One of the most important pieces of equipment for a home or business is a printer. When a printer breaks down, the entire office can come crashing to a halt. To make sure that your office continues to run smoothly, you have to perform regular printer maintenance. If you remember these 4 tips, you will save yourself hours of frustration and trips to the repair shop.

1. Keep your printer clear of paper jams. A common misperception is that once the paper jam has been fixed, the printer jam as been resolved. It is easy for small parts of sheets of paper and other debris to get caught in the wheels and trays of the printer. If you continually check for this, you can prevent this from becoming a big problem down the road. Remove any covers or doors to properly check for loose items. Make sure the paper is not overloaded or outside of the paper tray. You also need to make sure that the proper paper size is installed.

2. Clean and align the print heads regularly. Signs that you need to clean your printer heads include, when your documents start to look faded,lines appear through pictures or images are not printing clearly. Refer to your user manual for the proper way to do this. Newer printer models have a self cleaning function pre-built in. You also need to check the printer’s calibration and can do this by hitting the test menu option. If you have not used a printer for several months, be sure to clean the print heads prior to use. Most printer ink cartridges will eventually dry up and can cause build up on the print heads.

3. Ensure that all components are operating smoothly by running the printer’s diagnostic function. Running these tests monthly as part of a printer maintenance routine can help prevent problems. If your printer has been moved or dropped, you will want to run those tests to make sure that the printer is still functioning properly and that the components are in balance. So to prevent wasting ink and paper, you should run this maintenance test prior to any new print job.

4. Make sure that the printer ink cartridges are properly filled and secure. Printer ink cartridges are very vital to a printer’s health and performance. Make sure that the printer ink cartridges have enough printer ink to perform a print job to avoid fading. Another thing to be mindful of is clogging or drying out of the printer heads.

Prevention is the key to printer maintenance. Printer maintenance can be overlooked when everything seems to be running fine. If left unchecked, small problems that could have been fixed can snowball into something bigger and more serious down the road. When printer drivers or software are installed there is usually a help or printer maintenance component that is installed as well. The manufacturer’s book is the best resource to keep your printer working in tip-top condition.If you still need more information, check out the manufacture’s website for a specific printer model number. Most user manuals are posted online. Remember, do not ignore your printer and you should be fine. A printer is essential to an efficient and effective business, so take good care of it.

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Computer Hardware & Accessories