Whether you use one at home, at your place of education or at work, there’s no doubt that you’ve used a printer before, or at least have seen one in action. In today’s day and age, digital printing is all around us - with the option to print in black and white or in colour, as well as some industrial office printers able to do even more, such as print double sided or staple pages together.
The innovative and convenient uses of printers make everyday life much easier and have come far even in the past decade. But, what does the future of printing look like? Read on below as we discuss the predicted trends for printing technology.
Future Printing Trends
Environmentally Friendly & Energy Efficient Printers
As with most industries, the printing industry is currently heavily focused on ways in which it can become more environmentally conscious and adopt more sustainable printing practices. Currently, it has now become possible to not only recycle paper and ink/toner cartridges (with it being estimated that remanufacturing printer cartridges could save 400,000 tonnes of waste each year!), but doing so is also much more accessible than it used to be.
Looking at the future of ink and toner cartridges, there is work being done to make these more efficient when inside printers - with more and more printers starting to include features that allow users to save ink and energy.
By reengineering toner particles to be smaller, for example, they can create more defined images whilst reducing the power consumption of the printer. Smaller particles melt quicker, thus less heat - ergo less power - is required to print the image or text. Ink compositions have also been changed in order to prevent the ink from drying up inside the cartridge, allowing them to last longer before needing to be replaced.
3D Printing
As much as the world of 2D printing is ever evolving, so, too, is the world of 3D printing. 3D printing allows digital images to be printed into 3-dimensional form, meaning you can quite literally take a picture of an object and have the physical thing in your hands without it needing to go through a typical manufacturing process.
Rather than using ink and paper, 3D printing uses specific materials and layers them on top of each other; it can use a wide variety of materials, including different types of plastics (e.g. thermoplastic), types of powders (e.g. polyamide - nylon), resins, metals and other materials such as carbon fibre.
Although 3D printing is currently slow and expensive, the potentials for its advancements are very much exciting, with it having the possibilities to greatly impact a variety of industries worldwide.
Printer Suppliers
As thrilling as the potential of the printing technology is, you still want a reliable printer that you can trust to get the job done now. Here at Copy Care Services UK Ltd, we offer reliable photocopier and printer rental to meet your printing needs.
From printer consumables to new or refurbished copying systems, we supply a wide range of photocopiers and printers for all types of applications in a variety of industries.
Get in touch with us today to enquire about our products and services.
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