10 November 2009

 

Epson® innovates to reduce energy consumption

Epson is proud to announce the results of a study conducted in March 2008 by BUND (Bund für Umwelt und Naturschutz), partner of Friends of the Earth. According to this study Epson inkjet printers have the lowest energy consumption and costs compared to the competition .

Furthermore Epson is the first printer company to be recommended by the Energy Saving Trust in the UK, and all its inkjet printers meet the strict ENERGY STAR® guidelines along with many of its laser printers and scanners. When it comes to professional use, Epson’s large format printers use four times less energy than some of their biggest competitors .

In the past four years, Epson has reduced the power consumption of its leading all-in-one inkjet photo printers, reflecting the company’s continued commitment to minimise the impact of its products on the environment. Epson’s latest photo all-in-one inkjet printer, the Stylus Photo RX585, uses 73 percent less energy during operation than the original printer in the series, the Stylus Photo RX600, which was already one of the most energy efficient printers on the market when it was launched in 2003.

Since the launch of the RX600 in 2003, Epson designers have worked on innovative new ways to further reduce power consumption. To reach this energy consumption reduction, Epson significantly minimized the time necessary to switch from Standby mode to Sleep mode. In addition the back light on LCD panels has been changed to LED, and low-power-consumption devices further optimize efficiency.

All of this has a significant impact on the environment; Epson’s work to reduce the power used by its RX-series models equates to eliminating almost 826 tonnes of CO² from the atmosphere since 2003 . The 1,630,000 kWh of electricity that has been saved would generate enough energy to supply approximately 361 households for a whole year .

Epson has also advanced its scanner technology to reduce operational energy use. The Perfection V500 Photo features white LED as a light source, resulting in reduced energy consumption when compared with other scanners. It consumes just 16 watts when in use, the impact of the scanner on the environment is less than powering a standard household light bulb. 

Other innovations include the E-TORL (Epson twin optimized reflection lamp) for Epson projectors, designed to improve the collection of light by 20% and reduce the energy required as a direct result. The overall energy use of Epson projectors was reduced by no less than 90% in the last 10 years.

“Epson is continually looking at ways to develop products that will further conserve energy, not just because it will help customers save money on electricity bills but also because it is a priority to Epson to minimize CO² impact of our products” commented Eelco Smit, European Environmental Affairs Manager.