8 Ways to Extend the Life of Your Office Printer

The modern office is incomplete without a reliable business printer. As a precision-oriented piece of equipment, your printer requires regular office equipment maintenance to keep it in good condition. Basic office equipment maintenance practices, when carefully implemented, can save time and money. Consider these important office equipment maintenance tips to keep your business printer running like new for as long as possible.

Moisture and heat are enemies

Your printer needs optimal working conditions if it is to continue serving you well. Double-check the location of your printer to ensure that it is not exposed to excessive heat or moisture. This includes keeping it away from direct sunlight and condensation.

Handle delicately

It’s simple, but true: perhaps the number one office equipment maintenance tip is that all office equipment must be handled with care. As tempting as it may be to bang on a paper-jammed printer, that is only liable to make things worse, so treat your business printer gently.

Turn off when not in use

Office printers have been designed to stay on for extended time periods, so this may seem an unusual office equipment maintenance tip. However, you can prolong the life of your printer by shutting it down at the end of the day, when it’s not in use. Over longer time periods, like weekends, ensure you also pull out the plugs to protect your printer from possible power surges.

Keep it clean

It is no secret that keeping office equipment clean ranks amongst the most important rules of office equipment maintenance. Clean your printer regularly. The print head should be cleaned at least once every month, while the internal parts should also be cleaned periodically. An important office equipment maintenance practice is to cover your business printer when not in use to keep dust and dirt away.

Replace ink before dry

The temptation to extract as much as you can from your printer cartridge is understandable, considering just how expensive ink and toner cartridges are. However, cutting off the failsafe mechanisms that are built into your printer to prevent the cartridge from getting completely empty isn’t the best office equipment maintenance practice. Running your printer on empty cartridges can damage its components, so it’s best to let your printer do its job unmodified.

Use quality replacement cartridges

To always be ready to replace your cartridges when low, you want to keep quality refill cartridges around. Do not fall into the temptation to get them cheap, though. Generic, unbranded cartridges affect your printer hardware and lead to poor-quality printouts. As with any office equipment maintenance practice, quality wins every time.

Update all drivers

Equipment manufacturers always seek to improve their technology. As a result, they often update the drivers and firmware on which their product (your printer) runs. These software updates keep your business printer in the best working condition. It is a good office equipment maintenance habit to download and install updates as soon as you are notified of them.

Read your business printer manual

Reading your printer’s user manual is an invaluable office equipment maintenance practice. This will not only acquaint you with the equipment, but it will also acquaint you with unique features and maintenance requirements of the model, ensuring you use it just right.

If you would like to learn how to increase office productivity, click here.