Market Readiness Analysis

Upon surveying the market, the study found that the experts in the IT products
category are not aware of the sustainability aspect of IT products. Therefore they
don’t believe that the distribution of sustainable IT products can improve their
business. Over and above the demand for such products is still negligible in the
Lebanese market but the suppliers are willing to import sustainable products if
the government or any other big client becomes interested. There is neither local
production nor raw materials to manufacture printers and toners in Lebanon thus
Lebanon relies solely on importing these two IT products.
Sustainable printing is the process of producing commercial printed materials
with the least impact on the environment. Therefore if sustainable printing is to be
a goal the first thing that needs to be done is to identify how the commercial
printing process affects our natural environment.
The main issue for printers and their impact on the environment revolves around
the production process itself. The second issue for printers is waste and
recycling. Waste from this process can include plastic and ink (including ink
containers). An additional issue lies within the toxic chemicals used, and finally
the high energy consumption associated to run these printers.
Reducing these can significantly have an impact upon environmental issues
application of technology and training can help make serious inroads into the
amount of waste produced.
4.1.2.2 Categories of IT Products (Printers and Toners)
The overall commercial printing industry is viewed by some a wasteful industry
given the current advancement in this digital era - but it does not need to be so.
By combining knowledge, commitment and technology one can make significant
inroads into the environmental impact of the process.
a. Emulsion Aggregation (EA) Toners
A sustainable printing alternative is the EA technology process
which is far more environmentally friendly, using much less energy
since the toner particles are produced by non-mechanical means. It
is a water-based, low-energy process in which particles are "grown"
to the required size. They are isolated from the growth compound
and processed for use.
The quality of the printing with toners from EA Technology is
approaching that of offset printing with liquid ink because of the
extremely small size of the toner particles, often measuring
between 4 and 5 microns, about half the size of
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