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.

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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

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Independence Day - July 4

Epson Bets on InkJet Printer Revival

Epson's president has stated that inkjet printers are the company's "mainstay".

Wall Street Journal reported on Epson President Minoru Usui's views on the company's future, noting that "inkjet printers are Epson's mainstay", and that the company is betting on the "revival" of the technology to grow its business worldwide.

Usui stated that whilst "other printer companies are racing to introduce" 3d printers, Epson believes there is still "opportunity" in 2d printing, adding that he believes 3d printers "lack precision and efficiency, and operate with too limited a range of materials for commercial use". To that end, Epson will not introduce a 3d printer "until it has developed a model for industrial use", which may not be for another five years.

Noting his belief that "existing 3d models are mostly for making plastic toys and things like that […] to Epson, this is a highly limited market", Usui and Epson are said by the article to be "counting on" the inkjet market "to bring back growth", with stock prices rising by 19% this month alone showing a growing confidence in the company's products.

Goldman Sachs Analyst Toshiya Hari stated that Epson's stock "had been really beaten down […] people were saying, ‘We won't be printing in two years’ […] now we're getting calls from US investors that can't believe a printer company is having this kind of rise", with business inkjet said to be part of the reason for the OEM's growth in popularity.

Tetsuya Wadaki, Analyst at Nomura Securities, added that whilst "big corporations may be reluctant" to use inkjet printers over laser, many OEMs are focusing on SMBs, for whom the machines "could be adequate for […] it is a huge business opportunity for Epson". The OEM plans to invest $100 million in expanding a production line for its business inkjet printer print heads, and still continues to make "most of the principal parts in its printers" and assemble them.

Uusi noted that Epson had previously chased markets "just because they were big", but that "in the future we will focus on our core technology. I'm not interested in making a smartphone—anyone can do it. The important thing is the core technology, not the device. If we could make refrigerators with inkjet technology, we probably would".

Source: The Recycler

Web Offset Printing -- Local Printing, World Class Standards

Visit expositionprinting.com to learn more about Exposition Printing's web offset printing capabilities, a full equipment list, their plant tour or to just contact them for an itemized quite.

Exposition Printing's specialties are brochures, magazine and catalog printing.

You will find that if you are producing more than 50,000 copies of a 160 page letter size A4 brochure, web print will cost less than sheet feed printing. That is simply because a web press is about four times faster than sheet fed press. It is also going to be much more expensive than a than a traditional sheet fed style press but the time savings passes on cost savings to you.

Exposition Printing are the local web offset printing company in Vietnam, China, Los Angeles USA and Korea.

Source: Web Offset Printing Shenzhen China Italy Los Angeles Korea: Brochure Catalog Textbook

Hewlett Packard to bring PageWide Technology to Wide-Format

HP announced it would be scaling up the technology to wide-format printers.

The technology consists over over 200,000 nozzles on a print "bar" spanning the width of the page, with HP stating this "nables users to produce a variety" of monochrome and color prints, and it believes that scaling this up to wide-format will offer "high-quality prints at faster speeds and lower costs", which will "disrupt" the production printing market.

New wide-format products utilizing the PageWide technology will be released later in the year, and a number of the machines were demonstrated by the OEM at its base in Palo Alto, California, with Industry Analysts invited to the demonstration.

The PageWide technology, HP stated, will offer customers "dependable and economical operation" in terms of wide-format prints, with the print heads used in the technology "built with thousands of identical drop generators" to offer "uniform volume, speed and trajectory for precise printing". This, alongside the OEM’s thermal inkjet technology, will apparently reduce the cost-per-page and offer users the opportunity to "use low-cost photo papers for graphically-rich applications".

Two new machines were launched alongside the announcement – the Designjet T3500 Production eMFP and the T7200 Production Printer. Both devices "can handle the volume and diverse print needs" of businesses using wide-format devices, with the 36-inch T3500 featuring an "ultra-fast processor and a high-productivity scanner" as well as scan-to-email functionality, "unattended and low-cost operation" and monochrome prints "at the same cost-per-page as LED MFPs".

The 42-inch T7200 meanwhile can "handle three heavy media rolls" and produce color and monochrome prints "on a wide range of media", with a "low cost of operation" that HP says is "comparable" to monochrome LED machines. HP added that the T3500 is the "most productive large-format color multifunction printer in its category", whilst the T7200 is a "full-color large-format printer built" for companies with "high-volume print demands".

