Data Storytelling: How To Communicate Your Company’s Strategy and CRM Effectively With Visuals

How many times have we all heard something like “I’ve done this for a long time! I know what will work best!” in a meeting? I’d bet that it’s more than you can count, and I’d also bet that the person saying those things has less than a 100% success rate with their judgment calls.

Unfortunately, this is a pretty typical scenario, even in the most innovative businesses. Companies have relied on experience and “the way we do things” for so long that it has become a very painful process to move into the current world and start using data and information tools to make business decisions.

The reality is that the pace of business and of changes in customers’ behaviors has increased so sharply over the past few years, which means that even the most experienced people have trouble keeping up sometimes. Businesses that have learned to mine and use the information that gets collected on their operations and customers every day are ahead of the curve, and are finding that they are able to be in control of their paths forward.

Find and Clean Your Data

Ever wonder why you’re asked about your address and phone number every single time you call or visit a company you have an account with?

It has as much to do with them wanting to make sure they have your most recent information as it does with them securely verifying your account. The information you collect on your customers starts aging as soon as you’ve entered it, but there are some things you can do to help keep everything up to date.

It may surprise you to find out that you don’t have to be a database expert to understand where your information is being stored and to learn how to run reports on that data. Most modern customer information systems like CRM and even accounting solutions like Quickbooks have simple drag and drop-style reporting, which can help you determine what kinds of information you have on your customers and your business operations.

Once you know where everything is, you’re likely to find that the data needs a little cleaning. Often, the same customer will have bits of information stored in more than one system in your company. You can check by looking at simple reports from each system, but you may want (database expert required here!) to look at ways to enter data once and have it fill all systems by integrating or connecting them.

Paint a Pretty Picture

Unless your business is filled with data scientists (it may be), your employees will have little appetite to stare at a spreadsheet to get the information they need.

Most people have trouble spotting trends and patterns in raw data, so you’ll want to find a way to make a visual that illustrates and tells the story that lies in the numbers.

There are many fancy, relatively affordable software options for crafting some really great looking charts and graphs, but even knowing the right kind of visual to use will go a long way toward getting your point across.

Many times, the stories told in business are about changes over time and trends.

The numbers from this month’s sales don’t mean much without something to compare them to.

The same goes for basic operations data.

Did we spend more on facilities maintenance this time than we did last month?

These types of questions can be answered with a line graph that shows directional movement between points in time. Seeing the line moving up or down is a very powerful visual, and helps drive home the facts when it comes to trends and performance over time.

Similarly, other graphs and charts like bars or pies are great at illustrating different types of information, like comparing performance of different retail stores (bars) or breaking down percentages and showing how they stack up (pies).

Keep in mind that contrasting colors and text that isn’t too tiny or cluttered are key to making your visuals readable and effective. It’s a stressful experience trying to understand a graph cluttered with numbers and text and colors that make it hard to see what’s going on.

Communication and understanding are the building blocks for a successful data strategy, and there are obviously quite a few more elements involved beyond organizing and presenting data, but you don’t have to be the second coming of IBM to get value out of the information you collect every day.

Starting small, trying to understand what kinds of information you have and where it is and then showing that data to people in the organization will help build that data “muscle”, and make folks more comfortable reading between the lines and looking at information to make decisions.

The importance of growing and understanding your business’s information can’t be understated, and is quickly becoming one of the best ways to flourish and be successful.

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10 Printer Hacks You Didn’t Know You Needed In Your Life

Let’s face it. When it comes to printers, we could all use a little help and here at Toner Connect, we hear you.

Here are our best tips, tricks, and hacks when it comes to mastering the art of printing.

1. Printer Settings

If you’re like me then you might be afraid to mess with the default settings on your printer.

However, you could be using a large amount of ink unnecessarily and it all comes down to your resolution settings.

Most high- quality printers have their default resolution setting set to 600 DPI or higher.

That’s a lot of ink. If you’re not printing something that needs to be top notch, lower your settings to save on ink and printing speed while maintaining quality.

2. Low on Black Ink

Trying to print a document but low on black ink?

If you can’t wait for a replacement, try changing the font to a dark gray or blue, you’ll be able to utilize color ink that’ll look almost black.

3. Not all fonts are created equal

Unfortunately for us, ink likes to discriminate against the fancier fonts (looking at you Arial).

However, there is hope. Check out our previous post here to find out which four fonts made the cut for the least ink used.

4. Grayscale in the new black.

Even if you’re printing an all black document, chances are your printer is pulling from the color cartridges rather than the black one.

A trick that will help utilize the black cartridge is going into settings (I know scary right?) and clicking on the “Grayscale” option aka “Black and White” setting.

Your print will come out faster and with half the ink.

5. Paper, Paper, Paper

Raise your hand if you like a bargain. Me too. Especially on printing paper. But buyer beware.

Steer clear from cheap bargain paper because they cause all sorts of chaos in your machine.

Cheap paper tends to not be uniformly cut (a problem that will cause jams), retains moisture that creates curled edges, and gives off a large amount of dust that will eventually build up and cause breakdowns.

When it comes to paper, go for quality, not quantity and know your printers.

Remember laser printers are better for text documents such as papers, brochures, flyers, reports etc…and Ink printers are geared towards, image printing i.e. photos, media, projects etc…

6. Toner Cha-Cha

When your laser printer alerts you that its toner is low, remove it and give it a good shake over the trash can.

A lot of times the powder just needs to be stirred up to continue performing. To read more about how toners work, check out our toner post.

The worst thing for ink cartridges is to sit in a hot/cold car all day.

7. Speak to me paper jam

We’re all on the alert for the dreaded paper jam warning but did you know it’s not always an actual paper jam. The printer is basically sending out an SOS to you and that’s how it gets your attention.

The first thing you’ll want to do is make sure there’s not actually paper jammed somewhere. If there’s not, then check the paper drawer.

The printer will sometimes say paper jam if the paper is not squared up properly with the paper guide.

8. Relocation

If you’re moving, make sure you take your ink cartridges out of your printer and store them in a sealed bag.

Your toner is more durable and can survive the move but the worst thing for ink cartridges is to sit in a hot/cold car all day.

Keep the bag in a climate controlled environment until you’re settled and then replace in the printer.

9. Maintenance

Keep your printer running smoothly by putting it in an area that’s out of direct sunlight, keep yourself familiar with the manual and clean it regularly.

A lot of printing issues stem from poor maintenance, so you’ll want to be careful to dust your printer often.

If you know your printer is going to be in a messy environment such as an art studio or workshop, it would be worth it to invest in a cover to protect it.

Furthermore, if you have a floor printer and it’s against the wall, make sure the wall cords have enough room or else you could break the plug. Your printer will thank you for your diligence.

10. Get Creative!

Nowadays, you can print on so much more than just paper. Things such as paper bags, tissue paper, dryer sheets and more.

Consult your manual beforehand and check out these great tips on just want you can do!

