Taking Care of Your Work Printer

If your place of work relies on heavy print jobs, it’s especially important to use and maintain your printer properly. Here are ways to keep your printer working at top efficiency for years to come.

Wipe Your Printer Regularly

While cleaning certain parts of the printer with water or fluid may be somewhat risky if you lack experience, others, such as the print head and scanner glass, can be easily dusted off with a lint-free cloth. For the glass, wetting the cloth a bit with water can help. If you’re planning to use a damp cloth for some of the innards of the machine, make sure the printer is turned off first. A warning about using compressed air: generally, it only loosens the dust within a machine and moves it around, but it doesn’t necessarily get rid of it.

Have Professionals Routinely Inspect it

In addition to being able to fix your printer when it’s broken down, a repair service can perform a comprehensive clean of your machine, such as cleaning the rollers and vacuuming out dust and paper debris. Do a search of printer maintenance repairs in your area, e.g. by looking up printer repair washington dc (or wherever your office is located). See if they have service contracts, which generally allow you unlimited access to their services at a set price. They can also supply you with printer supplies, usually at discounted costs.

Mind the Control Panel

Not to be overlooked. Clean it as regularly as you clean the other printer parts, and keep your software up to date (not doing so is a frequent source of problems).

Protect the Exterior

A printer dust cover is a great precaution against airborne dust. Similarly, keep the printer away from areas with extreme temperature.

Whatever step you take in printer care, no matter how small, can make a world of difference.