What is more sustainable – Inkjet or laser?
August 1, 2024
New data shows that there is a widespread and potentially costly misconception among IT decision-makers about which printing technology is more sustainable: laser or inkjet.
In a survey conducted by analyst firm Quocirca, 47% of respondents in the UK, US, France and Germany believed that laser printers are the more sustainable choice in terms of energy efficiency, environmental impact, wear parts and total cost of ownership.
IT decision-makers in larger companies with more than 1,000 employees were more likely to be convinced of this misconception than their colleagues in smaller companies. An astonishing 57% consider laser technology to be more sustainable than inkjet technology, which only 21% see as the more sustainable solution.
Karl Angove of Epson Europe said: “At a time when energy costs are high, power consumption is increasing and global warming is a major challenge, misconceptions about printing technology can prove very costly for businesses, both in terms of electricity bills and CO2 emissions.
“Because respondents in larger companies mistakenly believe that laser printers are more sustainable than inkjet printers, these companies may be wasting enormous amounts of electricity and money and causing unnecessary emissions. These companies may have hundreds of printers. Such a misjudgement and the wrong decision in choosing printing technology could have serious consequences.”
Epson explained that its Heat-Free inkjet printers do not generate heat during the printing process. No heat means less energy consumption and therefore lower running costs and fewer CO2 emissions. Inkjet printers with Heat-Free printing technology do not require any warm-up time when they are switched on or started from sleep mode. This means that printing starts immediately and users can work more productively.
As Epson has previously announced, the company will stop selling and distributing laser printers worldwide by 2025, citing limited opportunities for this technology to make meaningful progress in terms of sustainability.
Angove added: “Epson’s decision to leave the laser market was inevitable. As a company, we are committed to being innovative and sustainable, and laser printers do not fit into that concept. Laser printers tend to consume more energy than inkjet printers and have more wearing parts. This is simply because of how the technology works: in laser printers, the toner is heated and fixed to the page. There are therefore limits to what can be done to improve the suitability of this technology.
“Instead, we will focus 100% on Piezo Heat-Free Inkjets and use our own technology to offer our partners and end users efficient and sustainable printing solutions.”
Categories : World Focus
Tags : Epson Heat-Free Technology Inkjet Laser Survey
