The ability to compute printer power consumption can be quite useful when selecting a printer for your business and wanting something that will work well with your company’s broader environmental policy. But why should you care about the energy usage of your printer in the first place?
How Can Printers Be Used to Save Energy?
The answer is clear: productivity. You want your office or home workplace to be as productive as possible. Focusing on the printer and other electronic devices energy consumption is one of the most effective methods of increasing your productivity. It also can’t hurt that you’ll be doing some good for the environment. In fact, today’s businesses play an important role in protecting the environment, but only when their financial margins are self-sustaining.
Fortunately, reducing the energy consumption of printers and other electronic items is something that can be accomplished in one fell swoop. There are four things you may accomplish by simply concentrating on and lowering printer energy use:
- Reduce your energy expenses while also improving your operational finances.
- Ensure that you are in full compliance with any applicable government or industry rules.
- Serve an increasing demand from consumers who want to do business with environmentally responsible companies and acquire green items.
- Do your part to protect the environment so that future generations may enjoy its benefits.
The next major issue is how to reduce printer energy consumption in your workplace. You may begin by following these guidelines.
How to Calculate the Energy Consumption of Printers and Potential for Savings
Before you can figure out how to cut printer energy consumption, you must first know how much they consume. There are several calculators accessible online that may assist you with this; however, we propose doing the math yourself rather than relying on one. It isn’t difficult and is a lot more accurate than any free online calculator available.
Upgrade, Update, and Switch the Printers You’re Using
What are the benefits of calculating printer energy use? It allows you to make informed decisions. Most of you will just evaluate the energy consumption of printers belonging to you. This is excellent, but why not take it a step further?
To replace your old printers, look for vendor-neutral printer models that you can afford. Examine the energy consumption of these printers and compare them to the ones you’re currently using. Even if you do not intend on replacing your current printers, our advice is that you at least look at some of the most energy-efficient versions.
For example, you could discover that one printer model is so beneficial to your workstation and business that it would be more cost-effective to pay the upfront fee rather than continue working with your existing printers.
The power ratings of the new printers should be your first stop. The printing mode, standby mode, and sleep mode are all represented by the power ratings of each printer’s specifications section.
Aside from that, you should pay attention to the printing technology that the printers employ. Some printers on the market include more energy-efficient ink and toner technologies, which may really contribute to your long-term savings.
You should also keep your printers up to date at all times. Updates might help printers use less electricity. This isn’t something that happens every time, but it has been reported on several occasions.
Finally, you should look into Managed Print Services (MPS) in your region. If you were only employing a single printer, this may not be important to you, but if you were utilizing a fleet of printers, it could be quite useful. MPS are intended to not just enhance business efficiency but also operational expenditures.
Include Automated Sleep and Wake Functions
Even if you can’t upgrade your printers or acquire MPS, you may still implement internal solutions. Internal remedies don’t take much time or money to set up, so they won’t have a big impact on your current operations. You can use automated sleep and wake features to save money on printer energy consumption. Many printers include software programs that allow you to change these settings manually. Activating these systems may result in significant cost savings.
Even if your printer’s software doesn’t give you these choices, third-party software programs may be downloaded to perform similar tasks. Look for one and turn on the necessary systems, and you’ll be well on your way to big savings.
Keep printers to a minimum in order for them to be most effective.
You can save money on your energy bill by simply changing where you position your devices. For example, you may have placed two machines in the same space for convenience at one time. You could have done it because you believe that all printers need to be in the “printer” room.
This may necessitate that people with jobs close to your printer travel a long distance to get their printouts. While this is an efficiency issue, it’s also possible that instead of using two printers, individuals are printing from the same one at the same time. This can cause a log jam and result in the printer using more energy while the other one sits idle. If you split the incoming prints between both machines, they will reach empty faster, allowing your company’s savings to grow.
Choose Cheaper and Environment Friendly Options
Then there are other alternatives that are less expensive and more environmentally responsible. Consider Ecofont. This is a font that will not only help you save money on ink and toner, but it will also help you save electricity since the printer will use fewer consumables. While the advantages of using Ecofont from the perspective of printer energy consumption have not been thoroughly discussed, it is reasonable to expect that they would simply be because your printer will require less ink and toner.
There are several benefits to reducing printer energy consumption. If you don’t notice any changes right away, be patient; the advantages will become apparent after they accumulate to a certain point and become apparent. It may take months before you observe outcomes, but they will start showing in months if your company prints many pages.
You should also consider how these changes will affect other aspects of your business. As you can see, there are several methods to reduce the amount of energy used by your office printers. You may potentially save a lot of money in the long term by following the guidelines above. Not only will you be saving on your power bills, but you’ll also be helping the environment by reducing energy use. So why not give it a shot? You might be amazed at how much you could save.