Make sure you’re taking advantage of everything your printer is capable of, and feel free to get those creative juices flowing.

We at Toner Connect want you to get the best performance for all your printing needs and are here to help in any way.

If you want to connect with us, click here. We’d love to hear from you

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10 Awesome Last Minute Gifts You Can Make With Your Printer

The holidays are here and the window for grabbing the perfect gift is just about to disappear.

It’s easy to get wrapped up in the festivities and lose track of every one you want to share a special gift with as time runs out so quickly.

That’s why it’s helpful to know how to use something as handy as your printer to help you cut down that list of last minute gifts.

Your printer is pretty useful and handy in creating some of the most thoughtful and heartfelt gifts – plus, it saves time, money and a headache.

We’ve rounded up some of the easiest DIY gifts to make from the comfort of your home printer with items that are easy to find around the house.

The best part is that they look great enough to be store bought and you will have learned a new skill.

Photo Pillows

This is a sweet gift to share with loved ones, especially family. You can get really meaningful here with the photo you select as you get a chance to capture a special moment for display.

You will need the fabric to sew onto the pillow, freezer paper (8.5 x 11), your home printer and your perfect photo.

There are different ways to display the photo as some folks choose to be more vintage with a black and white photo, or some would use a bright and colorful photo with a rich background to give a lighter feel.

Your options are endless so think of what your loved one would like to cherish for a while to come and get busy making some photo pillows.

Wood Signs

It’s pretty easy to make a big impact with a small piece of wood.

From wall art to wooden photo boxes, you can give the perfect personalized wooden gift this holiday with using just your trusted home printer, wax paper and a great image.

Simply print out your photo onto the wax paper, place the image onto the wood ink side down, then rub the image onto the wood.

You should be able to peel the wax paper right off and have a personalized work of art. You can create large or small images just be sure your printer is at the right setting and you’re all good to get started!

Printable Calendar

Something easy to print out with lots of personality, a calendar is the simple gift you can share with anyone from your coworkers to your bowling buddies.

They’re easy to make and easier to personalize. If you have a friend who needs a little help staying organized, you can create a calendar with a ‘Daily To-Do’ section to help them stay on top of things.

You can add fun things like recipes, pictures and even personal quotes, to help spread your joy among your friends.

A great thing to remember is that you don’t have to make a large calendar for a desk or refrigerator, you can just as easily just as easily make a mini one to help your loved ones on the go – it’s just as useful.

Mugs

A perfect gift for the coffee drinker or tea lover, a personalized mug has long been the classic best friend gift from since the beginning of time.

To transfer imagery onto a ceramic mug, you should use waterslide decal paper as it’s easy to transfer with just some water.

Print your snazzy quote or funny meme on this specialized paper, place it in water before placing it on the mug, peel it off and done! Your mug is revamped.

It’s a great budget-friendly gift for coworkers and one you could even use to spice up your own mugs.

Holiday Cards

This one is the easiest from start to finish as you just need to grab some card stock sheets and get to printing.

You can use decals with decorative writing or print out some images to shade in with watercolor paint.

Get creative with buttons, sticky eyes, recycled paper, glitter and pretty much anything you can stick onto paper in order to create the perfect card.

If you have kids, this is a great way to get them excited about giving their own gifts. It’s a great craft activity for a family and fun all around.

Holiday Giftboxes

It’s not always about what’s inside of the gift box because presentation matters.

Wowing your friends with a great looking giftbox is easy and all you’ll need is some card stock paper, a festive design (or grab a printable template anywhere online), some scissors and some coloring supplies to personalize your box.

Don’t feel stuck on grabbing the perfect wrapping paper when your printer can help you create the perfect alternative.

Printable labels

From wine bottles to candles, mason jars to home ornaments, you can put a label on pretty much anything. For the holiday season, share a personal message with a labeled item.

It adds a special touch and is one of the easiest printing projects to do.

Just grab some label paper, some scissors and your choice of fancy font online and hit print.

You have loads of options here to share a personal message and can add to a gift to just about anyone from your work friends to your parents.

Nail Decals

Perfect for the girlie girl excited about home manicures and pretty nail polish colors, nail decals are a great gift. You’ll need some waterslide paper and your inkjet printer.

Expert DIYers advise a gloss spray to prevent ink bleeding but other than that, you can create a ton of nail decal designs right from your home.

Luminary Jars

Nothing beats a personalized luminary jar as a gift as it’s a pretty thoughtful way to say thank you. Grab some color vellum paper to fit your printer, print some awesome designs and wrap it around your glass or candle jar.

Truly pretty on the eyes, these jars are special in that they are affordable yet so unique.

Postcards

You can create your own holiday postcards to send out to family and friends from around the world – without having to worry about shipping costs.

Send a comical image or something really heartfelt to show your appreciation.

As easy as printing on card stock sheets, you’re only a couple steps from sending your heartfelt message to touch your loved ones all over.

Don’t Miss Out on The Value of your Printer

You shouldn’t feel discouraged that you haven’t had the time to run out to grab a gift for everyone because there’s still time.

Try out any one of our easy gifts you can do from your home printer and share some holiday joy this season.

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The Top 5 People To Avoid At Your Company Holiday Party

There are one of two things you’ll experience at the company holiday party. Either you’ll have the time of your life enjoying the social setting with your coworkers, or you’ll have the time of your life – avoiding your coworkers in their not-so-professional element.

In fact, chances are you’ll notice some transformations in the personalities of your work associates and if your company throws a mandatory holiday party, you might want to consider steering clear of some of them.

There’s a thin line between casual and professional that becomes even thinner when music and an open bar are tossed into the mix. Awkward pauses and work tensions are not the objectives here, so if you want to have a good time connecting with the folks you spend most of your week hours with, there are some of these personalities you should avoid like the plague.

The Flirt

You know this person. They’re usually the ones talking about their wild weekend with some wild people who did wild things. So, when they have plans to attend the holiday party, it’s time to get wild.

Professionalism flies out the door and the new mission is to trap a victim under the conveniently placed mistletoe. Getting into a conversation with this person will likely leave you grossed out and avoiding their third-floor department for months after.

Your evening will feel like a night of dodging coy remarks, cleverly masked by the available alcohol.

As embarrassing as a conversation starter like ‘Hey, have you seen the common room at night,’ sounds, to a flirt, it’s gold. Run and run fast to save an awkward Monday morning of regret.

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The Over-Sharer

You’ll probably want to drown in your own sorrows when you come across this person. Their conversations may start with something like “Did I ever tell you about the time…?” And is usually followed by a voice screaming “TMI” in your head.

They’ve been dying for a workplace social event to get closer with their fellow employees and will take any chance to get into a deep conversation – even if it doesn’t come with an invitation. Closely related to the common gossiper, the over-sharer is normally the person who goes too deep into detail about a past breakup, make-up or spring break drama they’ve encountered.

