Well i know that it’s not only Tom who needs the answer of that question. Many people had been asking me the same when they were looking for cheapest inkjet cartridges ...Read more

The question is: where do all these empty printer ink cartridges go? Ideally, used printer ink cartridges should find their way to special recycling centers where the materials these cartridges were made of are retrieved for future use. Unfortunately, only 25% of all those millions of cartridges consumed every year go that way.

Empty Printer Ink Cartridges Can Contribute to Pollution

Empty printer ink cartridges are non-biodegradable products. This means that if these cartridges end up in a landfill, they will just sit there for years and years without decaying.

Not only that, the chemicals that make up printer ink, not to mention the chemicals that make these inks resistant to fading as well as produce brilliant colors, can be quite harmful to the environment. These chemicals are also capable of seeping into the soil in the landfill and finding their way into the ground water. From the ground water, they can eventually get mixed into other bodies of water, even into the ocean. Next thing we know, we are actually drinking printer ink chemicals in our coffee and eating sushi made with fish tainted with printer ink chemicals.

Printer Ink Cartridges are Made from Finite Resources

We also need to consider the materials that make up the printer ink cartridge itself. Each printer ink cartridge is made from plastic and metal. Plastic is a by-product of petroleum while metals are mined from the earth. Both petroleum and metal are finite resources.

Recycling Printer Ink Cartridges Helps the Environment

Rather than simply throwing away empty printer ink cartridges, we should all be conscientious enough to bring them to special recycling centers. Also, before we buy a printer, we ought to check out if the manufacturer of this printer we are interested in has some sort of recycling program wherein they accept empty printer ink cartridges carrying their brand name.

We could also buy remanufactured printer ink on occasion. This type of printer ink makes use of recycled cartridges. However, before we buy remanufactured printer ink cartridges, we ought to make sure that these cartridges will not harm our printers, especially if our printers are still under warranty. Good companies that deal with remanufactured printer ink cartridges will always offer guarantees that their products will not ruin printers.

Always be conscientious even with the printer ink cartridges that you use. Recycle empty cartridges and buy remanufactured ink as much as possible.

Hewlett-Packard prides itself on the four main characteristics that it has incorporated into the design of the HP Vivera Ink. These four characteristics are:

1. The unique formulation of the HP Vivera Ink; 2. Its high level of ink purity; 3. The exhaustive process by which the HP Vivera Ink was designed; and 4. The innovative eight-ink system for producing color prints that is unique to HP printer inks.

The Unique Formulation of HP Vivera Ink

Dye-based printer inks are highly valued for their capacity to produce truly brilliant colors. However, the downside to using dye-based printer inks is that they are vulnerable to fading with constant exposure to light and ozone.

With the HP Vivera Ink, Hewlett-Packard has come up with a unique, proprietary formulation of printer ink that is designed retain the color brilliance that is characteristic of dye-based printer inks but retaining a strong resistance to fading. Hewlett-Packard guarantees that photos printed with its HP Vivera Ink will last for generations.

HP Vivera Ink’s High Level of Purity

Computer users have long patronized Hewlett-Packard for the noted purity of HP printer inks. It is necessary for printer inks to have as high a level of purity as possible. Contaminants in the printer ink can cause photo prints to have a grainy quality and also lessens the ink’s capacity to resist fading due to light exposure. It can also lead to clogging in the cartridges.

Exhaustive Testing Process for the HP Vivera Ink

Hewlett-Packard asserts that it took five years, a thousand prototypes and 22,000 liters of printer ink for its ink chemists and testers to come up with the special formulation of the HP Vivera Ink. The company also claims that the HP Vivera Ink contains both high-colorant and low-colorant concentrations of ink capable of producing an extensive gamut of colors. The presence of low-colorant concentrations means the high-colorant ones do not need to be diluted; dilution leads to weakened fade resistance in color printer inks.

HP Vivera Ink’s Eight-Ink Printing System

Hewlett-Packard makes use of an eight-ink printing system in their inks, especially with the HP Vivera Ink. The eight-ink printing system involves the use of different shades of ink that gives the HP Vivera Ink a wide color gamut.

HP Vivera Ink is Hewlett-Packard’s response to the growing need for a printer ink that can be used for long-lasting photo prints without loss of color brilliance and sharpness.

According to statistics, there are hundreds of millions of printer ink cartridges sold every year in Europe and in the United States alone. However, only a bare 5% of those printer ink cartridges ever find their way to a recycling center once they are used up.

Why Recycle Printer Ink Cartridges?

Advocates of the environment have two major reasons why they think printer ink cartridges should be recycled. One is that printer ink cartridges can harm the environment, while the other is that the materials they are made of come from finite sources that need to be conserved.

1. Printer ink cartridges are pollutants. Printer ink cartridges are non-biodegradable materials. When they find their way to a landfill, they do not rot so they just sit there for years. What is bad about that is that the chemicals that printer inks are made of are harmful.

2. Printer ink cartridges are made from finite sources. Printer ink cartridges are primarily made from plastic and metal. Plastic is a derivative of petroleum while metals are mined from the earth. Both petroleum and metal ores are finite and there is no knowing when they will be exhausted.

As thus, printer ink cartridges need to be recycled rather than just thrown away. The two main methods of recycling printer ink cartridges are: 1) refilling them when they become empty; and 2) giving or selling them to recycling centers.

Recycling Printer Ink Cartridges by Refilling

One of the simplest ways of recycling printer ink cartridges is by taking them to an ink refilling station to get them refilled, or by buying ink refill kits for some do-it-yourself refilling. If you are not so finicky about the quality of the ink in refill kits (we do need to recognize that inks in refill kits are not the same as original inks), then you can extend the life of your printer ink cartridge by refilling it once or twice.

Giving Printer Ink Cartridges to a Recycling Center

Once your printer ink cartridge cannot be refilled anymore, you can take it to a facility that recycles them. These recycling centers will even pay you for your empty cartridge, unless you specify that the cartridges are your donation to the facility. What these recycling centers will do to your printer ink cartridge is to retrieve the materials and find other uses for these materials.

The idea of recycling printer ink cartridges is not just some fad. It is a serious matter that we need to take seriously. Do your part and recycle your printer ink cartridges.