"The recyclers' dilemma: plastic landfills help the terrorists, but there's cash in empty printer cartridges" Pt. 2

Welcome back. My previous post discussed some of the reasons why recycling used-up print cartridges made good sense. To recapitulate:

1. Fight terrorism. No kidding. Here's my reasoning: because the manufacture of each laser toner cartridge requires about 3 1/2 quarts of oil, buying pristine, unused carts helps support countries like Iran and Nigeria -- and, we wouldn't want to do that now, would we?
2. Save money: Recycled cartridges (sometimes known as compatibles), such as are sold online by the company I work for, SuppliesExperts.com, can cost less than half of the brand-name version.
3. Save New Jersey: Kill a landfill!
4. Make money: Just as some people earn extra money recycling old cans left by the side of the road (Okay, nobody we know!), others boost their budgets by recycling toner cartridges.

I'm going to be discussing this last today, but first ask yourself this: Are you interested in karma, or interested in lucre. One way feeds your soul, the other fertilizes your bank account. Don't get me wrong, I make no judgment: just getting rid of the darned things in a manner that keeps the polar icecaps the size they are right now is fine with me.

So, let's get right to it (Disclaimer: I've not used any of the following sites, nor have I investigated them for credibility. The list is provided only as a starting point for the reader. You don't want to be spoon-fed too much, anyway, do you?) First, there's Recycle4Charity.com, which purports to take your old toner cartridge, recycle it, and donate proceeds to charity. Another is PetSmartCharities.org, which also recycles cellphones.

There. Feel better already, don't you?

On the money-making end, I'd like to offer TonerBuyer.com, which, as the name implies, actually pays you for doing the right thing. In an obvious instance of shameless self-promotion, the following is a representative list of some of the cartridges we sell as well as what TonerBuyer.com offers to pay for similar cartridges. (Note: the site offers some caveats as to what types of cartridges they will and will not buy, so read them carefully).Clicking on the name of the cartridge will take you to our price -- that's the shameless self-promotion

Please note: These prices were accurate as of July 28, 2008 at 12:04 PM (PT).

artridge	TonerBuyer.com
BROTHER
TN-04	$2.00
TN-350	$2.50
CANON
FX-9	$3.00
HP
Q2612A	$1.50
SAMSUNG
CLP-300	$2.00
CLP-510	$1.00
SCX-4521	$1.50

I used Recycle4Charity.com, PetSmartCharities.org, and TonerBuyer.com as convenient examples.Here is what Google returned using the keywords toner+recycling. I'm certain you can find many more on your own, using different keywords.

Until later.

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"The recyclers' dilemma: plastic landfills help the terrorists, but there's cash in empty printer cartridges" Pt. 1

You've known for some time that this day was coming. Three weeks ago, the solid areas in your designs started getting "streaky" and the warning light on your printer began to blink on-and-off at unpredictable intervals.

Then, two weeks ago, every instance of the word "android" in your reports printed out so faintly it could barely be read. You began to suspect that you were running low on toner, but—hoping to stave off the inevitable—you followed the conventional wisdom as pertaining to a low printer cartridge: removing it from the printer and shaking it first up and down, then side to side, forcefully rotating it on its axis, shaking it in front of you like a plastic maraca.

You set your printer's color preferences, first to blue, then when that ran out, to red, because the black was pretty much useless by then, the print so faint as if viewed through layers of wax paper.

Finally, yesterday, the last remaining blot of toner gave up and surrendered to its destiny as the dot on an i in your report on the metaphysical implications of phlogiston, and reluctantly admitted to yourself that the end had finally arrived: Farewell, old friend. You've given me nearly 10,000 pages of scribbles and prose, but its time open the old Brother MFC-9420cn color laser and replace your used-up giblets.

You don't mind removing and replacing the old cartridges with new ones. In fact, it appealed to the left-brain-mechanical-tinkerer side of your personality, and, well, the crispness, the beauty, the rejuvenation of your print-outs would be reward by itself.

Nor was it the cost of the replacements: you'd followed the advice you'd discovered on SuppliesExperts.com's blog, and had stocked up months before. At those prices, who could blame you? And, even if you hadn't stocked up, the cost of gas it would take to drive to the office supplies store wouldn't have been a factor: SuppliesExperts.com has free shipping.

None of these had kept you up at night. Getting new cartridges wasn't the problem—The problem was getting rid of the old ones

***

Here's where I abandon the sui-distant second-person point of view in favor of my normal omniscient one and get down to business. The age-old question of what to do with manufactured non-biodegradable castoffs is one that has been exacerbated since the beginning of the computer age: Computers, CRTs, even printers contain a soup of toxic substances, including dioxin, PCBs, mercury, chromium, radioactive isotopes, and other unhealthy ingredients guaranteed to ruin one's dining. These must all be disposed of carefully and conscientiously.

