Take the Time to Maintain Your Printer

Posted Sunday, April 14th, 2013 by .

I know we all have more fun things to do than maintain the printer. When placed with a decision to clean the printer on a Friday night or go catch a movie no one in their right mind is going to elect to stay late at the office. However, if you have a few minutes between tasks, let me make an argument for the poor neglected printer.Brother Toner Cartridges

Taking a few minutes to perform some simple maintenance on your printer can help extend the life and preserve the quality of your office workhorse.

  1. Clean the outside of the printer. Most printers get pretty dusty on the outside. This dust can work its way into the inside of the printer and gum up the mechanisms and printer heads. The more dusty and dirty the inside gets the more wear and tear on your printer and the worse your print quality will get. You can unplug the printer and use water or a light cleaner with a sponge to remove the dust.
  2. Get a cleaning kit. Cleaning the inside will go a long way toward extending the life of your printer. Check with the manufacturer or an office supply store for options. These kits often include lubricant for the rods and rollers as well as wipes for cleaning. These wipes are great for getting rid of spills from toner cartridges.
  3. Get your printer serviced. Even if you get a cleaning kit it’s a good idea to hire a professional to service your equipment. A thorough cleaning of your machine can improve the image quality. A professional technician can also help identify worn parts that may break and leave you without a working printer.
  4. Keep the paper clean. Keeping the paper in the original packaging will help avoid placing damaged paper in the printer. Damaged paper can lead to jams and misfeeds. These issues are not only frustrating but they can also lead to damaging the printer when removing the paper.

While it’s not exciting maintaining your printer could lead to far less frustrations down the road. There are few things as annoying as finishing a project or report only to find out that the time sensitive documents can’t be printed.

Robyn Warner
Robyn Warner has been writing since she learned how to hold a pen. She wrote her first book of poems before the age of 10. Though creative writing is her preference, she is enjoying life in the technical blog world. Robyn’s goal in her 30s is to use her writing to inspire fellow cancer survivors and have a job that gives her the flexibility to live anywhere and never wear shoes.
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One Response to “Take the Time to Maintain Your Printer”

  • Blaire Nadal:
    May 15, 2013 at 10:44 am

    True. If you do not want to spend much in buying damaged printer supplies (which is obviously expensive), invest time for your printer. It do not need to be thorough. A little time will do.