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Printing: playing the green card

by Sara White

Changing the way you print documents could save money on paper and ink, and reduce spiralling energy bills. But over half of UK SMBs do not have an environmental sustainability policy.

If going green in the office sounds like a pipedream, you are not alone. Over half of UK small to medium sized businesses do not have an environmental sustainability policy in place, according to independent research commissioned by HP. However, there are signs that behaviour is changing.

The survey of SMB green buying patterns across Europe, found that the biggest concern for companies of this size is the cost implications of implementing greener print policies, normally associated with the higher cost of replacement hardware.

SMBs need to see savings. The focus is on increasing print efficiency, reducing waste and using less energy

Pushing up the budget to assuage a green conscious is not necessarily top of mind in these economic times. At the same time, the choice of energy-efficient products is still fairly limited, and often price factors outweigh environmental considerations.

"Environmental sustainability is not on the SMB agenda, but 50 to 55 per cent said it would be on the agenda in two years. Only four per cent said it was one of their primary considerations - the perception is that these products have to cost more," said HP director of supplies, Imaging and Print Group Andy Forsyth.

"We are offering pragmatic advice and guidance to companies so they can be more environmentally responsible - what is important in their eyes is to make it cost effective. They need to see cost savings. The focus is on increasing printing efficiency, reducing waste and using less energy."

The biggest incentive for UK SMBs to take environmental issues into account when buying a printing system would be cheaper prices for products with environmental features. Sixty per cent said that would make a difference. The survey also found that there is increasing awareness of energy rating programmes, such as Energy Star, with 42 per cent of UK SMBs recognising at least one of the rating programmes.

Conducting a print review
 
• Are there any documents regularly printed within the business that could be printed more effectively?

• Do people use double-sided printing as much as they could?

• Are there any initiatives to encourage staff to use less paper or switch off printers when not use?

• Are there any schemes within the business to re-use scrap paper or recycle waste paper?

• Do you use manufacturers' recycling programmes for print cartridges?

Green guide

This is HP's first survey into the environmental factors influencing printer purchases, awareness and energy initiatives in SMBs.

As a result, the company has published a Guide to Greener Printing (www.hp.com/uk/greenerprinting), offering practical advice to businesses to improve print practices.

"The guide looks at how much paper you can save, general use of paper, document layout, duplex (double-sided) printing and paper recycling," said Forsyth. "We can save them costs and cost is very close to the heart of small to medium sized businesses. They can choose affordable, energy-efficient products.

"We need to make SMBs aware that there are substantial cost savings to be had. They are doing business with enterprise and the public sector. Environmental policies are mandatory in the public sector. The other topical issue is that energy costs are soaring."

Double-sided printing

The research found that 65 per cent of UK SMBs already re-use paper and have recycling programmes in place, but only half use double-sided printing. While these figures are promising, the obvious cost savings from double-sided printing are simply not being achieved. A quick calculation of annual paper costs can provide a timely reminder of the potential cost savings of setting printers to a duplex default.

HP now ships all printers with duplex printing as the default. At least then companies have to make a conscious decision to change the setting. While duplex is not always suitable for customer-facing business documents, it should be the norm for internal use.

Equipment left on standby is responsible for generating over three million tonnes of CO2 each year, Energy Saving Trust

Energy efficiency

With escalating power costs, one of the obvious steps is to purchase machines with better energy efficiency. Until now, few of the major print manufacturers have offered a wide range of energy efficient devices, but this is beginning to change, particularly as larger customers make this an integral part of their tendering process.

All office equipment uses energy when switched on or in standby mode. In the UK alone, equipment left on standby is responsible for generating over three million tonnes of CO2 each year, according to the Energy Saving Trust.

HP has launched three energy efficient workgroup laser printers. The LaserJet P4014 and P4015 mono printers replace the 4250, and the P4515 replaces the 4350. The printers use the latest low-melt toner formulation devised by HP, which reduces energy consumption.

Cost savings

It takes 10 times more energy to make a piece of paper than to print it, but there are simple ways to reduce paper usage. "You can reduce the font size and deliver a reasonable cost saving, and set double sided printing as the default," said Forsyth.

HP has implemented double-sided printing across the company. This saved 800,000 sheets of paper in a single year.

Web 2.0 printing

The burgeoning internet has created new print issues; how often do you try to print something from the web and discover that the printer has churned out pages of unnecessary information or missed half the data.

HP describes its approach to web printing as Print 2.0 and has developed some neat software called HP Smart Web Printing, which makes it easier to print from the web. Using the software, you can extract only the relevant information when printing from the web, effectively creating a bespoke document. For example, the information can be manipulated and formatted on a single sheet, saving paper and avoiding the hassle of reprinting web pages just to get the information you wanted in the first place. There are plenty of applications, such as printing maps and images.

Printing tips

Document layout

• Think about the way documents are laid out
• Reduce the font size by a couple of points to make documents thinner without detracting from the presentation quality
• Reduce margin settings
• Use bullet points to reduce the length of presentations
• Use both sides of the paper

Double-sided printing

• Make it policy that all staff should print on both sides of paper, wherever practical, to save resources and reduce waste
• Ensure people have the knowledge and equipment to print double-sided. Sometimes they have access to the facility, but are not confident about using it
• Set printers to automatically print double-sided, wherever practical
• Restrict the ability of staff to change their print settings and use software to encourage them to avoid unnecessary copies