The real damage is done here when the holiday party is over and you’re forced to have a new work friend who is comfortable sharing personal information with you – regardless of how weirded out you are by it.

Word of the wise is to stay tight lipped if you find yourself cornered. If they can share how much they loathe when John from copying hogs the good printer, imagine what they can share about you to John.

The Fish

The open bar is the only reason this merrymaker attended this celebratory event. Secretly thankful it was mandatory, they’re usually on a first name basis with the bartender from the beginning of the night.

By the time everyone shows up (and a couple of shots later), drunken slurs are a part of normal conversation. Don’t be surprised if this person shows some oversharing qualities.

It’s easy to get sucked into their jolly mood but it’s just the booze. Having the best time is the only objective here but professionally, it could be bad for business.

The Hobnob

Schmooze, chit chatter, possibly the most talkative person at the holiday party, the hobnob is networking 24/7. They’re usually first in line for every opportunity to rub elbows with the bosses and if you think a social company party loosens them up, you’re wrong.

Don’t get too deep into conversation with this schmooze because there’s always a hidden agenda behind the innocence of “so, how long have you worked in HR?”

Keep your guard up and your defenses high with this person as your holiday party banter about the boss’ reluctance to recycle those sick days at the end of the year, will get back to the top.

The Grinch

Party pooper and never in the mood for the holidays, this coworker will probably feel the need to mention how crappy the party is with every turn. The bar will never have the right drinks, the music will always be dreary and the decorations are just the worst every year.

When the scrooge is around, it tends to bring down everyone else’s spirit. It’s almost sad how mopey this person can be and even if your merry goal is to spread the holiday cheer, save it for another time with someone you don’t have to see again when the shiny ornaments come down.

Have Fun at Your Company Holiday Party

These celebratory moments to cap off the year should be fun, lighthearted and certainly something to look forward to. It’s totally normal to get loose and enjoy a good time but keep in mind the thinning line between professional and casual. Make friends and mingle with the folks you share a workplace with and spend the night far away from some of those who can suck some of that fun out.

Why Toner Connect Only Buys OEM Toner

Toner Connect Supports OEM Toner Over Compatibles

There are a quite a few decisions that have to be made when you’re in the market for replacement toner.

First, you have to determine the types and sizes of toner cartridges that will fit your brand of printer. Once you have that down, there are capacity and colors to worry about.

Even after all of that, there’s still a choice left to make: will you opt for toner made by the original equipment manufacturer (OEM), or will you choose a compatible or remanufactured model to save some money?

Quality Products

When manufacturers release a new model of printer, they will also have an associated toner cartridge that they make to work with that printer (and most likely a few others in their line).

This toner, known as the OEM, is made with that company’s quality standards, and they’re usually bound by some guarantee that it will work with a certain model range of printer.

When you buy these cartridges, you’re buying that level of quality, which means that the retail price of these cartridges is generally higher than what are known as compatible cartridges, or those that have been reverse engineered to work with various printer brands. These cartridges, often from much smaller companies, are not held to the printer manufacturers’ quality specs and are not guaranteed to the same standard that the OEM cartridges are.

Without knowing where they came from, Toner Connect can’t pass them on to you with the same level of confidence as it can with the OEM cartridges.

Checks and Balances

The costs of making compatible toner is so low, it’s a no brainer for some distributors to buy direct from the manufacturers of these products and pass them on to the end-user without any checks or balances.

The companies making the compatible cartridges don’t care who they sell to, how they’ll be sold, or at what price.

As the buyer at the other end of the chain, you have no way of really knowing where that toner came from or who handled it before it got to you. When you buy an OEM cartridge from a trustworthy distributor, you can verify that it came through a certified channel of distribution and is being sold to you by a company you can trust.

Toner Connect relies on those same checks and balances to ensure the toner wey back meets the printer makers’ standards. This means that when we then sell a cartridge, we know that we’re passing that quality on to the next user and that it will work with the same level of quality that was originally intended.

Product Verification

You might be asking “How do I know I’ve gotten a real cartridge?”. There are quite a few telltale signs of a genuine toner from an OEM:

Packaging: Manufacturers have been catching on to the trend of counterfeit and lookalike ink and toner refills for quite a while now. They know that some distributors and resellers have pretty sophisticated techniques up their sleeves to fool you into believing you’re buying the real deal. Because of this, many brands will have added security labels to the outside of their boxes. Tags, like holograms and QR-coded stickers, show when they’ve been moved or changed. You should notice a clean box inside, with a neatly wrapped cartridge firmly secured with appropriate labeling.
Verification: Speaking of QR codes… Those are there so you can quickly scan the label with your smartphone to make sure you’ve gotten a genuine product. Brands like HP and Xerox have their own apps, which will tell you right away if you have a fake, but you can also use QR scanner apps that you might already have downloaded. Don’t have a smartphone handy? Don’t worry, you can go to the manufacturers’ websites and enter the serial number to quickly check for authenticity.

This may seem like a lot of effort just to check for a real cartridge, but when you consider the price you are paying for that toner, taking a moment to verify is worth the time.

Future Outlook

Would Toner Connect ever buy back compatible cartridges? The short answer is no. The longer answer is – nope.

Toner Connect hasn’t ever accepted compatibles and doesn’t have any plans to start. The costs of not knowing the toner cartridges’ origins or quality standards are just too high. Plus, it wouldn’t be cost effective to resell those compatibles back since they’re so cheap direct from the distributors in the first place.

We are working towards partnerships with select manufacturers to offer compatible cartridges direct to our customers. This way, we can verify the source and make sure we’re selling a product that you can trust. You will never find any compatible cartridges in our store that were repurchased, as we will continue buying back only the OEM cartridges so that we can pass those quality assuranceslong to our customers.

A Brief History of the Toner Cartridge and Its Recycling Economy

“The need for a quick, satisfactory copying machine that could be used right in the office seemed very apparent to me—there seemed such a crying need for it—such a desirable thing if it could be obtained. So I set out to think of how one could be made.”

— Chester Carlson (from the book, Copies in Seconds)

Toner cartridge manufacturing is a $4.5 billion industry. Only 20 to 30 percent of all toner cartridges are recycled, at that percentage, the recycled toner market is worth a billion dollars.

Most toner buyers are beginning to ask critical questions like:

How did the toner cartridge market come to be?
Where is the industry headed?
Who’s influencing what and why?

A toner cartridge used for landfill takes 1,000 years to degrade. Now, imagine the damage from over 350 million cartridges used for landfill every year! That’s enough toners to cover 100 standard-size football fields!

What’s worse? Toner cartridge manufacturing grows by 12 percent every year!

Now, if you think 350 million landfill-cartridges is something, think again. That figure compounded by 12 percent yearly for the next five years is not coming here. If you live in the US, the bulk of the problem is in your court — 70 percent of non-recycled toner cartridges are in the US.

