wide format printer requires to operate fully. Sometimes a better solution can
be to have a separate scanner, maybe even in a separate space.
To make your choice easier, examine your current printer and perform a print,
copy, and scan job while evaluating the actual space you need to comfortably
perform your tasks. Then perform whatever finishing tasks you usually need to
establish what actual space you need when folding, enveloping and distributing
your prints. A real run-through like this will give you a better insight for
your needs.
Environmental considerations: sustainability
Businesses today are increasingly looking at how their office equipment impacts
the environment. This relates to waste, recyclability, energy consumption
and printer emissions, and it takes into account the hardware as well as all
consumable products. Ignoring the environmental implications of using
equipment may lead to unnecessary waste and high energy consumption.
The first thing that springs to mind when thinking of waste is the ink cartridges or
residual toner disposal. This is usually your prime consideration. But, what about
prints that cannot be used due to poor quality, printed at the wrong location, or
simply because the prints are not correct? Waste can also occur as a result of
trimming when the wrong media size was loaded. Consider the capacity of an
ink cartridge or toner bottle to estimate how often these need to be replaced,
and check to see if the printer can hold different media sizes to avoid
unnecessary trimming.
When selecting a wide format printer, recycling plays an obvious role in the area
of ink cartridges collection and residual toner disposal. However, the printer itself
can also be recycled. It is important to ask if the manufacturer maintains a
cradle-to-cradle philosophy, so that old printers can be refurbished, reused
or remanufactured.
In the technical specifications you can find the energy consumption of wide
format printers when actually printing. However, to get a complete picture of the
energy that a printer consumes, it is good to consider how the machine is used on
a typical day; this includes estimating how long the printer will likely go into sleep
mode, how often it will be used per day and what type of printing it is doing. Also
you may find that the room in which the wide format printer is placed needs to be
cooled. In many cases the heat dispersed by the printer needs to be compensated
by high energy air conditioning, meaning your energy bill is higher.
Conclusion
There is no such thing as a one-size-fits all solution. Your choice of wide format
printer depends on the number of people using the printer and the type of print,
copy and scan jobs among others. By looking at these nine key areas, you will be
able to make an informed choice based on what you need, with the result being
the best quality wide format printer that your work deserves.
Océ South Africa: Chris Paulet,
+27 (0)11 661 9555/9540
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