Due to environmental concerns, Epson said it would stop selling and distributing laser printers by 2026. According to an official statement, such goods utilize a lot more energy than their inkjet equivalents.
The Japanese multinational corporation stopped selling laser printers in many markets, although they are still available in Asia and Europe. However, Epson claims that it will continue to offer users consumables and components for its laser-based products despite its impending exit in the next four years.
Epson sales and marketing manager Koichi Kubota said, “As a firm, we’re devoted to sustainable innovation and action, and inkjets require less energy and fewer consumable parts.” “Epson’s Heat-Free inkjet technology consumes less electricity by employing mechanical energy to fire ink onto the page, whereas laser printers work by heating and fusing toner to a page.”
In addition to the aforementioned assertion, Kubota adds that going ahead, the business would exclusively concentrate on its inkjet-based goods. Epson claims that inkjet printers have up to 59% fewer changeable parts and up to 85% less carbon dioxide production than their laser counterparts. Regarding the latter, laser printers use a variety of consumables, including toners, drums, developers, and fusers, all of which need to be replaced when they run out. In a 2019 blog post, the business additionally stated that its inkjet printers used 85% less energy than similarly fast laser printers.
It is uncertain whether Epson would stop releasing newer laser printer models along the way, given that its complete phase-out is still a few years away. Furthermore, it remains to be seen if other businesses like Brother, HP, and Canon will also consider discontinuing the production of similar laser-based products. However, considering that such items have a real environmental impact, production and sales of laser printers may completely stop in the near future.
