Remanufactured cartridges

You do not need to pay a fortune to get top-quality cartridges. For obvious reasons, some Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM’s) tend to argue that non-original cartridges are less reliable. But many independent studies, consumer surveys etc, published during the last few years prove that non-originals are as good as (and sometimes even better than) the original product.

Makers of remanufactured laser toners usually provide a list of all the benefits that their products can give. Some of these are high quality printing that can be comparable to the OEMs or the original equipment manufacturer cartridges, savings on the printing costs since the prices of these printer supplies are up to 70% less when compared to other laser toner types, and environmental benefits because remanufactured printer supplies are known to apply recycling processes that help preserve resources, energy, and nature.

Eco-labels for printers and copiers in Europe

Examples of existing eco-labels in Europe (not exhaustive)

Name	Website	Language
Blaue Engel	Several products: Printers, RAL-UZ 85 Multifunctional devices RAL-UZ-114 Copiers, RAL-UZ 62 Recycled toner modules RAL-UZ-55 Returnable and Recycable Cassettes/Cartridges RAL-UZ-86	German and English
Nordic Swan	Copying Machines, Printers, Fax Machines and Multifunctional Devices http://www.svanen.nu/Eng/criteria/kriterie.asp?pgn=48	English and Swedish
TCO	Copiers, printers http://www.tcodevelopment.com	English, German and Swedish
AENOR	Photocopiers http://www.aenor.es	Spanish and English
NF-Environment	Cartridge for laser printers http://www.marque-nf.com	French
Hungarian Label	Black and white digital copying machines http://www.kornyezetbarat-termek.hu	Hungarian
Dutch eco-label (Stichting Milieukeur)	www.milieukeur.nl > criteria > toner cartridges	Dutch
Umweltzeichen	Austrian eco-label for copying equipment www.umweltzeichen.at	German
Czech eco-label	http://www.ekoznacka.cz/	Czech

Are you allowed to use a compatible cartridge in your printer?

A common question is if you are allowed to use a compatible / remanufactured cartridges without voiding the printer warranty.

The answer to this question is Yes. You are allowed to do this which is also very clearly stated in the Magnusson-Moss Warranty act issued by the Federal Trade Commission. The printer makers cannot force you into only buying their cartridges, it’s up to you as a consumer to make the choice on what you want to buy.

The use of compatible cartridges WILL NOT VOID your printer warranty. It is illegal for the manufacturer to prevent you from using inkjet/ toner cartridge from other sources than the original manufacturer. You are the consumer, and you have a choice.

In the United States this is stipulated in the "MAGNUSON-MOSS WARRANTY IMPROVEMENT ACT" passed by the US Congress.

Green Printing

You can print green and keep the "green" attitude while accomplishing your printing needs. In addition to using sustainable printing materials, as well as keeping the green attitude alive while commercial printing, it takes a lot of effort on your part and your printer's as well to have an eco-friendly printing process. But it is also worth it when you see that it is not only more affordable sometimes, but you also add to the sustainability of our planet for the sake of our children.

Being green is also one way to market effectively to your target clients. You can make them interested in your business when they see that you are involved in helping the environment become more sustainable. By promoting the "green revolution" in your printing practices, many of your target clients will most certainly respect you for it and even be encouraged to help you cause by buying your eco-friendly products.

So here are simple and easy ways to help you print green.

1. Go for recycled paper.
2. Look for papers made from sustainably harvested fiber.
3. Choose a printer that is also eco-friendly.
4. Use vegetable inks.
   Check if your printer can apply inks that are soy based. By using vegetable inks in your print materials, you avoid damaging the environment with petroleum-based inks that are often traditionally used in most standard printing projects.

The future of printing

To print out a document, you rely on your local operating system, which must have a driver installed for the printer you intend to use. Printing gets more complicated when you want to print something from a mobile device. This is why Google is working on Google Cloud Print, a service that enables any application (web, desktop, or mobile) on any device to print to any printer.

Google wants users to be able to print to legacy printers via Google Cloud Print. This is accomplished through the use of a proxy, a small piece of software that sits on a PC where the printer is installed. The proxy takes care of registering the printer with Google Cloud Print and awaiting print jobs from the service. When a job arrives, it submits the print job to the printer using the PC operating system’s native print stack and sends job status back to the printer.

If print jobs are handled in the cloud you won’t need drivers, and most of the problems users have with printing from devices like smart-phones and tablets will be solved.