Green machines

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GERCEK: The biggest mistake is the same one my dad made – having multiple devices and thinking that you are saving money that way.

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SMITH: Being green in your printing is good for you and its good for the environment, it’s a cliché, but it’s a true win-win for everybody.

"Being green in your printing is good for you and its good for the environment, it's a cliché, but it's a true win-win for everybody, there is no reason not to do it," explained Smith.

Most organisations are well aware of the benefits that come with energy efficiency and have decorated the office with Energy Star stickers, though there are still quite a few who negotiate a good price, plug the printers in and then let the staff go crazy. This is ignoring the savings that can come from simple things such as having your printer turn itself off overnight, or forcing your directors to give up their personal printers and make the trip to the multi-function device.

"In most offices the biggest mistake is the same mistake my dad made actually - in the past he had a home copier, scanner and a fax machine and he was thinking he was saving money by doing this - and it is totally not right at all," said Onur Gercek, consumer and trade marketing manager for the Middle East at HP.

Please standby...

Most vendors have their own version of a standby or a sleep mode these days, so it would be rare to find a printer without one, but it still needs to actually be utilised. The same can be said for double-sided printing, which has the potential to save a business some serious coin on their paper costs if it is made a default.

"Most people only use one side of a sheet of paper. The other side is basically going to waste, so one way to reduce paper cost by half literally is to use the duplex function," said Ranjit Gurkar, general manager of Brother International Gulf.

Cutting down on consumables can be taken further than just changes made at the touch screen. Wasting ink at the driver level is preventable and employees can be won over to the cause of enviromental-friendliness when you point out how many trees you are trying to save.

"User collaboration is very important and co-operation is also very important. For example when it comes to saving paper, there are so many situations where people print something out even though they could alternatively send it by e-mail, or scan it and send it by e-mail," said Pradeep Kumar, regional manager of the electronic imaging division at Toshiba Gulf.

Traditionally, the problem with green printing has been motivation, as often an organisation will simply absorb the cost of ink or toner consumables and power in order to let users print to their hearts content. Given the penny-pinching attitudes that are starting to prevail in the region of late, it's no surprise that many businesses are now starting to see the value in pursuing a green printing strategy.

"It's like green is becoming bigger with the hype recently, but it will become something of a necessity instead of hype soon," added Hewlett-Packard's Gercek.

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