ASU could save 3 million liters of water and 3,500 trees a year just by printing double-sided.
These numbers were found by a University-wide study conducted by the ASU Canon Strategic Alliance Partnership, a pact made in 2007 that creates cost-effective and environmentally friendly printing options for ASU departments.
The study, which took place over the past year, also found that by replacing single-function printers in offices with fewer, multi-function devices that can print, scan, copy and fax, ASU could save $1.9 million.
“The study found that we have opportunities to dramatically reduce the number of printers we use,” said Ray Jensen, university sustainability operations officer at ASU.
The University Technology Office took a step toward this lofty goal when 100 of its personnel moved into new offices in the University Services Building in Tempe.
When they moved, a process that started in August, their 12 printers were left behind.
Those printers were replaced by three multifunction Canon devices that are serving all 100 employees more efficiently than their old printers.
The printers are set to print double-sided and in black and white by default, Jensen said.
One Canon toner cartridge lasts 19 times as long as the cartridges in the old printers.
The ASU-Canon partnership’s sustainability assessment was the first comprehensive print-cost study by a University in the nation.
“Canon is looking to help us enhance our sustainability procedures as they relate to print operations,” Jensen said.
In Canon’s plan, there will be a much higher ratio of people to printers, up from just more than one person per office printer to nine or more employees per device.
“People would use less energy and spend less on toner cartridges,” said Bonny Bentzin, director of University Sustainability Practices.
She added that networking fewer printers together would also promote a sense of community, because whole offices would be using the same printers.
Students have shared printers in university libraries for years, journalism senior Taren Talmage said.
“I don’t think it makes sense for everybody to have his or her own printer,” she said.
The transition will be slow, Jensen said, but the University is off to a good start.
The decision to switch to new printers is ultimately left to each individual department, but Canon is making the new printers available at a comparable cost, Jensen said.
He added that at this point, there are no specific plans by other departments to adopt the plan.
“The opportunity exists for any department that wants to ask for it,” he said.
The ASU-Canon partnership exemplifies the University’s sustainability mission, Bentzin said.
“Overall, ASU is looking at all different ways that we can reduce our energy footprint, reduce our consumption and reduce our waste production,” she said.
Reach the reporter at alex.ferri@asu.edu
