reused once there would be a huge saving in environmental costs. Multiplied across the world the world the benefits would be enormous. There is one main reason that the average toner cartridge is not refilled however, that is because the printer companies don’t want you to.

None of the components in a laser toner cartridge are so badly manufactured that they only last one print run, when the ink runs outs a printer cartridge would work perfectly well if it was refilled. In fact this is what used to happen especially with photocopiers in the passed, all the cartridges had little stoppers on them which you could pour toner ink to refill them. However the companies noticed if they took these stoppers out people had to buy new cartridges and their profits soared. Slowly over a year or two these all went, and the little stoppers seemed like a thing of the past.

But then many companies noticed that it was relatively easy to make you own hole and seal with a generic stopper by yourself and they started to sell kits. These kits allowed you to keep using the printer cartridge by refilling it with ink. It is something I do today, it takes a few minutes and involves no skill whatsoever (luckily for me). It is a great feeling to know that you can reuse these toner cartridges over and over again. Without the cost and expense of rebuilding, recycling or worse them ending up in landfill.

Why Printer Firms want Printer Cartridge Recycling

So how did our Green crusading printer companies react to this development, well it’s simple they put computer chips in their toner cartridges to stop you refilling them. They want you to use that cartridge once, and once only – by encouraging you to recycle that cartridge they maintain a ‘green persona’ whilst maximising their profits. Every time you refill a toner cartridge you are reducing their profits, the computer chips ensure that the toner cartridge won’t work until that too is reset. That computer chips sole purpose is to prevent you reusing and recycling yourself – by far the greenest option is actively prevented by the printing companies.

Sure you’ll hear horror stories about print quality, damage to your printer etc and even voiding of warranty. But let me reassure you about those, if you use quality toner the results will be no different to a new cartridge. There’s no risk of damage to your printer – you’re just refilling ink and even if there was in many instances the costs savings are so high you could buy a new printer after every other refill !

Fear not the companies who provide the refilling kits can in most cases. provide a replacement computer chip which will prevent the companies greedy practice of disabling them – it is annoying as it is another step but is pretty simple. So next time you look at the fancy green glossy recycling bag supplied to you with your expensive toner cartridge – remember at the heart of it is no environmental idealism, there is just the cynical maintaining of profits and their bottom line.

Give it a try, for the vast majority of printers you can add another stage before the printer cartridge recycling one. Refill the cartridges can save you hundreds believe me and it requires no special skill. There’s many firms around – the one I use is called Tonertopup but there are lots of others. Make sure they use quality compatible toner for each toner cartridge and you should save 80% of your running costs and do the world a favor.

Recycled Paper printing is environmentally friendly and there is no loss in quality. In the past, recycled paper was thin and flimsy and was not at the same standard as new paper. However, perfections in the process have significantly improved and now new and recycled paper are at the same quality level, with recycled paper costly less in most instances.

But what exactly is recycled paper and why is it better?

Recycled paper falls into three categories. The first category is mill broke. This type of recycled paper is from scraps that are left over when making new paper products. These are recycled internally directly at the mill they are processed from and used to make more paper. Pre-consumer recycling is when paper is recycled prior to consumer use. Most of us are aware of post-consumer recycling. This is when a consumer recycles products such as magazines, newspapers, junk mail, and other paper products.
Although trees are a renewable resource they take a long time to grow. While manufactures have been able to produce sustainable tree farms that are producing more material and grow faster, it still takes a long time for a tree to mature.

Theoretically we could exhaust the supply before new trees are ready to be harvested. Recycling on the other hand saves our natural resources. It is estimated that recycling newspaper alone saves 1 ton of wood, and recycling printing and copy paper saves 2 tons of wood.

Not only that, but recycling paper also saves energy. About 40% more energy is saved to create recycled paper than to manufacture new paper. That’s enough energy to run heating and cooling for a traditional home in the United States for six months. That’s a lot of energy.

Recycling is a way to eliminate paper waste from ending up in our landfills. While paper is biodegradable, it still takes a long time to decompose. By reducing the amount of paper waste that ends up in landfills we can improve the environment. When paper decomposes it releases harmful green house gases. We can reduce or even eliminate these gases by recycling paper. For every 1 ton of paper that is recycled, 3 cubic feet of landfill is available for something else. That’s a lot of space.

Printing on recycled paper with eco friendly ink is also a way to eliminate waste and protect the environment. Most synthetic or traditional inks are not natural and require pigmentation and chemicals to produce vibrant rich colors. Natural inks get the same results with less pigmentation needed and no toxic substances.

By using recycled paper in our printing processes we can save the environment in a variety of ways. Printing on recycled paper provides the same professional and rich appearance as new paper with a lot less side effects. Not only that, but recycled paper does not have as many chemical components as new paper, and is therefore healthier for the individual as well. With so many positives, the choice is simple. Whenever possible use recycled paper printing materials.