No doubt, toner cartridge recycling will save our lives and renew our planet. In fact, recycling cartridges will save us a ridiculous amount of money — as much as 50 percent less than newly manufactured OEM cartridges.

How did it all start and where is the toner cartridge headed?

Chester Carlson’s Xerography Births Toner Cartridges

Chester Carlson invented xerography in 1938; that invention has snowballed to today’s toner cartridge. Xerography was also known as electrophotography, an electrostatic dry-copying process that was used in producing out-of-print books and also making office copies.

Chester Carlton’s Electrophotography Patent. Image Credit: Britannica

Xerography was useful in laser printers. Under Xerox, with the unveiling of the Xerox 914 in 1959, Chester Carlson’s xerography evolved into what’s become today’s laser printer.

The Xerox 914 was tedious to use and required a special technical team for every unit of the machine. So complex was the Xero 914 that it could burst into flames if overheated; each unit sold with a handy fire extinguisher. Selling fire extinguishers with printers would be unimaginable in today’s world.

The machine earned the name “914” because it could copy sheets of paper that measured nine inches by 14 inches. Modern toners also evolved from Xerox 914, which used the most basic form of today’s toner.

Carbon, plastic polymer, and iron oxide constituted the toner mixture of the Xerox 914. Today’s toner cartridge ingredients remain the same as the first Xerox 914, with some refinements.

Early Toner Cartridges and their Complexity

A fixed box inside of the Xerox 914 was the start of toner cartridges. You can only refill the box, and you can’t change it. You’d have to pour the toner into the box via a unique hole.

The Xerox 914. Image Credit: Xerox Nostalgia

Technicians who poured the toner into the special hole struggled with a range of problems. Cartridge troubles ranged from simple toner dust spillage to serious health concerns resulting from inhaling toner dust.

In some instances the toner dust caused explosions!

Toner explosions resulted from a high concentration of combustible toner particles suspended in the air. Suspended toner powder reacts with oxidizing gases like oxygen and then explode.

Like some other tasks, refilling the toner mixture required the help of a technical team. The developer, a medium in which the toner traveled, was another mixture that needed refilling. The Xerox 914 had an encumbering printing process that wasted toner, so technicians would manually gather toners in a bottle.

Apple, HP, and Canon in the History of the Toner Cartridge

Canon built upon their initial effort at developing a print engine — Canon LBS-10 — by building the Canon CX. Since the Japanese companies didn’t know much about how computers worked, they collaborated with Apple and HP, at the same time.

Canon had been turned down by Xerox subsidiary, Diablo Data Systems.

While Canon, Apple, and HP were working out the intricacies of their collaboration, Xerox was out with a new and improved product. The Xerox Star 8010. The new Xerox machine was designed specifically for offices but was expensive to buy.

Canon took advantage of the high price of the Xerox Star 8010. The Japanese company collaborated with HP to introduce the HP LaserJet in 1984. The revolutionary printer sold for $3,500 at the time and in 16 years sold over 50 million units. Canon provided HP with the Canon CX print engine used in the HP LaserJet.

Image Credit: HP

Although it might not seem much today, the HP LaserJet was a breakthrough product of its time — the world’s first desktop printer. The machine boasted specifications never seen before. The HP LaserJet turned at a maximum speed of eight pages every minute; its print quality was as high as 300 dpi.

The HP LaserJet had many benefits over any other printer, including the Xerox 8010:

Quieter than other printers manufactured at that time.
More compact
More versatile
Cheaper than other printers

The HP LaserJet Ushers in the Toner Cartridge Economy

Image Credit: Alibaba

The toner cartridge as we know it today started with the HP LaserJet. The printer eliminates the need for a technician to operate it. All the printer components of the HP LaserJet that would require servicing was batched up into one container.

The content of the container included:

The waste toner gatherer
Toner container
The roller
The developer
The hopper

That batch of replaceable items became the “toner cartridge.” Printer users would only replace the “toner cartridge” when it needs replacement.

The new toner cartridge system had many benefits. Here are some of the key advantages:

The setup eliminates the need to pay servicing charges as was the norm with other printers.
The introduction of the toner cartridge removed the mess that came with printing.
There was no need to call a technician whenever the toner ran out
The new system eliminated the risk of dust explosions and respiratory problems due to suspended toner particles in the air.

The HP LaserJet attracted competitors quickly. These competitors — like Brother — introduced their unique versions of the modern printer. Other companies didn’t batch all replaceable components into a container. However, these companies ensured users could easily replace printer parts without calling a technician.

Why Toner Cartridge Recycling is the Future

Image Credit: Pinterest

The toner cartridge solved printing problems but created fresh challenges. The 350 million toner cartridges disposed of landfill sites consume non-renewable resources, including:

3.5 billion liters of oil.
33.6 million kilograms of aluminum (that’s about the weight of more than 76 Boeing 747 passenger planes).
More than 126 million kg of plastic. (that’s about the weight of more than 286 Boeing 747 passenger aircraft). Just imagine needing that number of airplanes to print office documents, every year!

Toner cartridges are posing environmental threats,

We use about 70 to 80 percent of used toner cartridges in landfill sites — approximately 350 million toner cartridges every year.
The number of toner cartridges manufactured every year grows by 12 percent
A toner cartridge is almost non-biodegradable as it’d take 1,000 years for a cartridge disposed of in a landfill to degrade.
Manufacturing one mono toner cartridge releases about 4.8 kg of carbon dioxide. We emit greenhouse gases the WEIGHT of a baby by manufacturing one mono toner cartridge. Now, that 4.8 kg of CO2 is for cartridge manufacturing alone — the toner isn’t included!
Based on the Life Cycle Assessment of toners, we emit 16 metric tons of greenhouse gases for each metric ton of toner produced.
The average toner has 5,000 Page Yield. Each printed page contains 200 grams of toner, emitting about 3.2 Kg of carbon dioxide per cartridge.

Globally, we recycle only about 20 to 30 percent of toner cartridges. The US recycles 45 percent of its paper. Why is the toner cartridge recycling percentage so small in comparison paper recycling?

Image Credit: Comprenew

Lots of people have bins in their offices or homes, and paper recyclers collect paper from them regularly. However, you’d find it harder to dispose of toner cartridges ethically. For most toner recycling programs, you must meet their qualifying standards before you are given a bin to collect cartridges. Due to these qualifying targets, small-volume toner cartridge users have no convenient options for participating in recycling programs.

However, toner cartridge remanufacturing is on the rise. The International Imaging

Technology Council reports that the toner cartridge remanufacturing industry has more than 10,000 companies from 85 countries in it.

Remanufacturing produces 105 million toner cartridges every year and prevents 84,000 tons of industrial-grade plastics and metals from going to landfills. The toner cartridge remanufacturing industry holds between 10 to 50 percent of market share, depending on the cartridge type.

Recycled cartridges cut cost by as much as 50 percent over OEMs. In a 2004 Waste News survey, about 60 percent of respondents said that they used recycled toner and ink cartridges in their home or office.

