COMPANY INTRODUCES SOY-BASED LASER CARTRIDGES

[Anonymous]

http://www.usnews.com/blogs/daves-download/2008/8/1/company-introduces-soy-based-laser-cartridges.html
Company Introduces Soy-Based Laser Cartridge
A
Maine company says it will soon start selling the first toner
cartridges for laser printers made from soy instead of petroleum. And
one analyst is predicting the rest of the industry will move to
soy-based toners.Print Recovery Concepts said the toner derived from
soybean oil performs at least as well as traditional brands made with
petroleum. The company announced the technology to start lining up
distributors, who should have product to start selling this fall, Vice
President Rick Greenlaw said.Not that soy-based toners will save a
flood of oil imports. The country uses about 100 million cartridges of
laser toner a year. That sounds like a lot. But each cartridge requires
only a liter or two of petroleum, meaning a wholesale conversion saves
maybe 1 million barrels. That’s hardly a dent in demand that’s measured
in billions of barrels.But PRC says the cartridges will be no more
expensive than name-brand toners. They’re also easier to de-ink in
recycling processes, notes Kase Niles, an analyst at NPD Group.
“Because soy-based toner offers a cleaner and sustainable source of
toner, PRC’s efforts will be mirrored by OEM manufacturers and
remanufacturers throughout the entire toner industry,” Niles says.

[Author]

August 5, 2008 at 12:02 PM