The PageWide-utilizing machines will be available in the second half of 2015, whilst the T3500 and T7200 are available globally now for $14,750 and $12,644 respectively.

Industry Analysts noted that attendees "were treated to a glimpse of a working version" of the 2015 machine, as well as a "discussion as to where this product fits and the theoretical impact it will have" on the market. It noted that "the benefits are obvious" and that "unless competitors come up with comparable or similar products, HP should take the monochrome LED wide-format market by storm".

Stephen Nigro, Senior Vice President of HP's Graphics and Inkjet Solutions Business, stated: "Our customers are continuously seeking cost-effective and reliable printing technologies that improve the way they work. The new large-format HP PageWide Technology will disrupt the production printing market by offering customers an affordable option for high-volume quality prints, transforming an industry that typically prints in monochrome to now print in color without compromising speed."

Source: The Recycler

It's Dad's Day

Canon Releases Innovative Ad for PIXUS Printers

Canon's ad uses forced perspective and 3D drawings.

Gizmodo reported on the Japanese ad for the PIXUS range of photo printers, noting that "apparently the best way to sell printers isn't by boasting about its features, color fidelity, or DPI", but "by blowing our minds with a bunch of optical illusions that leave us wondering if anything in our lives is actually real, or just a printed ruse".

The ad utilizes models of Gundam robots, a collectible series of models popular in Japan, illustrating the supposed clarity of its prints of images of the robots in comparison with the real models, using forced perspective and the 3D design of the images printed to fool the viewer.

Source: The Recycler

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Konica Minolta Joins The Mopria Mobile-Printing Alliance

Konica Minolta of Toyko, Japan, reports that it's been appointed as a board member of the Mopria Alliance, a non-profit membership organization made up of leading global technology companies dedicated to providing easier mobile printing.

The Mopria Alliance was established with the goal of developing a set of technology standards to facilitate wireless printing from any smartphone, tablet, or other mobile devices to any printer certified by the alliance. Since its formation in September 2013, global companies from various industries – including printing, software, engineering, consulting, and semiconductor manufacturing – have joined the Mopria Alliance to work collaboratively towards providing an ideal mobile printing environment.

Konica Minolta first joined the Mopria Alliance as an executive member in January 2014. More recently, Konica Minolta was nominated and approved by Mopria members to become a board (seated executive) member. In this role, Konica Minolta says it will contribute to the dissemination and promotion of a seamless mobile-printing environment from a global perspective by participating more proactively in the activities of the organization. These activities include final approval of Mopria specifications and the product-certification process as well as press relations and developer outreach.

Source: Wirth Consulting

Fun Fact: Car Licensing Department Runs Out Of Ink

The Roodepoort licensing department has ground to a halt because it has run out of ink cartridges.

This means people cannot register new vehicles or renew vehicle licences, and hundreds of infuriated motorists are being turned away every day.

A woman, who asked not to be named, said she had been trying since last Wednesday to register a car.

"It is unbelievable that an organisation such as the huge Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department, in a big city such as Johannesburg, does not have cartridges or toners to print official documents," she said. "If I don't get my car registered within a few days I am going to be forced to go and get a new roadworthy certificate, which costs time and money."

Another motorist said there was chaos, with people being turned away.

"I've been turned away four times," he said. "I am desperate as I have to register a new car. The staff inside are embarrassed but they say it is beyond their control."

Police department director Gerrie Gerneke said it was beyond their control as the City of Johannesburg had not renewed its contract with the company that supplied the ink and toner cartridges.

"To add to the problem, the Langlaagte testing station is being refurbished so people who would normally go there are now also going to Roodepoort."

Gerneke said staff would borrow cartridges from the Florida station, so things should be back to normal on Tuesday.

Source: iol

HP increases recyclable ink cartridge content by 50 per cent

Hewlett Packard has announced that more than 75% of its ink cartridges and 24% of HP LaserJet toner cartridges are now manufactured with "closed loop" recycled plastic, marking a 50% increase in the use of recyclable plastic for the products.

"Our customers want high-quality printed content for both business and personal documents—without breaking their budget or compromising their commitment to environmental responsibility," said Stephen Nigro, senior VP, Inkjet and Printing Solutions, for HP. "From cartridges with recycled plastic to energy-efficient printing products and waste-reducing packaging design, we are offering customers solutions that make it easy for them to enjoy cost and resource savings in their everyday lives," he added.

HP’s industry-leading "closed loop" cartridge recycling process uses recycled plastic from returned HP cartridges as well as plastic from other sources, including recycled plastic bottles and plastic apparel hangers to create new Original HP ink cartridges.

