TOP ENVIRONMENTAL BLOGGERS TELL THE PRINTING INDUSTRY TO WAKE UP AND SMELL THE TONER

Recent research findings have revealed that your office printer is probably doing a lot more harm than good. Several studies have been released in the past few weeks detailing some extremely troubling facts about run-of-the-mill office printers. In the green blogosphere the uproar was instantaneous with several expert bloggers alleging that not only is your printer lying to you when it says it’s out of ink, it could be generating a dangerous level of emissions.

In regards to the emissions risk, the Watchdog Earth Blog laid out the facts in its latest post. The author, James Bruggers, explains that the University of Technology in Brisbane, Australia has discovered that certain laser printers emit high concentrations of microscopic particles into the air. Furthermore, the study “found that office air quality worsened five-fold during the work day at one office they were checking out… more than half were ranked as non-emitters. But 13 were in the high category.” The post also provides a link to a list of the most potentially dangerous printers.

 

Treehugger, a top environmental blog, had in-depth analysis on the specific dangers associated with laser printer emissions. The specific danger is related to the fact that the particles are extremely small, allowing them to infiltrate the lungs and cause damage akin to second-hand smoke. “Because these particles are so small, there is a very high probability for these particles to deposit in the deepest alveoli in the lung, from there they can enter the bloodstream,” noted Warren Mclaren, the posts author.

Mclaren also mentioned that as toner use increased, so did the amount of emissions. “Researchers determined that printers emitted more particles when new toner cartridge were installed, and when printing graphics and images, as they require greater quantities of toner.”

As if news that your office printer releases emissions wasn’t bad enough, another recent study has revealed that it is probably stealing from you as well. A recent post from EcoGeek put it bluntly. “Never listen when your printer says it's out of ink. It's lying.” Apparently, Epson (a big name in commercial printers) commissioned a study that is now serving as concrete proof that many popular printers are designed to say “out of ink” even when they may not be. Hank Green, the post’s author, was completely disgusted but not taken aback by the news, “I guess I shouldn't be surprised, since one can literally buy a new printer for the same cost as new ink cartridges. This kind of hyper-disposable attitude is completely the opposite of what EcoGeek stands for.” 

Green was also quick to note that the software coming with your printer is complicit in this scam as well, “the firmware will continue to nag you about it (the lack of ink) and occasionally will not even allow you to print until you replace the cartridge.” Seemingly inspired by the movie Office Space, Green declared that he’s “got a mind to take my printer out into an empty field right now and introduce it to Mr. Louisville.” You can rest assured that he’s probably not alone at this point.

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