So, throwing used-up toner cartridges out with Wednesday's leftovers is a pretty poor option. As is allowing them to pile up in your backyard: Nobody wants a toxic dump next door. Traditional landfills lack the technology to deal with such poisonous debris, and, New Jersey is just about full up, anyway.

A far better option is to recycle the things, cycling the being inorganic equivalent of reincarnation in Buddhism. There are several reasons why this is a superior solution, some of which I noted previously here and here. Simply put, they are:

1. Three and a half quarts of oil go into the manufacture of each and every printer cartridge. Why support Iran or Nigeria? Both are members of OPEC and neither is a particular friend of the U.S. Iran has been accused of being part of the Axis of you-know-what, while Nigeria is, of course, home and birthplace of the notorious 419 scams that have bilked American out of several millions of dollars--as well as a good portion of their self-respect. 'Nuff said.
   
   
2. The cartridge shells can be re-used, sometimes several times, thus relieving upward pressure on oil reserves (see above), and reducing the pressure on New Jersey to annex parts of Delaware.
   
   
3. Cartridges that have been recycled save you (Yes, I'm talking to you, Mister!) a considerable amount of money, as the reincarnated cartridges—such as many of those sold by SuppliesExperts.com—are much, much less expensive than brand-new ones.
   
   
4. Finally, you can sometimes even make money for yourself or charity by recycling used toner cartridges.

Thus, in addition to helping fight the War on Terrorism by refusing to support our oil-rich enemies, saving Delaware from having to change its state motto from "Liberty and independence" to "Liberty and prosperity," and saving untold dollars in your budget, you might possibly even turn a profit on the things.

Now, that's what my late mother would call a mitzvah, and what my ex-wife would probably call "good karma."

***

"My, that young man sure can run on, cain't he?"

***

In Part 2 of this blog, I'll discuss some of the ways to properly dispose of used toner cartridges—both for fun (and good karma) and for profit.

As always, if anybody's reading this and cares to comment, please do so.

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Five reasons why compatible laser cartridges are better than the manufacturers' cartridges

First of all, they're cheaper; much cheaper, much, much, much cheaper. In some cases, the difference in price is more than 50%. Check out the handy little Excel chart I've put together showing some of our more popular compatible cartridges for printers such as the Brother MFC 9420CN, Canon MF4150, Dell 5100CN, HP LaserJet Q2612A, Okidata C5800, Konica/Minolta Magicolor 2350 Printer, Samsung CLP-300, and Ink Sticks for the Xerox Phaser 8500.

About the methodology: today (July 21, 2008) I went online and noted our prices, then found the prices for the OEM versions on Amazon.com.

The comparisons should be accurate; however, if anybody doesn't believe I'm being fair, you're more than welcome to comment. In fact, you're encouraged to.

As you can see, the prices are both striking and significant. How can that be, you might ask; which leads to another way compatibles are better than OEMs.

Second: They are recyclable and recycled. Each cartridge shell is reused as long as it maintains its structural integrity. The only parts that are consistently replaced are the OPC drums, wiper blades, and other worn parts. This is good for the earth. And, it's good for you.

Third: As I mentioned in a previous post, it takes 3 1/2 quarts of oil to manufacture a single toner cartridge shell. You want to help lower the price of oil? Stay away from new printer cartridges and opt, instead, for earth-friendly compatibles.

Fourth: How much do you value the privacy of what's on your computer? Most people don't realize that many OEM cartridges contain a microchip that may be in constant communication with the official manufacturer. Companies such as Lexmark (which practically gives away its printers, but charges the proverbial limb for cartridges) is currently in litigation to prevent a compatible manufacturer from offering an equivalent cartridge substitute.

Fifth: Most manufactures are too diffuse and diversified to offer the quality of customer service that most compatible resellers of compatible toner cartridges are able to provide. Who do you think is going to get more attention at a company like HP or Brother: The guy who's having problems with his $500 printer or Fax or Plasma TV or PC . . . or the guy who can't figure out how to install his $40.00 laser cartridge?

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High Cost of Printer Cartridges Impacting Businesses

"Jim"* has a small computer repair business where, during the course of a normal day, he will print out work orders, estimates and receipts for his customers, purchase orders and checks for his suppliers and vendors, statements, flyers and product sheets he gets off the internet, and special offers he mails to both existing and potential customers about upcoming sales and events.

