For many of us, we haven’t been to the office in months, booted up the printer, or even printed a single document. As businesses begin to reopen, it’s important to provide a little maintenance to your print equipment before jumping back in.
Did you know that long stretches of downtime can wreak havoc on your machines? Most of us, who have been shut down since March, are beginning to experience the direct effects of COVID quarantines on our equipment. Printers that have been sitting idle for months, in less than ideal environments, can experience issues like:
- Dry ink which can compact, solidify, or clump
- Paper can become damp or damaged leading to poor image quality and paper jams
- Many businesses are based around Windows OS, and systems that have been down for an extended period, when restarted, can have issues with Windows OS trying to update in the background. This can slow down your network and cause other issues.
Avoiding Common Problems
Visit the manufacturer’s website to look for tips or articles for maximizing the performance of your devices. Make sure to check for your specific model. Look for spec sheets, blog posts, tips, and best practices.
Think “START” to maximize printer performance:
Stabilize your print environment. Make sure to keep temperature and humidity within the manufacturer’s suggested ranges.
Turn on your device, then turn on the digital front end if applicable.
Allow the printer to warm up. Check for any messages and follow any prompts and instructions.
Replace any paper that appears to be wrinkled, damaged, or damp.
Test your printer’s performance by running several test jobs.
Are you experiencing issues getting your print environment up and running? Just give us a call. We’re always here and happy to answer your questions to help you take the proper steps to get back to work efficiently, productively, and most important of all, safely!
