Patented dust filter launched for laser printers

April 20, 2020

Printer Aide launches patented filter for laser printers designed to capture printer-emitted engineered nanoparticles.

Taiwan based Printer Aide has launched an updated version of their US patented filter for laser printers designed to capture printer-emitted engineered nanoparticles.

Roger Teng, CEO of Printer Aide told The Recycler that “recently, people are more concerned about the toner and VOC emissions from laser printers” and as a result, Teng has developed the toner “catcher”, which he explains is a “filter on the top output bin of a printer”, with the product already granted a US patent.

Teng told The Recycler that the filter has been recently been updated following new research into the potential effects that microscopic toner nanoparticles might have.

More recently a study by West Virginia University researcher Nancy Lan Guo, showed that the microscopic toner nanoparticles that waft from laser printers may change our genetic and metabolic profiles in ways that make disease more likely. Her findings appear in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences. “The changes are very significant from day one,” said Guo, a professor in the School of Public Health and member of the Cancer Institute.

Researchers at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health’s Center also discovered that laser printer-emitted engineered nanoparticles can be deleterious to lung cells and may cause persistent genetic modifications that could translate to pulmonary disorders.

But that doesn’t mean that we should stop printing — just that minimizing exposure to nanoparticle emissions during printing might be a good idea.

Earlier this month ETIRA, the European Toner and Inkjet Remanufacturers Association recently published test results of ten toners where eight had excessive levels of cobalt, benzene, naphthalene and Bis(2-methoxyethyl) ether which may cause long lasting harmful effects to aquatic life, may cause an allergic skin reaction and may cause allergy or asthma symptoms or breathing difficulties if inhaled.

Printer Aide recommends the following solution:

Laser printers should be located in separate, well-ventilated areas equipped with an outgoing air mechanism, and that users leave the room during large print jobs.
Do not wait by your laser printer for your printout. Waite 5~10 minutes to collect it.
Use “toner catcher” to catch most of emitted particle and smell.

The Printer Aide filter has been granted US patent 8,798, 494 B1 to find out more you can reach Roger Teng at taiwan@printeraide.com.tw.