Stuff we reuse

Posted in: Conservation, blog by Jack on 15 February 2010 | No Comments

Image by greenlagirl via Flickr

While it’s obvious we reuse ink and toner cartridges, other items we reuse on a daily basis might not be so obvious. I say that because it seems not too many of our customers return these items with their cartridges when they come in to buy filled ones.

To help us keep our costs as low as possible and thus to be able to pass along the lowest possible prices to you, please remember to retain bring back the following when you come in the next time:

• Cartridge boxes, both ink and laser (we can only reuse boxes that haven’t been written on or damaged)
• Plastic clips on the front of color ink cartridges
• Plastic caps on Canon cartridges
• Silver bags on laser cartridges
• Anti-static bags on Epson ink cartridges

We appreciate your efforts in helping us keep down costs and furthering the practice of reuse and recycling.

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Font selection effects ink conservation

Posted in: Conservation, Recycling, Tips & Tricks, blog by Jack on 19 December 2009 | No Comments

Did you ever think that the font you select to print with could effect the number of pages a cartridge can deliver?

Obviously printing a great deal of bold characters on a page will use more ink, but it is also true that the font you use may consume more ink than another font.

Matt Robinson, in collaboration with Tom Wrigglesworth, found a unique way to illustrate the amount of ink each popular font uses. Granted, they are using ink pens to conduct their experiment, but the results are equally applicable to inkjet printing.

A selection of the most commonly used typefaces were compared for how economical they are with the amount of ink which they use at the same point size. Large scale renditions of the typefaces were drawn out with ballpoint pens, allowing the remaining ink levels to display the ink efficiency of each typeface. (Source-matthewrobinson.com)

Click through for images.

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Top 9 Green-Powered Companies

Posted in: Conservation, blog by Jack on 30 July 2009 | No Comments

The Environmental Protection Agency…just released its list of the top 20 organizations running on “green power“, or energy from solar, wind, and biogas sources.Many of the top purchasers of on-site renewable energy are cities, but we’ve weeded out the non-corporate entities in the list below. Take the rankings with a grain of salt; Kimberly-Clark is ranked first, and as we’ve pointed out before, the company’s fiber-gathering practices are not exactly kosher. At the same time, the lower-ranked Sierra Nevada Brewing Company has other green initiatives going for it. Regardless, it’s encouraging to see so many big names embracing renewable energy.

1. Kimberly-Clark Corporation, 192,730,000 kWh of green power produced annually

2. CalPortland, 50,000,000 kWh

3. BMW Manufacturing Co./Greer, SC Facilities, 27,831,000 kWh

4. Kohl’s Department Stores, 19,126,000 kWh

5. Wal-Mart Stores/California and Texas Facilities, 17,000,000 kWh

6. Johnson & Johnson, 11,626,910 kWh

7. Macy’s Inc./California and Hawaii Stores, 10,400,000 kWh

8. Safeway Inc., 4,500,000 kWh

9. Sierra Nevada Brewing Companies, 4,203,840 kWh

(Source-EPA via Fast Company)

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Cartridge World ‘Refills’ Its Commitment to Earth Day

Posted in: Conservation, Recycling, blog by Jack on 8 March 2009 | 1 Comment

Via FranchiseWire:

As a mountain of e-waste continues to steadily form throughout our nation’s landfills, Cartridge World reinforces its commitment to environmental awareness by saluting Earth Day on April 22 and joining the millions Americans across the country in creating eco-friendly choices for consumers and businesses alike.

“With Earth Day fast approaching, now is the perfect time of year to remind consumers of the ways to create a ‘green’ home and work environment,” said Steven Yeffa, President of Cartridge World Americas. “Recycling programs for cans, bottles and papers are mainstream, but few realize the additional impact they can make by reusing and refilling printer ink cartridges.”

“With our continued commitment to recycling, we look forward to the day when reusing and refilling cartridges is as common as separating waste materials in our homes,” Yeffa added, estimating that Cartridge World will keep nine million cartridges out of landfills this year.