Reusing engineered materials, HP has contributed to the “circular economy” by:

Keeping 566 million returned HP cartridges out of landfills since 1991.

Using 2.5 billion post-consumer plastic bottles to manufacture new HP ink cartridges since 2005.

Incorporating 1.1 million pounds of recycled apparel hangers into the most recent expansion of the recycling process.

Manufacturing more than 2 billion Original HP ink and toner cartridges made with recycled content.

Delivering recycled plastic from HP’s "closed loop" recycling process with a 33&% lower carbon footprint and 54% lower fossil fuel consumption in its production than new plastic.

Source: Solid Waste & Recycling

Samsung To Conquer Printer Market in 2020

Samsung reportedly aims to be leading vendor in printer market by 2020.

Myce reported that it received a "confidential Samsung document" that had been "leaked" indicating that the OEM aims to become the leading printer manufacturer by 2020; with the company currently placed fifth after HP, Canon, Epson and Brother.

After dominating the smart TV and smartphone markets within "only a couple of years", Samsung reportedly plans to focus on the printer market as it stated it's "the only company that can provide a seamless digitisation workflow", comparing itself to HP and Canon and noting that it "has a product line where users can produce content, send the content to devices, view the content on e.g. a TV or tablet and scan or print the content".

However, the article notes that while consumers would benefit from a seamless workflow, Samsung’s use of proprietary protocols could make "their equipment inoperable with devices of other manufacturers".

Samsung currently has a five percent share of the $724 billion printer market, with HP dominating the market with a 40 percent share.

Source: The Recycler

Memorial Day

Don't throw your inkjet cartridge just yet!

Don't throw your ink cartridge yet! But when you really run out of ink, visit priceless-inkjet.com and resupply.
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NASA Funds Recycling and Remanufacturing in Space

US space agency NASA is funding a project that will investigate the possibility of recycling and remanufacturing in space.

The company has selected Californian company Made In Space to receive a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (SBTT) Phase 1 award for two projects each worth $125,000.

Made in Space will develop its R3DO scheme as one of these projects, which it describes as a plastic recycling system for creating 3D printer feedstock in-orbit.

The idea is that used parts made of ABS plastic will be recycled and remanufactured using 3D printers on board vessels such as the International Space Station (ISS) or potentially on future deep space missions.

On the R3DO scheme, the proposal summary said: "An automated in-space recycling system for 3D printer feedstock will provide game-changing resupply benefits including but not limited to launch mass reduction, mission reliability increases, and decreased reliance on resupply from Earth."

"To bring these benefits to ISS in the near term, Made in Space proposes the further development of its unique recycling system, called R3DO, for transforming ABS plastic parts on ISS into 3D printer filament feedstock."

The other project will see Made in Space working with the University of Florida, Orlando to look at fabricating electronics containing both metals and plastics on board vessels.

Part of the intention behind the scheme is that the projects should have further application on Earth. As a result, Made in Space is discussing whether its technology could be used by the US Navy onto its operations and logistics.

It is expected that the technology will also advance the current capabilities of the 3D printing industry and could lead to improvements in areas such as in-situ manufacturing, improvements to resource extraction while also reducing waste storage requirements.

Made in Space has already worked with NASA on developing 3D printing technology to work in zero gravity environments.

Source: Resource Efficient Business

Printer Selfie

With the selfies so popular, our printer took one too!

Office Depot to Close More Than 400 Stores

Office Depot said it plans to close at least 400 stores by the end of 2016 that will result in $75 million annual savings.

The company's merger with OfficeMax resulted in an overlap of retail locations that needed to be consolidated, the company said.

Office Depot expects to close 150 stores this year, mostly in the fourth quarter, with the remaining closures expected to occur by the end of 2016. Office Depot Chairman and CEO Roland Smith said the move will start contributing to earnings beginning next year.

"One of our 2014 critical priorities is to improve our store footprint in North America to best meet customer demand, ensure we are appropriately positioned in the markets we serve, and align with our unique selling proposition which we are developing this year," Smith said in a statement released by the company.

Office Depot reported an operating loss of $79 million in the first quarter and a net loss attributable to common stockholders of $109 million, or $0.21 per share.

The company also said it's still trying to determine expected working capital savings and costs related to the store closings.

Office Depot currently has more than 2,000 stores around the world. Shares were up 15% to $4.82 in late afternoon trading.

Source: USA Today

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Happy Mother's Day