Earlier this week we talked about all the ways Xerox helps Mother Earth on Xerox and the 43rd Annual Earth Day!  Today April 26, is Arbor day.  Arbor  is the Latin word for tree.  Arbor day was first proposed  in Nebraska on January 4, 1872 by the secretary of Nebraska  J. Sterling Morton.  Morton was a journalist, a pioneer that moved from Detroit to the Nebraska territory. Morton had a love of nature and understood the importance of trees as windbreaks to keep soil in place, for fuel, building material and shade from the sun. In Nebraska he and his wife planted trees and gardens at their new home.  Eventually Morton became the secretary of Nebraska and proposed a tree planting holiday to be called Arbor Day. Nebraska, mind you, was a more or less tree-less state at the time.  The first Arbor Day was celebrated in Nebraska on April 10, 1872 and over one million trees were planted.  The idea of observing such a holiday spread to other states later in the 1870s. States today most commonly observe the National Arbor Day holiday on the last Friday in April. The observance of National Arbor Day has even spread to countries outside of the U.S.

So why the history of Arbor Day?  Because trees are important and here at Xerox we understand that.  Xerox has Xerox High Yield Business Paper which uses half as many trees, is manufactured with less water and chemicals, and is produced in a mill that uses hydroelectricity to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 75 percent. Plus, because this paper is lighter weight than paper made by the traditional chemical process, it costs less to ship and mail. It is the first and only paper of its kind that performs reliably in digital printers and copiers.

The High Yield paper is made by a mechanical pulping method – the process that makes newsprint and the offset-printing paper that’s used for some directories, catalogs and flyers. Wood chips are fed into large machines that grind the fibers loose to make the pulp. Because wood chemicals are not removed from the paper-making fiber, the process produces twice as much paper per tree – a yield of more than 90 percent.

Another option to save paper and therefore trees is to use the GreenPrint™ software to help you eliminate any unwanted pages before they are ever printed.  GreenPrint is a free software program that works with all our solid ink machines.  So if you have one of our ColorQubes or any of our other solid ink machines please check out the Print Greener website for more information or for your copy of the software. 

Please enjoy your Arbor day and do your part to save a tree or plant a new one.  The earth and your future generations will thank you.

Welcome to the 43rd annual Earth Day!  At Xerox every day  is Earth Day.  Xerox has been committed to sustainability and preserving the planet even before the founding of Earth Day in 1970 by U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin as a teach-in about the environment.  Sustainability is important at home and at the office.  According to the Brundtland Commission of the United Nations “sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”  To that end we all need to recycle, reuse and reduce the use of all of our natural resources from trees to electricity. 

Let’s look at a few things that Xerox has done to foster sustainability:

• Inventing double-sided copying in 1969
• Introducing the first post-consumer recycled paper products in the early 1970’s
• Introducing products in the 1980’s that automatically powered down or went into a “sleep mode” years before Energy Star programs were conceived.
• In the late 90’s we established a waste-free platform to design waste-free products and to manufacture in waste-free facilities.  Including 3 zero waste to landfill facilities. 
• Xerox initiated a cartridge return program so that cartridges can be remanufactured.   
• In the 2000’s we introduced the solid ink technology that reduced packaging and energy use.

The list goes on but these are some of the highlights.  To find out more about what Xerox is doing to be a responsible global citizen please see the Xerox 2012 Global Citizenship report explains many of the initiatives that have been ongoing projects for Xerox.  You can look specifically at the “Preserving the Planet” tab for the things we do to support, and sustain the world in which we live and work.  On the Preserving the Planet page there are several links to more information about our conservation and environmental efforts. 

There are several features available on many of the Xerox printers and multifunction printers that will help you to make your office a more sustainable work place.  Consider using double sided copying or printing when possible.  Turn off the banner pages and use the sample set feature to make sure your job is correct before printing out multiple copies.  Please look at the support pages for your products for instructions for using these earth-friendly features. 

Some other things you can do to help the environment include:

• Use recycled paper products and recycle all paper when possible.
• Return used supplies to Xerox for recycling. Including  used cartridges for some HP equipment.
• When you are upgrading to a new machine always consider a Multifunction device to cut down on the number of fax machines, copiers and printers you have in your office environment.
• If you are upgrading or getting rid of a Xerox product please consider recycling or donating the machine. 

Now take a look at this video about Xerox, solid ink and sustainability and remember this quote: 

We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children.  ~ Native American Proverb

Sustainability is important at home and at the office.  According to the Brundtland Commission of the United Nations  “sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”  To that end we all need to recycle, reuse and reduce the use of all of our natural resources from trees to electricity. 

Xerox has been at the forefront of many products, features and technologies that help to create a green and sustainable workplace.   These include:

• Inventing double-sided copying in 1969
• Introducing the first post-consumer recycled paper products in the early 1970’s
• Introducing products in the 1980’s that automatically powered down or went into a “sleep mode” years before Energy Star programs were conceived.
• In the late 90’s we established a waste-free platform to design waste-free products and to manufacture in waste-free facilities. 
• Xerox initiated a cartridge return program so that cartridges can be remanufactured.   
• In the 2000’s we introduced the solid ink technology that reduced packaging and energy use.

