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GREEN SCANNING:

First steps towards green large format scanners

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What does "green scanning" mean, exactly?

Green scanning is an all-embracing concept rather than a single product. A truly green large format scanner would be subject to a vast number of environmental considerations, many of which are outside of the control of wide format scanner manufacturers.

For example, is the trauma which the planet suffered in mining and refining the copper, steel, plastic and glass, etc., used in a large format scanners, sustainable and fixable? Were new trees planted after chopping down the ones that make the wooden pallets on which the scanners are transported? Has the manufacturer signed up to voluntary green intiatives? What does the large manufacturer do to offset their distribution channel's carbon trail? Does the scanner use only as much electrical power as it needs? Is the power that the scanner uses clean or dirty?

So, "are large format scanner manufacturers doing all that they can to ensure that they give us the most environmentaly-friendly, low cost product?"

At present, the answer is a definite "no". On a positive note, some are giving the issue plenty of lip service. While lip service is not exactly putting their money where their mouth is, it is a start, at least! Getting started is vital! Once the environmental ball is rolling and endorsed by the buying public, we may begin to see real changes to old established practices and non-green ways of making things.

A real commitment to change would require manufacturers ensuring that the steel and plastic used came from suppliers signed up to measures that limit their sulphur and carbon emissions; buying wooden pallets only from companies with documented connections to ethical replanting suppliers; and signing up to environmental protection and improvement measures themselves. As for the electrical power used, other than ensuring that the scanner only ever uses the minimum, this is not an issue the manufacturers can control.

The environmental cleanliness of your power source - coal fired, nuclear, wind etc. - is a local issue which YOU, the user, consumer, taxpayer, voter and local resident must take some responsibility for. If you are still asking "what's in it for me?", think of your children's health today and their future tomorrow.

Green means putting your money where your mouth is

Contex Crystal G600 Large Format Scanner
Contex scanners lost their
Energy Star rating at the
beginning of 2007. Contex now
claim to be Energy Saver
compliant, implying that Energy
Saver is a standard. It is not.

Some suppliers, like IDEAL, the US Contex distributor, have attempted to claim "green" scanning on the basis of Energy Star compliance. IDEAL issued a press release entitled "IDEAL / Contex 'Green' Scanners Help Protect the Environment with Superior Energy Efficiency", (1st May 2006). IDEAL's claim gained them a short-term sales advantage but was no long-term environmental fix.

What IDEAL's press release shows is that IDEAL recognise the concerns that some buyers have about environmental issues, that IDEAL has some enthusiasm for offering a green Contex wide format scanning solution, and that IDEAL see benefits from being on the green bandwagon. This is a good start. The first requirement for green scanning is that the large format scanner manufacturers AND their distributors recognise the problem and their responsibilities to offer a solution, then make a REAL commitment to change.

However, all is not as it seems with IDEAL / Contex's claims.

IDEAL / Contex's G600 large format scanners' sleep mode previously complied with the Energy Star 2002 rating specifications but failed to do so once the more demanding Energy Star 2007 requirements came in. Contex scanners lost their Energy Star rating at the beginning of 2007. As a result, Contex now claim to be Energy Saver compliant, implying that Energy Saver is a standard. It is nothing of the sort. Energy Saver is a smoke-screen of sophistry, a play-on-words behind which Contex hide their Energy Star non-compliance.

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