Many households, and indeed workplaces now, have various systems in place to 'do our bit for the planet', such as recycling, solar panels and reducing waste etc.  Yet how could we help to reduce our carbon footprint still further, especially in an industrial /office environment?

Today we'll consider how recent developments in modern photocopiers and printers are doing their part to combat climate change, and also give you a few suggestions on how to change your ways, in an effort to help you to reduce your impact on our fragile planet.

Making a Start

Making a few simple changes can save you money and begin to make a difference.

In fact, by turning your photocopiers / printers from standby to off overnight can save enough energy to power both your TV and your refrigerator at once!  What's more, if your photocopier is left on all day and is only used for 1/5th of that time, this will use over £350 worth of energy each year. So it makes sense to turn them off when not in use?

A few facts

• Leaving your photocopier on standby overnight releases as much greenhouse gas over a year as driving from Cambridge to Paris and back again, and wastes enough energy to make 30 cups of tea.
• By leaving your photocopier on overnight, you will use enough energy to produce over 1500 copies and you'd need to plant 10 trees to offset the carbon produced by doing this!

So, how can companies further minimise their costs and do their bit to save the planet?

Recycle and Reduce

This is a very important factor that could help to minimise the forests of paper that workplaces still get through, often unnecessarily. Despite striving for that paperless society, unfortunately we are still a million miles from realising this goal!  Reducing and recycling waste is crucial and can be made simple with the right technology on hand.  Fundamental changes to reduce paper usage could include; the use of e-mail, intranets, document scanning and online information.  These ideas could transform your purchasing costs, if managed carefully. So try encouraging staff to save and read documents electronically, rather than printing out hard copies? You'll be surprised at the amount you save.

Fact…… 'The easiest way to minimise waste is to avoid creating it in the first place.'

Review your photocopying / printing practice

Before you print or photocopy, decide if you really need a hard copy. If the answer is 'yes,' then why not try printing double- sided? Today's excellent range of printers, photocopiers and Multi- functional devices will save you both time and money too, as they help you to be smarter with your printing.

Opt for more energy efficient/environmentally friendly photocopiers and printers

If you are really committed to making your office greener and more energy efficient, then try to get rid of equipment that is outdated.  Invariably these older devices will consume far more energy than the new-generation range of printers and photocopiers which are now widely available.

New devices will save you energy in several ways:

1. Their energy rating is significantly lower than older printers and copiers.
2. They have greater efficiency, due to their multi-functional capabilities, helping you to reduce the number of devices, such as scanners, by more than 1/3rd.
3. These devices require staff to swipe their pass before printing, ensuring that documents aren't printed, and then left uncollected, thus reducing your printing output  by about 10%.

And Now For The Figures

Several case studies have recently revealed that larger companies who have taken the step to replace all their old network printers with newer, faster and more energy efficient devices, have not only managed to reduce their emissions significantly, but also reduced their toner and paper costs by over 10%.  They have also reduced the amount of waste paper by about 4 ½ tonnes.

The table below shows the energy efficiency of newer machines compared to older devices.

(Based on a 9 hour working day)

Newer devices:

Printer State

Time

Power used

Total time actually printing per day

= 8 minutes 20 seconds

= 0.694kWh

Time spent in Idle per day

= 20 minutes

= 0.0167kWh

Working day spent in Deep Sleep

/ Auto-Off per day

= 8 hours, 31 minutes 40 seconds

= 0.00853kWh

Overnight time in Deep Sleep

/ Auto-Off per day

= 15 hours

= 0.015kWh

Power used per working day

= 0.73423kWh

Power used per working year

= 185.76kWh

Non-working days per year spent

in Deep Sleep / Auto-Off

= 112 days

= 2.688kWh

Total power used per year

= 188.45kWh

Cost of power per kWh

= £0.2 per kWh

Total cost of power used per year

= £37.69

Older devices:

Printer State

Time

Power used

Total time actually printing per day

= 8 minutes 20 seconds

= 0.694kWh

Time spent in Idle per day

= 20 minutes

= 0.0833kWh

Working day spent in Power Save

per day

= 8 hours, 31 minutes 40 seconds

= 0.1799kWh

Overnight time in Power Save

per day

= 15 hours

= 0.375kWh

Power used per working day

= 1.3322kWh

Power used per working year

= 337.05kWh

Non-working days per year spent

in Power Save

= 112 days

= 67.2kWh

Total power used per year

= 404.25kWh

Cost of power per kWh

= £0.2 per kWh

Total cost of power used per year

= £80.85

These figures might not seem to demonstrate a huge difference in power usage and savings for this, single device, yet when you scale up the savings by perhaps 400 for larger businesses, or 4,000 for a large global enterprise then we're talking about huge savings in the cost of power.