As recently as one year ago, the very idea of not being able to afford to do any of these things would have never have entered Jim's mind; not being able to afford as much printer ink as he needed was simply inconceivable. In addition to the four cartridges in his color laser printer, he'd kept a backup set in his supplies cabinet

That was then, and this is now, the saying goes. In addition to the slowdown in the economy, the cost of a set of cartridges seemed almost insurmountable: the best price Jim was able to find for Dell's 4BC5100 was still a staggering $531.99, a budget-buster if he ever saw one. He tried everything he could to extend the life of his cartridges: he'd shake them up and down and side by side cartridge to try to dislodge every last grain of toner; he'd use the "draft" setting on his printer; he'd only print out 15 color flyers instead of his usual 150, and post them on supermarket bulleting boards instead of mailing them out.

Even using these tactics, though, sometimes the print on his receipts and estimates was so faint his customers were forced to request another copy. It was embarrassing and it was eroding the good will he had built up over years of doing business.

The other day, however, while desperately seeking an answer to his printer woes online, he typed the keyword phrase Dell 5100cn into Google and discovered that a company called SuppliesExperts.com was selling a full set of cartridges that were 100% guaranteed to be compatible with his printer. Not only that, but instead of the $531.99 that Dell wanted, these would only set Jim back $159.00! He couldn't believe it.

But, was it legal? The sales person who had sold Jim the printer originally, told him in no uncertain terms that if he tried to use anything but Dell cartridges in his printer, it would automatically void the 5100CN's warranty.

Jim investigated himself, however,, and discovered -- to his relief-- that the salesperson had been less than honest, and that the Magnusson-Moss Warranty Improvement Act, passed in 1975, states that a printer's manufacturer cannot refuse to honor its warranty just because the owner preferered to use a different — albeit compatible — product.

So, Jim tried the SuppliesExperts'com toner cartridge -- their 5100cn -- it worked fine, and he kept his business and his old customers never noticed a thing.

The preceding story is apocryphal, but it isn't that far from the truth. The truth is:

1. OEM manufacturer's brand-name cartridges often cost more than twice as much as compatible cartridges from SuppliesExperts.com
2. they carry a 1-year, 100% guarantee
3. free shipping is available
4. the manufacturer cannot stop somebody from using compatible
5. save gas - buy online!

* "Jim" is not his real name. As a matter of fact, he isn't even real; he is a composite.

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Installing cartridges in HP printers (1)

I have an old HP LaserJet 1210, that I like for its speed and for the fact that it doesn't smear when I'm highlighting a paper or a story. And, since I started working here at SuppliesExperts.com, I've discovered that laser carts can be cheaper than those I used to buy for my HP C3280 color inkjet printer. The first time I had to swap out a full toner cartridge for my used/empty one, I had a bit of trouble figuring out which way the thingy went, so I asked Brian, my coworker, to help me make a video showing how to install a compatible cartridge in a printer like mine. Here's the link from YouTube

Besides my HP LaserJet 1012, this cartridge also works these:

LaserJet 1010	LaserJet 3015	LaserJet 1020
LaserJet 1022	LaserJet 1022n	LaserJet 1022nw
LaserJet 3020	LaserJet 3030	LaserJet 3050

That's it for now, folks. I suppose one could argue that this post is a blatant advertisement for our line of compatible printer toner cartridges--but you'd be wrong!

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The Paperless Office? Not just yet, Turbo! Pt. 2

Last week, I began writing a post about how BusinessWeek's 1975 prediction of a "paperless office" by 1990 was a dream denied—but ended up, instead, discoursing briefly on the history of printing. Note: I have a reputation that—when asked what time it is—I will generally tell that person how to build a watch. So be it.

The indisputable fact is, though, that the goal of replacing paper with pixels is most likely unattainable, as is argued by Abigail J. Sellen and Richard H.R. Harper in their study: The Myth of the Paperless Office (The MIT Press, 2001). In that study, the authors assert that e-mail use increases paper consumption by 40%, and that even Web use has increased our printing—especially among so-called "knowledge workers," which I would imagine, includes students, teachers, lawyers, executive secretaries, writers, and on and on. In fact, knowledge workers use as much as three times as much paper as the average worker. That's a 300% increase, folks.

The authors suggest of reasons: first, what Sellen & Harper refer to as "affordances: the activities that an object allows or 'affords'," such as the ability of paper to be grasped, carried, folded, writing, etc. Paper as a medium is also "friendlier" for the purposes of collaboration and marking up by authors and others. Any writer, journalist, or documentarian is familiar with the utility of a yellow highlighter or a blue pencil.

