Nagano, Japan, May 8, 2024
Mimaki Engineering Co. Ltd. (Head Office: Tomi-city, Nagano, Japan; President & CEO: Kazuaki Ikeda), a manufacturer of industrial inkjet printers, cutting plotters and 3D printers, is to announce the launching worldwide shipment of "paper made ink cartridges" in May, which are made of paper instead of plastic, the main material used in our ink cartridges and is expected to reduce about 44 tons of plastic and 65 tons of CO2 emissions per year. This project proposes a sustainable print business to our customers around the world by eliminating plastic usage from our products.
The paper ink cartridges are used in ink cartridges (SS21 solvent ink 440ml) for Eco-Solvent graphic printers, our main product for the sign and graphic market, and have been sold to customers in Japan since May 2023. The ink cartridges are now ready for shipment outside of Japan and will begin shipping worldwide.
The ink cartridges used to be made of plastic. By replacing the current plastic cartridge material with paper, we have reduced the amount of plastic used per cartridge. We have established our own in-house standard for the "plastic reduction rate," and have achieved a reduction rate of 68% for this ink cartridge. This is expected to reduce the amount of plastic used by approximately 44 tons per year and CO2 emissions from the plastic manufacturing process by approximately 57 tons per year. Furthermore, the paper ink cartridges are lighter than conventional plastic made, which is expected to reduce CO2 emissions from worldwide transportation* by approximately 8 tons per year, thereby contributing to a decarbonized society.
*Reductions are calculated based on our company's standards for land transportation from our product factories to our main warehouses or ports and for ship transportation from ports to primary ports.
In addition, this ink cartridge was awarded the Industrial Packaging Category Award in the 2023 Japan Packaging Contest last year under the slogan "From Design to Logistics." This product was recognized by the Japan Packaging Institute for its packaging that responds to resource and labor saving while reducing capacity, weight, and cost.
Mimaki Engineering has been collecting used genuine ink cartridges, ink packs, and ink bottles free of charge (limited to certain areas) as part of its efforts to address the environmental themes of global environmental conservation and effective use of resources. The shift to paper ink cartridges is a step forward in our free collection efforts to recycle plastic materials and promote de-plasticization.
Contribution to the SDGs
Mimaki Engineering and the Mimaki Group are keenly committed to resource-recycling management and technology as part of our response to sustainability. We have been promoting the expansion of our digital on-demand print business, which contributes to social and environmental needs through our unique inkjet technology. Our main efforts toward the SDGs are as follows.
- Inkjet printer proposal ... Digital on-demand production helps reduce wastewater and excess inventory.
- Development of "Neochromato-Process," a technology that contributes to material cycling ... Contributes to reduction of CO2 emissions through reuse of textile material
- Announced "TRAPIS," a textile printing pigment transfer system ... Products that enable textile printing on fabrics without relying on specialized techniques or expertise.
- Announces M2COA, an automated system for industrial product printing ... Contributes to solving labor shortage issues in the print service business by reducing operation time.
In addition to the above, as an environmental measure, we have started reducing the amount of cushioning material used for 2L ink packs at our head office plant ahead of other plants, and from March 2023, we have rolled out this initiative to all of our ink-producing plants. Going forward, we will continue to accurately capture digital transformation (digitalization leading to new added value including the value chain) and respond quickly to social and environmental needs leading to advanced added value such as unmanned and labor-saving, high-speed and high-quality printing, and waterless textile printing, which are expected to deepen further, At the same time, we will promote more environmentally friendly business activities to contribute to the community and realize a sustainable society.
For more information on Mimaki Engineering's SDG initiatives, please visit our website.
https://ir-eng.mimaki.com/about/sustainability/
Mimaki Engineering Co., Ltd. with its management vision of "Something New, Something Different," will continue to pursue new technological innovations to achieve the "beauty and speed" that our customers demand.
About Mimaki Engineering
Mimaki Engineering develops, manufactures, sales, and maintains industrial inkjet printers, cutting plotters, 3D printers, inks, and software. By providing total solutions for the printing process for the sign graphics, industrial products, and textile apparel markets, we aim to be an innovator that constantly delivers "Something New, Something Different" to our customers.
Company/IR website: https://ir-eng.mimaki.com/
Product website: https://mimaki.com/
Contact
MIMAKI ENGINEERING CO., LTD.
Global Marketing Department
1628-1 Shigeno-Otsu, Tomi-city, Nagano 389-0512 JAPAN
Tel: +81-268-80-0078 / Fax: +81-268-80-0041