Canon Awarded Top Honors for Environmental Efforts

Canon U.S.A., Inc., a leader in digital imaging solutions, today announced two prestigious green rankings that Canon has been awarded for their environmental and sustainable efforts. Canon has placed 26 out of 50 on Interbrand's 2014 Best Global Green Brands, and 125 out of 500 on Newsweek's 2014 Green Rankings, placing the Company in the top 25% for Newsweek's 2014 list.

"For companies that manufacture and ship products worldwide, environmentally conscious operations are especially challenging, which is why Canon is honored to be included in both Interbrand's Best Global Green Brands and Newsweek's Green Rankings," said Joe Adachi, chairman and CEO, Canon U.S.A. "Canon is committed to the environment through our resource conservation efforts, from research and development to sales and distribution."

Interbrand's Best Global Green Brands and Newsweek's Green Rankings are created using publicly available data. Both take a variety of factors into account from quantitative environmental performance figures like energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, to more subjective information like market perception and reputation.

Through a generation green initiative, Canon has established numerous sustainability initiatives, including an office equipment recycling program and toner cartridge recycling program that has collected approximately 240,000 tons of empty toner cartridges around the world. Canon is also among the first office equipment manufacturers to partner with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in its ENERGY STAR program and among the first manufacturers with qualifying products for a Gold rating in the new imaging equipment category of EPEAT®, the global registry for greener electronics. In February 2014, Canon Americas Headquarters in Melville, N.Y. was awarded LEED® Gold certification and is the largest commercial property on Long Island to accomplish this milestone.

Visit priceless-inkjet.com for Earth Friendly remanufacuted printer supplies.

Source: Virtual-Strategy Magazine

Brother Launches New Affordable Inkjet Printer

The MFC-J4420DW is aimed at the SOHO (Small Office Home Office) market.

CePro reported on the launch of the printer by the Brother, which noted that the machine features "cost-competitive features and print rates" alongside compatibility with iOS, Android, Microsoft and Kindle Fire tablets and phones for mobile printing.

The MFC-J4420DW is part of Brother"s Business Smart product line, and offers a "higher level of performance than previous generations" due to improved print speeds of 20 ppm in monochrome and 18 ppm in color, alongside a 2.7-inch color touchscreen and 11-inch by 17-inch paper printing options.

The device also features the Brother Super High-Yield inkjet cartridges, which can print approximately 1,200 monochrome and color pages , which Brother notes "helps to reduce per page print costs, which can help save money in higher volume print environments". Mobile printing applications that the machine can sync with include AirPrint, Google Cloud Print, Cortado Workplace and iPrint & Scan.

Eric Dahl, Director of Marketing for SoHo Products for Brother, commented: "With the expansion and improved pricing of our award-winning Business Smart Series, it's easier than ever for a customer to find the ideal color inkjet all-in-one for the home office or small office.

"By committing to low-cost printing, mobile device connectivity, and versatile paper handling, we're making owning an innovative, hard-working Brother Inkjet all-in-one accessible to SOHO customers who are keeping a careful eye on their budget."

Source: The Recycler

Inkjet Printers Troubleshooting - Helpful Tips

Frustrated by error messages, chips, or ink running out? Follow these handy tips and give your printer a longer life.

The business model adopted by most manufacturers of inkjet printers is to virtually give away the printer and make their money on replacement ink cartridges. Unfortunately this means that it is very unlikely that a professional repair will be cost-effective, except under warranty. It also creates a strong temptation to throw away your printer and buy a new one as soon as it starts playing up, adding to the problem of e-waste. Nevertheless, there are plenty of things you can do to preserve the life of your printer, and give you years of trouble-free service.

Use it frequently
Inkjet printers love to be used. Left idle, the print head can dry out and become clogged, resulting in streaky printouts or one color completely missing. It is a good idea to print at least a few lines of text containing black and all three colors every couple of weeks. You can use the same sheet of paper at least four times by feeding it into the printer all possible ways round.

You can also help prevent the print head from drying out by keeping your printer away from sources of heat, such as above your computer, near a radiator, or in direct sunlight.

Some printer manufacturers use cartridges with built-in print heads, distinguishable by several dozen gold contacts on the cartridge. Despite being disposable, they might be better in case of light use of a printer.