So, what does that have to do with laser toner and compatible cartridges, which is, after all, the overarching subject of this blog? This is the point:

1. Whether or not we're consciously aware of the reason(s), we'll be printing out more and more information and documents as time goes by;
2. because of the "razor and blades" pricing model the printer manufacturers employ, printing costs will continue to rise—due, primarily, to the high cost OEM products;

So, what's the answer?

1. If you are in a writing-intensive area (student, teacher, lawyer, writer, etc.) hie-thee-hence to the local office supply superstore (I happen to prefer Costco, but there's also Sam's Club, or Walmart) and pick up a low-to-medium priced laser printer. If you're wondering why I suggest a laser printer, please refer to the laser vs. inkjet printer comparison in an earlier post; then,
2. go to suppliesexperts.com to stock up on compatible laser toner cartridges for your particular model. Ours can run up to 60% less than the manufacturer's brand-name products.

So, that's about it for today. If anybody out there would like to suggest a topic for a future blog entry, send it along to roger@suppliesexperts.com. I'd love to blog someday about Neil Postman and his ideas on print vs. other media. Or, about Bob Greene's terrific series of columns in the 80s called "Reading is a Vacation."

Before ending this blog, I'd like to leave you all with a . . .

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The "Paperless Office"? . . . Not just yet, Turbo! Pt. 1

This post was originally conceived as being a discussion about the disconnect between the dream of replacing paper with pixels and the resulting eco-savings and the reality of reams of used multipurpose paper products ending up in third-world landfills.

At least, that was my intention; however, as Philp José Farmer famously observed: "A dullard is someone who looks something up in an encyclopedia, reads the entry, then closes the book." So, a what was originally planned as a simple fact-checking saunter through Wiki turned into a Lewis & Clark expedition into the history of printing: from 200 A.D Chinese, woodblock printing (for a few) to Gutenberg's moveable type in 1489 (for the more-than-a-few), to the offset press in the 1800s (for the masses), and on and on.

Along the way, I learned that the typewriter (QWERTY keyboard) was invented in the 1800s and standardized in 1910 and that mimeograph machines came along around the same time. I learned about carbon paper and its use in the proliferation of anti-government samizdat in the former USSR (some think that this helped lead to its breakup), as well as the ubiquity of photocopier humor in the 70s.

To make a long story short, this post now concerns personal printing, and how we got here.

First, a short history of printing (Thanks again, Wiki!)

• 200 A.D.: Woodblock Printing
• 1040: Introduction of Moveable Type
• 1430s: Intaglio (etchings)
• 1439: Introduction of the Printing Press (August Gutenberg)
• 1796: Lithography
• 1800s: Offset Printing Press
• 1843: Rotary Press
• (1910): Typewriting begins. Mark Twain writes Life on the Mississippi using an early model.
• (1950s): Mimeographed newsletters become popular.
• 1960: Photocopying
• 1969: Laser Printing
• 1970: Dot Matrix Printer
• 1976: Inkjet Printing
• (1985): Aldus PageMaker, Apple Computer's Macintosh and LaserWriter printers bring desktop publishing within the reach of the ordinary individual.
• (1988): Consumer inkjet printers arrive on the market.
• (2000): Inkjet manufacturers adopt the "razor and blades" pricing model and printer prices drop
  precipitously, while the price of ink cartridges remains high.
• (2000): Monochrome printer prices drop precipitously; however, as with ink cartridge prices, toner prices remain high.
• (2000s): Invoking the 1975 Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, companies begin selling printer-compatible printer supplies at a fraction of the price of their OEM equivalents.
• Present: Personal printing is the norm, rather than the exception.

Well, that's about it for today's blog. Come back Monday for Pt. 2, and, hopefully my thoughts on the "Paperless Office" – a phrase reportedly first used in an article in Business Week in 1975! More on that Monday.

Meantime, have a safe and terrific July Fourth!

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Laser vs. Inkjet: The printer smackdown!

FULL DISCLOSURE: I own an HP C3180 inkjet printer as well as an HP 1012 monochrome laser printer; and I long ago became a laser partisan.

Once upon a time, average consumers avoided laser printers because they weighed a ton, were too expensive, and as for the cost of the cartridges . . . well, let's not even go there!

So, inexpensive inkjet printers (some as little as $99) flew off the shelves and into the homes of blue collar workers and the dorm rooms of college students by the millions. After all, $99 . . . how could you beat the price? Then, a week or two later, the starter cartridge that came with the $99 wonder ran out of ink, and -- Oops! -- you suddenly discovered that the cartridge for that $99 printer was going to cost you $45, half the cost of the printer.

