Issue #0713/3 - Only three manufacturers have made a clear statement regarding where they stand on the new standard.
Few manufacturers have made announcements so far, or any information available, regarding their position with the new 1.0 Energy Star standard.
Some sources have suggested that the rigid new rules will result in only one-quarter of existing hard copy products complying with the new standard without a redesign or some modification.
Xerox has picked up on this aspect with glee because it claims that 50% of its existing products already comply and can acquire certification immediately, quoting its long-standing commitment to product design for low-energy consumption. Part of this success is down to the fact that Xerox has pre-emptively moved towards providing duplex capability as a standard feature on a number of its devices over the last year or so.
Similarly, many more of Kyocera Mita’s existing models are now duplex-ready than was the case a year or two ago. This manufacturer simply states that “all of its printers and MFPs produced after 1 April 2007 exceed the requirements of the new 1.0 ENERGY STAR specification”.
Under Energy Star definitions, the word ‘produced’ should mean ‘physically built’, implying that 100% of Kyocera products on the market right now already comply with the standard.
As long as there is no confusion over terminology, this is a huge achievement and one that should not be overlooked.
Part of Xerox’s success has been the development of fusers that have thinner walls and so heat more quickly. Xerox also claims that its Emulsion Aggregate (EA) toner requires less power to fuse because less toner is used and the toner has a lower melting point.
Hewlett-Packard, for its part, appears to have made no formal announcement in this respect at all. However, documentation does offer a list of products, stating, “HP has reviewed its printing and imaging products for qualification to new the ENERGY STAR rules beginning on April 1, 2007 and expects the following checked products to meet the new rules. HP is currently submitting this product data to the US Environmental Protection Agency for inclusion in their list of qualified ENERGY STAR products.” This list currently consists of 92 printers and 20 MFPs.
Kyocera Mita also points out that its devices significantly reduce waste from printing by designing out single-use OPC drums by use of long-life ceramic units and bio-degradable toner cassettes. Reduced waste is also a feature also of Xerox’s solid ink technology where there is no in-device carrier at all for the ink.
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