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sustainabletimes
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Graham Cox, sales director of Kyocera
Document Solutions UK Limited,
believes that in the current climate
sustainability and value for money are
vital for sustained market impact.
“In the past four to five years people
have become more interested in total
cost of ownership and the environment,”
he said. “We have become more
discerning of how we spend our money
both privately and on a corporate level.
Everyone expects value for money and
looks at cost holistically now.We are
also all more conscious of the effect that
technology has on our environment.”
Environmental sustainability has
been one of the underlying principles
of Kyocera Corporation’s corporate
philosophy since its foundation in
1959. The development of sustainable
printers satisfies the company’s goal
to reduce humanity’s impact on the
planet and sits alongside its other
environmental achievements such as
the production of commercially viable
photo-voltaic (PV) cells.
In 1986, Kyocera Document Solutions’
parent company Kyocera Corporation
stated that ‘The environment will
become an important consideration
from now on.’ Since then, it has created
a range of products with a long lifespan
and very low operating costs.
In 1992 the Kyoto Protocol was
five years away from being agreed
and 13 years away from coming into
force. Yet Kyocera was already shipping
the first ECOSYS sustainable printer,
the FS-1500. As the first printer to be
designed and manufactured with long-
life components, the FS-1500 aimed
to reduce the cost and environmental
impact of office printing.
Long-lasting components
Kyocera’s heritage in ceramic
technology is fundamental to the low
waste design of ECOSYS printers. The
long-life components used are many
times more durable than traditional
alternatives meaning that in most cases
Kyocera printers will last longer than
competitor models.
At the heart of ECOSYS sustainable
technology is a hard-wearing amorphous
silicon (aSi) drum developed by Kyocera
Document Solutions to last for the life of
ECOSYS
stands for
Economy,
Ecology &
System
ECOSYS
– still unique after 20 years
cover story
a printer. The combination of amorphous
silicon and a positive-charged single
layer photoconductor drum (PSLP) has
enabled Kyocera Document Solutions
to develop drums that last significantly
longer than a conventional negative-
charged layer OPC drum.
The drums in ECOSYS devices are
guaranteed to last for two years or
500,000 pages, whichever comes sooner.
In a heavy use environment, the imaging
system of the printer can be replaced
after the warranty has expired by using
a maintenance kit. This lets you renew
the device without the inconvenience of
buying a new printer.
Less waste
An ECOSYS printer is unique because
toner is its only consumable.When
the toner runs out, all you need to
replace is the actual toner cartridge.
The ‘toner’ cartridges that go into non-
Kyocera printers often contain far more
than toner; some have more than 60
separate parts. The low-waste design
of ECOSYS printers means that 85%
less waste is produced during the life
of the printer. Additionally, the simpler,
smaller and lighter toner boxes have
a lower transport footprint than more
complex alternatives.
In January 2009, Kyocera Document
Solutions enhanced ECOSYS by
launching a new toner with uniform
and smooth particles that deliver finer
definition and higher clarity, reducing
toner consumption by 30%.
Since then, it has continued to
refine its long-life, energy-saving
designs, achieving a remarkable
reduction in TEC (Typical Energy
Consumption) values and CO
2
emissions, compared to conventional
printers. It has also improved the
operating noise of its printers, making
them five decibels quieter, and reduced
the time it takes the printer to recover
from standby and start printing.
ECONOMY:
Optimised workflow efficiency
Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)
is the true lifetime cost of a
printer as operating expenses can
significantly exceed the original
purchase price. ECOSYS devices are
designed to minimise both direct
costs, such as consumables, and
indirect costs, such as energy usage
and administration, invariably
offering the lowest possible TCO.
ECOLOGY:
Minimised environmental impact
Kyocera’s long-life technology
utilises its extensive expertise
in ceramics. The durable drum is
integral to the printer; the only
consumable is the toner cartridge.
ECOSYS printers consume fewer
materials in manufacture, generate
less waste and simplify recycling,
so minimising environmental
impact.
SYSTEM
:
Effortless system integration
Kyocera’s ECOSYS devices offer
a wide range of enhancements
designed to maximise document
output productivity and Kyocera
Document Solutions’ integrated
system software ensures long-term
and cross-network compatibility.
This year Kyocera Document Solutions
celebrates the 20th anniversary of its ECOSYS
sustainable printing technology. Twenty years
on, sustainability, green technology and cost
control have become business imperatives and
ECOSYS is arguably more relevant today than it
was in 1992.