Thursday, May 7, 2009

Reverse Vending Machines for Recycling

From Gizmodo - So when are these machines going to be available for inkjet toner cartridge recycling.



I've always been comfortable with humans' relationship with vending machines: we feed them money, they feed us high-fructose corn syrup, everyone's happy. Envirobank wants to upset this age-old ritual with their "reverse vending machines".

The pitch: these boxes, fashioned like regular ol' vending machines, will eat, clean and smush your recyclable empties, rewarding you for your good deed with coupons, cash credit or vouchers for nearby stores. Your good deed, of course, was that you a) recycled a plastic bottle and b) watched a targeted advertisement on the machine's LCD screen. As of last week, they've been deployed in a few locations in Envirobank's native Australia, but only on a trial basis.

Evirobank claims the machines not only encourage recycling, but reduce carbon emissions by preparing the empties for direct shipment to a recycling depot, bypassing waste processing facilities altogether. I'm not sure that building a massive machine, replete with screens, processors, motors and pumps, results in a net decrease in emissions compared to driving some bottles around, but their hearts are in the right place, and 'details' like that tend to be ignored anyway.

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Print from a Blackberry, by HP

Similar to the iPhone application, now you can print to any printer from your Blackberry.

Hewlett-Packard and Research In Motion announced on Monday a partnership for enterprise clients that incorporates the newly released BlackBerry Enterprise Server 5.0 software and a print service.

HP CloudPrint for BlackBerry Smartphones, a Web-based technology slated to be shown at this week's Wireless Enterprise Symposium in Orlando, Fla., lets users print e-mails, photos, documents, and Web pages from their BlackBerrys to the nearest printer, regardless of the printer manufacturer.

"The service is printer-agnostic and driverless, and requires simple Internet access," HP said in a statement.

HP Operations Manager for BlackBerry Enterprise Server, also released Monday, is designed to enable companies to monitor and manage their BlackBerry enterprise environment. Managed BlackBerry Services, meanwhile, enables IT managers to outsource support of the BlackBerry environment to EDS Mobile Workplace Services, HP said.

"RIM and HP are working together to deliver solutions to customers that weave mobility into their daily operations--from innovative new services in the cloud to managed mobile services for the enterprise," Jim Balsillie, co-chief executive officer of Research In Motion, said in a statement. "Through our collaboration with HP, businesses will have access to an expanded set of applications and services for their BlackBerry smartphone deployments."

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Sayonara - Well Kinda!

Office Depot seems to be going down with a fight - Closing all of their stores in Japan to cut costs.

TOKYO (MarketWatch) -- Office Depot Inc. plans to close all of its stores in Japan by the end of this year because of intense price competition, according a Nikkei newspaper report.
Office Depot's subsidiary in Japan has so far closed eight stores this year, with the other 20 expected to close by the end of the year, the Nikkei reported Sunday.
Office Depot was cited as saying the closures will cost about $13 million.
Office Depot Japan Ltd. opened its first store in 1997. The subsidiary will reportedly continue its mail-order and online sales and soon sell other private-brand goods now marketed overseas.
It also intends to sell private-brand goods to major supermarket chains, the report said.

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Customer Testimonial

An actual customer testimonial about our service. Why not try it. It doesn't cost you anything to try our cross reference system for printer supplies!

Answerco.com has been such a help with finding the right parts for our customer. The site is complete and has more information than any other online cross reference database we have used. Answerco.com provides all of the information you could possibly need at one central location. Our company has never found a better source for a Toner Cross Reference than this site.

Thank You,

Bob Olsen

GM Supplies

New HP Laserjet Printers, Interesting CPC Info

New set of Hewlett Packard Laser Printers that one of our customers gave us a tip.

Laserjet P2053
Laserjet P2054
Laserjet P2056
Laserjet P2057

  • Utilizing the HP Black toner cartridge CE505X
  • Page Yield, 6,500 pages at 5% coverage
  • Estimate Retail Price, $273.47
  • Estimated Cost per Print, $0.0648 cents per page

Laserjet P2033
Laserjet P2034
Laserjet P2036
Laserjet P2037

  • Utilizing the HP Black toner cartridge CE505A,
  • Page Yield, 2,300 pages at 5% coverage
  • Estimate Retail Price, $149.07
  • Estimated Cost per Print, $0.0648 cents per page


Interesting? The high yield cartridge has the same cost per page as the low yield cartridge.

What's up with that?

Monday, April 27, 2009

We have these too!

OKI Data Americas, which markets its products under the OKI Printing Solutions brand, today announced the launch of the MC560 Letter/A4 color multifunction product (MFP). Offering the best possible value in the Letter/A4 color MFP segment with faster monochrome printing speeds1, better color output quality2 in brilliant HD (high-definition) Color and a lower total cost of ownership than all competitors' models in its class, the MC560 MFP also features a compact design that will appeal to small-medium workgroups. Serving as a replacement to the current C5550n MFP, the MC560 MFP allows customers to save money and valuable office space, while improving document workflow and increasing the effectiveness of business communications with a single workgroup device.

