Konica Minolta Supplies Its Recycled Plastics for External Products
Adopted by SATO in Flagship Industrial Label Printer Line

Initiative to Use Limited Resources Effectively

Konica Minolta has been working on five material issues, including using limited resources effectively, through its business. The Company aims to reduce the amount of the earth’s natural resources used by 90% or more by 2050 from the 2019 level. This will be accomplished by not only reducing the amount of resources used in products, but also by proactively switching to recyclable resources, such as recycled materials. The Company has been working on initiatives to maximize its contribution to reducing the use of the earth’s natural resources by externally deploying its know-how and technologies and promoting the use of recyclable resources.

As one of its specific initiatives, Konica Minolta is actively developing high-functionality recycling technology to use post-consumer recycled plastics for MFP parts, which require a high degree of functionality, and is expanding the use of recycled plastics to many products. To further reduce environmental impact by collaborating with more partner companies, Konica Minolta has also been encouraging other companies to use the recycled plastics through its Environmental Digital Platform. SATO responded to the call and decided to apply Konica Minolta’s technology to its products.

Konica Minolta’s High-Functionality Recycling Technology

To recycle used PET bottles and PC gallon jugs as exterior materials for MFPs and recycle ABS resins recovered from used game machines as inner casing materials, Konica Minolta has been developing technologies for improving strength, flame resistance, and molding usability. For MFP products launched in FY2019, recycled plastics now account for about 35% of the total resin content by weight in the MFP main body.

Konica Minolta will keep working to reduce environmental impact by accelerating collaboration with many companies, and will build a recycling-oriented society and create businesses at the same time.

Use of Recycled Plastics for SATO’s Leading Label Printers

Recycled ABS (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene) developed by Konica Minolta derived from used game machines is used for about 40%*1 of the casing of SATO’s CL4NX Plus and CL6NX Plus label printers. Given that the parts of label printers require flame resistance and strength, it was decided to use recycled materials characterized by superb flame resistance and strength already used in Konica Minolta’s MFPs.

Overview of CL4NX Plus and CL6NX Plus

Contact for Information About Recycled Plastics

Chemical Products Business Unit, Konica Minolta, Inc.
E-mail: matelier@konicaminolta.com

*1 Mass ratio
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