Ink Printer Cartridges

Every year, thousands of empty ink printer cartridges and toner cartridges are thrown away, winding up in our city landfills, or worse, incinerators. Recycling empty ink printer cartridges is simple, environmentally beneficial, and even profitable. Recycling helps reduce the amount of solid waste, conserves our raw materials and energy required to manufacture new products. Most ink printer cartridges have the ability to be recycled as many as six times – ink printer cartridges are first refurbished, refilled, and then those ink printer cartridges are resold to customers at lower prices than comparable brand name ink cartridges. Recycled ink printer cartridges can also deliver the same quality as brand new ink cartridges.

Ink printer cartridges are manufactured of plastic, oil-based products and require approximately 1,000 years to completely decompose. According to some estimates, approximately 20-40% of ink cartridges are recycled, which means about 60-80% wind up in our landfills. The recovery and subsequent reuse of empty ink printer cartridges can divert millions of cubic feet of product from landfills, saving millions of dollars in taxes required to pay for landfill management.

How to recycle empty ink printer cartridges

Read the instructions provided in the box of your new ink printer cartridge to discover how you can recycle your empty cartridge. Many ink manufacturers will provide instructions, packing materials and even postage if you want to recycle your empty ink cartridges.

The fastest way to locate a recycling location near you is to search the internet for companies or organizations that will trade empty ink cartridges for cash. Almost all of these sites offer free shipping or pickup of empty ink cartridges, and some of these companies will pay up to $4 per empty ink cartridge.

Recycling empty ink printer cartridges can make a great fundraiser for church groups, schools, and charities. Recycling can also contribute to a significant cost savings many companies.

Some recycling sites give you the choice to either take cash for your empty ink printer cartridges, or you can give the cash to the charity of your choice. Some of those sites are:

www.freerecycling.com
www.recycle4charity.org
www.empties4cash.com
www.ecyclegroup.com

Each cartridge recycling site lists the ink printer cartridges that they accept. Remember to check those lists before mailing in your empty ink cartridges, because each company will pay only for ink cartridges that they accept – some will even charge a penalty for ink cartridges that are not listed. Some of these companies also offer new and recycled products available at drastically discounted prices for business, school, or personal use.

Summary

Begin recycling your empty ink printer cartridges today. Whether you choose to get cash back, or give the cash to charity, it is everyone’s responsibility to do all we can in order to ensure the health of our planet for the future.

You don’t have to empty your wallet each time the low ink light on your printer appears. Stop worrying and start refilling your ink printer cartridges yourself! It is a simple process that will not take longer than five minutes.

Ink printer cartridges refill kits usually come with the following items: ink in bottles, syringes for ink, and a detailed instruction page. Some kits can also contain an air balance clip which is used to balance the air within the cartridge to guarantee proper flow of ink. Also, some kits can include a handheld drill to drill a small hole in the top of the empty ink printer cartridges.

Process for Refilling:

1. To begin refilling ink printer cartridges, fill the supplied syringe with your choice of color over several sheets of scrap paper, or the sink, to prevent messes. Each printer holds a different amount of ink. Generally in Epson manufactured printers, the black ink cartridge holds about 17 ml. each and each color ink cartridges hold about 8 ml. Look at the instructions supplied in your refill kit to verify how much ink your cartridges hold.

2. Prior to inserting the syringe, drill a small hole at the top of the ink cartridge (one hole for each color cartridge chamber). The hole should be at the top of the cartridge near the label. Gently push the syringe through the drilled hole and push to the bottom of the cartridge and toward the outlet hole. It is important to fill each ink cartridge slowly to avoid ink foaming and allow air to be introduced into the chamber.

3. There is no need to re-seal the newly drilled refill holes because there are already manufactured breather holes on each ink printer cartridges.

4. Any ink that is unused in the syringe can be put returned to the bottle. Be sure to clean each syringe with water and dry them thoroughly to reuse them for future use. Also, you can label your syringes to be used for specific colors so that each of your syringes is used only with one particular color.

