Towards a better future
Sustainable Ink Packaging with HP
The Eco-Carton ink cartridge is a milestone on HP's path to a sustainable future and the result of open international collaboration between internal stakeholders as well as external providers such as Nacar Design Agency.
HP aimed to create a sustainable ink cartridge that embodied the principles of Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, and Recover, addressing the complexities of material separation and global take-back programs.
The collaboration with Nacar Design Agency led to the development of the Eco-Carton ink cartridge, blending new technologies with eco-design principles. Its modular design allows scalability, while the connector is made from closed-loop, recycled, and ocean-bound plastics.
The Eco-Carton cartridge is a significant step towards HP’s sustainability goals, reducing plastic waste and enabling cost-effective global take-back programs. It sets a new standard for the industry, showcasing the benefits of sustainable design for businesses and the environment.
- Product Strategy
- Vision Workshops
- User Experience
- Visual Design
- Packaging
ECO-DESIGNING
The Eco-Carton ink cartridge reinvented the single-use ink cartridge concept to be the representation of the 4R’s: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Recover into the printing world. It blends new technologies with eco-design giving outstanding benefits for both customers and enterprises.
A NEW WAY OF MAKING
For decades ink cartridges were made of rigid technical plastics with complex designs and material mixes. This not only made the material separation impossible for customers to recycle but it also turned any global take-back programs into a very costly activity for enterprises and for the environment because of shipping empty cartridge volumes internationally.
HP Eco-Carton Ink Cartridge details
A NEW WAY OF MAKING
But simply reducing material wasn't enough for us. We pushed even further and made the connector itself entirely out of closed loop plastics (recycled old ink cartridges), recycled plastics and ocean-bound plastics. The modular connector & carton design itself is also infinitely scalable since the same connector can be used on any type of carton size. Already now the product exists as 1L and 500cc cartridges.
