We all know the running joke about printer ink being one of the most expensive substances on earth, the title actually goes to Californium (Cf) but I digress. What we tend to forget is what else goes into printer cartridges.
First launched in October 2010 in Indonesia, the Epson EcoTank high-capacity ink tank inkjet printers recently topped 50 million units and is now sold in 170 countries and regions by 2019.
More importantly by saving on plastic, Epson estimates that CO2 emissions are approximately 166,000 tonnes lower than they would have been if all these units had been cartridge printers.
By first establishing a presence in emerging nations and then making inroads into developed economies, Epson has seen its high-capacity ink tank models account for a growing percentage of the total inkjet market each year. As a result, Epson, which boasts strong brand recognition and an extensive product line-up, has continued to maintain the top share in the global high-capacity ink tank printer market for ten consecutive years.
Rapid changes in society touched off changes in the office and education printing environments during the 2020 fiscal year. Thus Epson’s goal in all segments is to continue to offer far lower printing costs than their competitors and unrivalled environmental performance to enable their customers to print without having to worry about printing costs and environmental impacts.
By and large we all could do a lot more to help our planet, but it is always good to see a company take the initiative.
Note: The size of the reduction in consumables CO2 emissions was calculated by comparing the cumulative number of ink bottles sold up to August 2020 with the number of ink cartridges required to print the same amount and converting them into a CO2 equivalent. CO2 emissions were calculated based on Epson’s evaluation conditions, which take into account the impacts from consumables materials and parts manufacturing. Actual CO2 emissions will vary depending on customer printer use.