Cartridge World recommends the following tips for an environmentally friendly home office/business:

Reuse & refill empty ink jet and toner cartridges

Use rewriteable CDs and DVDs so they can be reused again

Print double sided

Decrease margin areas to fit more copy on a page

Double-check your drafts before you print

Communicate with team members about who will bring printouts to meetings

Turn off all electrical equipment at night

In keeping with its dedication to implement green practices, Cartridge World has developed numerous programs to make recycling printer cartridges easier for consumers and businesses. In conjunction with this year’s observance of Earth Day, Cartridge World has launched a “Recycle it @ Cartridge World” campaign that encourages consumers to recycle printer cartridges and cell phones at participating stores. All collections will be sent to Clover Technologies Group, the largest collector and recycler of cartridges and cell phones, to be broken down and reused into other products.

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A green printer for coffee drinkers

Posted in: Conservation, Printers, blog by Jack on 5 February 2009 | No Comments

The RITI printer is an eco-friendly printer based on the concept of a
new ink system. We focused on the ink cartridge since it is one of the
problems when using a printer: it’s often difficult to replace, costly
to refill, and can stain your hands if mishandled.

The RITI printer uses coffee or tea dregs. The user places the coffee
or tea dregs into the ink case located on the top of the printer, then
insert a piece of paper in the middle. Moving the ink case left and
right will print your image, and as you draw on the paper, dregs
inscript on the paper just like ink.

Using coffee or tea dregs as ink saves the cost buying ink, the burden
of wasted things, and users’ work. Furthermore, since the user moves
the ink case in order to make a print, the device doesn’t need
electricity. Of course, you can smell a whisper of coffee or tea
incense from the paper printed by RITI.

Use:

1. Insert a paper in the middle of the printer
2. Put the coffee or tea dregs into the ink case on the top of the printer
3. Move the ink case left and right as you draw on a paper
4. When the print finishes, pull out the paper from the printer and wash the ink case

(Source-Greener Gadgets Design Competition)

Paper Made From Elephant Dung and 100% Post Consumer Waste

Posted in: Conservation, Recycling, blog by Jack on 14 January 2009 | No Comments

Eco-printed products company, Pixxlz is thinking of changing their tag line from “We Print Green” to “Our Product Is Crap.” After much research and testing on their various eco-friendly printing presses, Pixxlz has found a paper that is not comprised of one single tree; it’s made from elephant dung. “Not only is it fun to talk about,” says Pixxlz President, Lindsey Burkhardt, “but it looks great too.”

Affectionately dubbed, “Poohper,” Mr. Ellie Pooh is a valued alternative to expensive hand-made papers and prints very well on Pixxlz’ digital and soy ink presses. Currently available in an array of colors in various cover and card stocks, Pixxlz new paper is perfect for invitations, holiday cards and announcements.

There are no toxic chemicals used in the paper-making process, only basic bonding agents such as alum and rosin, along with water soluble salt dyes for coloring. Free of bleach and acids, no alkaline solutions are introduced during manufacturing. These handmade papers are of an ideal pH value for photography preservation: perfect for Pixxlz’ new mini photo books.

Pixxlz also offers paper industry leader Mohawk’s 30%-100% Post Consumer Waste (PCW) on every printed products order.

Made from 100% recycled materials and manufactured with renewable energy, these FSC certified, carbon neutral papers are a welcome addition to the green standards Pixxlz adheres to.(Source-MarketWatch)

Just for the record, Cartridge World San Diego does not employ elephants in its ink and laser remanufacturing processes.

CW San Diego pricing

Posted in: Conservation, Recycling, blog by Jack on 9 January 2009 | No Comments

We are able to offer refilled ink, remanufactured toner cartridges and compatibles at anywhere from 30-50% below retail prices for OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) cartridges.

We’re able to do this by recycling the outer cartridge shell, which we refer to as a core.

With the exception of compatible cartridges, when you buy a refilled/remanufactured cartridge from us, the only remaining original part of the cartridge is the core. Ink cartridges have had all the remaining ink flushed out and have been completely refilled to the original levels with ink specially formulated by our own technicians to match, as closely as legally possible, the ink used by the manufacturer. Laser cartridges are dismantled and all the worn interior blades, rollers and drum are replaced with quality third-party parts. All the original toner is cleaned out and replaced with toner which, like the ink we use, performs just as well as the original. All cartridges are then tested before being offered for sale and guaranteed once you purchase them.

