Ricoh's Plant-Based Plastic Printers
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 06. 6.06
Following the lead of NEC's cellphone, Sony's Walkman and HP's printer, Ricoh has entered the wonderful world of bioplastics. The Japanese company has become the first manufacturer to use plant-based plastics as part of a multifunctional printer. They're presently testing two black and white and one color printer with over 50 percent plant-based plastic in Japan. According to Tadakatsu Harada, of Ricoh's Research and Development Group, we may be on the verge of plastic revolution: "Just three years ago plastics made from plants were considered unsuitable for copiers due to inadequate heat resistance, poor impact resistance and limited formability. We have worked together with a materials manufacturer to develop a plastic that works. Our effort is the first step in the right direction." ::Australian IT via ::Gizmodo
A good initiative, but this thing is just too ugly! It looks like it was designed back in 1980
I agree. The material is promising, but the product needs a designer's touch. Does anyone know of any cool-looking bioplastic products?
--Author's response--
Thanks everyone for your comments. Just so you know, this picture isn't of the product itself -- it's new enough that we weren't able to track a real one down. I do hope it does look better than this example, too.
I wonder if this plastic is made out of bioengineered corn?...