Imaging Equipment
For PartnersWhy ENERGY STAR?
If all imaging equipment in the United States was ENERGY STAR certified, we could save more than $32 million in electricity costs and prevent 596 million pounds of greenhouse gas emissions every year - equal to the emissions from more than 57 thousand vehicles.
Selecting the appropriate printer, copier or scanner can be a complicated undertaking. They come in wide range of printing technologies, shapes, sizes, and purposes. For example, some printers are designed specifically for photographers, others as bulky central printing/copying hubs serving an entire office, and many fill the “all-in-one” desktop needs of the home office. See our buying guidance for information on how to select the right model for your situation.
Regardless of your specific needs, the one aspect of the decision is simple – select ENERGY STAR certified printers, copiers, and scanners to save energy and money! They are third party certified to be energy efficient and save up to 35 percent versus conventional equipment by using the least amount of energy when working, and most importantly, when they are doing nothing! See the criteria met to earn ENERGY STAR certification.
Our partners sponsor rebates on certified products.
Rebate Finder
ENERGY STAR makes it easy to find the printer, copier, or scanner you are looking for. Using our product finder tool , you can select certified energy efficient models made by the best and most trusted brands you have long relied on -- like Ricoh, Canon, Brother, Epson, HP, Konica, OKI, Savin, Xerox and others. In addition, you can filter the list for specific attributes such as:
• Printing Technologies
• Color or Black and White Printing
• Print Speeds
• Page Sizes
Be sure to look for the ENERGY STAR when shopping for imaging equipment
Current Specification Effective Date: October 2019
The ENERGY STAR certified imaging equipment product criteria require that printers, multi-function devices, mailing machines, scanners, and digital duplicators operate efficiently, requires automatic duplexing capabilities, and utilizes certain power management features.
The criteria are tailored to each product type and considers the appropriate way to evaluate energy use by use profile and also includes the speed of the product. For certain products, a base allowance is used, which limits the amount of energy the product can consume and then adds allowances for features that increase energy demand. In addition, there are requirements for external power supplies, duplexing requirements for certain printer and multi-function devices, and specific requirements for digital front end accessory.
For a complete description of the specification, please go to Imagine Equipment Version 3.0 Program Requirements.
Whether you are procuring a multifunction copier, printer, or digital duplicator for the office or for your home you can maximize the energy savings and reduce your carbon footprint by engaging in these best practices.
Multifunction Copiers and Printers
- Ensure that your Sleep settings are set up to maximize your savings.
ENERGY STAR certified printers and copiers are designed to wake-up from and return to sleep mode faster than ever before. Devices are often set at their maximum energy saving performance as the factory default. Keep these settings engaged to get the best energy performance out of your product.
- Use apps and widgets.
More and more devices offer apps, widgets and other software solutions to help reduce paper use or other environmental benefits such as ID Card Copy. Learn more to save more.
- Print only when necessary.
The typical office worker uses roughly 10,000 sheets of copy paper every year, of which 45% ends up in the recycling bin by the end of the day. Some of these sheets are printed only to scan. Consider turning your key documents into electronic files before printing and think about your paper needs before hitting the print or copy button.
- Use secure-print feature.
It is estimated that 10-35% of total pages are left at the printer and never picked up. Combat this by locking the printer until the document is released by the initiator.
- Use double-sided printing and image combination modes.
Your ENERGY STAR certified printer is automatically set from the manufacturer for double-sided printing to reduce the number of pages you need.Additionally, image combination mode allows you to print up to eight images on a single sheet/image to further reduce paper consumption.
- Consider your quality settings.
Many printers have more than one quality setting. Using a lower quality or draft mode when printing draft or internal documents can save ink or toner.
Digital Duplicators
Digital duplicators are printing products designed for high volume jobs. These products utilize stencil duplicating with digital reproduction as an alternative to toner printing.
- Choose the right size.
Purchasing a digital duplicator that can’t manage your paper loads will result in increased wear and tear and a short product life, forcing you to purchase a new product sooner. Purchasing a digital duplicator that is too large is a waste of financial and energy resources. Identifying the right size, which includes projected growth, is one of the most important purchasing decisions you can make.
- Consider your sleep settings.
As with other, similar products, digital duplicators can go to sleep or automatically shut-off, saving energy for your business. Consider setting aggressive sleep or shut-off settings to take advantage of these features and savings. You can always adjust the product to the demands of your particular setting.
Document Scanners
- Consider your scanning needs before purchasing.
- Consider how often you utilize your scanner.
As with copiers and printers, ENERGY STAR certified scanners also are required to have a sleep mode. When the scanner is not in use It automatically goes to sleep. Additionally, scanners have an automatic shut-off setting. After 4 hours of no usage, the scanner will automatically turn off.
For any product, consider your full range of needs. Buying one multifunction device is more efficient than buying each product individually.
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