Konica Minolta Offers Eco-Friendly PrinterKonica Minolta Offers Eco-Friendly Printer

MFP for emerging markets focuses on low power consumption and smaller size, although developed markets would probably appreciate it as well.Konica Minolta is touting two new versions (model 184 and 164) of its bizhub multi-function 600 dpi monochrome laser printer, combining printing, scanning, and copying functions. Its eco-friendliness is apparently embodied in three features:

As for energy consumption, the vendor calcluated average use for a five-day week and decided that the 18-page-per-minute bizhub 184 would consume 1.01 kilowatt hours compared to an average MFP's consumption of 2.3 kilowatt hours. The 16-page-per-minute bizhub 164 would consume 0.92 kilowatt hours, compared to an average MFP's consumption performance of 2.1 kilowatt hours.

With polymerized toner, the powder is created through a chemical process rather than by pulverizing the material. This change by itself is supposed to not only produce smaller particle sizes, but a 40 percent reduction in C02 emissions during the production process. The toner, called Simitri HD, is supposed to be better for half-tones.

As for weight savings, the new units weigh 25 kilograms, as opposed to 39 kg for the previous models. The number of parts has been reduced 35 percent and the amount of packing material has been reduced by 40 percent.

These are fairly large, 230-volt machines intended for shared office use, and are typically sold for metric rather than lettersized paper. Still, concentrating on green is a welcome trend in the office printer field. Hopefully, similar emphasis will surface in the developed marketwhere lower power consumption, finer toner, and smaller footprints are also appreciated.

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