Are Printers Headed for a Soy Ink Toner?
Soy based ink and toners have been the talk since the 1970s. They are more eco-friendly than petroleum based ones, and have been used on newsprint for the last few years. Why havent we heard about soy-based ink toner? The general population wants to be more environmentally sound and with printing this seems like the perfect alternative. During 2004, almost 100% of daily newspaper companies were using it for their products, why cant they be used at home?
Most petroleum-based ink cartridges tend to dry up over time. Soy based ink toner tends to take longer, making it favorable over time. It takes longer to dry out and offers a variety of vibrant colors to choose from. Still, why cant we buy it? Well, mainly it hasnt been perfected for the average consumer yet. It cant be used in personal printers and some of the drawbacks make people hesitant. It takes awhile to dry so some companies are hesitant to make the switch. With most petroleum based inks, they are designed to dry right out of the printer. These soy-based inks would have to have time to dry, or else leaving for a smudged document or print. Although soy-based ink and toner arent 100% biodegradable, they are still easier on the environment than the compounds in the petroleum-based today.
The advantages of having an ink that is more sustainable over time seem to outweigh the one drawback. Eventually, we may be headed for all soy-based inks. Because soy tends to be cheaper than the current nonrenewable resource we are using now, the price of ink cartridges will decrease. While this is still in the works, we can recycle our petroleum based cartridges for a better eco-friendly world today. Eventually soy based inks and toners will be suited for everyday use and the gripes of the high cost of cartridges will be over.