The list goes on but these are some of the highlights.  Xerox has been working toward sustainability for over 40 years.  We have created a seven step plan to a greener office.  Please head to the Create a Green Office website and learn about the 7 steps. 

There are several features available on many of the Xerox printers and multifunction printers that will help you to make your office a more sustainable work place.  Consider using double sided copying or printing when possible.  Turn of the banner pages and use the sample set feature to make sure your job is correct before printing out multiple copies.  Some of these features are combined in the Earth Smart feature of the driver.  Not all machines have the Earth Smart built into the driver but you can still set the individual settings.  I  have included a video from the support page that shows how to set up the Earth Smart settings.  This video is for the ColorQube 9200 family.  Please look at the support pages for your products for instructions for using these earth-friendly features. 

Some other things you can do to help the environment include:

• Use recycled paper products and recycle all paper when possible.
• Return used supplies to Xerox for recycling.  
• When you are upgrading to a new machine always consider a Multifunction device to cut down on the number of fax machines, copiers and printers you have in your office environment.
• If you are upgrading or getting rid of a Xerox product we have several ways to recycle your old machine.  Please consider donating the machine so that others may benefit from the machine.  Xerox has partnered with National Cristina Foundation to provide used Xerox printers and other equipment to help non-profit organizations, public agencies, and schools.  The donations of equipment may be tax deductible.

Xerox makes it easy to be green! 

We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children.  ~ Native American Proverb

Last week we talked about all the ways Xerox helps Mother Earth on Earth Day and every day.  Today April 27, is Arbor day.  Arbor  is the Latin word for tree.  Arbor day was first proposed  in Nebraska on January 4, 1872 by the secretary of Nebraska  J. Sterling Morton.  Morton was a journalist, a pioneer that moved from Detroit to the Nebraska territory. Morton had a love of nature and understood the importance of trees as windbreaks to keep soil in place, for fuel, building material and shade from the sun. In Nebraska he and his wife planted trees and gardens at their new home.  Eventually Morton became the secretary of Nebraska and proposed a tree planting holiday to be called Arbor Day. Nebraska, mind you, was a more or less tree-less state at the time.  The first Arbor Day was celebrated in Nebraska on April 10, 1872 and over one million trees were planted.  The idea of observing such a holiday spread to other states later in the 1870s. States today most commonly observe the National Arbor Day holiday on the last Friday in April. The observance of National Arbor Day has even spread to countries outside of the U.S.

So why the history of Arbor Day?  Because trees are important and here at Xerox we understand that.  Xerox, with the help of the Arbor Day Foundation has a program where a tree will be planted in our nation’s forests for every time a Xerox DocuMate scanner is registered. Customers can easily register their scanner at www.xeroxscanners.com by clicking on the Register Your Product link, and filling out a short form.

Beyond directly facilitating the planting of trees, Xerox also has Xerox High Yield Business Paper which uses half as many trees, is manufactured with less water and chemicals, and is produced in a mill that uses hydroelectricity to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 75 percent. Plus, because this paper is lighter weight than paper made by the traditional chemical process, it costs less to ship and mail. It is the first and only paper of its kind that performs reliably in digital printers and copiers.

The new High Yield paper is made by a mechanical pulping method – the process that makes newsprint and the offset-printing paper that’s used for some directories, catalogs and flyers. Wood chips are fed into large machines that grind the fibers loose to make the pulp. Because wood chemicals are not removed from the paper-making fiber, the process produces twice as much paper per tree – a yield of more than 90 percent.

Another option to save paper and therefore trees is to use the GreenPrint™ software to help you eliminate any unwanted pages before they are ever printed.  GreenPrint is a free software program that works with all our solid ink machines.  So if you have one of our ColorQubes or any of our other solid ink machines please check out the Print Greener website for more information or for your copy of the software. 

Please enjoy your Arbor day and do your part to save a tree or plant a new one.  The earth and your future generations will thank you.

Happy Earth Day!!  This weekend Sunday  April 22^nd is the day set aside to increase awareness and appreciation of the environment.  Earth Day was founded in 1970 by U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin as a teach-in about the environment. Earth Day has become an international day of awareness observed in virtually every country in the world. Earth Day was and is a grassroots effort to save all aspects of the environment from the impact of the human race and our waste.  The world produces approximately 1 billion tons or 2,000,000,000,000 – that’s 2 trillion pounds of solid waste per year.  It is estimated that each person in the United States produces approximately 4.5 pounds of waste per day, that is 1600 pounds per year. 

Xerox has made a commitment to make everyday Earth day.  Xerox has a multitude of programs to reduce our impact on the environment.  The Xerox 2011 Global Citizenship report explains many of the initiatives that have been ongoing projects for Xerox.  You can look specifically at the “Preserving the Planet” tab for the things we do to support, and sustain the world in which we live and work.  On the left side of the Preserving the Planet page there are several links to more information about our conservation and environmental efforts. 

Let’s look at just a few of the programs and products Xerox has as part of our environmental initiatives.   Containers and packaging account for 31% or about 77 million tons of the Municipal Solid Waste in the United States alone.  Xerox is taking a proactive stance against some of this packaging.   Our solid ink products have reduced the ink packaging by almost 90 %. 