Going green has never been easier for businesses. Green printing services have become widely popular and there are many companies that offer these services. The best part is that most of them are comparable to traditional printing costs, but you’ll feel better knowing that you are contributing to making a better future for your family, friends, employees, and consumers.

Green Printing Services

Green printing Services

Consolidated Printing Company is an eco friendly service that uses natural vegetable based inks. Most green printers use soy based inks, but vegetable inks contain no petroleum thus reducing VOC’s. They boast a safe work environment by using products such as vinegar, used restaurant oil, and vinegar instead of silver or other chemicals. They lowered their energy use by 20% with new energy efficient equipment and lighting and completely eliminated waste water from the printing process. To top it off they use recycled paper, toner and ink cartridges and participate in recycling programs for their used cartridges and waste paper. Even their offices have been renovated to eliminate toxic substances. This company is a great model for how to truly run an environmentally friendly business.

Bacchus Press located in Emeryville, California is another green printing service. They use only vegetable or soy based inks and 100% recycled paper. They work hard to reduce pollution, waste, and the carbon footprint of their company and all projects that they are working on. Recognized and rewarded by a variety of organizations, they are compliant with government regulations and standards. They also invest in energy saving technology like wind and solar power. Their office is also eco friendly and healthier for employees. They use natural cleaning products in and around the office, low flow plumbing facets, and energy saving lighting. What’s really impressive is that the refer long distance projects to vendors located near the requesting vendor, thus reducing fuel cost.

Located in Brooklyn, New York, Rolling Press strives to produce eco friendly printer that is also budget friendly. Rolling Press is really a high tech highly committed printing company. They have revolutionized eco friendly printing and work hard to make others in the industry aware of these advances. They eliminate the use of film and other chemicals when creating printing plates, avoiding harsh toxins and chemical waste from the plate process. They have also switched to wind power which saves about 50 tons of CO2 from being emitted into our atmosphere. They also pride themselves in a healthy work environment. Their décor is innovative and appealing as the walls are lined with egg trays. Unusually as it may seem, these repurposed containers lower noise pollution and act as extra insulation during cold winter months and hot summer days. These egg trays lower noise levels for employees and neighbors and lower energy consumption. If you are looking for a high quality industry leader, then Rolling Press is the right choice.

There are numerous other green printing services available, one of the simplest available to us all is to simply refill our catridges with compatible toner. As new technology emerges they are becoming more affordable, healthier, and accessible. Saving the planet takes a commitment and these companies have committed time and resources to make a better future for all of us.

Becoming environmentally friendly is an important topic for businesses, consumers, family, everybody. Green environmental design is an important concept for everyone to embrace and appreciate. If we continue to ignore the waste and pollution that we dump into our environment every day, we will have fewer resources to use later. Not only that, but our beautiful planet will end up not so beautiful.

One way to help the environment is through what’s called green environmental design. Also referred to as sustainable design, it takes into account the ecological, economical, social, and ethical aspects of a design. The goal is to provide buildings and designs that are better for the environment, healthier for people, and conserve resources, both in building and in use. Environmental design creates buildings that are better for the environment and uses materials that will not harm people or the planet.

There are several ways to accomplish green environmental design, or to go green. The easiest and cheapest way is to reuse materials. This can be accomplished by repurposing old materials for new things. For instance, wood from old windows and doors can be reused as accent pieces in bedrooms and other rooms. Decorating trends have really created great pieces to reuse a variety of old items. Not only that, but reusing materials from these items can save money and resources. For instance, home construction materials at demolition sites can be reused for wood to build a tree house or garden patio. Bricks and windows can be reused for chimneys, backyard grills, and garden walls. Old glass bottles can double as decorative pieces or even contemporary garden pots. There are numerous ways to reuse materials; the only limitation is the imagination.

Another important concept of eco-friendly design is to purchase materials that are free of toxins. We’ve all heard of the dangers of lead paint, but did you know that there are also dangerous chemicals in woods, carpet, upholstery, and furniture. Formaldehyde, as well as other toxic substances, can be found in a variety of press wood products such as cabinets and furniture. Instead choose solid wood options when even possible. For carpets and other textiles, use cotton and natural fiber products. Synthetic fibers can contain pesticides and toxic chemical cleaners. Toxic chemicals can be found in everything from carpeting to window treatments, bedding, and even furniture like couches and beds. Make sure all products are labeled free of these toxins.

Conserving energy is another way to incorporate environmental design into homes and offices. Upgrading products to newer energy star models when possible can help save fuel and other natural resources. Replacing just one product at a time such as dishwashers, refrigerators, copiers, and printers is healthier for the environment and can save you money on monthly bills. And some appliances also offer tax deductions and other incentives.

Green design is fairly simple to follow. Even small things like low flow toilets and faucets and substituting bamboo flooring and using water based paints can only have a positive effect on the environment. The best part is that by following greener living is not only healthier for everyone, but it also saves money.