Eco-friendly printing: how you can print more sustainably
If you’re looking for ways to make your printing more eco-friendly, let the experts at Brother guide you through the steps you can take today.
Most of us are looking for areas in our lives where we can make more eco-friendly choices right now. Whether it’s swapping the car for a bike or shopping second-hand, small changes are proven to make a big impact – and that’s no different when it comes to making the way you print more sustainable, too.
Printing has long since been a process with environmental challenges, with cartridge waste and overproduction being just a couple of the large-scale issues involved. But over the years, changes have been made to address these concerns – including right here at Brother. Let’s take a closer look at how to reduce printer ink consumption, limit waste and follow the five Rs of Eco-Friendly Printing.
What is eco-friendly printing?
Eco-friendly printing is achieved when you make more environmentally conscious choices about the printing equipment and consumables you use. It also takes into account the way you treat printer waste, and the energy consumed in the printing process.
Many businesses – especially larger, multi-site businesses – have taken steps to address the environmental impact of their printing and equipment in recent years, but this consideration isn’t just reserved for the biggest businesses. In fact, everyone from home printers to small businesses should be part of a collective effort to make more sustainable printer ink choices and wider eco-efforts when it comes to printing. We’re here to help with that, so let us introduce you to the Five Rs of Eco-Friendly Printing.
The Five Rs of Eco-Friendly Printing
Refuse: Say no to wasteful practices
When it comes to making the way you print more eco-friendly, it comes down to personal responsibility. This means choosing an eco-friendly print company that shares your commitment to sustainability – like Brother. When procuring parts and materials for our printers, we ask our suppliers to deliver in line with our Green Procurement Standards, so you can be sure that our printers have been built with sustainability in mind.
Another way you can say no to waste is by making changes to the way you buy ink. Choosing an ink subscription service can help with this, as you never over-order cartridges or end up replacing them too early. Many Brother ink subscription services use smart technology to monitor your print usage and make recommendations on how much you print – so you always get ink and toner in the most efficient way.
Reduce: Cut down on energy and resource overuse
There are many simple ways you can reduce energy and printing resources – and these small changes can make a big difference to your personal impact. These include:
- Print double-sided: Set your default setting to double-sided to use less paper.
- Ask yourself, ‘does this really need printing’: Only print documents you really need, in the right quantities.
- Put your printer in Eco Mode: Many printers have a setting that makes your machine more energy efficient by reducing the amount of paper and toner used and avoiding having your printer on standby.
Reuse: Extend the life of printing materials
Ensuring your equipment and consumables can be used for as long as possible is vital for contributing to your sustainability efforts. Regular servicing and maintenance of your equipment will enable you to spot and fix any problems before they lead to bigger issues – and services like Brother’s managed print service build this into your offering so it’s all taken care of.
When printing draft materials, it’s also a good idea to flip previously used paper over and use the blank side for your printout – ensuring no paper is wasted.
Exploring whether your printer is compatible with a modular repair approach, is another way of identifying opportunities to extend the life cycle of your hardware. Brother devices offer modular repairs, meaning that when certain components degrade and reach the end of their life cycle they can be replaced, without replacing the entire device.
Remanufacture: Innovate for sustainability
At Brother, we encourage you to return your empty ink and toner cartridges so we can remanufacture or recycle them. Each one is sorted, cleaned, inspected and tested for the highest quality – and these remanufactured cartridges can then be reused again and again.
We’ve made it simple for you to get involved too, as each new Brother cartridge comes with a free-post envelope. Find out more about the ReNew by Brother cartridge returns programme here.
Recycle: Contribute to a circular economy
Those cartridges that cannot be remanufactured due to damage or degradation are recycled – we've recycled more than 40 million ink and toner cartridges over 20 years – and counting.
If your printer reaches the end of its life, it’s important to dispose of your equipment responsibly. At Brother, we collect and recycle machines in accordance with EU legislation, the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive (WEEE) – designed to reduce the amount of waste electronics going to landfill. Find out more about where you can recycle yours and how this can work for you.
Discover eco-friendly ink and toner subscriptions with Brother
At Brother, we’re ‘At your side’ for a better future. Our commitment to sustainability is all wrapped up in The Brother Group Environmental Vision 2050, with targets for reducing CO2 emissions, resource circulation and biodiversity conservation. As well as the practices we’ve explored above, you’ll also see many of these commitments within our ink and toner subscription offers:
EcoPro
A great eco printer ink option is our EcoPro ink and toner subscription service. We automatically order and deliver inks and toners when you need them, and you pay a fraction of the cost you would pay buying them separately. In fact, plans start from just £1.99 a month – and you can flex your plan if your printing needs change. When you sign up to Brother EcoPro, we’ll also offset the CO2 emissions associated with your printer and all the ink and toner supplies we send to you.
Managed print services (MPS)
Another strong option for receiving printer ink or toner in an environmentally conscious way is our range of managed print services. Designed for businesses of all sizes, with all kinds of printing requirements, Brother MPS automatically delivers ink and toners before you run out – and remanufactures or recycles your old ones free of charge. There are many other benefits to our three MPS offers, including flexible plans and hassle-free set up – all designed to Make Printing Simple.
Find out more about Brother MPS
If you’re ready to start your journey towards eco-friendly printing, take a look at our sustainability pages for more information. We’re “At your side” to help your business make better choices.
