When you think of the environmental impact of printing, what do you think of first? Mountains of discarded paper, whether receipts, labels or forms?
That’s part of it – the habit of printing has become ingrained in today’s operations, which is why American businesses alone generate approximately 21 million tons of paper waste each year. Unfortunately, the reality of a paperless world is not possible yet, especially because of the last step of a transaction, which often revolves around receipts or shipments.
But there’s a bigger problem that often goes unnoticed: the premature disposal of printers and their components, like ink cartridges and batteries, due to a lack of visibility into device health.
What if you could see when a battery or ink cartridge was nearing its end? No guesswork, no unnecessary waste. That’s what SOTI Connect offers: a powerful, enterprise-grade printer management solution that delivers complete lifecycle management for your mobile and industrial printers.
Small changes can drive massive environmental impact. By managing printers smarter, your business can cut e-waste and save thousands annually, all while supporting your sustainability goals. Let’s dive into how SOTI Connect can make this happen and why it matters.
What is the Impact of Premature Printer Disposal?
While many people are aware of electronic recycling facilities for electronic appliances, it's still common for some to simply toss out items like printers without much thought. Did you know printers and their parts are often discarded prematurely? Many businesses mistakenly believe a printer or component - ink cartridge or battery - is no longer usable, driving unnecessary e-waste.
Why does this matter, you ask?
E-waste contains both hazardous and valuable materials, which makes proper disposal critical. Yet, the global generation of e-waste is rising five times faster than documented recycling, meaning much of it isn’t properly handled.
The following printer components pose serious environmental risks:
Printer Accessories
More than 350 million single-use printer cartridges are sold annually worldwide. When discarded, they can take 1,000 years to decompose, contributing significantly to our plastic pollution.
Additionally, inks and toners contain chemicals, such as solvents, dyes and pigments, that can leach into the soil and contaminate groundwater, harming plants, humans and animals.
Many mobile and industrial printers avoid cartridges by employing a thermal transfer process, where a ribbon melts wax or resin onto paper. These ribbons are durable, which minimizes replacements, and are commonly made from biodegradable materials. While they are a better option than ink cartridges, they may contain chemicals that are harmful to the environment when discarded improperly.
Printer Batteries
Often tossed out with printers or before they are ready to be replaced, batteries can deteriorate, leak toxic substances or even combust in landfills. They contain hazardous substances like lead, mercury, cobalt and nickel, which can seep into the soil and groundwater. Exposure to heat increases fire risks, which would release toxic fumes into the air.
Preventing premature printer disposal requires sustainable management practices. Tools like SOTI Connect enable businesses to reduce printer waste and minimize environmental harm through smarter lifecycle management.
SOTI Connect: Your Sustainable Printer Management Solution
SOTI Connect provides complete lifecycle management for the mobile and industrial printers that businesses rely on for business-critical processes. Despite organizations having printers from different manufacturers at different locations, performing different functions, SOTI Connect can support them from a single pane of glass. This empowers organizations to choose the printers that best suit their printing needs and manage them all from a single location.
Explore our certified device list to consider your options.
With remote printer management, your organization can reduce premature replacements, reuse printers effectively and ensure proper recycling – all while cutting costs.
Here’s how SOTI Connect makes that possible:
Live Printer Health Monitoring
SOTI Connect is a real-time management solution for mobile and industrial printers. This means you have total visibility of every printer at your business, from battery health to print job history. This insight helps you spot issues instantly, resolve them remotely and make smarter, more sustainable decisions.
Custom Dashboards
Track what matters most to your team with tailored data visualizations. For instance, if ink usage is spiked, monitor ink levels to prevent unnecessary cartridge swaps. Automated discovery and mapping reduce manual IT labor and errors.
Additional Benefits of SOTI Connect
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Save Time & Resources: Reduce the cost and time needed to stage, provision and monitor printers.
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Minimize Downtime: Identify and fix issues remotely before they disrupt operations.
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Lower Total Cost of Ownership (TCO): Manage all devices from one interface, reducing long-term support and replacement costs.
Everyone has a role to play in protecting our environment. And with SOTI Connect, making a difference is easier than you think. With this remote printer management solution, you will reduce printer waste, cut costs and make data-driven decisions that contribute to a more sustainable future – without compromising performance.
Ready to reduce your printer waste with SOTI Connect? Reach out to us today or visit our website to get started:
