Products that
are not easy to use will not be chosen by
consumers even if their environmental performance
is good. Such products cannot contribute
to environmental conservation. To do its
part in preventing global warming, Ricoh
constantly strives to introduce user-friendly,
energy-saving functions to its core products,
which will be used by more people and lead
to a decrease in environmental impact caused
by the use of products in general. Also,
the Company is highly committed to reducing
environmental impact caused by paper used
in printing/copying, which is the largest
cause of impact to the environment in the
life cycle of a printer/copier. Ricoh helps
decrease environmental impact caused by
consumers' paper consumption by offering
a duplex copying function, promoting the
use of electronic paper, and aggressively
marketing recycled paper.
User-Friendly, Energy-Saving Technologies
|
To make copiers and printers
more energy efficient, it is necessary
to develop technology that minimizes
the machine's electricity consumption
while in standby mode and enables
it to quickly recover from energy-saving mode as required.
Even if a copier/printer that consumes
almost zero energy while in standby
mode is marketed, consumers will not
use the energy-saving function if it takes too
long to recover from Energy-Saving mode.
If such a copier/printer is not chosen
by customers, it will not be able
to contribute to reducing the general
consumption of electricity. Therefore,
Ricoh developed quick
start-up (QSU) technology, which
enables machines to save energy and
recover quickly from energy-saving
(off/sleep) mode when needed.
Ricoh will further improve its QSU
technology to gain more consumer support
for its products. |
 |
IPSiO NX850
Aficio
2035/2045 (imagio Neo 351/451)(Model
765 with optional functions)
|
Reducing Environmental
Impact by Manufacturing P x P Toners
Ricoh developed
the industry's first polyester polymerization
toner (P x P toner)*, which is chemically
manufactured using polyester resin materials,
coloring agents, and wax to ensure higher
copying/printing quality. Compared with
traditional toner particles made by crushing
materials, the energy (in CO2)
required to manufacture P x P toner is reduced approximately 35%.
Also, thanks to the uniform thermal properties
obtained by the use of polyester resin, the fixing temperature can be lowered
which, in turn, contributes to energy conservation
while the toner is used.
*
P x P toner was developed using Ricoh's
unique polymerization method. P x P stands
for polyester x polymerization. Traditional
polymerized toner is made from styrene and
acrylic resins while P x P toner contains
polyester resins.
Energy-Saving Digital Cameras
|
| Ricoh strives to improve the
performance and multiple functions
of digital cameras while promoting
their energy-saving capability. The
Caplio RR30, which was marketed in
fiscal 2002, can use lithium batteries
or two AA batteries. The previous
model required four AA batteries.
The new model reduces electricity
consumption approximately 59% compared
with the previous model marketed in
fiscal 2001. |
|
Caplio
RR 30 digital camera |
Analog One-Chip Energy-Saving LSI for Cellular Phones
|
In
the area of cellular phones, which
are increasingly being downsized and
added with more functions, it is very
important to prolong the life of the
batteries the phones use. Ricoh developed
an analog one-chip LSI, which can
halve the electricity consumed by
a cellular phone by effectively controlling
the electricity. The LSI is equipped
with a voltage regulated power supply
in ECO mode*. The product is supplied
to cellular-phone manufacturers. In
fiscal 2002, the product contributed
to reducing CO2 emissions
by 1,000 tons on an annual basis.
*
Patent registered in the United States
and applied for in Japan |
|
Analog one-chip LSI for cellular phones
|
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