Toner Printers are Cost Effect Compared to InkJet

A toner cartridge shell costs three liters of oil to manufacture. Now, if you think that’s expensive, wait until you find out how much one ounce of printer ink costs. The cheapest printer ink costs about $13 an ounce — about the expense of a fine Champagne. ConsumerReports says that some printer ink sells for as high as $75, and that’s even costlier than a Chanel No. 5 perfume.

One liter equals about 34 fluid ounces or 0.2642 liquid gallons. At these measurements, we can derive the equivalent of one ounce of toner compared to one ounce of other expensive liquid substances.

According to Nine MSN, toner color ink is $36.75 per 6.5mls, and black ink is $24.95 per 4.5mls, putting printer ink at about $5,500 per liter. When you compare printer ink to other expensive liquids, here’s what you get:

Chanel No. 5 perfume is $159 per 50mls or $3180 per liter
Dom Perignon Vintage 2003 is $199 per 700mls bottle or $284 per liter
Petrol is $1.48 per liter

In summary, toner cartridges pose manageable environmental problems. Remanufactured toner cartridges slice costs by 50 percent; they more cost-effective than inkjets. The shift towards remanufactured cartridges is growing. Albeit recycled cartridge growth has not caught to the 12 percent yearly increase in manufactured cartridges.

How to Avoid Buying Counterfeit Toner

In a world where anything and everything can be found online at a discount, it’s not surprising that people have figured out how to sell fake versions of that anything and everything.

The world of counterfeit goods has grown into a massive operation, bigger than some countries’ entire economies, making life very hard for real companies making authentic products.

This is all very alarming, but it’s not the end of the world by any means.

Luckily, there are still some pretty surefire ways of buying the real deal, whether it’s a designer handbag or a pair of nice sunglasses, and buying toner is no different.

Authorized Retailers

You’ve seen the websites and have probably been tempted to buy something from them.

Unfortunately, Superdiscountprintersupply.com.ru.biz is not a great place to buy toner. In fact, it’s probably not even a good idea to click around on one of these sites for too long unless you like malware.

It’s incredible easy for anyone to pop up a website, steal some pictures from a legitimate printer supply shop, and start selling knockoff toner from an unknown factory. The good news is that it’s not too difficult to tell if the site you’re looking at is an authorized retailer or not.

The first and best way to make sure you’re heading to the right place is to start at the source: the manufacturer’s website.

If they don’t sell the toner themselves, they will almost certainly be able to link you to a place that will. This is the absolute guaranteed way to ensure that you’re getting a legit site.

The pricing may seem a bit steep in some cases when buying direct from the manufacturer, but that price buys you peace of mind. It also buys you a quality and verified product that came from a factory with product control, and could get you a warranty or guarantee as well.

The next best way will be to start with an authorized retailer or a vendor that is able to verify and guarantee the authenticity of their toner and provides a return policy to back that guarantee up.

These businesses are either certified directly by the manufacturer of the toner or offer a thorough process of verifying the quality and authenticity of the toner they are selling.

In other cases, the retailer will buy back and independently verify the authenticity and quality of the toner that they then resell. This may allow them to offer a warranty or money guarantee.

Outside of buying direct, these are the best places to make sure you’re getting real toner. Many times, the manufacturer will
offer a link to these sites, especially if there is a physical store location selling the toner in an area nearby.

Buying Tips

There’s a really good chance that something sounding too good to be true actually IS too good to be true.

If you’re getting ready to click “buy” and the deal seems unbelievable, take a minute to check around the website to make sure you’re in a legitimate place. The toner may be open-box or return, which is fine as long as the product is still sealed and is
guaranteed.

Reading the fine print to verify that the deal really is a deal will save some headaches down the road.

If you have any doubts, but still think you can get a good product, you may want to pay with a credit card that has a purchase guarantee to help you get your money back if the toner ends up not being what you expected. The bottom line is that you will get what you pay for, and in most cases the quality and authenticity guaranteed by purchasing direct is worth any premium you might pay.

Open The Box

If you’ve already purchased toner and are wondering if you
got burned, do not put the toner in your printer to test it out. There are a few things to do first to ensure
the authenticity and freshness of the toner before use:

1. The box – Most toner manufacturers clearly label the outside packaging with their branding and the model number of the toner itself. You will also find information on the types of printers that the toner will work with. In many cases, there will be a stamp or seal on the box with some sort of hologram or foil image that shows the brand of the toner and some other imaging of authenticity.

2. Expiration date – Toner won’t necessarily spoil like cheese, but the quality can degrade over time. For this reason, manufacturers put a “best by” date on the box/packaging to let you know how long you have to use the product.

3. Foil wrapping and sealed packaging – First, the inside of the box should be clean and completely free of dirt and debris, and everything packed tightly without a bunch of loose packaging bumping around. The foil wrap and/or sealed bag that contains the toner cartridge should also be clean and not torn or damaged in any way.

4. Toner – The actual cartridge should not have cracks or be leaking toner powder. Loose parts or damage to the cartridge could be an indication of repackaged toner.

It’s extremely tempting to purchase discount toner from a place that seems to have the best deals around.

Toner, in general, can be expensive to replace and it’s understandable to try saving some money by searching for a deal. Plenty of people know that, and as mentioned before, have made great businesses out of fooling others into buying fake or repackaged toner.

A little bit of common sense and a lot of caution will go a long way to helping you make sure you’re getting only authentic toner. If a deal seems too good to be true, it probably is, but spending the time to verify the source and seller can tell you what you’re getting into.

Now that you know how to spot counterfeit toner, how about you let us give you a quote for your unused OEM toner?

Is Printer Toner Safe For Your Skin?

There are quite a few things we think about when buying toner, from price to brand to where we buy it, but safety might not be on that list.

In fact, safety is probably pretty low on the list of concerns when thinking about office supplies and equipment in general.

That’s alright because making copies isn’t the most dangerous thing we do all day. During normal operation, printing with and using toner is very safe, but there are some things to keep in mind when handling and using toner and printers.

Printing Safely

First of all, let’s get this out of the way: printing is safe.

There should be, under normal circumstances, no real reason to worry about being near office equipment.

Now that we’ve said that, printers can and do emit carbon monoxide (CO). The cooling and air circulation functions inside the machines expel warm air from the moving parts, and in doing so push out the CO gases that the printer can create during operation.

This doesn’t mean that they are giant gas-making machines, though, as printers won’t get hot enough to produce a ton of CO under normal operation. When machines get really hot and are kept in rooms where the ventilation is poor, gases can build up and cause problems for anyone that is in the space with them for extended periods of time.

Even when operating normally, however, certain parts of printers do get very warm.

It’s actually a requirement of toner that it is heated by a laser to melt the powders inside the cartridges to print. Other moving parts inside, especially rollers and other pieces that move paper through the printer can get very hot, which can cause burns if touched too soon after printing. Most of us will never come in contact with these parts, but printers do jam and have other issues occasionally, so we do have to reach inside to help things keep moving when these things happen.

