• Can printers have green credentials?

Can printers have green credentials?

Printers are basically plastic machines, putting toxic materials onto lots of paper, right? Sounds very un-green doesn’t it? However, like most things in life, a products’ complete green credentials are never black or white (sorry!).  Plastics can be re-purposed, inks can be non-toxic, and paper can be 100% recycled.

Kyocera is one print supplier who been in the eco game for some time and has a variety of green policies encouraging conservation, recycling and the development of products and technologies that reduce the impact on the environment.

If you know your printers, you’ll be familiar with Kyocera’s ECOSYS range - all about a cartridge-free printer as a means of reducing Total Cost of Ownership (TCO), whilst improving the printer’s environmental impact.



Conventional printers use an imaging cartridge that integrates a photoreceptor drum, developer and toner into a single, disposable unit. When the toner is depleted, the entire cartridge is disposed of and replaced with a new unit. In contrast, ECOSYS printers feature a durable imaging system based on Kyocera’s patented amorphous silicon print drum, a combination of ceramic and metal. With a surface that is second only to diamond in hardness, Kyocera’s durable print drum is guaranteed up to 500,000 pages on some series models. That’s because tiny ceramic particles embedded in Kyocera’s toner continually polish and recondition the drum during normal printing, virtually eliminating the need for replacement of the drum and other cartridge components.


Kyocera inks are also eco-friendly, being produced from vegetable and soy dyes. Their packaging is foam free and constructed from biodegradable cardboard, with bio-degradable inks and winning regular awards at the Japan Packaging Contest. And they have a certified environmental recycling program which includes pick up of a single printer, copier or MFD from the customer in metro areas.

Kyocera is just one example of how printer manufacturers can, and indeed in today’s climate, must, incorporate environmentally conscious policies and production methods to remain competitive and relevant for a greener printer future.

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