ANÁLISIS DE CICLO DE VIDA DE UNA IMPRESORA MULTIFUNCIONAL

Abstract

Throughout history, companies dedicated to developing, manufacturing and commercializing computer peripheral devices have increased their worth as a corporation by establishing a culture of innovation and creativity. Obtaining more competitive, high quality products, these companies aim to be first of their sector, leading the ranking in which they participate. In this search for more competitive products, so-called “multifunctional systems” have been developed. They can integrate in a single device scanning, faxing, printing and photocopying functions, depending on the model. The driver for these products tends to be design trends, innovation or space reduction, but not environmental criteria such as energy consumption, raw material use, or the possibility to reuse or recycle components at its end of life. With the purpose of assessing the environmental impact of different stages in the product’s life cycle, a Life Cycle Assessment of a multifunctional system is made. The conclusions of this assessment will help to identify the life cycle stages with the greatest environmental impact. With this information, it will be possible to develop improvement ideas that will minimise its environmental impact. Keywords: multifunctional devices, life cycle assessment, ecoefficiency, ecodesign, environmental impact, electric and electronic equipment, end of life