Toner Contact

Toner cartridges themselves are also considered to be safe in general, but when broken they can release harmful toxins that are used to create the powder inside. A chemical called carbon black is used when creating the powder inside toner, which is known to be a carcinogen. As with the printers themselves, toner is pretty benign, and most people will never come in contact with the harmful stuff inside, but there can be some danger if the cartridge is damaged or broken during shipping or normal use.

When printers heat the powder inside toner cartridges with a laser to print on a page, this doesn’t release that powder out into the air, so there is no increased risk of breathing it in when printing normally.

What Can You Do To Stay Safe?

All of that sounds pretty scary, right? Probably not, but taking some precautions when handling and using toner, printers, and other office equipment is still a good idea.

Everyone is always fighting over the office temperature and who is hot or cold, but the movement of air through the space is important to helping us breathe. When people are packed into a space with little air movement and lots of fluorescent lights, printers, computers, and someone microwaving fish in the kitchen, the quality of the air being breathed in degrades quickly and significantly. Being sure to have a properly maintained HVAC system will greatly help cut down on these issues and move any harmful things in the air out of the space.

Office design also plays a role in this area. It can be tempting and very convenient to place printers at “hub” locations, where many employees have quick access to them. If at all possible, locating office equipment a short distance away from employees’ desks will help cut down on any risk (even small) of them breathing in or coming in contact with any harmful chemicals or gases if an issue came up.

Next, any printer issues more complicated than a simple paper jam should be handled by a trained professional. Printers are pretty safe and the risks of getting hurt are low, but fiddling around inside a complicated machine greatly increases your chances of encountering a problem.

Last, and this is a big one: make sure the toner you’re buying is authentic and not repackaged. This will help cut down on damaged toner out of the box and reduce the risk of coming into contact with toner powder and any of the potentially harmful agents that come along with it.

Make sure you’re storing the toner in an area that is both dry and well ventilated without too many temperature extremes. Since toner is activated by a heating element (laser) inside the printer, you won’t want them to heat up before the printing actually takes place.

To be clear: under normal operation, printers and toners are very safe.

There should be no reason to have a fear of being hurt when making copies at the office. Taking simple precautions by checking toner for damage and not trying a DIY printer repair will go a long way toward making sure you stay safe when operating the office equipment. Even with all the caution in the world, people can have accidents, and it may not always be obvious when a problem happens.

Of course, if someone comes experiences an issue, especially one that causes discomfort or pain, consulting medical professionals and sending that person to the doctor will always be the best policy.

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Why It’s Important Not To Rely Entirely On Your IT Department

It is a long standing notion that most non-technical people do not understand the inner workings of the IT department. Some hold it in bewildered reverence, some with a bit of suspicion (do they really play World of Warcraft all day?), while others a more matter of fact approach of indifference.

However, the most agreed upon opinion is that they are vital to the running of any sort of company in possession of computers, printers or even your standard DVD player. So why is it important to know a thing or two about your own office equipment rather than relying entirely on their department?

Simple. Not only will you take these skills with you wherever you go, but you’ll also save yourself a lot of trouble when time is a factor. So next time when something goes wrong, before you pick up the phone, try these quick simple steps to see if you can fix the problem yourself.

Computer

Restarting

Made famous by the UK’s IT Crowd, “have you tried turning it off and on again?” is one of the most popular and helpful things to do when your computer is acting up. Chris O’Dowd’s character would often answer his IT phone with simply saying, “Hello have you tried turning it off and on again?” and then abruptly hanging up. The reason being is it’s a way to clear the computer’s memory and gives the processes a chance to rerun.

Updates

Easy to ignore but don’t. There’s a reason why they’re coming in. For both Macs and Windows, it’s crucial to keep them updated if you want things running smoothly. Sometimes IT departments prefer to update the computers themselves which is a nice solution but for those who’s IT team doesn’t or for your home computer (or tablet and phones) you’ll want to update when prompted.

Google’s acting up

If google is redirecting you to sites you didn’t request or you’re often asked to give personal information, you might be under attack by malware. This is where the experts come in handy but in the meantime, you need to uninstall your web browser and if you know how to run it, start your antivirus. Another tip is to make sure your antivirus is continuously running with Malwarebytes.

Cache Clearing

Each time you visit a website your computer keeps a memory of it called a “cache”. It does so so that next time you visit that particular link, it doesn’t take as long to load because it’s stored the information. Handy except it takes up space on your hard drive and can often times slow things down. While not vitally important to clear, it is helpful. Especially if you start getting 404 or 502 errors (indications of cache corruptions).

Clearing cache is a simple process. All you need to do is clear your internet history or clicking Ctrl+Shift+Del.

Along with clearing your cache, deleting your computer’s cookies is also an easy and sometimes vital fix. To see how to delete cookies from each particular browser, click here.

Printers

Paper Jam

As shared in a previous post, paper jams don’t always mean paper is jammed. Here is a list of what possibly could be causing your printer to send out its familiar and annoyingly broad distress call.

Misaligned paper in the tray
Paper added while a print job is in progress. This is a big no no for printers. Do not disturb the master while it’s at work.
The tray contains more than white type of paper. You can’t add glossy photo paper in the mix of your regular run of the mill white paper.
Junk is in the input tray. Check for things like rubber bands, metal clasps, paper clips etc…
The access door is not closed securely. Check the rear and underside traps.
Paper might actually be jammed. You should probably check for that too.

“Have you tried turning it off and on again?”

Remember that clever phrase? Yeah, it comes into play here. If you’ve checked for jams and it’s still acting up, turn the printer off and on again. It’s the same concept for a computer, it might just need a reboot.

Print Queue is held up

If your print job isn’t going through and the job that’s holding it up cannot be deleted, you need to clear the queue. In order to do so, follow these instructions.

General Maintenance

A good rule of thumb for any type of printer is to keep in clean and well maintained. Follow the printer’s manual for how often it needs to be serviced and keep it dust free. Toner Connect also suggests using good quality products for your printer. For toner, ink, and paper. Your printer will have fewer problems if your supplies are more high end.

There will always be a need for the folks in IT. However, after reading these quick and simple tips, you won’t be the guy bleating on the phone for them to come fix your device all the time. And after using words like “cache”, “404 problem” or “malware” you might just earn a little bit of their respect.

How to Clean Printer Ink And Toner Off of Your Hands and Fabrics

Getting the stain is easy — to clean printer ink and toner off of your hands and clothes isn’t.
You’d hardly escape getting stained when changing your toner cartridge or printer ink; stains may also follow a paper jam.

Don’t let the mess weigh you down. Use the guide here.

First, take precaution.

Test a small (preferably invisible) part of your clothing to figure out if the chemical you plan to use would solve your problem or worsen it.

Check your clothing tag for any care guides before attempting to remove ink or toner stains.