5. After you have placed the ink printer cartridge back into the printer, be sure to run the printers cleaning cycle at least 1 to 3 times. If you see any gaps in the printing, be sure to run the cleaning cycle again.

Be sure not to forget…

There are several things one should remember when refilling an ink printer cartridge. Each cartridge should be refilled prior to the cartridge becoming empty to prevent the cartridges ink chamber from drying out which causes clogging. Moreover, it’s generally a good idea to allow the cartridge sit for a few hours, or even overnight, so the pressure in the cartridge can stabilize.

Some newer printers, such as those manufactured by Epson, have a computer chip in their ink cartridges which should be visible by simply looking at your cartridge. These chips are often referred to as “Intellidge” cartridges. These chips keep track of how cartridge us and notifies the computer when the ink cartridge becomes low or empty. Be sure to reset the chip when refilling the cartridge with ink from a refill kit. A reset tool can be used to reset the chips memory. This will allow the printer to recognize the ink cartridge as “full” which allows printing with a refilled ink cartridge.

Refilling ink printer cartridges is simple, beneficial to the environment, and keeps money in your pocket.

1. Access to the Internet

Currently there are a multitude of internet access choices. If you only access the internet for email, and to browse the World Wide Web a little, then you might be able to get by with a cheap dial-up account. Dial up is usually less than $10 and can also be free.

If you require high-speed access for your business/home office, then you need to take the next step up to cable service, or digital subscriber line (DSL) service. Cable and DSL supply enough speed to your printer and ink printer cartridges for most businesses that are generally run out of home offices.

DSL service utilizes bandwidth from your existing telephone lines that isn’t being used to provide a “always on” connection, while cable service uses your current cable television network. DSL may, or may not be available in your area, so you’ll have to check with your telephone company because it depends on how far your home office is located from the phone companies DSL access point.

Cable is available in almost every market, except a few remote areas. If you are too far from the DSL access point and cable isn’t available in your area, you can still use satellite to fulfill your high speed needs. Satellite is becoming more and more affordable and there isn’t much trouble installing a simple small dish antenna to your home to obtain the service.

2. Telephone

It really doesn’t matter how high-tech the office is, the telephone is still the most essential and basic need for your business. Phone features are almost endless now and prices are very low. Most home office phones come equipped with voice dial, speed dial, and multiple line capabilities. Choices also include speakerphone, call forwarding and conference capabilities and can be used with a handset or even headset. Addition features and services are available from your phone company, so be sure to check with your service provider.

If you prefer to work while walking around, or if you enjoy sitting on the back patio while taking calls, you should consider a cordless phone. There are currently many makes, models, and frequencies that your choices are almost endless. To make an effective choice, consider the following:

a) Technology choices are important

Don’t choose analog. Analog phone ranges are very poor and the phones susceptible to interference from other devices. Also, analog permits eavesdropping through other devices such as baby monitors and cordless phones.

Digital phones are generally better overall and have greater range than analog phones. Digital phones also provide more privacy through the use of codes and can scramble communications between the base unit and handset. Most also offer the ability to adapt a headset for hands free operation.

Digital Spread Spectrum (DSS) is the best technology available currently. DSS technology utilizes multiple channels and also frequency “hopping” to scramble communications from the base unit to the handset thoroughly. In addition, there is an increase in range because of a decrease in electrical interference. DSS phones also are allowed to utilize more powerful transmitters.

b) Frequency range

Your cordless phones range generally depends on its assigned frequency. Usually, home office cordless phones are of three frequencies: 900 MHz, 2.4 GHz, or 5.8 GHz and are thus explained.

900 MHz: Generally, this isn’t a very good choice for home offices. The 900 MHz frequency is used by devices such as baby monitors, cell phones, pagers, and is susceptible to maximum interference from all of these devices. Usually, a 900-MHz phone has a defined range of approximately 1,500 feet and their prices begin around $20.

