Methodology

Topten presents the most environmentally friendly printers. The lists show the most energy-efficient printers for private use (private use, home office, optimised for photo printing, or use at individual workstations) as well as printers for office use (floor printers, printers with finishing options such as stapling, punching, folding). A distinction is made between standard format (A3+, A3, A4, photo paper, envelopes), colour and black/white printers, and between inkjet and laser printers. Written information from the manufacturers as well as information in brochures and on the Internet serve as the basis for the selection. All devices must be available on the Swiss market.

Printers for private use can be found at this link.

Printers for office use can be found at this link.

Technical criteria

The devices must meet the following criteria:

Laser printers must be labeled with the "Blue Angel" label
Inkjet printers must have the automatic duplex function (double-sided printing)

Blue Angel

Official German environmental label. Blue Angel printers or multifunction devices all share a common advantage: their impact on the environment and their risks to health are reduced. This is achieved in the following way:

Indoor pollution is particularly low
Strict requirements for material selection (use of low-pollutant materials)
Recycling-friendly design
Low energy consumption also serves climate protection

Order of presentation

Products are ranked according to their annual electricity cost, which has been calculated by Topten. The order of presentation can be changed by clicking the tables’ headings.

Glossary

Brand

Name of the manufacturer of the base model.

Model

Model name of the base model.

Variants

Text description or model name of variations of the base model.

Printing technology

Indicates the printing technology available: Inkjet (also called inkjet) or laser.

Support glass

If a model has a support glass, pages can be copied and scanned compared to pure printers which do not have this glass.

Color printing

Color printing or monochrome (black and white).

Format

Maximum size of the paper format.

Two-sided output

This function allows double-sided copies to be made in one step.

Print speed black and white or colour

The print speed is specified in number of pages per minute, separately for black and white and colour.

TEC

Typical Electricity Consumption (kWh/week): a value measured according to Energy Star standards for the typical weekly electricity consumption of an office device. To earn the Energy Star label, the TEC value must be below a certain threshold.

Number of ink cartridges

Number of ink cartridges of the base device. Depending on the model, 1 (black) to 4 (black, red, yellow, blue), 5 (additional more intense black), 6 (additional colour for improved photo printing) or even more. Individual cartridges can be better replaced.

Paper stock

Standard paper supply of the basic device in number of sheets.

Paper supply optional

Paper supply, which can be additionally expanded, in number of sheets.

Separate sheet feeder

Side additional sheet feeder of the base unit in number of sheets.

Resolution

Maximum resolution when printing or copying (dpi = dots per inch. 1 inch = 2.54 cm).

Height, width, depth

Dimensions of the model in cm.

Weight

Weight of the model in kg.

Noise

Noise of the model in dB.

Infoplus

Standards and Labels

Blue Angel, Berlin (Germany): Office printing devices (copiers, multifunction devices, office devices, printers, printing devices; RAL-UZ 219),recycled paper (RAL-UZ 14).
Energy Star : Labelling for Energy Efficient Office Equipment. Information from Europe and the United States.
Energy Star Program Requirements for Imaging Equipment (Version 2.0).
European Commission and Imaging Industry: Voluntary Industry Agreement to improve the environmental performance of imaging equipment (Version from December 2012), adopted by the European Commission in January 2013: Executive summary of the impact assessment of the Voluntary Agreement.
Commission regulation on Ecodesign requirements for Standby and Off mode (No 1275/2008) power consumption, and
Ecodesign regulation No 801/2013 on networked Standby, amending regulation No 1275/2008.
TCO Stockholm (Sweden)
FSC Forest Stewardship Council

Publications

Professional Procurement: Office Equipment. Recommendations for executives, persons responsible for procurement and IT. Topten International Group, WWF, European Energy Award, S.A.F.E. August 2021.

Selection Criteria Professional printers