If your clothing tag forbids you using bleach — for set-in stains only — use a pretreatment solution consisting of two tablespoons of liquid detergent, three tablespoons of white vinegar, and one quart (i.e., one liter) of warm water.

Let’s explore step by step how to clean printer ink off of your hands and fabrics — starting with your fabrics. Read on.

Clean Fresh Ink Stains Off of Clothes and Fabrics

Use a damp towel or sponge: Using a clean, damp towel, dab the stained part of the garment until you completely lift the ink off of the area. You may use a sponge in place of a towel.

Air dry: Allow the stain to air dry.

Hairspray or alcohol: Dab the stain with alcohol or spray it with hairspray.

Paper towels: Insert your stained garment between two paper towels.

Blot the stain out: Force the stain out into one of the paper towel by blotting the back side of the fabric.

Repeatedly blot the stains out: Lift off the stain by repeatedly pressing the affected area of the garment into the clean segments of the paper towel. Make sure you are pressing and moving the paper towel to ensure the stains do not retransfer into the cloth. Use new paper towels if you see a need for them. Continue this process until you completely remove the stains.

Clean OldInk Stains Off of Clothes and Fabrics

Cleaning off printer ink stains that have settled into your garment requires a bit more rigor. Here’s the process:

Apply detergent: Use a small amount of liquid laundry detergent on the affected area.

Scrub: Scrub the stained spot with a toothbrush; this should start lifting the stain.

Use bleach (if appropriate for your garment): If the scrubbing didn’t remove the stain, mix one part water with one part bleach, dip the toothbrush in the solution and softly brush the stain off.

Wash the cloth: Wash the cloth immediately. Your garment must NOT dry between scrubbing and washing it — the loosened ink stain would set back into your fabric if dried.

Dry the garment: Dry the garment flat or hanged. DON’T use a dryer. Using a dryer would set-in any remaining ink residues into the fabric. Repeat this process (1 to 5) if you find any ink residues after your garment dries.

Clean Toner Stains Off of Clothes and Fabrics

Hand vacuum: First off, vacuum the area affected by the toner stain, and then take off your clothing.

Shake: Once taken off, shake the garment vigorously to remove the remaining toner stain.

Brush: Use a soft bristled brush to clean off the stains gently. DON’T rub the stain as doing so forces the toner powder deeper into the fabric.

Brush alternative: You may use a dry piece of cloth, like a towel, instead of a bristled brush. Use the dry cloth in a brushing motion — make sure it’s a piece of cloth that you don’t mind soiling.

Using rubbing alcohol: Blot the toner stain with an absorbent cloth you’ve dampened with rubbing alcohol.

Use hairspray: Spray the affected area with hairspray and blot BOTH sides of the fabric with the towel, then wash the garment in a washing machine using COLD water. Stains could become permanent if heat fuses the toner dust, so make sure you’ve completely removed the stain before exposing your cloth to a dryer.

Clean Printer Ink Off of Your Hands

About all printer ink or toner stain removers have their downsides — especially if the stain is on your skin.

I have provided a list of eight ways to clean ink or toner stains from your hands, and possible health hazards that follow each of these options.

Bleach: Mix 1 part of bleach with ten parts of water. Rub the affected areas with the solution until the stain is wiped off. Make sure you wash your hands thoroughly using soap and water after removing the stains. Neutralize the smell of the bleach by squeezing orange or lemon. Bleach is caustic. Chlorine is an ingredient in bleach; it can cause burn and irritations of the eye, nose, and throat; it can also cause pigment loss. Bleach can also cause vomiting and nausea.

Nail polish remover: This can remove printer ink or toner stains from your hands. However, you want to be careful with using a nail polish remover on anything apart from your skin as it’s capable of removing your furniture’s finish. Acetone, better known by the name ‘nail polish remover,’ can cause dizziness, irritation of the eyes, skin, and throat, and headaches if exposed to it too often for too long.

Rubbing alcohol: After using rubbing alcohol to get the toner or in off of your hands, apply some lotion to avoid drying out your skin. Make sure you keep the liquid away from your nose and do not ingest it.Isopropyl alcohol — the scientific name of rubbing alcohol — when ingested or inhaled causes side effects like dizziness, headaches, nausea, flushing, vomiting, and in some extreme cases may cause coma.

Hairspray: Apply hairspray on the stained area, leave for some time to dissolve the ink or toner. And then Wash it off. Swallowing a small amount of hairspray, unintentionally, isn’t dangerous — but deliberate swallowing of the substance can cause harm. The alcohol content of hairspray, according to Poison.org, is the only dangerous ingredient it has.

Glass Cleaner: Most homes and offices have some glass cleaner lying somewhere. Use this option to remove fresh stains. Spray the glass cleaner on the affected parts of your hands and wipe them with a paper towel BEFORE the ink dries out. Make sure that you do not breathe in or swallow the glass cleaner. This liquid, which contains ammonia (and other potentially toxic substances like ethanol, isopropyl alcohol, and methanol), can irritate the eye, lungs, and throat, and can damage the airways and mucous membrane.

Baby Oil: Baby oil coagulates the ink or toner stains quickly, especially when it’s still fresh. Overall, this is the safest option on this list.

Tea Tree Oil: Apply a few drops on a piece of clean dry cloth, and then scrub off the stain. To clean your skin thoroughly, repeat the process while using a fingernail brush to reach the crevices of your skin. Repeat until you’ve completely cleaned off the all the ink. Although Tea Tree Oil won’t harm you, it has a strong odor you might not like, so use it in a well-ventilated place. Don’t ingest tea tree oil as it might have serious side effects like unsteadiness, rash, and in extreme cases coma. Use other solutions on this list if you have acne, as tea tree oil may cause skin dryness, burning, stinging, and redness. Amazon and other retail outlets sell the product.

Hand Cleaner Solutions: Solutions like Goop and Gojo. These cleaners are for removing grease but can be used to remove ink and toner stains as well.

Conclusion

When dealing with ink or toner stains on your fabrics make sure to check clothing tags for care instructions — using bleach or rubbing alcohol may be inappropriate for some garments. Remember to test a small, invisible area of your cloth to determine if using a particular chemical would be appropriate or not.

Whether your fabric allows bleach or not, this article covers your need. Where using bleach is inappropriate, use the pretreatment solution described in the first few paragraphs of this article.

Applying chemicals to your skin should be done with utmost care. If you’d experience irritations with certain chemicals, try out other options on the list when removing stains from your hand.

It’s usually best to clean off ink or toner stains from your skin as quickly as possible; for example, using baby oil is deemed completely harmless. You have eight options from the list above, choose a handy option if you ever need to clean an ink or toner stain off of your skin.

We offer the best market rate. If you have new toner to sell, we can give you a quote in an hour; we’ll pay you here — online — and even cover shipping. Let’s talk.

3 Ways Recycling Ink Cartridges in Schools Can Help Build Students Character

Ever wonder what’s the best thing your kid could be doing at school to help you save some coins?

