Issue #0838/2 – Xerox has announced that it is taking delivery of six 25,000 gallon tanks at its toner manufacturing plant in Webster, New York, this week in preparation for going into full-scale manufacturing of its next generation EA (Emulsion Aggregate) toner – a toner that will fuse at much lower temperatures, reducing the power needed to heat the fuser unit.
Always driving towards greater energy efficiency, Xerox has developed a toner with a melting temperature as much as 45 degrees Fahrenheit (25 degrees Celsius) lower than the current generation of chemical toner. Because the fuser accounts for between 50% and 80% of the total power consumption of an MFP, the low melting temperature of the new toner enables overall power savings for a device of between 15% and 30%.
Coming just a week after Xerox published its 2008 report on Global Citizenship, the timing of this announcement is key to the company’s PR messaging as it strengthens its position as an environmental leader in the industry.
Described by Xerox as a “breakthrough product”, the new ultra low-melt EA toner is said not to compromise on print quality, or any other performance factors – but, it actually increases gloss levels. Even the current generation of EA toner, in use in more than 50 Xerox products released over the last five years, not only uses 40% to 50% less material to produce the required image but, because it is chemically grown and not ground, consumes less energy during the production process. In this way, the total energy burden of EA toner is considerably lower than traditional ground toner.
In developing the new ultra low-melt EA toner, which will be suitable for use in all future Xerox desktop, office MFP and production laser devices, Xerox has applied for more than 35 new patents.
Currently being manufactured in Japan, for use in the Xerox 700 Digital Colour Press launched in May of this year, the new installation at Webster will expand production sufficiently for the new toner to support the volumes required for use also in forthcoming print devices.
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