SUSTAINABLE TONER
Striking the right tone With customers now looking for more sustainable options with their printers and the consumables they use, sustainable toner is becoming more important – and manufacturers have responded with products and recycling services.
Sustainability is an increasing priority for businesses in many sectors – indeed, for some, how sustainable they are can be the difference between winning a contract and not. With that in mind, businesses looking to become more sustainable in many aspects of their workings, including in the office and, as a result, printers are being given more scrutiny, and this includes the consumables they use, such as the toner, to see where savings can be made. Steve Pearce, group head of marketing at Kyocera Document Solutions UK, says that businesses are increasingly looking at sustainable consumables that help make a difference economically, environmentally and for their employees. “Long-life toner that doesn’t cost the earth, for example, is becoming more essential,” he says. But, that said, some businesses are not yet on board with the sustainability agenda. “There’s no point denying, however, that cheaper, compatible toner has been and remains popular,” says Steve. “Lots of customers see toner as a commodity and will often opt for cheaper alternatives.” But buying cheap and compromising on sustainability can be a false economy, Steve warns. “Common sense must always prevail
despite squeezed margins or procurement budgets, or businesses run the risk of experiencing quality issues such as light prints, banding or vertical surface lines, compounded by toner dumping and lower print yields,” he says. “At the same time, it’s difficult to know whether the toner is toxic or if straight-to-landfill plastics are used. “The good news is that our consumables distributors have done a great deal in promoting the benefits of genuine, sustainable toner to resellers, so it’s a much bigger consideration now than it once was, and it continues to grow in importance every day.” Serious undertaking Peter Cowan, group chief operations officer at Data Direct, says that manufacturers have responded to the desire from customers for more sustainable toner. “Manufacturers are taking this very seriously, responding to end- user pressure as well as the expectation of further legislation,” he says. “There has been a push towards improving packaging solutions for the toners for many years, but now there is much more effort as to the actual printing process and the related consumables. “We have manufacturers that have already developed biodegradable toners for certain ranges of machines, but price continues to be a barrier to further development – only new legislation will force the hand in this regard. There is a feeling that certain types of inkjet manufacturing are more environmentally friendly, but that case is yet to be proven.” Steve adds that, just like other OEMs, Kyocera take toner innovation seriously. “Our toner has a sharp melting core covered by a thin shell. It fuses at a temperature 30 degrees lower than that of conventional printers and MFPs, which cuts power consumption by half,” he says. “The standard toner cartridge on the ECOSYS MA4000wifx series, for example, has some special attributes from a sustainability perspective. It is capable of
Steve Pearce group head of marketing
kyoceradocument solutions.co.uk
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