Few people would shout out “toner blogs!” when asked to name influential sources of change in the world today, but they have earned their place on that list. Despite little promise of glory or riches, toner cartridge articles and their writers have been waging a long war to ensure quality control and to prevent price gouging and environmental destruction in an easily overlooked industry.
Perhaps the most prevalent discussion being circulated in toner cartridge articles today is the issue of the exorbitantly high prices for ink and the environmental impact of producing millions of single-use cartridges. While these might seem like separate issues at first glance, in reality they are so intricately intertwined as to be one in the same conversation. In an effort to increase profits most of the top brand names switched from selling refillable toner cartridges to disposable cartridges, forcing people to buy the whole set-up each time they wanted to refill their ink supply. As a result the price of each cartridge shot through the roof, profit margins soared, and millions of pounds of discarded toner cartridges began getting buried in landfills each year.
The blog community fought back by releasing a number of toner articles explaining how easy it is to recycle old cartridges. Any internet search about toner cartridges is bound to unearth several of them on the first page. The bloggers also posted do-it-yourself instructions for refilling old cartridges at home, saving thrifty consumers quite a bit of money. When the companies responded by implementing chips that stop a cartridge from being filled more than once, the bloggers hit back by describing the work-around and promoting refill kits to bypass them.
For years now the toner blogging community has been working hard to promote responsible business practices and environmental conservation all while showing you how to save money. Keep that in mind next time you start reading one of their articles, and perhaps even step up and contribute to the cause on your own.