ENERGY STAR® Qualified Office Equipment

Printers

One of the best ways to create an energy-smart office is to reduce your use of paper and printing/imaging technologies. However, even the most energy-conscious and environmentally friendly office will not be able to completely eliminate the need for printing technologies, at least for the foreseeable future. That makes it doubly important to select the right printer or combination of printers in the first place, since different technologies offer wide variations in performance and energy consumption.

The most common printing technologies in use today are laser printers, inkjet printers, and dot matrix and daisy wheel printers.

ENERGY STAR Criteria

To qualify for the ENERGY STAR symbol, printers must, among other things either (a) consume a set level of energy per week (Total Electricity Consumption Approach – TEC), or (b)  must automatically enter low-power modes of a prescribed level (Operating Mode Approach – OM).  The weekly energy consumption rate or prescribed low-power levels are dependent on the type of printer engine, product speed, and product size.
For example, consider a “standard sized” inkjet printer that has a speed of 25 inches per minute.  If using the OM Approach to qualify this printer, it must:

1. Go into sleep mode after 30 minutes of idle time
2. Consume a maximum of 1W of Standby power
3. Consume no more than 3W of power in Sleep Mode.

See the Technical Specification for further details.

View our list of ENERGY STAR qualified models

Please note: We are currently sharing lists of ENERGY STAR qualified office equipment with ENERGY STAR in the United States. When you click on the link above, you will be taken to a product list on the U.S. ENERGY STAR web site. Many of the products listed are available in Canada. To return to Canada's ENERGY STAR web site, simply click on the "Back" button on your web browser.

List of models: Printers

Making the Right Choice

Matching your needs with the most appropriate printing technologies and capabilities will help reduce your office's energy consumption. If you do not require the highest quality or speed, for example, you may not need a printer that uses light and heat in its imaging process - lasers and colour inkjet machines. A regular inkjet printer is an excellent alternative, as it produces near-laser quality (but at a slower speed) and uses less energy. For printing draft documents, a dot matrix or impact printer does the job at much less cost than a laser.

When purchasing a printer, look for a model that has an energy-saver feature that significantly reduces the machine's energy consumption in standby mode. This is important, since printers are often idle for long periods but continue to consume energy unless manually turned off. Although a short delay will occur before a print job begins from standby mode, this minor inconvenience is more than offset through energy savings.

It can also be worthwhile to compare nameplate power ratings. Although this is not a precise method of comparison, the large differences in power requirements for certain models can provide a yardstick for measuring relative energy efficiency. Keep in mind that although faster printers have a higher overall energy requirement, they consume less energy per page when printing large volumes.

When comparing power ratings, it is a good idea to estimate the workload of the printer (i.e. the length of time it will be printing as opposed to sitting idle). In offices with a heavy printing load, more emphasis should be placed on the machine's power rating during the printing operation. If the printer will sit idle for long periods, its power rating in the idle or energy-saver mode may be more important. Ask the vendor for information on energy consumption during all operating modes - printing, idling and energy-saver - and take these figures into account when making your purchase decision.

As well, consider a printer that has the capability to print on both sides of the paper. This reduces direct paper costs and the energy use associated with paper production.