ENERGY SAVING PRINT PRODUCTS
Save of the century With the cost of energy seemingly ever increasing, employers are looking at ways to reduce the energy their print devices consume, whether in the office or for home/hybrid workers, and manufacturers have the solutions.
With working from home, be it part- or full- time, now the norm for significant numbers of employees, energy efficiency has become more of a priority in recent months as energy prices have rocketed and many are looking for ways to reduce their energy consumption and, with it, their bills. Many offices too are looking for efficient products as their energy bills are also on the up. With all aspects of business – and the equipment used – under scrutiny, printers are being looked at as one of the key areas to save energy. “With the cost-of-living crisis and energy price increases having a major impact on the UK, we are seeing an acceleration in enquiries from our customers for solutions that are energy efficient, save costs and can support their organisation’s wider sustainability objectives,” says Stuart Miller, B2B indirect sales director at Canon UK & Ireland. Steven Pearce, group head of marketing at Kyocera Document Solutions UK, agrees: “Homeworkers are concerned about their utility bills, so it’s vitally important that the products used by remote employees are energy efficient so their energy related costs are minimised.” He adds that employers should be looking to choose devices that are designed with hybrid working in mind for their staff. “They should do the job required but include features like eco-print and Kyocera’s eco-friendly toner, which cuts power consumption by up 50% when printing the image on the page. “Scan to the cloud is essential for hybrid workers needing to share documents easily and quickly with co-workers. We have entry level MFPs designed for this and the beauty of scanning is its inherently energy efficient as the print engine does not need to warm-up. “It’s the balance between ecology and economy that organisations should be aiming for remote workers need to be productive while embracing more sustainable working approaches.” Reducing energy Deyon Antoine, product manager at Toshiba Tec, also advocates encouraging homeworkers to print to office locations via cloud printing using laptops
or personal devices with print release when they attend the office. “Not only does this save on the shipping of consumables to employees’ homes and servicing costs, but this also saves on home energy costs for the employee,” he says. There are various other strategies that employers in offices can employ to reduce energy consumption, Deyon adds. “They could rationalise their print estate by getting rid of underutilised devices, printer consolidation and where possible replace older devices with devices that support the latest environmental regulations,” he says. “Toshiba e-STUDIO MFPs have energy saving settings, so machines can be automatically switched into energy saving mode at set times, such as after work hours, or timers can be set for the devices to enter sleep mode after use or even super sleep mode for some models, for further efficiency. “Alternatively, employers can encourage employees to print only when is necessary and utilise digitised documents more. Or, if printing high volumes, print in off peak hours when energy is cheaper ideal for centralised print rooms.” Energy efficient solutions Of course, there are a range of energy efficient printers on the market. Deyon notes the need for energy efficient printers is always in manufacturers’ forethoughts when developing products. “With every new model Toshiba release we always look at ways of reducing the energy consumption of our devices,” he says. “It’s more prevalent now with the rise in energy costs, coupled with the sustainability goals businesses must be good corporate citizens,
Steven Pearce, group head of marketing, Kyocera Document Solutions UK stand-by mode, power levels and timer settings that can be set by departments “ ” The big thing to look for is functions such as
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