A medium-sized web printer could claim an 80% reduction on CCL charges of £46,000, said Steve Walker, the federation’s commercial products manager.
But printers feared red tape from the scheme, run with environment department DEFRA, he added.
“A fair amount of companies are worried about the complexities, and committing to reaching energy-efficiency targets,” he said.
Government forms were “horrendous” and people struggled to keep up with the bureaucracy.
Walker added: “I’m sure plenty are missing out on savings and discounts can be tens of thousands of pounds”.
Systems cost from around £250 for a meter up to £20,000 for a PC-networked system.
St Ives, Polestar and Trinity Mirror have signed up to improving energy efficiency by 12% by 2010. And Warners (Midlands) in Bourne has wired up 20 electrical meters to kit including a Heidelberg M600 and seven other presses.
Kevin Day, the firm’s buyer, said: “We can automate data collection for the BPIF scheme but, more importantly, determine the effectiveness of energy-reduction efforts.”
The system, installed by Ipswich’s Procuro, has graphical software for day-to-day checking. Procuro managing director Nigel Morgan said big printers could save up to 14% on energy costs.
Story by Jez Abbott
