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Home -> Resources -> Twenty-One Green IT Tips -> 19. Recycle Printer Cartridges
19. Recycle Printer Cartridges In addition to paper, computer printers need one other type of supply: a printer cartridge. Printer cartridges provide the ink (for inkjet printers) or toner (for laser printers) used to produce marks on paper. When the time comes to replace a printer cartridge, make sure to recycle it. All manufacturers provide a postage-paid sticker so that you can send the print cartridge back to them. They will reuse the cartridge and send it back into the market. In some ways, the recycling of print cartridges are the success story of the computer industry. Printer manufacturers, it seems, anticipated the need to recycle long before other parts of the industry. The good news is that the rest of the computer industry is starting to catch up. Web search:  recycle laser toner cartridges Web search: recycle inkjet cartridges
When To Replace A Printer Cartridge When the "Toner Low" or "Ink Low" message is displayed, there is usually enough left in the printer cartridge for a few more pages. The warning messages are meant to provide you adequate warning to allow you to purchase another printer cartridge. You can continue to use your printer after the warning has appeared. Do not replace the cartridge immediately. If you do, you will be using an unused portion of the ink or toner in the cartridge. At some point, the printing will appear uneven. What you do next depends on the type of printer that you have. Laser Printer Cartridges After the "Toner Low" message appears, a laser printer will eventually start to produce uneven output. You still do not need to replace the printer cartridge. You can try one trick to extend the life of your printer cartridge. That trick involves removing the toner cartridge from the printer and gently rocking it side to side to distribute the toner evenly. After doing this, you may find that you can still print quite a few more pages and get good results. You may be able to do this several times, to make use of the very last bit of toner in your laser cartridge. Eventually, however, even this trick fails and that means that you do, in fact, need to replace your toner cartridge. When you do, you can send your toner cartridge back to the manufacturer to be reused for more toner. Web search: When to replace a toner cartridge?
Inkjet Printer Cartridges Unlike a laser printer, you need to replace an inkjet printer cartridge when you get the message that the ink is low. However, you may encounter a situation that you get uneven printouts from an inkjet printer, Do not shake the inkjet cartridge, since ink flows and does not need to be redistributed like laser toner. Shaking the cartridge can even damage the cartridge. If you have not used the printer in a week or so, the nozzles may have become clogged. Web search: When to replace an ink cartridge?
Clearing A Clogged Inkjet Cartridge Remove the inkjet cartridge from your printer. Using a clean, damp, lint-free cloth, wipe the ink nozzles gently with an upward motion. Install the inkjet cartridge in your printer and try again. When this does not produce good print results, replace your inkjet cartridge. Make sure that you send the inkjet cartridge back to your supplier, using the packaging material for your new cartridge for returning your old cartridge. Web search: Clearing inkjet clogs
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