Print News: Ricoh Develops Plant Biomass Toner

With a release intended to reduce the dependency of the print industry on oil, Ricoh have created the world’s first green toner.

When a person decides to do their duty to the environment by recycling toner cartridges, they’ll usually think of the plastic casing in which the toner is contained. It’s the obviously ‘un-environmentally friendly’ component of the cartridge, after all. What is much less widely known is that the ink itself is produced using many processes and materials that are equally damaging to the planet. For example, the primary ingredient in toner is resin, which is derived from petroleum. With 200,000 tonnes of toner produced each year, according to a report published on 15 December at Megateamblog.com, this means the ink in ink cartridges contributes greatly to global warming, even without considering the casing.

To combat this, and reduce the dependency of the ink manufacturing industry on petroleum, printing brand Ricoh have announced the world’s first plant biomass toner. Biomass is an energy source derived from decomposed plant matter, and is already widely used for biofuel, an alternative to oil petrols. So attractive is biofuel that, according to a 28 June 2008 report published on BBC.co.uk, the EU intends for 10% of all transport to run using the renewable plant-based fuel by 2020.

For Ricoh though, the benefits of a plant biomass toner are several. For example, the CO2 emissions produced from burning paper are high because the sheets are coated in petroleum resin. The paper can be de-inked but this is another costly practice. By using a toner that is less rich in petroleum, the process of paper burning creates less CO2, and is therefore less environmentally harmful. What’s more, the plant biomass uses less petroleum in the first place, reducing our oil dependence.

The green toner isn’t entirely without petroleum – the plant biomass content is around 25% in fact – but Ricoh is describing its invention as an important first step. According to the 25 November 2009 press release from Ricoh’s website, “Sustainability is crucial to society’s survival. Ricoh believes that a company must take responsibility for all the materials used in its products.” The plant biomass is in fact commercially available, in a multi-function printer sold in Japan. It is not stated whether Ricoh plans to expand the availability of the toner; yet the brand’s website assures us of their “efforts to develop alternative materials to realize a low-carbon and resource-recirculating society.” With this conscientious mentality, the world-wide availability of the new toner is surely certain.