Highlights of the announcement:

  • The MC560 MFP is available at a competitive price point with a compact design, providing small-medium workgroups the opportunity to save money and the valuable office space associated with maintaining multiple devices
  • The new MFP features HD Color Technology with class-leading print resolution of 1200 x 600 dpi and superior monochrome print and copy speeds of 323 pages-per-minute (ppm)
  • The new MFP improves workgroup performance by consolidating the creation and distribution of documents with one easy-to-use device
  • The MC560 MFP consumes less energy than the equivalent number of single-function products, resulting in a reduced impact on the environment

'In today's ever changing economy, small to medium size businesses are looking for creative ways to cut costs in all areas without having to sacrifice quality or efficiency,' said Mike Garofola, Senior Marketing Manager, Color Products at OKI Data Americas. 'These customers have a wide range of document handling needs and require devices they can depend on to perform a variety of business functions, but without the costly investment. However, having too many single function devices (individual printer, copier, scanner, fax machine) can waste valuable office space and make document workflow too cumbersome. The fast print/copy speeds and premium performance of the MC560 color MFP provides customers with the ability to create impactful, high-quality documents, quickly and efficiently and for less money.'


The MC560 MFP is ideal for users focused on affordability and ease-of-use, with full functionality, reliability, fast print/copy speeds and flexible paper handling that can be shared in networked environments. With multi-tasking capabilities, as a standard added benefit in medium size workgroups, the MC560 MFP replaces the need for individual faxing, printing, copying and scanning devices. By replacing multiple single function devices with the full functioned MC560 MFP, workgroups can also save time, money and energy and help reduce their environmental impact, at the affordable price of $999.


The MC560 A4 color MFP features the following key attributes:

Fast print/copy speeds of 20 ppm color and 32 ppm black-and-white3 to improve office efficiency and maximize small to medium workgroup productivity and performance
Spectacular HD color output and 1200 x 600 dpi print resolution with the flexibility to create world-class business documents on a variety of media with class-leading 48' banner support
Print, copy, scan and fax capabilities from one space-saving device allows users to easily create and distribute documents while reducing workflow and increasing the effectiveness of business communications

  • Compact size/footprint conducive to small to medium work environments
  • Multi-tasking functionality allows for more than one function to be performed at one time as well as Dual Access Fax Functionality
  • Embedded LDAP functionality allows users to pull e-mail addresses from a corporate address book
  • User-level authentication allows for e-mails sent from the MC560 MFP to come from the user, not the device
  • Supports Color Access Policy Manager utility from OKI Printing Solutions to control the usage of color printing by user, application, web site, etc.
  • Includes standard PaperPort scanning and document management software that turns hardcopy documents into digital content and Omnipage OCR software that converts files into editable electronic documents
  • Consumes less energy than the equivalent number of single-function products, resulting in a reduced impact on the environment
  • Increased capacity for both black and color toners. Black toner yield is 8,000 pages and Color toner yield is 6,000 pages (Declared yield in accordance with ISO 19798). See what these cartridges cross reference to.

All OKI Printing Solutions products are built on parent company OKI Data Corporation's history of leadership and innovation in color printing, such as digital LED technology and Single Pass Color'. This technology allows OKI Data to manufacture products that require fewer moving parts for increased reliability.


OKI Printing Solutions products are backed by comprehensive support from authorized OKI Printing Solutions dealers and solution providers. In addition, the company provides live, toll-free4 technical support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, with agents based in North America.


OKI Printing Solutions is dedicated to being environmentally conscious and supporting our customers' increasing focus on the environment. In support of those efforts, we offer customized printing solutions and multifunctional products that help our customers reduce their impact on the environment and increase operational efficiency.

  • As compared to mono print speed of Xerox 6180, Lexmark x560n and Konica Minolta 4690MF, according to product information listed on each of the manufacturer's websites as of March 24, 2009.
  • As compared to Xerox 6180 and Lexmark x560n, according to product information listed on each of the manufacturer's websites as of March 24, 2009.
  • Published performance results based on laboratory testing. Individual results may vary.
  • Available in the US and Canada only.

Saturday, April 25, 2009

We had them, Ricoh, Lanier, Savin

WEST CALDWELL, N.J., April 20 /PRNewswire/ --

Ricoh Americas Corporation, the leading provider of digital office equipment, today launched the Ricoh(R) Aficio(R) MP 171 digital copier, MP 171F digital copier and fax and MP 171SPF digital copier, Super G3 Fax, LAN, Internet, and IP Fax, network printer and color network scanner. Ricoh's new line of digital imaging systems are compact powerhouses capable of addressing a variety of document management needs including black and white digital copying, network printing and faxing, full-color scanning, and advanced digital distribution. The Aficio MP 171 Series is an ideal investment for small offices or medium sized workgroups that can help companies minimize document costs while increasing productivity.

