Toshiba Tec Photocopier Eraser System Analyst View

Source: Futuresource Consulting

The recent announcement from Toshiba that it has developed a photocopier that can erase copied documents, allowing the paper to be reused multiple times, was picked up by one of our analysts. Matt Marshall, Head of Print & Imaging, Futuresource Consulting provides the analyst's view, which I do hope is of interest to you.

At present, the information is only available in Japanese on the Toshiba Tec website, with no English language press release readily accessible. The original story appeared in Pen News Weekly volume 33, #42, from the Joint PhotoImaging Enterprises Association Intl (JPEAI)

Original Story:

Toshiba Tec to Sell Photocopier and Eraser of Copied Letters

Toshiba - already a member of the Dow Jones Sustainable World Index (DJSI World) for the past 13 years has announced it has developed a photocopier whose copied documents on the paper can be erased so that the user can use the paper repeatedly.

The company has developed an erasable toner and eraser through which copied documents/images are erased by applying heat. Paper can be used up to five times on average. The company will begin offering the new products as a copier and eraser system for around 1.41 million yen. The company aims to sell 30, 000 units in the world in three years.

As the amount of dioxide emission will be reduced greatly by cutting costs of paper purchasing, discarding and manufacturing, the company targets governmental offices and environmentally-conscious companies as prospective customers. The multifunctional copier comes with a dedicated eraser which works as a scanner; copied images are scanned and data will be stored on a server. -Pen News Weekly volume 33, #42

The Analyst's View: Toshiba Tec Photocopier/Eraser System

Commentary from Matt Marshall, Head of Print & Imaging, Futuresource Consulting

In today's increasingly environmentally-conscious business world, rising costs combined with increasing and impending environmental legislation is driving resource acquisition and efficiency up the purchasing agenda.

Increasingly, businesses are embracing sustainability, both commercially and environmentally. Sustainable practice and operation are increasingly becoming a proxy for good management.

Environmental consideration also delivers to the bottom line in many areas. In a recent study by Accenture, the best performing companies on sustainability also financially outperformed their peers by, on average, 15%.

With regards to office printing and copying, most organisations still have no idea how many printers they have within their premises - and even worse many are totally unaware of what they spend on consumables.

This offering from Toshiba Tec will inevitably be well received by the public sector. If we look at the UK public sector alone we have around one million employees in administrative roles, each producing or processing an average of 10,000 pages each per annum. That's billions of sheets of paper wasted every year, or the equivalent of around 700 tonnes of waste paper.

We are not saying that this product will be a panacea for all the waste produced - nor an end to the environmental impact of all office based activity. However, we do believe that new, innovative technology solutions such as this can aid in alleviating the current environmental footprint of print production in the general office. It will also further aid users in both the public and private sector to meet the increasingly stringent environmental legislation and consideration factors in today's business world.

About Futuresource Consulting

Futuresource Consulting is a specialist research and knowledge-based consulting company, providing organisations with insight into professional display technologies, consumer electronics, digital imaging, entertainment media, broadcast, storage media, education technology and IT. With a heritage stretching back to the 1980s, the company delivers in-depth analysis and forecasts on a global scale, advising on strategic positioning, market trends, competitive forces and technological developments. https://www.futuresource-consulting.com/