Credit: Epson
OEM invites CeBIT visitors to generate energy required to print a page on its new low-energy inkjet printers by cycling.
Epson has launched a new series of WorkForce business inkjet printers which it claims use up to 80 percent less energy to print than their laser equivalents, with the OEM demonstrating their low energy usage at IT exhibition CeBIT, which took place in Germany from 5 to 9 March.
Recognising that energy consumption is becoming increasingly important to both businesses and individual consumers, Brother launched its new series of inkjet printers to address customer needs, using the exhibition as an opportunity to demonstrate the new products’ low energy usage.
One way of doing this was by connecting an Epson WorkForce Pro 4595 DNF inkjet printer to a bicycle dynamo. Visitors were then invited to pedal for around two minutes to generate the 30 watts required to start up the printer and print the first page, with the OEM stating that every customer “regardless of age or physical condition” were able to make the print.
Epson then compared this to the 700 watts required for a laser printer to perform the same task, which it says “would be impossible for even professional or Olympic cyclists” to generate.
Another way of demonstrating the differences between Epson’s new low-energy printers and laser printers was by using thermal photography to indicate the amount of heat generated by the two types of printer, with the images showing that the business inkjet printer used significantly less electricity than the laser device.
Henning Ohlsson, General Manager of Epson Germany, said: “Whether its running cost, print quality, speed or energy consumption, Epson’s WorkForce business inkjets have many advantages over laser printers. However, laser printers have long been standard in offices, and it’s our task to use imaginative ways to show customers how the latest inkjet technology addresses our customers’ concerns.”