Office crime scene: It's not always the computer screen

Red eyes, headaches, declining concentration, the latent feeling of fatigue, coughing and irritated mucous membranes - now the order of the day in many officesand not just since Corona. Once the symptoms have been identified, the search for the cause begins, based more on gut feeling and urban myths than on facts and science. The list of suspects ranges from air conditioning and electrosmog to public enemy number one, the computer screen. "Intuitively, this also makes sense," says Tanja Schmidt, managing director of the German company igreeen solution GmbH and an expert in technical office equipment, "after all, office workers stare at displays for hours every day, which are known to strain the eyes. However, many don't know that modern screens are often not the culprit, but rather the print devices." But why is that, and what does indoor air have to do with it?

Health as the most important currency

The choice of office equipment is often subject to economic factors, so that for many it seems that the more cost-saving, the better. Often, this fallacy is followed by serious consequences, because the material that is then available to the clerks is accordingly not of the quality hoped for. This is especially true for the printer, which is one of the most important purchases because it is constantly in use. "This is where companies like to save money and buy laser printers - in the supposed assumption that they can reduce costs with large toners and laser technology," the expert knows. However Schmidt warns: "Who always only thinks about saving potentials, will sooner or later lose out. Because health is the most important currency. If companies put prices before the well-being of their employees, it will ultimately cost them dearly."

The devil is in the details

Laser printers have long been considered the panacea of office work. However, the work processes that the technology must inevitably perform show that they operate in a way that is potentially harmful to human health. For example, before a print job can be executed, the device must heat rollers inside to approximately 180 degrees, which inevitably requires a fan inside the device. However, it is through this that ink particles enter the air and, via detours, the lungs, which are suspected of causing mutations. "At the same time, the device produces high voltage that, in combination with the air, releases ozone that can cause respiratory diseases and irritation of the mucous membranes," Schmidt explains. In addition, the process releases nanoparticles, for which research has repeatedly shown harmful effects on the organism could detect. In addition, the substances benzene and styrene are secreted during the printing process - they are also suspected, carcinogenic to be

Choose devices wisely

Companies need to think more about the health concerns of their employees when purchasing their utensils - if not already for humanitarian reasons, then also for economic reasons, because health influences employee productivity. But what might a solution look like? "There are already printers that are harmless to health and ecologically sustainable, and not since yesterday either: inkjet is the magic word. With these devices, the high temperatures do not occur in the first place, so there is no formation of fine dust," explains Schmidt. There are no compromises in quality either: Thanks to non-water-soluble ink, these systems are now already in the same performance class as laser systems. The expert emphasizes, "In relation to the laser system, there are therefore no qualitative disadvantages and therefore no logical reason not to rely on ecological printing systems." Wherever a printer is in use, those responsible have to think about it and also replace devices from time to time, because people not only work on the screen, but also still print out frequently.

Source and further information: www.igreeen.de