U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu was on to something when he suggested we start painting our roofs white to fight climate change.

We’ll soon be able to use a specialized paint to collect rooftop solar energy, too. Could this be the answer to neighborhood Christmas light wars?

The stuff is called silicon ink, and the U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory says that solar cells using the technology have “demonstrated a record 18 percent conversion of efficiency,” according to cnet.com.

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1. They are not inferior in quality to new Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) products. (In fact, in 1997, the US EPA stated that remanufactured products are “as good as new.”)
2. Using a remanufactured or any cartridge other than that of the OEM will not in fact void the printer equipment warranty. (Not that manufacturers didn’t try.  They did but the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act of 1975 specifically states that a warranty may not be voided because of the use of aftermarket products.)
3. Buying them will typically save you money and selling spent cartridges will typically make you money.

(This information comes courtesy of Ecogreenoffice.com whose primer about the truth about remanufactered print cartridges contains lots of additional information.)

There are two sides to greening your ink and toner purchases: The Buy and the Sell.

The Sell. The act of selling ink and toner cartridges is one of the easiest ways to make money and be green at the same time. On the revenue side, cartridges are valuable (some are worth as much as $22). If cash isn’t what your looking for, retailers such Office Max, Office Depot and Staples have rewards programs that give up to $3 in store credit for each eligible cartridge and have drop boxes in stores. (Office Max also has a postage-paid shipping program for those who recycle high volumes of cartridges—up to 300 a month). In any event, selling spent cartridges is easy and sometimes even lucrative.

The Buy. Want to know the impact of all those cartridges you’re using? The folks at SB Office Supplies, an online office supply retailer with an extensive green catalog, have a nifty Remanufactured Cartridge Savings Calculator that tells how much oil is saved and how many cartridges stay out of land fills when you buy remanufactured cartridges.

Convinced? They are basically two routes to go.

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How did SPRANQ accomplish this? By developing a font style that looks a bit like you are writing with swiss cheese!

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A Dutch company called SPRANQ has developed a simple yet brilliant way to save ink: the Ecofont. According to the its creators, the font saves up to 20 percent of the ink normally used in printing.

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Thea and Sami

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Because petroleum-based inks are usually found in home inkjet printers, the first step in greening our printing is to just do less of it. But, for graphic designers like myself, printing is a fact of life and a major part of business. Thankfully, the printing industry is developing many greener options for the ecology-minded designer.

Most people have heard of soy ink, which is ink that uses a soy oil base instead of a petroleum one. Soy takes very little water or energy to grow and since soy ink has very low levels of VOCs, it is far less polluting than traditional petroleum-based ink. Development of soy ink began in the late 1970s by the Newspaper Association of America, who sought a different way to make ink because of rising oil prices. Today, soy ink is used in many offset printing presses and newspapers. Paper printed with soy ink is easier to recycle because it comes off of the paper more easily, and the ink colors are brighter as well. Unfortunately, soy ink cannot be used in small personal printers, which is one of its major drawbacks.

It is especially important to consider sustainable printing options for a large print run, and since designers are in a position to choose paper and printing options for their clients, every effort should be made to find an eco-friendly printing solution. Many commercial printers use soy ink, and some go even further, such as Ecoprint, a printing company that prints with vegetable oil and metal-free inks on recycled paper. Ecoprint was the first carbon-neutral U.S. printing company and is truly a leader in the printing industry. They offset all of their carbon emissions and are 100% wind powered, setting an example I hope the rest of the printing industry soon follows.

Other developments in green printing include waterless printing - an offset printing process that eliminates the water or dampening system used in conventional printing. As a result, not only is water conserved, but there are many environmental benefits to this process. According to the Waterless Printing Association:

Many printers have been drawn to waterless printing because it eliminates dampening-related volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from the printing process. Some VOCs have been linked to the deterioration of the earth's protective ozone layer and, consequently, to global warming. Now, with the release of water-washable inks, the waterless pressroom can be virtually VOC-free.

This revolutionary ink technology, eliminates the need for solvent-based press and blanket wash solutions, which typically account for a large portion of a printer's VOC output…. The environmental benefits of water-washable inks are far reaching. In some cases the elimination of pressroom VOCs may even result in expansion opportunities that were previously limited due to emission restrictions.

I recently discovered a company called ZINK that offers zero-ink printing. At first that almost sounds like an oxymoron, but it's true! ZINK uses special composite paper with dye crystals embedded in it, and a special printer that uses heat to activate the crystals for a long-lasting and durable printed image. This printing process is simple and involves less waste because there is no ink involved. The paper is also non-toxic and recyclable, making it a unique option for green printing.

There are many commercial printing options available, and now I am anxiously awaiting a more sustainable solution for at-home inkjet printing. Until then, we can only avoid printing as much as necessary and hope that the paperless office soon becomes a reality.

Links: EPA Evaluation of Soy Inks, Ecoprint, ZINK, Sustainable Paper Options