We also have recycling programs for supplies and machines.  Customers like you return 2.7 million cartridges and containers every year.   Our product take back program has remanufactured and recycled Xerox products keeping over 2 billion pounds of waste out of landfills.   

Do you want to create a green office?  No, I am not talking about painting it green though you can, I am talking about leveraging the tips on our Create a Green Office webpage to take your office to the next level of green and sustainable. Please watch the short video below about Xerox and Sustainability and then check out some or all of the links I have provided.   

Now I will leave you with some interesting facts I ran across while writing this article:

• New York’s largest export is waste paper.  
• An estimated 80,000,000 Hershey’s Kisses are wrapped each day, using enough aluminum foil to cover over 50 acres of space — that’s almost 40 football fields. All that foil is recyclable, but not many people realize it.  So next time you unwrap a Hershey’s Kiss remember to recycle.
• A used aluminum can is recycled and back on the grocery shelf as a new can, in as little as 60 days.  So that Coca Cola can you are drinking from today could be a Pepsi can in about 2 months.

Please go recycle some junk mail, cans, banner sheets or newspaper and do your part to help our planet.  Rest assured that your chosen printing and document management partner, Xerox Corporation, is doing its part!!!

Sustainability is important at home and at the office.  According to the Brundtland Commission of the United Nations “sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”  To that end we all need to recycle, reuse and reduce the use of all of our natural resources from trees to electricity. 

Xerox has been at the forefront of many products, features and technologies that help to create a green and sustainable workplace.   These include:

• Inventing double-sided copying in 1969
• Introducing the first post consumer recycled paper products in the early 1970’s
• Introducing products in the 1980’s that automatically powered down or went into a “sleep mode” years before Energy Star programs were conceived.
• In the late 90’s we established a waste-free platform to design waste-free products and to manufacture in waste-free facilities. 
• Xerox initiated a cartridge return program so that cartridges can be remanufactured.   
• In the 2000’s we introduced the solid ink technology that reduced packaging and energy use.

The list goes on but these are some of the highlights.  Xerox has been working toward sustainability for over 40 years.  We have created a seven step plan to a greener office.  Please head to the Create a Green Office website and learn about the 7 steps. 

There are several features available on many of the Xerox printers and multifunction printers that will help you to make your office a more sustainable work place.  Consider using double sided copying or printing when possible.  Turn of the banner pages and use the sample set feature to make sure your job is correct before printing out multiple copies.  Please look at the support pages for your products for instructions for using these earth-friendly features. 

Some other things you can do to help the environment include:

• Use recycled paper products and recycle all paper when possible.
• Return used supplies to Xerox for recycling.
• When you are upgrading to a new machine always consider a Multifunction device to cut down on the number of fax machines, copiers and printers you have in your office environment.
• If you are upgrading or getting rid of a Xerox product please consider donating the machine so that others may benefit from the machine.  Xerox has partnered with National Cristina Foundation to provide used Xerox printers and other equipment to help non-profit organizations, public agencies, and schools.  The donations of equipment may be tax deductible.

Xerox made sustainability a reality for the City of Dallas.  See how they achieved a Greener Dallas by watching the video below. 

Xerox makes it easy to be green! 

We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children.  ~ Native American Proverb

Paper is needed for everything from money to advertising to books and so much more, paper is incredibly important.  The type of paper you use in your printer or multifunction device is important to everything from the quality of your image to the potential for paper jams.  The right type of media and the care of the media can make all the difference in the performance of your printer.  Paper is a media that is affected by many factors including humidity and temperature.  Conditioning is important to Xerox paper.  Conditioning can make the difference between okay and outstanding results.  So what is conditioning?  Conditioning is the way the paper is stored and prepared for use in your office.  Think about wood floors, before installing they must be acclimated to the environment where they will be installed.  The flooring is unpacked and “rested” in the conditions to get used to the temperature and humidity.  Paper is basically the same; I guess that makes sense since paper is a product of wood.  To condition paper properly:

1. Leave paper in its wrapper until you are ready to load it in the machine.
2. Do not store paper directly on the floor. Keep it on pallets or shelves or in cabinets.
3. Store paper at a temperature of 68°F/20°C to 76°F/24.4°C and a relative humidity of 35 to 55 percent.

We have a wonderful resource for you to learn about paper and make the best decisions on the type of paper to use in your printers.  The Paper Resource Center provides information about all types of media.  The Paper Resource Center has wonderful information about paper, care of the paper and best practices for choosing the right paper for your jobs.  Choosing the correct media and handling it correctly can make your printer virtually jam free.  For more information on reducing jams please see our previous blog article, PJs, Jammies, Jams…Not Sleepwear.  Xerox has also developed a new way to box and ship one of our most popular paper types.  Watch the video to see the innovation for the Business 4200 Xpress paper. 

I bet you never knew there was so much to know about a simple sheet of paper!!  It is a complicated product that we often take for granted.  If you are interested in seeing how paper is made, check out this video from the Discovery Network. 

Remember to Recycle paper whenever possible!!