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We are all conscious of the need to be eco-friendly, but the fast-paced environment of today’s office means it can sometimes be difficult to find time to ensure that energy-saving and recycling practices are followed. Printing can use a lot of resources, and that’s why Copyform have put together our top tips for being eco-friendly in the workplace.
Buy an energy efficient printer
One way to ensure that your office printer is energy efficient is to make sure that it is Energy Star compliant. The Energy Star label means that the machine you’re using has been certified energy efficient. The program is managed by the European Commission and the Energy Star website contains a searchable database of all the office equipment that has met their energy efficiency requirements.
Another thing to check when purchasing a printer is to compare different machines’ per-page print cost specifications. Choosing a printer with a lower print cost obviously means that you will have to buy fewer print cartridges, using fewer resources, reducing waste, and saving you money.
Buying one centralised printer for your office can be more eco-friendly than purchasing several individual printers, as the print heads will be used more regularly and so the printer cartridges are less likely to dry out and need replacing. Another useful tip is to consider buying a printer with individual cartridges for different colours. If you use one colour more frequently than the others, you can simply replace that particular cartridge when it runs out, rather than throwing away a cartridge which may still contain the ink of other colours.
Check your printer settings
Your choice of print mode- and even choice of font- can affect how much ink your printer uses. Fonts with thinner characters use less ink and fonts such as Cambria and Calibri make good choices. When printing documents for use within the office it can be worth printing in draft mode, as this uses less ink. When you need to print a document for external use, switch to a higher quality print mode.
Don’t forget to do a print preview before you hit the print button, as you’ll often be able to leave out pages containing unimportant information, saving paper and ink. You should make sure that double-sided printing is standard procedure in your office.
Choose eco-friendly printer paper
We can use a huge amount of paper in the office and to be environmentally friendly you should opt for recycled printer paper. Recent improvements in the production of recycled paper means its quality and performance is the same as that of virgin paper, so you don’t need to worry about compromising on quality.
Choosing recycled paper helps to reduce landfill, which in turn reduces emissions of methane, a leading driver of climate change. Reducing the demand for virgin pulp also places less pressure on global forest reserves.
Reuse and recycle
When your ink cartridges run out you should ensure they are recycled– or you could buy the ink and refill the cartridge yourself, saving both resources and money.
Printer paper that’s used in the office can be reused or recycled. If you have one-sided prints that are not needed then the other side can be used for another print, or used as scrap paper on which to take notes, phone messages etc. A paper recycling bin placed prominently in the office will encourage eco-friendly habits – though of course, you’ll have to ensure that your staff aren’t disposing of confidential or sensitive documents in them, which should first be securely shredded.
We hope you found our tips useful. Don’t forget that Copyform in Leeds supplies a range of eco-friendly printers and photocopiers across the Yorkshire region – call us today for more information.
