If you know what Memjet technology is, the title tells you most of what you need to know: Memjet printers are finally here (and I’ll get to the sort of part shortly). But let me start with a quick explanation for those who have forgotten about Memjet. Or never heard of it. Memjet printing technology, a distinctly new variation on printer inkjets, was first unveiled in early 2007 along with some demo videos of spectacularly fast prototype printers. The promise was that Memjet printers could print letter-size output at 60 pages per minute that’s one page per second–and 1,,600-by-1600 dots per inch, with printers that were supposed to be available in 2008 for $200 to $300. Really. After 2008 came and went without a Memjet printer, and then 2009 did the same, you might have been forgiven for deciding that Memjet printers were just vaporware that you’d never see in real life. So for all the skeptics out there, this announcement’s for you: In the last month, we’ve seen four Memjet printers announced in rapid succession.That’s the good news. The bad news–the sort of” part–is that all four are special-purpose label printers, from RENA Systems, Addressing and Mailing Solutions, Impression Technology Europe, and OWN-X Industrial.
So where are the home and office printers we were promised?
Memjet demo prototype.jpgWell, that’s a good question. According to my contact at Memjet, label printers happened to be the first category of printers ready for production. That dovetailed nicely with the idea of starting with printers aimed at the sort of customer who buys through value added resellers and consultants–as with label printers–with the goal of maximizing feedback on how the printers work in the real world. And that’s what Memjet decided to do.
The real-world feedback from the label printers will effectively translate into a kind of closely monitored shakedown cruise for the technology. Once it has that feedback in hand, Memjet plans to expand into the wild–namely, generalpurpose home and office printing–where contact with the customer is a little looser. With the shakedown cruise just starting, however, Memjet’s not yet ready to predict dates for other categories of printers.While we’re waiting, you can see the latest videos of fast Memjet printing on the Memjet Web site Be sure to take a look at the one labeled Memjet A4/Letter Prototype, and don’t miss the wide format printer demo.And, finally, stay tuned for more. Memjet may not be ready to give out launch dates, but my contact says that home and office printers and wide format printers aren’t all that far behind.
Lexmark LCA cartridge study demonstrates benefit of responsible printing behaviours
A Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) recently commissioned by Lexmark International to better understand the environmental impact of its toner cartridges has shown just how significant the benefit to the environment can be by recycling a used toner cartridge.
The Lexmark LCA cartridge study1 demonstrates that sending a used Lexmark toner cartridge back to Lexmark for recycling, as opposed to discarding it in a landfill, reduces the overall carbon footprint of that cartridge by up to 60%2.An LCA is designed to evaluate the environmental impact of a product throughout its lifetime – from raw materials extraction, production, distribution and use, until end of life.”Printer users need to first understand the impact of their current practices on the environment before they can assess what behaviours need to be changed,” said Marty Canning, Lexmark vice-president and president of its Printing Solutions and Services Division. “Lexmark has made it a priority to educate its customers on what steps they can take to implement responsible printing practices, such as printing less and recycling, to reduce the negative impact to the environment.”
How customers can help
Lexmark encourages its customers to follow these tips for reducing their overall carbon footprint from everyday printing:
* Recycle empty Lexmark toner and inkjet cartridges through the Lexmark Cartridge Collection Programme, instead of sending them to a local waste stream.
* Print only what is necessary, and print double-sided on the paper as much as possible.
* Print several pages in one using the multi-up printing function.
* Favour digital document processes, and use features such as scan-to-email to share documents.
* Use the highest-yield ink and toner cartridges available as opposed to those with standard yields. Fewer cartridges will need to be used over the life of the device, which creates less waste and conserves raw materials.
Lexmark’s commitment to responsible end-of-life management
* The Lexmark Cartridge Collection Programme diverts millions of Lexmark toner and inkjet cartridges from landfills each year, making it easy for customers to return used print cartridges for re-use or recycling. The programme is free and available in more than 50 countries.
* Lexmark follows a zero landfill practice for all of the cartridges that are returned to the company. One hundred percent of the cartridges Lexmark collects through this programme are either re-used or demanufactured for recycling.
* In select locations, Lexmark also offers the Lexmark Equipment Collection Programme. Customers can return their Lexmark-branded products to Lexmark by whatever shipping method is most convenient for them, and Lexmark recycles the equipment for free.
Cost savings derived from simplifying its supply chain had gone into spending on research and expanding its sales team, Vyomeh Joshi, the global head of HP’s imaging and printing division, said in an interview in Hong Kong late on Monday.
“When the economy was doing great, we were shipping more and more units, probably we were not efficient,” Joshi said, but declined to name specific companies. “So when the economy went down and people were delaying buying decisions, we took a look and said we don’t need all this.”
