Environment Mimaki’s cardboard ink cartridges Foil bag being inserted into the Epson SC-S9100
the packaging for its wide range of inks to include larger formats such as bottles and pouches, the latter of which are shipped in cardboard boxes and fit into reusable ‘eco cases’ that remain on the printer. Like the cardboard cartridges, these reduce single-use plastic consumption as well as the shipped weight of the product.
OUTSIDE THE BOX As much as it is revolutionary to redesign the cartridge it is even more revolutionary to do away with it altogether, yet this is the direction Epson has decided to take. It has been a concept the company has been using with its textile machines for around eight years and has been trialling in its sign and graphics hardware for three. But it has officially brought cartridge-less printing as standard to its portfolio of signage printers with the release of its SureColor S9100 launched to the UK market at this year’s Sign & Digital UK. Phil McMullin, head of sales commercial & industrial at Epson UK, said: “The best thing for us as an industry but also globally is to just use less.
“That can be quite difficult as all businesses are looking for growth and by definition, if you’re looking for growth, odds are you’re using more stuff so it can be counterproductive. “The best way to minimise everyone’s carbon footprint is
to do away with plastic cartridges altogether.” Instead of buying a standard cartridge, customers can now buy a larger 800ml or 1.5l ink pouch which is then placed unopened directly into the ink tower. This not only keeps waste materials minimal, but also reduces the risk of spillage when inserting the ink into the machine. The pouch is also delivered in a cardboard box. Phil continued: “What you’re left with is a very small amount of product that can be recycled which is the empty foil bag instead of massive plastic cartridge that needs to be moved around.
“One of the challenges of reusing empty ink cartridges is you have to get them from the customer back to the manufacturing plant.
“That in itself has a carbon footprint as that has to be put on a truck or a van and you have to physically move it and quite often, because of the economy of scale, the production plants aren’t near where the customer is.” The company has continued the transition to ink pouches further with the release of its SureColor S7100 in March.
With the packs as standard, the printer manufacturer hopes to lower the frequency of ink replacements, while being 84% lighter and generating 91% less waste per pouch.
Hybrid’s sales director Andy Gregory and Epson UK’s head of sales Phil McMullin
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ALL OF THIS IS BABY STEPS TO THE END GOAL OF OUR INDUSTRY BECOMING CLEANER... IF WE MAKE IT AVAILABLE, THEY WILL APODT IT WHEN THE TIME IS RIGHT
THE SAME BATTLE Both companies have brought forward two different solutions to the same problem with both hoping to achieve a similar result; making print more sustainable. As much as every business wants to go green, it sometimes isn’t viable to do so on their own so it is vital big manufacturers like Mimaki and Epson help pave the road to more sustainable work practices. Phil said: “In my view what’s important is for the smaller businesses and even the medium to the larger size businesses, they can’t or can’t afford to be environmentally friendly but they expect companies like Epson to lead the way and provide that tech at an affordable price and no price premium. “If we make it available, they will adopt it when the time is right so I see that as our mission. “All of this is baby steps to the end goal of our industry becoming cleaner. We all have a long way to go and Epson will be the first to say that we’re just on a journey.” Andy concluded: “All of these things are part of Mimaki’s DNA. Their goal is to deliver the best and most effective print technologies across the many sectors they operate in, and incorporating a strong commitment to sustainability forms an important part of this.” It’s not so much a reinventing of the cartridge but more of a redesign for the new sustainability-focused environment in which wide-format printing now sits. Which brings us back to sharks. like the hammerhead, these concepts haven’t done away with their predessecors, but instead improved upon the design to fit the world in which it thrives better than its counterparts. Necessity is the key to the invention and as environmental
factors need more attention; companies will look at inventive ways to help meet them.
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