2.4 GHz: Although it is a better choice than the 900 MHz, the 2.4-GHz frequency can be overrun with wireless networking, microwave ovens, and other household devices. A 2.4-GHz frequency phone has a range of approximately 2,000 feet and their prices begin at about $50.

5.8 GHz: Considered the best choice currently available, this frequency is the latest available for wireless devices. Currently, very few devices utilize this frequency and that means interference is minimal. 5.8 GHz frequency phones have a range of approximately 2,200 feet and their prices begin at about $150.

c) Other things to consider

A great accessory for any of your phone choices is a headset jack. If your phone has one, be sure to invest in a headset. Headsets allow hands free operation allowing you to multitask.

Also, remember to evaluate the phone’s battery life. Currently, most cordless phones offer four hours of talk time and seven days of standby at a minimum. Be sure your phone choice accepts replacement battery packs and that the battery packs are available at most stores.

Lastly, remember to store a regular corded phone for emergency use as cordless phones require electrical power to be used. If you are ever without power, just plug in the corded phone to keep working.

Summary

There can be much more to furnishing a home office than meets the eye. Faxes, phone printer, ink printer cartridges and scanners. Hopefully, this paper points you in the right direction. More often than not, everything purchased for your home office is deductible from your taxes. But be sure to check with your CPA first.

Part 1 of this paper discusses how to choose home office furnishings and ink printer cartridges and why choosing correctly is vital to your ability to remain organized, profitable and also your comfort. Part 2 of this paper looks at some basic requirements for home offices.

1. Computer

Your computer and ink printer cartridges choice really depends on the type of work you do and the amount of time spent in your home office. There seems to be countless choices in brands and models, but there are really on three basic choices you need to make.

For most home offices, the number one choice is the desktop computer. However, if you go out on the road to meet your clients you most certainly can find laptop, or notebook computers, with almost the same speed and storage as a desktop. Should you choose a notebook, opt for one that has a docking station available. Docking stations allow you to use a standard keyboard, mouse, and monitor.

In addition to your computer, you might also evaluate your need for a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA). PDAs can be a very valuable productivity tool, especially if you need real-time access to your calendar, task list, and address book. With the seemingly endless amount of new wireless internet applications available, you can even use PDA’s to connect to your home office from almost anywhere.

2. Printer

The first choice you’ll need to make regarding your printer is –laser or ink jet. Laser printers utilize toner
cartridges or drum assemblies while ink jets accept ink printer cartridges. Laser printers are usually better for high-volume printing and are equipped for higher “duty cycles” which is the manufacturer’s rating for a printers recommended monthly workload. Laser printers also give higher quality black text than comparable ink printer cartridges printers, although some high end ink jet printers rival the lower end laser printers.

Laser printers also print faster than ink jet printers, however, ink jet printers offer a lower cost model if you require color printing. Color laser ink printer cartridges remain very high priced. Since the prices for some laser printers and ink printer cartridges in general are so low, you could consider buying both.

Another item that is important to consider is the printer’s resolution. A printer’s resolution determines quality of your printed documents. Resolution is defined by the number of dots per inch that are printed on the page as a measurement, horizontally and vertically, such as 600 x 600 dots-per-inch or dpi. Generally, a 600 x 600 dpi resolution can produce a quality print for most projects.

The final deciding factor is the printer’s speed. While most printers don’t perform to the manufacturer’s claims, you still should use the printer manufacturers recommended performance specifications as a rule. A generally accepted speed for laser printers (personal use) is approximately 6-10 pages per minute (ppm). A generally accepted range for ink jets is approximately 4 ppm or higher.

There are printers that serve as other tools too, such as fax machines, scanners, and copiers too. Consider looking at these models as you might find one that fits all of your requirements.

In Part 2 we will explore access to the internet, telephone, ink printer cartridges and summarize everything for you.