Many top technology brands such as HP and Apple do their own design work in-house, but outsource the labor-intensive manufacturing process to companies such as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co and Flextronics International, which run large facilities in low-cost countries.
HP’s imaging and printing division is one of the company’s most lucrative businesses, accounting for about a fifth of its revenue but about a third of its operating profit.
It is launching a series of web-enabled printers in Asia that will allow users to print remotely from mobile devices such as an iPhone or a laptop PC.
The new products would help the company meet its previously announced target of double-digit percentage growth in the number of printer units sold this year, Joshi said, with about 2,500 companies already customers of its printing solution business.
“What we need to do is to continue to capture all the pages — that’s how we can continue to grow,” Joshi said.
HP APP STORE
Like peers Nokia and Apple, Palo Alto- headquartered HP will launch its own version of an app store designed to work with its printers, enabling customers to print directly from the app.
The company will take 30 percent of the revenue gained from the store, with 70 percent going to the software developer.
Joshi also rubbished talk that the printer was on its way out as more people begin depending on computers for their communication and learning needs, and amid concern that increased use of paper was causing deforestation.
Rumpke Inc. paid the Columbus suburb more than $200,000 a year for newspapers that residents put in their curbside recycling bins.That was before the global economic downturn torpedoed prices for recyclables. Glass bottles, metal cans, cardboard, office paper and plastics are worth a fraction of what recyclers were paid just weeks ago.The value of newspaper was hit particularly hard, dropping from $95 a ton in September to $5 a ton last week. A ton of cardboard, which used to fetch $105, now is worth $22.50.”This is the steepest one-month drop in prices we’ve seen,” said David Schwendeman, Rumpke’s recycling marketing manager.
As recyclers cut staff members and search for new buyers, officials worry that more recyclable materials might end up in landfills. Catherine Armstrong, Upper Arlington’s finance director, said the city might have to renegotiate its garbage contract if prices don’t rebound.”The recycling revenue helps offset the (contract’s) cost,” Armstrong said.The city’s garbage hauler, Inland Service Corp., will be paid $2 million next year to collect trash and recyclables.Americans recycled a record 33.4 percent of their garbage in 2007, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says. In 1965, people recycled 6.2 percent of their trash.
Through October, the Solid Waste Authority of Central Ohio collected 10,502 tons of recyclable materials at 200 Franklin County drop-off centers. That puts SWACO on pace to surpass the 10,755 tons collected in 2007.Prices plummeted after the global recession sank orders for recycled goods, particularly from Chinese factories. China was a major buyer, said Ed Skernolis, acting director of the National Recycling Coalition.”When people stop buying things, like televisions, you don’t need as many boxes to put them in, and you don’t have to recycle paper to make those boxes,” Skernolis said. “It’s that simple.”
That has recyclers struggling to make ends meet.
A paper (recycler) needs about $60 to $70 a ton just to handle it,” said Robert Boulanger, publisher of Secondaryfiberpricing.com, which tracks demand for recycled commodities.Schwendeman said Rumpke customers won’t see any changes because the company has several long-term contracts with buyers.Waste Alternatives, a Mount Vernon plastics recycler, stopped using temporary workers, cutting 29 positions from its 50-person work force.”It’s not a jolly business to be in right now,” said Steve Shew, a Waste Alternatives co-owner.
John Remy, a SWACO spokesman, said businesses that once sold waste paper and other materials to recyclers might begin dumping them in the Franklin County landfill.”I would hope that people would continue to recycle because it’s the right thing to do,” Remy said.Skernolis said recyclers have to hold on until the recession ends.”It’s important to sustain what we have,” he said. “This market is going to recover, and we need to be able to satisfy the demand.
Office Depot announced sales of environmentally preferable products in its catalog of green products increased by more than 10 percent in 2007.The Boca Raton-based company said the increase can be attributed, in part, to a growing interest in green behaviors by small businesses.
Among other findings:
Sixty-nine percent of small business professionals participate in one or more of the following activities: recycling paper, bottles, ink cartridges and/or technology; purchasing Energy Star-rated technology, recycled paper, remanufactured ink and toner cartridges, refillable products and compact fluorescent light bulbs; and printing on both sides of the paper.Eight-five percent claim they are going green to protect the environment or to save money.
Sales from Office Depot’s Green Book rose to $725 million in 2007, up from $660 million in 2006. Office Depot launched the Green Book in 2003.“What these Green Book sales numbers tell us is that our customers appreciate Office Depot’s strategy of providing a wide assortment of green products, and promoting them within innovative sales vehicles,” said Steve Schmidt, executive vice president of Office Depot’s Business Solutions Division.