Green Machines Boost Colorado In-plant’s Sustainable Image

“We have to be in a green marketing mode,” proclaims Tom Tozier, manager of Imaging Services at the University of Colorado at Boulder.

Students, he says, now expect environmental friendliness from the vendors they use. And since his retail copy center—The CU Ink Spot—relies on their business, Tozier has taken steps to emphasize his in-plant’s green focus.

The copy center was repainted with environmentally friendly (green) paint. The shop uses only recycled paper. And most importantly, the in-plant recently replaced two Xerox printers with a pair of Océ VarioPrint 2110s, which are reportedly more environmentally friendly than other major brands.

“They use 47 percent less energy than anybody else out there,” Tozier contends, noting that this was shown in third-party tests. To market this fact, he converted the copiers’ annual power usage into CO2 emissions and created a chart showing how much less CO2 the in-plant’s copiers produce than other copiers. He even showed the CO2 emissions from a Ford Explorer, a Toyota Prius and a flight to Amsterdam, for comparison’s sake.

“We have reduced our CO2 emissions by over three metric tons a year,” he says, thanks to the new Océ machines, which comply with the highest U.S. Energy Star and Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP) requirements.

Not only that, Tozier adds, Océ uses recyclable iron and steel in the copier chassis, not plastic. Océ’s toner is organic, he adds, and its Copy Press technology presses toner into the sheet, eliminating fuser oil and the need to reclaim toner.

“Océs are very good machines,” Tozier says, stressing that their productivity and quality are great as well.

“We’re not sacrificing productivity to try to be green. In fact, I think we’re stepping up our productivity,” he says. “They lay down a fantastic solid, and tones are great.”

Nonetheless, the machines’ green attributes are the main focus of Tozier’s marketing. Posters now refer to the in-plant as “Your Sustainable Campus Printer.” And with a university executive order in place to reduce the campus’ carbon footprint by 20 percent over the next four years, this puts the in-plant right in line with the university’s goals.