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GREEN SCANNING:

First steps towards green large format scanners

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What is Energy Star compliance?

Image Access scanners are the only Energy Star compliant large format scanners
Image Access scanners
are the only Energy Star
compliant large format
scanners at present.

Energy Star compliance is a joint program of the US Environmental Protection Agency and the US Department of Energy designed to help the public and busines save money and protect the environment through energy efficient products and practices.

The Energy Star program organisers claim it has helped millions of Americans to save enough energy to avoid greenhouse gas emissions in 2006 equivalent to those from 25 million cars while cutting an impressive $14 billion on their fuel bills.

Practical energy saving measures like Energy Star must be encouraged further. To this end, we are pleased to report that Energy Star requirements have been tightened up in 2007. Wide format scanners which previously met Energy Star 2002 requirements, like Contex and Graphtec scanners, no longer do so. They will now have to pass even more stringent tests than before in order to qualify. This is tough on Contex and Graphtec but that's exactly how the agenda should be driven forward.

For example, the previously Energy Star compliant Graphtec CS500 scanner has a stand-by energy-save mode of 12W, twice that of the Image Access WideTEK (Bowe Bell + Howell Infinity, USA), the only large format scanner at present to meet the new, lower Energy Star stand-by power requirements. Image Access' WideTEK 36 has a power consumption of just 6W (Stand-by), 115W (Ready to scan) and 190W (Scanning).

Large format scanners that time-down to stand-by mode to save energy may comply with Energy Star requirements but won't save the planet from the excesses of production. Energy Star compliance is an indispensable part of any green wide format scanning solution but by itself it is not and never will be a total green solution. Wide format scanners that are built using more materials, energy and water than they need but which are Energy Star compliant do not address the problems of manufacture.

Which scanner manufacturers are fully Energy Star 2007 compliant?

Only Image Access is fully compliant with the latest Energy Star 2007 requirements at present.

All other manufacturers have either lost it, (Contex and its OEMs - Calcomp, HP, Océ and Vidar - and Graphtec), or never had it (Colortrac). This situation may change as these manufacturers release new large format scanners in 2008.

Readers interested in EnergyStar compliance should go to www.energystar.gov and search for the names of large format scanner manufacturers.

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