Carbon Footprint Analysis Comparing a Digital Frame to Printed Photos

Electronic digital photo frames provide a convenient, aesthetically pleasing way for consumers to display several photos in a small space. Though convenient, these displays require continuous electrical input during operation while printed photos rely on reflected ambient light for viewing. To understand the relative environmental impact of both photo display options, a carbon footprint analysis was performed comparing a digital frame over its expected lifespan with 4 '' x 6 '' photos printed in album format on a HP printer. We find that operating an average digital frame displaying 200 photos at 44 hours per week for 2 years has a carbon footprint greater than 6 times that of a 200-photo album printed on a HP OfficeJet 6500 All-in-One printer. For the OfficeJet-printed photos the printer bill of materials, photo album materials, and energy consumption all contribute similarly to the carbon footprint. In the case of the digital frame, energy impacts from the usage model are critical for determining the overall impact. In this paper we present our carbon footprint model, the underlying assumptions, and a sensitivity analysis of the results