Turning it off

HP's UK branch has released a short online publication called “The HP Guide for Greener Printing” available here online.

Most of the advice is pretty obvious, with encouragement to print in duplex, send more documents electronically, and recycle paper.

On interesting point is made, however, about the effect of letting printers and copiers run when not in use. “All office equipment uses energy when switched on or in stand-by mode. In the UK alone, equipment left on standby is responsible for generating over 3 million tonnes of CO2 each year, according to the Energy Saving Trust.”

Of course, many copiers and some printers have sleep modes that are automatically triggered if left idle for a preset period (generally somewhere between five and 60 minutes) , or can be set to go off ready automatically during non-working hours. That’s part of the new EnergyStar criteria for newer machines, and many companies are complying. But many older desktop machines in particular do not offer any sleep feature. Having employees shut down desktop printers and MFPs at the end of the day may be a smart idea.

New HP color ledger MFPs

Hewlett Packard recently introduced a new color laser printer-based multifunctionals group handling ledger-size paper. The LaserJet CM6030 models print at 30ppm in both color and black-and-white, while the CM6040 models print at 40ppm in color black-and-white. Street prices for these models range from $6,999 to $8,999.

These MFPs have a maximum capacity of 2,100 sheets. They also come with a 40 page document feeder. Automatic duplex and Ethernet connectivity are standard.. On the output side, these machines offer500 sheets of standard output, but they also have several optional finishers, a multiposition stapler unit and a five-tray finisher with saddle-stitching and booklet-making.

Scanning to email is standard, and faxing is standard on some versions, optional on others. Consumables are under one cent per page in black, under eight cents in color.

These new MFPs from HP look and act a lot like copier MFPs. The prices are lower than comparable-speed color copiers, but some of the options (including paper feed capacity) are not at the same level. Nevertheless, the CM6030 and CM6040 models a good solution for someone who needs the functionality of a fast color laser MFP, but does not need all the added bells and whistles.

Xerox Green Survey

In time for Earth Day, a recent survey by Xerox asked US office workers about the "non-green” practices in their offices. According to Xerox, the biggest gripes about companies’ lack of environmental awareness were::

* mindless printing resulting in abandoned pages at the printer (40 percent)
* leaving lights on in unused offices (37 percent)
* lack of recycling bins (33 percent)
* excessive air conditioning or heating (29 percent)
* wasteful use of paper products, such as plates and cups (27 percent)
* co-workers who don't recycle (27 percent)
* co-workers who print single-sided instead of double-sided documents (24 percent).

The survey also noted that environmental awareness is often a function of age, where younger employees tend to be more green-oriented. It also noted that women tend to be more eco-conscious than men.

It’s interesting that many of these issues have to do with printing, an area where users themselves have some control over the waste.

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Ricoh refreshes top-of-the-line color copier-MFPs

Ricoh recently released two new color copiers that are among the speediest in the industry. The Aficio MP C6000 ($29,800) outputs at 55ppm in color and 60ppm in black, while the C7500 3($37,8000) operates at 70ppm in color and 75ppm in black In almost all respects the machines are identical.

These color copiers expand Ricoh’s presence at a level of the market that has few competitors. They replace a pair of slightly slower models, and add a few new enhancements.

The range of paper-handling accessories is also a strong point. You can have up to 7,400 sheets of input total. There is also a choice of three stapler-finishers, as well as an option Z-folder device and a cover inserter.

PostScript printing is standard, Strong scan-to capabilities are standard as well, and (unusual at this speed) a fax board is an option.

Color copiers are getting faster and ore productive with every passing year. Ricoh’s new models set a new standard that others will have to catch up to.

Konica Minolta buys Danka

Konica Minolta announced it would buy copier dealer chain Danka Office Imaging by one of its suppliers,. The US company is a division of UK-based Danka Business Systems PLC, which is planning to dissolve. The deal was for $240 million.

Danka (which is 31 years old) was once a major power in the copier industry, with a wide network in North America and Europe. In 2006, it sold off its European operations to Ricoh for $210 million. Last year, the remainder of the business lost almost $30 million.

For Konica Minolta, the deal is part of a campaign for it to move up into the first tier of U/S? copier companies, to join rivals Canon, Ricoh, and Xerox. The move was also a reaction to Xerox's buyout of copier retail chain Global Imaging last year, as more and more the copier manufacturers swallow up the most profitable part of dealer layer that stands between them and the customer.

Study: Small businesses risk losing key documents

A study commissioned by Epson Canada found that many small businesses are not storing documents vital to them and customers electronically. While most companies have hard copy versions of critical documents in file cabinets, the idea of systematically saving documents electronically (and with proper backup) has still not caught on.

According to the study as described in a CNW News Group release, “90 percent of those who do not store any documents in soft copy say they have not adopted an electronic system to store their important business documents because they believe it is not necessary to do so (50 percent) or they never thought about it (25 percent) or they think it's too expensive (15 percent). The remaining 10 percent admitted they didn't understand the importance of making soft copies of important business documents like contracts or invoices and storing them electronically.”

In addition, only 10 percent of those surveyed said that they store hard copies in a fireproof file cabinet onsite, and even fewer, 2 percent, saved hard copies offsite. All this is in spite of the fact that even small enterprises are more and more dependent on a growing number of critical documents.

This is in spite of the relative ease and low cost of storing files electronically and backing them up offsite. While most midsize companies with a real IT plan have made recoverable electronic document storage a priority, apparently the smallest companies have no recovery plan for a catastrophic incident like a fire or robbery.

New Canon production-oriented scanner

The Canon imageFORMULA DR-X10C is a high-end color scanner that runs at 128ppm in black-and-white and color. The top of the impressive Canon scanner line, it is priced at $17,995. The scan speed is 128ppm in simplex and 256ipm n duplex, in both black-and-white and color. Canon rates this machine for a 60,000 scans-per-day duty cycle. The scanner includes some innovative features, including three ultrasonic double-feed sensors, a double feed back-out and retry function, new dust prevention features than promise clearer scans, and the ability to scan documents up to 22" x 34". These are on top of the strong Canon scanning features.