Although the new generation laser printers with an auto-on / off, or automatic 'deep sleep' mode, aren't exactly cheap, they'll certainly save companies a lot in the long run, making the newer machines far more environmentally friendly than those from several years ago.

Other Environmental Features In The New Wave Of Photocopiers And Printers

Recyclable Cartridges/Toners

Canon, along with other major manufacturers now offer "green" recycling programs that reuse certain parts and recycle the remaining materials, often providing free return for cartridges bearing the company's brand name.

Low Melting Point Toner

Many newer photocopiers use 'low melting point' toners. These reduce warm up times, resulting in less waiting time for staff, as copying and printing have a faster recovery time from stand-by mode. They often save around 40% of the energy used.

Double Sided Printing Feature

Duplex or doubled-sided copying allows printing on both sides of the paper.  This feature reduces consumption, and is therefore one way in which many firms have managed to significantly reduce their bill for paper and ink.

Faster Print Speeds

The newer digital copiers can print anywhere between 22 ppm to 100 ppm (with deluxe models), unlike older models which could barely produce around 30 pages per minute (ppm). By reducing warm-up times, "first copy out" speeds have also improved, and now range between 3.5 to 7.5 seconds.

Power Management Features

These features will enable you to manage your office equipment/energy use better. They also save energy and reduce harmful greenhouse gas emissions by 'powering down' the device when it's not in use.

Energy Star and RoHS

Most modern appliances now have the American 'Energy Star' rating.  Products earning this distinction feature energy efficient designs, which use less energy on everyday tasks and have less of an environmental impact. This goes some way to protecting the environment as it assesses the energy efficiency of products, thus saving consumers money. Energy Star rated products have an 'energy saving' mode as standard. In choosing products with this rating, companies have reduced their energy needs in times of low activity by around 60%.

Meanwhile, RoHS, a European directive, has focused on restricting the use of hazardous substances in electrical equipment that could have a detrimental environmental effect.  This directive bans any new electronic equipment within the EU that contains more than the agreed levels of the following; cadmium, lead, mercury, hexavalent chromium, PBB, (polybrominated biphenyl) and PBDE (polybrominated diphenyl ether). If you search for this rating when purchasing a copier, you'll ensure you are reducing any risks to the environment.

Conclusion

So by putting in a range of measures to address climate change and help the environment, you can also save yourself cash in the long run. Society still has some way to go, and people's attitudes and practices still need some tweaking, both at home, and in the workplace. Yet we are finally getting better at recycling and reducing waste, through ways like conserving power, turning down the heating thermostat, to making the most of the new printing/photocopying technology around us. 

By taking responsibility in promoting energy efficiency, we can all do our part to help to rebalance our fragile ecosystem, and save money too! Winners all round!

London Printer Rentals: Comment

Some excellent advice here to help businesses who are aiming to become more environmentally friendly! By taking responsibility now we can look forward to a greener future. Many organisations have become increasingly aware in recent years of the need to implement more energy-efficiency measures. This not only helps businesses raise their profitability, but also goes some way to reducing climate change. Environmentally friendly photocopiers and printers are crucial to energy-saving and waste-reduction in the office. Such technology is helping to address the need for increased energy efficiency. At London Printer Rentals we have a range of the latest photocopier and printer models from leading manufacturers like Canon, Kyocera, Konica and Toshiba, which include all the major energy-saving features mentioned above.

You can buy, rent or lease a photocopier or printer with London Printer Rentals or let our Managed Print Services handle all your office printer & photocopier requirements and make your office more efficient. We only provide the best brand machines so you enjoy a hassle free, greener working environment. We provide leasing on printers & photocopiers for companies of any size in London & across the UK, all at an unbeatable price. So why not give us a try, you won't regret it, contact us today.