Printers

I figured out, that if I scrap out a printer everyday, in 2 years they will all be gone..I hate not maximizing everything I get. Problem with printers is the pile just seems to grow everyday. It's like " little shop of horrors ". But , I just can't seem to take them in whole, cause I know that in some there are good boards and lots of motors. Iam the same way with crt's. I've got 50 5 gallon buckets of motors just from printers. You can imagine the boards and wire. Am I I out of control? Old lady says I need intervention! Lol

I guess I should elaborate. I have two other business's, plus my wife also has two businesses ,which I help with. Scrap is an outlet for me. I enjoy keeping stuff out of landfills . I very rarely sell anything. Scrap is part of my retirement plan. I understand the business end, I could never make a profit paying someone to scrap a printer. But sense of enjoyment I get separating all the various commodities, knowing that it's not polluting our planet drives me. Iam lucky, I don't rely on scrap for an income. I work hard everyday, and love the it! I don't pay for any of my scrap, so its all profit. Anytime I can take a hammer to something is a stress relief for me.

If your goal is keeping them from the landfill and you like to break them down, no problem! It gives me an excuse to drink a few beers breaking stuff down...

I just throw em on the ground to break off the plastic, pull the board, Ink cartridge's and any easy wires and done. With the current prices, i wouldnt be to worried about the small motors.

I hate printers but like yours mine also pile up and take roughly 1/8 of shop space today i broke down 6 in between other projects as i need the space for better items and a bettter way to organize

I dont like to break down printers, to me its just way to much plastic. Luckily I have a yard that takes them whole. Of course i only remove the ink cartridges to turn in at staples for the $2 return

Seems like every time somebody calls me with computers, I hear: "I have 3 towers. OH, and 47 printers!"
Are they breeding?
You're not alone, Junk. I still break 'em down. Ink, wire, motors and boards...it all adds up!

Stuff like printers, etc - the stuff that doesn't pay to scrap - I fiddle with while kicking back at night...after I sell off the bigger office models I come across, I strip down the home models...not really much of a resale market there, unless they are expensive or brand new ( I get new ones all the time - I guess some folks buy peripherals just to chuck 'em and give me something to do!). boards, wire, motors, all have some value (I have some customers that buy the motors in bulk - I give them a big ziplock bag stuffed with them for $10-$15 bucks - hobby type deal). Hell I pull the ribbon off the ink carts...gonna see how that adds up after a year - there's gold in thar! I figure that while I'm watching the news, or whatever lame TV is on, my hands can strip down all kinds of gear. Also a good time to sort capacitors to get them tantalum beauties, pick off the electronics I like to pull off boards, rip apart hard drives, and all the other stuff that if you figured labor into wouldn't pay...eliminate labor from the equation and all kinds of things become worth it!

Printers seem to be a endless supply, that just keep coming. I have been able to resell a few just as they came to me, as working with sometimes just need new ink. I sell the ones that I can and scrap almost all that are older than 3 years, older ones just don't sell. I call all my scrap "INVENTORY", even though it's just junk, trash and scrap to most. My plan is still the same cut our trash bill, by recycling, re-purpose, and selling. So I'm happy with the reduced trash disposal and the tons we have diverted from a land fill.

I remember a old post, where there was a discussion about the flat glass screen and what to do with them. Any new suggestions about reusing the glass?

Originally Posted by ScrapperTrecycling

Seems like every time somebody calls me with computers, I hear: "I have 3 towers. OH, and 47 printers!"
Are they breeding?
You're not alone, Junk. I still break 'em down. Ink, wire, motors and boards...it all adds up!

I think theres more Gold in the printing heads than we think there is.
I scrap printers right down. I save the steel rods to use and maybe sell later on for 'Steel stock' bar for hobby lathe machinists.
The big motor I saw brand new in a electronics store for NZ$20-25.
Gold mylar ribbon cable.
Gold mylar on the printing head. Gold wires on the printing head.
Nice circuit board with a Gold cornered CPU chip.
Odd bits of clean Copper wire in chokes and ferrite.
Relays.
Partly full ink cartridges.

The ones with a scanner bar have about 3 feet of Gold wire in the scanner bar. Don't believe me? Count them. 250+ wires x 3mm long..
The other sort has lenses for looking at small parts and a optical sensor that looks really nice and has Gold wires too, sometimes Gold plated legs.

Originally Posted by hobo finds

If your goal is keeping them from the landfill and you like to break them down, no problem! It gives me an excuse to drink a few beers breaking stuff down...

Yeah I like breaking down printers. But not for hours on end. I also harvest goodies from low grade boards. Love power supply boards. I've been saving all transformers chokes ect. that I pull off for about 3 years. My goal is to eventually acquire a hammer mill.