STANDISH, MAINE—PRC Technologies, a division of Print Recovery Concepts Inc., announced that it is offering the first laser printer cartridges that use toner powder derived from soybeans. PRC reports they will supply cartridges for the most popular laser printers under the SoyPrint brand at prices comparable to brand name versions currently available. Soy ink has been available for some time but this is the first soy toner cartridge for laser printers.
Debe Overhaug, president of Print Recovery Concepts, reports a printer cartridge contains one pound of toner powder and that U.S. businesses, schools, institutions and governments consume more than 100 million cartridges per year.
“That means the United States consumes as much as 50,000 tons of petroleum-based toner powder each year,” Overhaug says. “Now every office employee can help reduce dependence on oil every time they put a toner cartridge in their printer.”
Quality is Not Compromised
PRC has completed months of extensive testing and reports the print quality and number of pages per cartridge match brand name versions. Overhaug also noted soy toner does not harm the printers. SoyPrint cartridges are manufactured in the United States and will be shipped from warehouses all over the country.
“Any office can print in a “green” manner,” Overhaug said. She advised that an office can use high quality, compatible soy-based toner cartridges, recycled paper and, when a printer gets old, donate it to a public school during tight budget times. Empty toner cartridges should be carefully recycled.
SoyPrint cartridges will be easy to identify as each will be marked with SoyPrint labels. PRC refers its customers to recycled paper suppliers, recycles all empty cartridges and arranges for businesses to donate unneeded printers instead of discarding them.
“As we developed this soy cartridge, we realized if we looked at the entire printing process, any office can significantly reduce the environmental impact on our planet,” Overhaug said. “This is truly the most environmentally sustainable way to print.”
Go to PRC.
