copier v. printer

[TeresaTung]

Hi,

I work at a K-12 international school and we are switching to printing solutions from Lanxum. Currently we have three Canon office copiers (iR2022, iR2020J, and iR 3530). We will be getting network printers (Ricoh SPC 811DN, Ricoh MPC 2500).

From an environmental and energy saving point-of-view, when making mass copies, should one use the Canon copiers or the network printers? Or, is there some tipping point?

For example, if I want 25 copies of a document, should I just print one to the network printer and then use the Canon copiers to make 24 more? Does the answer change should I want a great amount, such as 100 copies?

I hope this is an appropriate forum for this query. I couldn't find any articles or anywhere else to answer the question. I appreciate any response and I'm certainly not an expert in this field.

Thank you,
Teresa
teresa_tung@istianjin.net

[cobiray]

I'm not sure about the power consumption of the Canon products, but as a rule I would think you would be better off printing no matter what the quantity. This is assuming that both units are similar speed and capability (color vs. b/w). When copying you have to run the exposure lamp, scanner motor and document feeder, which would use more electricity. I don't know how much more or if it's even possible to calculate a difference, but there are less moving parts which in theory equates to less power consumption.

[cobiray]

I would also assume that printing to a print enable copier would produce the same power savings as printing to a printer.

[FRIDGEMAGNET]

According to the service manual there is no power difference between the Ricoh copier and the Ricoh printer. The exposure lamp uses very low power.
However these questions should normally be addressed to the manufacturer.

[Meister77]

[msaeger]

Typically where I work at least the copier is always cheaper because we do not have supply inclusive contracts on printers. As far as power usage goes if your really worried about that print less and read documents on the computer more.

[Shadow1]

If you print 1 on a printer, then take them to the copy machine for the rest you have to warm up both machines - there is a decent amount of energy required to recover the machine from energy save mode. As far as other environmental concerns, Ricoh prides itself on being very green - most new machines use what Ricoh calls PxP toner which has a lower melting point (less energy used in the fuser) and less C02 footprint to manufacture. As far as the cost of the supplies for the printer - you're paying for it with the copier too, it's just built in to the contract