Epson says switching from laser printers to inkjets is a simple but effective step organisations can take as they aim to reach carbon zero targets. The Japanese printer maker says its patented Heat-Free inkjet technology uses up to 94% less energy than an equivalent laser printer or copier.
Glenn Gibson, Epson Australia’s enterprise products business marketing manager, says the inkjets are significantly more energy-efficient than laser printers and offer greater potential for future sustainability improvements.
He says that the device’s faster operation can lead to considerable time savings over the long term.
It also means customers in high-demand offices aren’t left waiting for invoices or other printed documents. Epson’s high-end inkjets print up to 100 pages per minute — roughly double the speed of many office laser printers.
He says: “Laser printers use a dry toner which is fused onto the page. The fusing process operates at a high temperature which requires significant power. Some laser printers consume as much as 2400 watts while a typical Heat-Free inkjet uses just 110 watts. Lasers also need about a minute or so to warm up before they can print.”
This compares with Epson’s inkjet printers which typically run at 110 watts and start printing immediately. Gibson says the temperature inside a laser printer can be dangerous if you need to put your hand inside to fix a paper jam.
“With our inkjets we’re just spraying a small amount of ink on to the page. The process is mechanical, there is no heating.”
While inkjets dominate the market for home printing, lasers have long been popular devices with office and industrial users. Epson aims to change that and is no longer selling laser printers in most of the world including Australia and New Zealand.
Gibson says: “Although there’s a perception that lasers offer higher resolution, our Micro Piezo Inkjet Technology allows precise ink control and delivers clear, sharp print quality.
“We have an optimisation report so customers can measure the energy use of our printers compared with lasers. It looks at all the printers and copiers that a customer has at present and their recommended replacements. Then it compares the projected energy use of their current fleet over five years against what they would see with a heat-free alternative printing the same number and type of pages. This way we are able to make accurate comparisons.”
Epson’s optimisations reports show customers the energy and CO2 emissions savings.
Power and carbon savings are only part of what companies look for when buying printers. They typically want to know what the total cost of ownership or TCO would be. This involves a calculation which includes the initial purchase of the hardware, but also takes running costs and service costs over a period of time into account.
Gibson says the acquisition cost of an Epson business class inkjet is about the same as an equivalent laser printer.
“Ink and the running costs of our devices is lower than a laser.
“Customers don’t need as many spare parts and there are not as many consumable items. A laser printer’s fusing unit will need to be replaced regularly. We don’t have that and we don’t have the service cost that comes with it.
“The other parts in the laser printer, the drums, developers and imaging kits also need replacing. Fewer parts and less servicing reduces the TCO of operating a Heat-Free printer. Then there is the cost of the energy. Our customers can typically save 80-90% of the power cost of using laser printers.”
Epson’s business case for Heat-Free printing may be designed to appeal to an organisation’s chief financial officer, but Gibson says the company has found another sales approach is equally effective.
“We can quantify the cost savings in our optimisation report, but at the same time, it provides the necessary sustainability information. If a company or an organisation has published its environmental aspirations, we have something to work with.”
Epson has found it can work with environmental or social governance executives.
“Their job is to look for more environmentally friendly solutions. We can help them achieve those targets. It can be a large government department, a commercial business or a small local school. Many of them will now have targets and reaching them is challenging.”
An Epson printer
Epson’s laser printer rivals haven’t stood still in recent years.
Gibson says he has previously worked for the other companies and that they have made progress improving the energy efficiency of their devices.
“It’s essential for them if they want to take part in the bidding processes.”
Yet, he says their scope for further improvement is limited by the heating nature of the fusion process. A laser printer still uses at least 10 times as much power as an inkjet.
Heat-Free printing has other environmental advantages. High-capacity inkjet cartridges use fewer resources and produce less waste than laser printer consumables.
Epson’s figures estimate its consumables have around 8% of the carbon emission impact when compared to lasers.
It’s not for everyone and it is not yet sold in New Zealand, but for larger customers in Japan and elsewhere, Epson offers a dry-process paper recycling system called PaperLab.
It can make new printer paper from used paper that never has to leave the site.
“You stick paper in one end and it uses dry fibre technology to break down its component parts and then reconstitute it. We use the technology internally. In the past we would pack things using styrofoam, now we use recycled paper.
“We found it was popular with some large customers who use lots of paper and surprisingly we found demand from banks and the healthcare sector who might deal with confidential printed documents and shred paper responsibly.”
One other advantage of Heat-Free printing is that it doesn’t generate ozone. This is a byproduct of the heating process.
Although the gas tends to dissipate quickly and is relatively harmless, Gibson says it makes the inkjet technology attractive to environmentally sensitive workplaces such as hospitals, clinics and childcare centres.
·Epson is a sponsor of the Herald’s Sustainable Business and Finance report (Click here for Epson’s energy saving calculator)
