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New Eco-Friendly Kyocera MFPs Feature ‘Locked’ Toner Cartridges, Dual-Purpose Black Toner Cartridge

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Toner News cites a blog posted by Ameritechnology that states that Kyocera Document Solutions’ recently introduced TaskAlfa 3252ci and 2552ci A3 “entry-level” color MFPs (see story here) incorporate a new feature that locks toner cartridges so that they can’t be removed until the entire cartridge is empty. This is said to prevent the premature replacement of toner. The blog states that often when color MFPs and printers request new toner replacement, it’s difficult for users to know exactly which color is depleted, leading to a complete exchange of all of the toner cartridges, which wastes toner, as well as creates an environmental hazard by leaving unused toner in each cartridge.

The second way in which the new MFPs will be eco-friendly is that Kyocera has designed the black toner cartridge so that, when it’s depleted, it can be used as a waste-toner receptacle, as it may be installed back into the MFP in order to collect waste toner. This dual-purpose cartridge not only reduces the amount of space needed in supply closets, but also reduces the amount of plastic waste from needing two separate containers for the MFP.

Both MFPs also feature Kyocera’s Tiered Color System, under which users pay only for the color they print. Kyocera defines up to three color-usage levels, based on the customer’s typical business documents. Contrary to flat-rate billing, which is when customers are charged the same price for every color page – regardless of actual color page coverage – the Tiered Color System pricing model charges only for the amount of color being used. With Kyocera’s Tiered Color System, documents that contain lower levels of color (simple color) are billed at a lower rate than full color documents. For example, customers can print or copy more black-and-white documents with their company logo in color, such as letterheads and invoices, at a “fraction” of full-page color costs.

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