5 Steps to Achieve Green Printing

With global warming a hot topic these days and companies increasingly concerned with working smarter and faster, a balanced approach to printing that maintains an SMB's bottom line while conserving the environment is crucial.

Here are five useful steps to manage printing facilities more efficiently for a "greener" world.

Step 1: Understand your environmental impacts

In order to create a solid foundation for green printing within the office environment, companies should implement an environmental policy that helps the management and staff to understand the impact of their printing habits on the environment.

Once the policy has been completed, the management should set targets to improve their environmental goals that can be achieved through the use of products with lower emissions and printing technologies that use fewer chemicals.

Step 2: Utilize soft proofing

Reducing printing is one of the key methods to achieving green, efficient printing. One of the key methods that companies can adopt is delivering soft proofs to client using features such as Scan to Email, PC Fax Send and Fax Forward to Email that are found in multi-function printers or all-in-ones (AIOs).

This helps the company reduce paper usage, reduce the environmental impact of sending paper by air or ground transportation and enable a more rapid turn-around of print jobs.

Step 3: Reduce energy use and make the most of every sheet

Companies can reduce energy use by upgrading to newer printers or multi-function printers with more energy-efficient technologies. For example, printers with power management capabilities help reduce energy consumption by powering down or entering into a Sleep Mode when not in use.

The consolidation of stand-alone office products, including fax machines, copiers, scanners and printers into a multifunction printer allows companies to save up to 50 percent of their energy costs. Companies can also save paper and costs by encouraging staff to make double-sided prints and copies, use recycled paper and utilize the scan to email feature.

Step 4: Use good waste prevention and management practices

Recycle and reduce are the two buzzwords for implementing good waste prevention and management practices within a company. Toner cartridges and bottles can be recycled, lowering operating costs and the impact of the company's printing habits on the environment.

Companies can also reduce the use of hazardous wastes by using non-toxic toners or toners that emit less CO2 in its manufacturing process, as this helps reduce the cost of compliance and liability with managing regulated wastes.

Step 5: Seek equipment that are environmentally friendly or designed for remanufacturing or recycling

The type of printing equipment that companies use is critical to the successful implementation of a green printing policy.

By using printers that are built with remanufactured parts and components with the same quality standards as new printers, companies can still maintain the quality of their printers while simultaneously eliminating waste from going to landfills. This also helps companies reduce the impact of their office processes on the environment.

Written by: Jolene Yeo

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