In addition to reducing impact with compact and lightweight products, we approached these products from the design stage with consideration for resource-saving and easy recycling after a product is no longer used. Specifically, we defined a "recyclable rate^*1" as an index for evaluating the recyclability calculated from product design drawings, and set 75% or higher as our target value.

In addition, we also applied other information to product design to make recycling easier, such as design points from the Epson Ecology Center (Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture) where used and discarded products are collected, disassembled, and sorted. The following are examples of our primary efforts with completed products, including printers, scanners, and computers.

• Material identification coding based on ISO11469 and ISO1043, for plastic parts of 25g or greater (example: >HI-PS<)
• "Disassembly marks" that indicate locations for inserting tools when disassembling a unit
• Avoiding the use of adhesive bonding and joints of dissimilar material (examples: avoiding the insertion of metal parts in plastic housings, adhesion of polystyrene foam cushioning material to cardboard boxes, etc.)
• Embossed labels (example: molded caution labels in place of conventional stickers, etc.)
• Avoiding the use of laminates, etc, for manuals

In the future, Epson will continue to aim to reduce environmental impact across the entire lifecycle of their products, and create products with consideration for how they will be discarded after use by customers.

*1 Recyclable rate: Percentage of the weight of materials and parts judged to be recyclable in the total weight of the product, not including the recycling of blast-furnace reduction material and combustion aid material (thermal recycling).

Projectors featuring brightness and mobility

In 2010, Epson introduced the EB-1770W/PowerLite1770W series of projectors that feature a brightness of 3000lm in a compact 44mm high body weighing only 1.7kg. These products included a variety of new elements, including the use of lamp units with a new shape, and a revision of the cooling method used for the liquid-crystal panels and the layout of interface connectors, in order to achieve a thoroughly slim design.
Compared with the EMP-830/PowerLite830p models (from 2004), volume was reduced by approximately 77% and mass was reduced by approximately 64%. The reduction in size contributed to an improvement in shipping efficiency by about 2.7 times.

New projector communication functions provide resource savings

The EB-460i/EB-450Wi/BrightLink450Wi introduced in 2010 provide new forms of communication through the use of projectors, such as the ability to operate a computer using the projected image, or directly entering text and figures onto the projected image and saving that information to a computer*. At the same time, resources are saved because devices such as interactive whiteboards are no longer necessary.

* This requires the "Easy Interactive Tools" software.

New compact engine enables smaller and lighter printers and better transport efficiency

Material manufacturing is the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the life-cycle of an all-in-one inkjet printer. The Epson Stylus NX330 and SX435W, which launched in 2011, were made 39% smaller and 26% lighter than previous models by shrinking the main board and power supply and by optimizing component placement. The smaller product size also enables a smaller box, leading to better transport efficiency.
*Compared with the Epson Stylus NX420 and SX425W launched in 2010

A digital label printer that reduces waste material during printing processes

SurePress L-4033A

Epson has developed the SurePress L-4033A digital label printer with inkjet technology for the label printing industry. The label printing industry cannot avoid the problem of how to reduce the waste material that is produced during printing processes. The SurePress L-4033A allows a dramatic reduction in waste material during printing processes, while also exhibiting superior productivity.

• Ink and stock paper reduced
  Stable output is possible without the misalignment of plates commonly found during analog printing processes, eliminating the need for test printing. This keeps wasted ink and stock paper to a minimum and reduces cost.
• Pre-coating* not necessary
  The newly-developed "SurePress AQ" water pigment ink with strong fixative properties is used, so that pre-coating* is no longer required on stock paper.
• Reproduction film, plates, and chemicals eliminated
  Since the pre-press processes (such as plate processes and print preparation processes) that are required for analog printing processes are no longer necessary, the time from manuscript production to delivery is reduced and reproduction film, plates, and chemicals are also no longer required.

* Coating layer on the surface of stock paper to ensure that the ink is fixed

Comparison of workflow between conventional analog printing and SurePress digital printing

Unpainted housing parts^* for inkjet printers

Appearance of glossy molding

Epson developed glossy and textured molding technologies for use on its printer products. These technologies, which eliminate the need for paint on plastic housing,* were made possible through the careful selection of plastic materials and the establishment of molding techniques. They give our printers a high-end feel and at the same time reduce the environmental impact.

*Excluding labels for buttons and switches

Resource-saving

• Paint is not required.
• Non-painted plastic housings enable a higher grade of recyclable material.

Energy saving

• Painting processes are not required.

Advantages of paint-free plastic

• Lower VOC emissions in the painting process
• Eliminates need for paint handling

Reduction rates are based on fiscal 2006 benchmark (100%).
Applicable products: Inkjet printers (including A2+ units from 2009 onward) and scanners

*Except for operation panel markings and design detail

Reduced volume of user manuals

In Europe, we publish manuals in 30 languages. With 50 pages for each language, the entire text of manuals we create is 1,500 pages, resulting in a huge volume of paper that must be reduced as much as possible. Therefore, we made the following improvements to user manuals for inkjet multifunction printers, to improve usability while also decreasing the volume of paper used by approximately 25%.

<Points of improvement>

• Reduced paper size: A4 to A5
• Short and concise content: removal of redundant information and detailed check of required information
• Innovative layouts
• Changed from text format to illustrated format
• Multilanguage compilation

Dot matrix printer size and weight reduction

Being compact and lightweight are important considerations for printers, whether it be from an environmental impact perspective or in terms of freedom of installation location for the customer. The LQ-690's platen unit is no less than 65% lighter than its predecessor, the LQ-680's it, since we changed from a cylindrical to a flat platen and revised the materials used in its manufacture. We also reduced metal frame area by shifting the mounting substrate from the bottom to the rear of the printer. The LQ-690 is 24% lighter and 16% smaller than the LQ-680. In particular, a 9% height reduction offers the customer more freedom when it comes to installation location.

Paper saving functions for receipt printer

The TM-T88V thermal receipt printer, released in 2010, boasts newly adopted features for reducing paper consumption. Top and bottom margins, line spacing and barcode heights can be adjusted via the host computer in advance, thereby enabling receipt paper consumption to be reduced by roughly 30%. This lowers costs for the customer and reduces burden on the environment.

Tuning-fork crystal unit downsizes

Demand for further downsizing of electronic devices has been growing in the field of mobile products such as cellular phones personal digital assistants (PDAs), and portable media players. At Epson Toyocom Corporation, efforts aimed at improving and miniaturizing tuning-fork-type crystal unit have resulted in reducing the volume to 1/100 what it was approximately twenty years ago.

To respond to this demand, the FC-12M incorporates "QMEMS^*3" and high-precision mounting technologies to achieve ultra-compact dimensions (2.0 x 1.2 x 0.6 mm Max.) – about half the footprint of its predecessor – while maintaining the same performance as the previous model. This new product contributes to further enhancement of mobile products by offering higher-density integration, improved design flexibility, a smaller size, and more advanced functionality.

*3 QMEMS: QMEMS is a combination of "Quartz," a crystalline material with excellent characteristics such as high stability and high precision, and "MEMS" (micro electro mechanical system). QMEMS quartz devices are created using quartz material instead of the semiconductors used by MEMS. We perform precision micro fabrication on the quartz material to offer high performance in a compact package. "QMEMS" is a registered trademark of Epson Toyocom.

Tuning-fork crystal unit downsizes

Note: These products are manufactured and sold by Epson Toyocom.