Anything that chews through stacks of paper as its primary job description has to work pretty hard to qualify as green, but some printers have proven themselves eco-friendly enough to earn the PCMag GreenTech Approved seal:

Here's a look at what it takes for a printer to gain this distinction

Printers in this context include both single-function printers and multi-function printers (MFPs), also known as all-in-ones (AIOs). And since the defining difference between the two categories is the addition of a scanner for AIOs, our requirements for printers naturally overlap with our requirements for scanners.

As with the Energy Star program, what it takes to qualify for the PCMag GreenTech seal depends on the category of printer or scanner. For both the Energy Star program and the PCMag.com GreenTech ratings, the requirements for inherently energy-intensive technologies (like lasers) are different than for technologies that use less energy (like inkjets). In addition, the requirements for single-function printers are different than for AIOs, and the requirements for general-purpose printers are different than for dedicated photo printers. The requirements for scanners are similar to the requirements for the scanner portion of AIOs.

Categories of Green
Regardless of the type of printer or scanner, we examine the same categories of issues in each case.

Minimizing waste. We look at waste specifically as it relates to reducing carbon footprint and reducing the amount of paper and ink used. Among the issues we explore is whether a printer supports recycled paper as a media type, whether it includes automatic duplexing (printing on both sides of a sheet of paper to minimize the amount of paper being used, and, for lasers, whether the toner for a given laser is ground or chemically grown. (Mechanical grinding uses more energy.)

Certifications. There are a number of ecological certifications that printers and scanners can earn. The two we care most about are Energy Star (which is concerned with power consumption) and RoHS (the Restriction of Use of Hazardous Substances directive).

Scanner-specific issues. For scanners and AIOs, we explore some scanner-specific issues, including whether the scanner uses an instant-on light source to eliminate warm-up time, and whether it uses a mercury-free lamp.

Packaging and recycling. Packaging and recycling covers several subcategories, ranging from recycling as part of the manufacturing process (Does the printer contain any recycled materials?) to recycling at end of life (Is there a recycling program in place for the printer itself?). By far the most important subcategory, however, is recycling of ink and toner cartridges.

Company commitment to green issues. We also examine company policies and programs that relate to green issues, quite apart from the particular printer or scanner. We ask a series of questions—both specific (Does the company have any long-term environmental goals, like lowering total greenhouse gas emissions from all company operations by a given percentage before a given date?) and open ended. (What, if any, programs are in place to fund environmentally-related research, either within the company, at universities, or both?) Our goal is to understand the company's commitment to being a good corporate citizen from an environmental perspective, and then factor the company's overall rating into the rating for each individual product.

Our Rating System
Although the details of our rating system differ from one kind of product to the next, the overall approach for printers and scanners is the same in all cases. To begin with, the company rating has to be above a defined minimum for any of that company's products to qualify for the GreenTech seal. Assuming the company passes that threshold, there are some absolute requirements for each category of product. For all categories, for example, the printer or scanner must be Energy Star qualified and RoHS compliant.

There are also some factors that earn extra points if present, including but not limited to additional environmental certifications. And there are some that cost points if absent. One example of a negative for a printer would be a driver that lacks a feature to let you print multiple document pages on a single physical page. To earn a GreenTech Approved seal, a printer or scanner must not only include all the absolute requirements for its category, but the sum total of positive plus negative points has to come out in positive territory.