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When it comes to printing and imaging solutions, Lexmark seems to have it all – a solid line up of printing products, a formidable number of imaging devices, and support from various members of the banking, healthcare and retail industries – so wouldn’t it sound ironic if the company said that their goal is to reduce the number of prints that people make? 

Well, according to Mr Chin Hon-Cheng (Vice President - Asia Pacific, Lexmark International), an average office document gets reprinted 19 times in its lifecycle and the average office professional prints about 10,000 to 13,000 pages a year, and these numbers look worrying enough for Lexmark to make such a paradoxical stand. 

Story continues after the jump. 

Attributing the increase in global carbon emissions to irresponsible printing habits, Lexmark Malaysia has embarked on a mission to help local SMB’s and enterprises optimize their printing solutions, and so far the results have been very encouraging.

Through the clever relocation of network printers around the office, an enhanced print management system, and the implementation of IP based faxing, local hypermarket chain Mydin has experienced upwards of 40% in savings on printing costs that amount to a six-figure cash value. They now also have a reduced carbon footprint, since less paper is being wasted and less ink is being used.

Chin goes on to explain that demand for green printing solutions – a spin-off term from the green computing movement – is on the rise, as more companies are starting to realize the negative implications that come with irresponsible printing.

Stressing that the first step to achieving printing optimization is by “considering printers as services, rather than devices”, he highlights several “green” features on Lexmark’s new range of machines such as the use of biodegradable and non-harmful inks, the new print economy modes, and on-board print management options.

Besides going green, Lexmark is also embarking on other interesting print-related projects such as the introduction of cloud printing. Like the byword of 2009, cloud computing, cloud printing aims at making it possible to access prints from anywhere in the world – just so long as you have two things: an active internet connection, and a cloud connected printer.

Calling it the natural progression of cloud computing, Chin acknowledges that to make cloud printing a reality, two types of infrastructures have to be developed – the online cloud aspect of the system, and the physical deployment of cloud-ready print shops.

In an ideal scenario, tomorrow’s traveling executive should be able to drop by a cloud-connected print shop while on his sales route, pull up a document off the cloud and send it to print. The cloud printer, a public access printer of sorts, would also pull the exec’s specific print preferences off the cloud and deliver a print of the same quality and setting as if he were printing that document in his own office.

To find out more on Lexmark’s green printing solutions as well as more information on their plans for cloud computing, hit up the official website at http://www.lexmark.com.my