Top Ten Energy Saving Tips for Photocopiers

With rising energy costs and the increasing need to make business both environmentally friendly as well as efficient, saving energy on your workplace copying is a great way to reduce your bills and minimise your environmental impact. Here at Canon Copiers, we’ve selected ten of the best ways to save energy and money while copying without reducing your company’s productivity.

1. Do Your Home-work:

Make sure you are fully aware of your existing device’s functionality. Relatively new copiers often incorporate scanning, printing as well as faxing and can be internet connected too. So, your existing photocopiers may do much more than you think, and it will be easy to work out whether you’ll be able to save, once you’re completely au fait with its capabilities. If your copier doesn’t possess all those attributes, if you’re buying again, it might be more cost effective as well energy efficient for you to opt for a multifunctional device. When used correctly, multifunctional printers (MFP’s) can save on the amount of copies and prints that your company makes and will often cost less in terms of both the finances and energy consumption than if you were to run several single function devices separately.

2. Make Everyone Aware:

It’s amazing how quickly people get into bad habits. Making sure that everyone in the workplace only uses your printers and copiers when necessary is very important indeed. Even at first glance around most companies, you will find far more paper goes to waste than is necessary, often simply because people have formed bad habits. For instance, copies of a document may be made when it could just as easily be scanned in and emailed around to colleagues. Engaging your staff to think whenever paper is consumed is absolutely essential and can make a substantial difference both in terms of energy and financial costs.

3. Switching Copiers ‘Off’:

Everybody in the office should make sure to check that all copiers and any other non-essential machines are turned off before leaving the office. A number of copiers automatically switch into standby mode, so energy can be saved this way even during the working day, potentially reducing your energy bills significantly as well. It makes a great deal of sense to delegate this responsibility too, so that someone is ultimately accountable if machines are found left on overnight.

4. Use Duplex… Default:

Select a copier’s duplex function for double sided printing. This should in fact be set to default, which will greatly reduce the amount of paper that is consumed and also lower your office costs.

5. Only Use What You Need:

Always opt for the copier/printer that is good enough for the job. For instance, don’t copy or print with a much larger colour/gloss paper MFD when a smaller, simpler black and white, matte paper machine would suffice.

6. Check the Display Before You Print:

Always examine the graphic display carefully and only press the green button when you’re confident of the result. In fact, it is worth familiarising yourself with the machine’s on-board menu before you actually need copies. This way, you’re in no rush to find the function you require or at risk of frantically making unnecessary copies.

7. Know Thy Document Handler:

It may sound elementary, but when placing your document in the document handler, ensure it is the correct way up. You’ll always know, as somewhere closely in view, will be a relief image of a typical document, clearly indicating which side should be facing up and which down.

8. Energy Credentials:

When buying a new copier, printer, scanner of multifunction printer (MFP), be sure to check your product’s environmental credentials. Various organisations, such as Energy Star, based in the US, set out very specific and rigorous criteria, to ensure only the most efficient machines bare its logo. At any one time, no more than fifty percent of products in any particular appliance market should have Energy Star accreditation, so you can be confident, both that standards are high and continually rising.

9. Consult a Document Management Specialist:

A whole industry has grown up around copiers, scanners and multifunction printers, offering document management solutions that are cost effective and as energy efficient as possible. Software packages are available that monitor staff print/copy usage, so you can determine where in your company, resource and energy may be being wasted. Other applications allow you to configure copiers and MFP’s to work in the most efficient way, so machines aren’t mislocated or misused.

10. Recycle:

One of the best ways for workplaces to limit their environmental impact and save energy is to recycle. Providing simple and convenient waste paper disposal arrangements makes recycling your unwanted waste paper quick and easy. As a general rule, keep large waste paper bins right by your copiers - large so they don’t fill up so quickly and close, so the lure of nearby general waste bins is never that strong. And ensure your company disposes of its other consumables in the correct way. Most printer cartridge manufacturers will provide instructions for disposal, which will usually involve simple repackaging and labelling to be sent away for recycling. This way the environmental and energy impact of your copying is kept to an absolute minimum.