Recycling.

Not just any recycling. All recycling. Papers and paperboard scraps discarded from class projects. The leaves collected from caring for a school garden. And the ink cartridges used while printing Arial font newsletters on how to keep the PTA alive.
Recycling is everywhere. And because of this, our children are learning some handy lessons day to day.
Schools are powerful conveyors of social norms. What they’re exposed to for more than six hours a day can be a heavy influence on future behavior.

That’s why teaching children the importance of recycling everything – even with those small ink cartridges inside of the class printer – is a huge contributor to molding good personal character.

Nobody wants a mean kid.

Read on to find out how encouraging school recycling habits can foster good character traits in students at school and at home.

Recycling Shows Compassion

We all want to raise our kids to be compassionate beings with hearts of gold. The biggest way to teach such lesson is by our own actions.

When schools take the initiative to introduce recycling to students, there is an enlightenment happening.
Kids are understanding the world around them and how organisms work together to create a coexisting society.

Where should it start?

The classroom is a great opportunity. Encouraging students to compost food scraps, recycle plastic utensils and be mindful of waste is an effective character fet building tool.

They learn what caring for something bigger than themselves really stands for. It becomes more about helping the environment and the organisms than helping themselves.

Schools should take the opportunity to encourage walks with their students through the classrooms and school offices while pointing out recyclables.

There should be some exposure to recycling in other parts of the school like the offices and the cafeteria so that students may appreciate the effort school administrators are putting to make their environment cleaner.

School children are heavy receptors of information and providing useful tips in a natural setting is a big help to showing them how to develop and keep healthy habits.

Landfills are destroying our environment. Our children should know about it.

Recycling Shows Responsibility

A huge benefit of teaching kids the importance of recycling is the big responsibility lesson.

Children like to feel as a part of the bigger picture. Allowing them to help with the recycling while encouraging them to care for their surroundings is key to providing them with a voice to do so.

Let them take control of the recycling around the classroom and school. They can create signs for the garbage cans, make lists of what people should look out for to recycle and encourage their own families to try saving their planet. It’s fun, boosts creativity and imagination but more importantly, it saves the planet.

Recycling is Saving Money

Saving money is a huge asset to schools. Explaining the process of saving money to the kids will help give them insight on the importance of smart spending.

And smart spending is still a valuable asset to have as an adult. Imagine the healthy choices and practices a child with recycling habits from young will express when older.

Imagine if you knew more about recycling before the threat of global warming. Would it have made a difference?

Probably not. But your conscience would have been clear and your pockets a little heavier.

It’s a lesson in money management when your kid pays attention to recycling. They become more aware of the types of products they should be using and more concerned with the way they’re disposed.

Ultimately saving you and the environment some distress.

Landfills are destroying our environment. Our children should know about it. In between the tough algebra lessons, schools should take some time to practice recycling.

More and more offices and tech workplaces are utilizing the useful money saving practice that is recycling ink cartridges. So it makes sense to extend this to our kids who are, in the end, following our steps to saving the planet.

If not the little ones…then who?

If you have unused toner, please consider visiting us at tonerconnect.net. For any used toner, please reach out to your local community about recycling.

How Selling Your Toner Reduces Your Carbon Footprint

While hiking along your favorite trails it’s not unusual to see signs reminding you to keep your carbon footprint to a minimum. Even singer/superstar Justin Timberlake is leading the charge to reduce his impact. For every place his tour stops, he has calculated what his carbon footprint is and has trees planted to make up for it.

So what is a carbon footprint? And why are people like park rangers and Justin Timberlake concerned about it? We at Toner Connect have the answer along with what you can do about it.

What is a carbon footprint?

Every person on the planet is leaving carbon footprints. In short, it’s the CO2 (carbon dioxide) that is created from your everyday lifestyle. Carbon dioxide comes from fossil fuels that are used when you do things like run your car with gasoline or heat your home and which then turns into greenhouse gases.
The reason why there’s a big stink about it is that it’s what scientists and Al Gore believe are contributing to the increase in our Earth’s temperature.

What’s the big deal?

By raising the core temperature of the Earth, greenhouse gases will cause what’s known as the Global Warming crisis. Inevitably causing glaciers to melt, sea levels to rise, climate change etc…And the bad news is according to tonerrecycle, “Green House Gases emissions from manufacturing a single mono toner cartridge have been calculated to be approximately 4.8 kg CO2; per cartridge” and that’s not including the toner itself.
Along with greenhouse gases, there is the general pollution caused from our everyday lives and no matter how you look at it, in one way or another you are having a negative impact on the Earth along with a positive one.
Contributing your own carbon footprint is inevitable but along with conscious consumption of finite resources and avoiding littering, there’s one big way you can put a dent in your contribution and that’s recycling.

Where does my toner come in?

Did you know that more than 18 million toner cartridges end up in landfills all around the world? And toners aren’t like banana peels. The materials that makes up toners aren’t capable of decomposing for over a hundred years.
To put it in perspective, if someone in 1917 had somehow gotten their hands on a toner cartridge, scratched their head in confusion, tossed it in the local dump and went scuttling off to fight in WWI, it would just now in 2017, begin the breakdown of decomposition. Now imagine millions of them. Not in 1917 because goodness where would they get them? But right now, and the impact they are having on our environment. Let me tell you right now it’s not a good one. That’s where we come in.

Toner Connect and You

Did you know that you can recycle those unused cartridges? And get paid to do it? That’s right. At Toner Connect, we love our world so much that we’re willing to pay you to help us keep it clean. Just about any unopened toner cartridges that you receive from the OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) qualifies for our buyback program.
By filling out our online application to find out if your toner qualifies, you’ll be able to spare your cartridge a very very long, although painless, death in the trash heap. To find out more on how our buyback program works, check it out here.

Used Cartridges

If your cartridge is used, have no fear. It doesn’t need to end up at the landfill even though we can’t buy it. There are still plenty of options and thank goodness there are because according to the stats from tonerrecycle almost 80% of used toner cartridges get thrown away.
Check with the manufacturer to see if they have a return policy. A lot of companies prefer to have used cartridges returned to them for them to refill and resell. You can also recycle your cartridge but make note that you can’t just drop it in your nearest recycle bin.
Office stores like OfficeMax or Staples usually have a policy in place where used cartridges can be dropped off for recycling. Finally, a lot of people prefer to refill their toners themselves which is always an option for you. For a full explanation of how to recycle toners, check out our post here.

The Bottom Line

Leaving your carbon footprint is almost unavoidable but there are definitely ways to make up for it. Whether it’s planting trees in response to your sold out concert or recycling your plastic bottles or selling unused toner cartridges. Every little bit helps and we at Toner Connect want to do our part, and that’s where you come in.
By recycling used cartridges and selling us your unused toner cartridges you’re helping us help you make your mark on the world a little less impactful…in a good way.