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Why Recycle?
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The technology for recycled has gotten to where you can't tell the difference.
If your company isn't recycling its laser printer cartridges, then LaserTech International has some great news for you. Recycling technology has advanced to the point that most people can't tell the difference between new and recycled cartridges.
When Hewlett-Packard introduced the first Laser Jet printer in 1984, companies sprang up to recycle the all-in-one toner cartridge that became the corner stone of this fabulous new technology. But, like any new technology, there were a lot of problems in the beginning, and the first attempts at recycling cartridges were not much to write home about. Using a household drill, companies bored a hole into the cartridge and injected additional toner. The hole was then sealed with common appliance or duct tape, ready for redistribution to the consumer. Not surprisingly, the quality of these "drill and fill" cartridges was extremely low and their performance was unpredictable.
In the next phase of the industry's development, rechargers partially disassembled the toner cartridge and, after cleaning the interior, refilled the cartridge with toner, performed a simple print test, and packaged it for resale. Although this method provided higher quality over "drill and fill," the performance of recycled cartridges continued to be erratic.
Over time, as laser printers soared in popularity, a more sophisticated method for recycling toner cartridges emerged. Referred to as "cartridge remanufacturing," the new method has proved to be as reliable and produces a cartridge that is just as high quality as original manufacturing, while providing the cost savings and environmental advantages of recycling.
In remanufacturing, the toner cartridge is disassembled, and all the parts are tested. Parts with a history of short performance life are discarded and replaced with new, high-quality parts. The cartridge's recyclable parts are cleaned, tested, and reinserted into the cartridge. Thus, remanufacturing produces a completely rebuilt cartridge with numerous replacement parts that are superior to OEM parts. The final product is tested and boxed-a remanufactured toner cartridge that is as good as new at 60 percent of the cost.
New or Remanufactured?
At the LaserTech International, we exclusively utilize the remanufacturing method to produce toner cartridges. Nothing in the remanufacturing process is left to chance. And over the years, as more of the critical parts of the toner cartridge became available through some of the largest manufacturing companies in the world (companies like 3M and Dupont), our ability to build the perfect cartridge is constantly improving. Using essentially the same process that Hewlett-Packard does in original manufacturing, LaserTech International replaces more than 55 percent of every toner cartridge, while reusing parts that are unaffected by repeated use. One way of looking at a toner cartridge is as an assembly of two types of parts-wearable and non-wearable. Wearable parts include a photosensitive drum, a cleaning blade, and a magnetic developing unit. In total, there are sixteen parts that can potentially deteriorate during the first use of the toner cartridge. The remaining 40 percent of the cartridge, the non-wearable parts, are the plastic outside shell, toner hopper, nuts, bolts and screws.
In their plant in China, Hewlett-Packard recovers the non-wearable parts and uses them when making "new" cartridges. So every new cartridge box includes an explanation that the cartridge is made from new and used parts. Using the same process, LaserTech International reuses the cartridges' non-wearable parts and replaces only the wearable ones, creating products equal to "new" OEM cartridges. And, unlike most of the OEM products, we build our cartridges right here in the U.S.A. |
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