This is called the Razor and Blades Business Model: give away the razor (or in this case, the printer) and charge mucho-mucho for the necessary blades. Or, like the "free film for life" photo deals: sure, the film is free, but it must be developed by the film's manufacturer . . . usually at a premium.

Suddenly, inkjet printers didn't seem all that inexpensive anymore. A few years later, the price of laser printers came down, with many acceptable ones costing just over $100, and suddenly we were able to compare apples to apples, at least in terms of price.

The University of Nevada, Reno (UNR) put up a nice price comparison chart comparing the cost of each type over the course of one, two and three years.

Of course, the table only covers the cost of toner/ink, and laser comes out a clear winner. However, the laser printer example is monochrome, not color--but, I'll discuss color in a later post.

Although price is one factor, "page yield" (the approximate number of pages that can be printed before the cartridge must be replaced) can be a major consideration. And here, the laser printer also outperforms the inkjet printer at more than a 5:1 ratio: 400 pages (inkjet) vs. 2200 (laser).

Two other factors, not shown on the chart, but which are well known to anyone who has used both type of printers, are: print speed and the "smear factor." In almost every case, a consumer-level laser printer will outperform an inkjet printer by seconds per page, even when printing only black on white.

Likewise, the smear factor, which has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that this is a presidential year, comes into play when you try to highlight something on a page using , well . . . a hi-lighter. Ink smears, toner doesn't. Not only does smearing make it difficult to read whatever you considered important enough to highlight, but it pretty much ruins the highlighting instrument for any other use.

While writing this post, I came across this May, 2008 article from PCWorld.com called: "Top 10 Reasons To Go Laser." It reiterates much of what I've written above, but in a more organized fashion; mine, however, is far more entertaining 8^)

Anyway, this is why I am a laser partisan.

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Laser toner prices are tied to gas prices – really!

Now, here's a scary thought: The price of laser printer cartridges can be expected to rise significantly over the next several months, with little end in sight.

Why?

Well, as the price of oil goes up, so will the price of laser printer cartridges. According to TheRecyclingGuy.com, for example, each laser toner cartridge produced uses three and a half quarts of oil.

THREE AND A HALF QUARTS!?! That's not cheap.In fact, when I play around with the the numbers, throw in a little fuzzy math and chaos theory, I might venture that -- with a gallon of premium here in Reno closing in on $4.50 -- about $3.38 of the cost of each OEM cartridge you buy is going to Exxon, Chevron, or some Saudi sheik.

Let's do some simple arithmetic: Please note, my major in college was English Lit., so I recommend you double-check the math 8^)

Between June 2007 and June 2008, the price of regular unleaded gas rose $0.98, from $3.11 to $4.09 -- or, about 8%. Extrapolating that 8% as a metric for toner price increases, this is what we arrive at:

• Using the HP compatible 12A cartridge example I employed in a previous post, we have today's OEM price from Amazon.com at $59.99.
• If the same price pressure that applies to the petroleum products in HP's products,
• by August (back-to-school-time) we might expect that price to increase by 16%, or even a little more, to $64.78. The math would seem to bear this out.

On the other hand, the equivalent toner cartridge from SuppliesExperts.com, our Q2612A, lacks the upward pressure of the OEM, because we recycle the most petroleum-dependent part of the cartridge -- the shell -- while replacing only the smaller parts with new ones -- OPC drums, wiper blades, other internal components -- and then, only as appropriate. And our cartridge sells for less than $30!

Now, I won't presume to predict that OEM prices will inevitably go up, and more than that ours will stay the same; but, given what's been happening the past few years, which seems more likely?

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.


With inflationary pressures, income stagnation, and everything else that's currently plaguing us poor American consumers, in a few months we may not be able to afford to print our photos, write letters, print out emails, newsletters, Christmas cards, invoices, reports, or papers.

So, what's the answer? Here are a few suggestions:

1. Check your printer(s) to determine how much toner is remaining in each cartridge. Most printer software includes a utility the works much like a gas gauge (ironAic, isn't it?) that will give you an indication;
2. See how much extra toner you have on hand for each printer, as well as how much you might need over the next three to six months;
3. Research prices online and do your own math. Don't wait until the last minute . . . other wise prices may be much higher than today's.
4. Stock up as much back toner as 1) you think you will need over the next three months, 2) you can afford, in proportion to (1).
5. Buy online and buy today:

1. First, you'll save on the gas you would expend driving to the local Sam's Club, Costco, or Office Depot;
2. Next, shipping prices are bound to go up; FedEx and UPS are as susceptible to high fuel prices as any of us.

It's pretty obvious that the price of anything that uses petroleum products in its manufacture (such as laser toner cartridges) can only go in one direction -- up!