Hackensack (NJ) – Buyers Laboratory Inc. (BLI), the world's leading independent tester of document imaging products, today honors the most energy-efficient models tested in the past six months with "Outstanding Achievement" awards. Models from Brother, Lexmark and Samsung proved to be the most energy efficient in their respective classes.

"With the growing need for customers to be 'green,' achievement awards for energy efficiency aren't given out lightly. To qualify for the awards, products must not only be among the most energy-efficient, but must also garner a 5-star rating overall in BLI's environmental tests, a feat that fewer than 25 percent of models have achieved since BLI began publishing the reports," said Lisa Reider, BLI's senior product editor for environmental testing. "It is an honor to acknowledge products that offer even more for the customer than outstanding performance in core categories like reliability, speed and image quality."

BLI measures the energy consumed by document imaging products in all operating modes as well as in energy-save, idle and sleep modes. In addition to reporting on a range of other environmental related features, such as runnability with various grades of recycled paper, the reports include a projected annual energy consumption and cost based on real-world usage for each product segment.

After analyzing the results for the top performers in a range of printer and MFP categories, BLI awarded Summer 2011 "Outstanding Achievement" awards in energy efficiency to the following products:

BROTHER INTERNATIONAL CORPORATION
Brother MFC-9560CDW

LEXMARK INTERNATIONAL, INC.
Lexmark X792de/X792dte

SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS AMERICA
Samsung ML-3712ND
Samsung SCX-5639FR

Brother
With a projected annual energy consumption about 75% lower than the average for its class, the Brother MFC-9560CDW earned a Summer 2011 BLI "Outstanding Achievement" award for its superb energy efficiency. In addition, this A4 color MFP model in the small to mid-size workgroup segment also offers duplexing functionality that intelligently avoids duplexing single pages and the last page of odd-numbered originals. Additional environmentally friendly features include blank-page removal and a job review mode for printing, which help to reduce paper and consumable consumption. The MFC-9560CDW and its international counterparts also meet the requirements for US ENERGY STAR, Germany Blue Angel, Japan Eco Mark and Nordic Swan.

Lexmark
In addition to its significantly lower than average projected annual energy consumption rate, which contributed to its recognition as the most energy-efficient A4 color MFP in the mid-size to large workgroup segment tested to date, the X792dte also earned five-star ratings in nearly every environmental category evaluated. Indeed, the X792dte consumes less energy, recovers from sleep mode in less than half the time it takes the competition and offers longer-lasting consumables. The X792dte also offers a variety of environmentally friendly features, including duplex functionality, a toner-save print mode and proof and job review modes. Unlike some competitive devices that remain active if an error condition is left unresolved, this unit enters sleep mode at its set time even if an error condition remains active, which helps to reduce overall energy consumption.

"A key corporate initiative for Lexmark is sustainability, which is why we set the bar high to develop workhorse products with the smallest environmental footprint possible," said Marty Canning, Lexmark executive vice president and president of Imaging Solutions and Services. "This commitment enables our customers to, in turn, know that deploying Lexmark's devices will enable them to be more efficient when it comes to both employee productivity and energy usage. We appreciate that BLI has recognized the Lexmark X792dte color laser MFP for its outstanding energy efficiency," added Canning.

Samsung
Two Samsung devices earned "Outstanding Achievement" awards for "Energy Efficiency" in their respective categories: the ML-3712ND, an A4 monochrome printer in the small to mid-size workgroup segment; and the SCX-5639FR, an A4 monochrome MFP in the small workgroup segment. Both devices offer lower than average projected annual energy consumption rates when compared with the competition, which contributed to their award recognition. Additional environmental attributes include duplex functionality, as well as job review and toner-save modes. The ML-3712ND also offers a faster than average recovery time from daytime sleep mode, which allows the device to use less energy while still maintaining productivity.

"Samsung is always looking for more ways to be eco-conscious," said Yonghwan Park, senior vice president of marketing for Samsung's IT Solution Business. "We appreciate the recognition from BLI, which further demonstrates the validity of our efforts to produce printers that lower both energy consumption and total cost of ownership."