Same supplies as Ricoh MP161. as well as Lanier LD117F and Savin 917F

Friday, April 24, 2009

Return at ONCE!

OAKDALE, Minn. & ALISO VIEJO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Imation Corp. (NYSE: IMN) and Buy.com®, the Internet Superstore™, have teamed up to reduce the environmental impact of printing through the availability of Imation Earthwise™ remanufactured toner cartridges. A four-point recycling program further ensures that environmentally aware and cost-conscious users can easily reduce their effect on Mother Nature.

Imation offers earth-friendly, remanufactured toner cartridges with original manufacturer quality at up to 50 percent savings. Each Imation Earthwise toner cartridge begins with a reused plastic shell, and contains a new printer drum, new toner, and other reconditioned or replaced parts. Imation Earthwise toner cartridges are packaged in cartons made from no less than 80 percent post-consumer recycled materials. Each cartridge saves three pounds of waste from filling landfills and the equivalent of three quarts of petroleum by not manufacturing a new cartridge.

Further, buying Imation Earthwise toner cartridges online via Buy.com’s e-commerce model reduces environmental impact with 35 percent less energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions than what is produced in the traditional retail shopping model, according to a study by Carnegie Mellon University’s Green Design Institute. Buy.com operates a unique virtual model in which products are shipped directly from distribution partners to customers, eliminating a significant step in the retail supply chain.

“Earth Day used to be the only time when Americans thought about their impact on the environment. Now, every day we consider what we can do to reduce our carbon footprint,” said Tom Lally, vice president, Americas Commercial Business, Imation. “Using Imation Earthwise toner cartridges is one of the easiest ways that businesses and home office users can make a difference. Not only is this line guaranteed to meet the highest quality standards while saving money, it’s an environmentally wise choice further enhanced by the green nature of the Buy.com model. Additionally, with four ways to recycle Imation Earthwise cartridges, completing the cycle has never been simpler.”

Imation offers its customers several options for recycling used Imation Earthwise toner cartridges:

Bulk Return – Collect at least 10 used cartridges and return them all at once to Imation. Simply download and print the prepaid, pre-addressed UPS return label from the Imation Web site or, and use “earthwise” as the login ID and password.

Individual Return – Don’t throw it away! Repack the used cartridge in the box from the new Imation Earthwise toner cartridge, then download and print the prepaid, pre-addressed UPS return label from the Imation Web site or use “earthwise” as the login ID and password.
Corporate Recycling – Take advantage of existing corporate recycling processes, which are fast, easy and already successful.

Community Return – Visit your local recycling facility or home office products location, which often collect used cartridges for recycling.

“Imation Earthwise toner cartridges are a natural fit for Buy.com’s ‘Go Green’ message,” said Jeff Wisot, vice president of marketing, Buy.com. “Remanufactured toner saves money and helps the environment, but the quality controls that Imation has in place are unsurpassed. With Imation Earthwise in our portfolio, we’re confident we’re giving our customers the greenest way to buy toner cartridges.”

The Imation Earthwise line of laser printer and fax toner cartridges includes Monochrome HP- Compatible, Color HP-Compatible and Monochrome Canon-Compatible cartridges. Users can find the right cartridge for their system through the Cartridge Finder at www.imation.com or buy.imation.com.

Thursday, April 23, 2009

Print Management Solutions Pavilion


My personal mouse told me a secret........








that the Recharger World Expo 2009 will be jumping on the band wagon regarding Managed Print Services Solutions.

August 18th, there will be classes throughout the day to teach different aspects of Print management Solutions. The Cost to attend these tentatively will be $99.00 to attend your selection of classes. Second on the show floor they will have a section devoted to MPS providers and their solutions, Software and other applications. Interesting tactic for the Recharger guys to get more exhibitors to show up.

How many MPS Software provides are going to be there this year?
Are the OEM providers be there?
HP?
Lexmark?
Konica-Minolta?
Samsung?

This should be interesting - Who do you think will exhibit at the Recharger World Expo?

Xerox Machine we found?

Xerox WorkCentre 7425

Fax, Internet fax, LAN fax, Network print connectivity, Network scan, Scan, Walkup fax

Quick Specs
  • Color: up to 20 ppm
  • Black: up to 25 ppm
  • First Page out as fast as 6.7 seconds black and white / 8.7 seconds color
  • Duty Cycle: up to 60,000 images/month
Xerox WorkCentre 7425 Supplies
  • Black Toner Cartridge - 006R01395
  • Cyan Toner Cartridge - 006R01398
  • Magenta Toner Cartridge - 006R01397
  • Yellow Toner Cartridge - 006R01396
  • Drum Unit - 013R00647
  • Fuser Unit - 008R13063

See the rest of the supplies in the cross reference.