By recycling the core, we are also able to keep thousands of empty cartridges from being sent to San Diego landfills. This has no impact on the cost of the cartridge, but has a profound impact on the quality of life in America’s Finest City.

When you purchase a cartridge from us without an exchange, we often have to add an additional fee to the price in order for us to buy another cartridge from a local wholesaler. This fee can run from $1 in the case of most inkjet cartridges to $10 for a few exotic laser cartridges. In some cases we are unable to get cartridges from wholesalers or through the recycling drives we sponsor in local schools, churches and community organizations. (Please contact us if you are interested in earning money for your school or organization by holding a cartridge recycling event.) This is another good reason for you to keep your empty cartridges and bring them with you when you shop with us. We may need to refill your empty cartridge if we don’t have any on hand.

Recently we had to raise the price of several cartridges by a dollar or so to cover increased ink, toner and parts costs. We regret this but the rising costs of goods is hitting all of us. We promise to always provide you with the best possible price while ensuring we make at least enough profit to stay in business.

HP CC364A/X

Posted in: Conservation, blog, laser by Jack on 29 December 2008 | No Comments

We are now able to remanufacture the HP CC364A (low yield, est. 10,000 pgs.) and the CC364X (high yield, est. 24,000 pgs.). We now have a supplier for the toner and replacement parts we need to fully remanufacture these cartridges.

What we do not yet have are empty cores. If you need a remanufactured 64A or 64X we will need your empty cartridge. Please note that we cannot convert a 64A into a 64X and the cores are physically different.

Our pricing will be $99.99 for the 64A and $179.99 for the 64X.

Please contact us if you have any questions at all about our work or our products.

Print What You Like

Posted in: Conservation, Printers, Tips & Tricks, blog by Jack on 22 October 2008 | 1 Comment

Ever print a web page only to find your printout is full of ads, empty space and other junk you don’t want? PrintWhatYouLike is a free web page editor that gives you control of how web pages look when printed.

• Format any web page for printing in seconds – no more pasting into Word
• Save money and the environment by reducing your paper and ink usage
• Make printed web pages more readable by removing ads, widgets and other distractions
• Fix broken pages that don’t print correctly

How It Works

• Enter the url of a page you wish to print
• Edit the page until it contains only what you want to print
• Print It! Only your modified page will be printed

Make Any Page Printer-Friendly

• Edit any public page in your browser – no installation required!
• Change page font size and type, remove the background, and remove images
• Edit any part of the page by clicking a page element or selecting text
• Any selection can be removed, isolated or widened
• All changes are undoable
• Combine multiple web pages together – edit and print them as one document!

Visit PrintWhatYouLike.com

GreenPrint software

Posted in: Conservation by Jack on 6 February 2008 | 2 Comments

GreenPrint’s patent-pending software is a simple idea, but it solves a problem nearly everyone can relate to: The ubiquitous wasted page. This is the page with just a URL, banner ad, legal disclaimer, etc. These wasted pages occur many times a day littering homes and offices around the world and wasting money, trees, and time.

After installation you will notice that you have a new printer called GreenPrint, this will automatically become the default printer. To use GreenPrint simply print the document as usual using GreenPrint as your printer. If for any reason you want to bypass the GreenPrint filter, and print directly to the printer, you can simply select your desired printer in the application from which you are printing.

You can create a PDF file of the document simply by clicking on the PDF button on the GreenPrint Toolbar.

GreenPrint requires the Microsoft .NET 2.0 Framework, which can be downloaded from Microsoft.

The average user will save about $90 a year in paper and ink. Save paper, save ink, save a whole lot more.

In an effort to end wasteful printing worldwide, GreenPrint World is available at no cost to home users around the globe. With widespread use we will save over 100 million trees and reduce greenhouse gasses by over 300 million tons.

You can upgrade to the faster, advertising- free GreenPrint Home Premium for only $35.00.

Learn more and download the free version of this utility here.