Toshiba, TEC UK, Imaging Systems has announced the launch of its highly anticipated e-STUDIO306LP / RD30 multifunction product (MFP), which sets a new industry benchmark in sustainable printing by incorporating the company’s unique erasable toner technology.
Although erasable technology itself isn’t new, previous systems have relied on specially made plastic coated paper that erases toner via a printer’s thermal heads. However, these systems have remained on the periphery due to the prohibitive cost of the paper. The e-STUDIO306LP/ RD30 represents a massive leap forward in this respect, as it uses standard copier paper.
Jeremy Spencer, Toshiba TEC’s marketing director, explained, ‘Users can print and copy as they would on a typical MFP. However, when used paper is fed into the eraser unit it heats the toner and de-colourises the print and provides a blank sheet to use again. Just as importantly, each piece of paper can be reused over and over again with a conservative average reuse of 5 times, reducing paper costs and waste by 80%. This dramatically cuts paper usage and saves businesses money – so not only is it good for the environment, it offers an excellent return on investment.’
The e-STUDIO RD30 eraser unit is able to detect if the sheet is reusable and automatically places spent sheets in a separate bin. Documents can be annotated with the support of the Pilot FriXion pen series. The unique gel ink responds to the heat generated by the e-STUDIO RD30 removing notes and comments as part of the erasing process.
In order to prevent a document being ‘wiped’ by mistake, or a user realises they need it at a later date, the e-STUDIO RD30 converts the contents of a document into an electronic file, which is stored in a document management system (DMS), and can therefore never be lost. Individuals can then access it from any location and amend it as part of a workflow. High volume paper environments with ‘temporary’ document usage such as educational establishments, publishing, local governments and general office will experience the biggest benefits from its features, as the majority of their printed pages consist of internal documents, emails and memos.
The e-STUDIO306LP/ RD30 is part of Toshiba TEC’s ongoing commitment to designing, developing and introducing solutions that help organisations achieve their operational and corporate social responsibility based objectives. Jeremy Spencer concluded, ‘I firmly believe that the e-STUDIO306LP/ RD30 opens the door to a new way of working by offering businesses a way to reduce the massive amount of waste paper that is created in offices every day, while saving money at the same time.’