Keep your printer clean
Once you start getting streaky prints, it is time to act. The situation may improve after a page or two, but if not, you need to run a cleaning cycle. Run the utility program installed with the printer, or select "printer properties' from the printer icon and locate the "cleaning cycle". Follow it with a test print. In the same location you may also find a utility to align the print heads, which you can use if the three colors do not quite line up. Sometimes, several cleaning cycles may be needed to get a satisfactory test print. Try leaving it for a while between cleaning cycles, this may give dried-out ink time to soften.

Unfortunately cleaning cycles use a lot of ink, and the cost of the cartridges might start to approach the cost of a new printer. Radical measures can be employed by the manufacturer such as removing the print head for deep cleaning or the use of flushing ink, but these are a last resort for the customer.

Compatible and remanufactured ink cartridges can save you money and be more environmentally friendly. OEM ink is carefully formulated for its physical and chemical properties, but compatible ink quality varies. It is worth researching the best options for your specific printer model. When using remanufactured or compatible cartridges, you may receive premature "low-ink" warnings. Ignore them if print quality is still good; some manufacturers chip their cartridges to discourage refilling or third-party alternatives. Last but not least, do not forget that you can save significant amounts of ink by printing in draft mode and paper by printing double-sided whenever possible.

Paper jam issues
Paper jams can be caused by poor quality paper, and all paper should be stored so as to keep it absolutely bone dry. Take care not to force anything when clearing a paper jam, but at the same time ensure there are no torn scraps left behind. An air duster may help. Also check that the rollers are clean.

Printers are sometimes jammed by "foreign objects" (like paper clips) that have somehow dropped into them. If you are really stumped by what is causing the jam, get a torch and really explore inside to see if you can find anything unexpected.

Software and other errors
Software problems can best be tackled by checking the manufacturer's site for driver updates, or by reinstalling the driver. Reboot between uninstalling and reinstalling. If you upgrade your computer and find there is no driver for your printer, search online for drivers that might be compatible for newer printers of the same brand.

Finally, if a printer you have nurtured for years suddenly stops working and just flashes lights, it could be the dreaded "kill chip", a chip that can simply disable your printer. Online research may find you ways to bring it back to life for a while. However, take care when downloading from third parties – make sure others have had a good experience.

If you are interested in buying high quality compatible and remanufactured inkjet printer supplies visit our web store

Source: The Guardian

Remanufacturing Park Could Create More Than 1,000 Jobs

Austin officials make 107 acres available for manufacturers using recycled or reused materials.

Austin Business Journal reported on the plan by the city of Austin, Texas to open up 107 acres of land to "manufacturing development" for manufacturers utilizing recycled and reused materials, such as cartridge remanufacturers.

The area will be opened to a competitive development process later in the year, with the first businesses set to move in early next year, and the city's officials believe the area could "create more than 1,000 jobs" with its $3 million investment in "city-owned acres" near to the city airport. Officials are planning to use "low-cost, long-term leases and access to shipping corridors and recycled materials" in an effort to attract the companies they want to move in.

Should the plan attract the companies and investment, projections have shown a more than $30 million investment in private sector development, whilst at the same time "helping Austin to recycle more". The plan will rely on grants of $1 million from the Federal Economic Development Administration and $2 million from the city's own funds, all of which would be used to build infrastructure to and from the site.

Then, a $10 million investment would be used to "ready" the site, which would be expected to pay for itself over the next 25 years through "lease revenue from tenants", with this larger investment funding roads, lighting, drainage, and water and weather infrastructure. The venture was unveiled at Austin City Hall by officials, who stated they were "confident that manufacturers would be interested in the newly-available land".

Development officials in turn added that they believed the manufacturing jobs made available "would provide good employment for those in Austin with less education", with the city recently having worked on attracting manufacturers and "other easily accessible jobs" to the region "in order to reduce poverty".

Kevin Johns, Director of the city's Economic Growth and Redevelopment office, stated that "a few green-manufacturing businesses were interested in finding financing" in the area, whilst Natalie Betts, Austin's Recycling Economic Development Liaison, commented that "we have seen in general a very good interest in the community. One of the largest concerns for manufacturers is the cost of land".

Source: The Recycler

Visit www.priceless-inkjet.com for high quality remanufactured printer cartridges

Independence Day - July 4