Basic Printer Maintenance

It’s very easy to forget all about your printer as you go through your daily computing needs. It just sits there on your right hand side and springs into life as soon as you hit ‘print’, or at least it’s supposed to. All it takes is a few minutes a couple of times a week to help keep your printer running smoothly and trouble free.

Turn it off and cover it up

Many of these tips involve the print heads; this is because they are one of the most delicate parts of your printer. The print heads are where the most preventable nuisances occur. Most people only tend to turn their computer off at night and not their printer. This leaves the print heads exposed to the air, and heightens the risk of them drying out. You should always switch your printer off from the actual printer and not from the power cord. This will ensure the print heads are kept covered, especially when the printer is not in use. This can be even worse if your printer is in a dusty environment where there is pet hair and dust; they are the worst two killers for your printer.

Keep it clean

This is very easily said and done. Your printer heads are very prone to clogging, if they are not cleaned and maintained on a regular basis. About once a week you will need to remove your cartridges from the printer and give the circuitry and the print head a quick wipe over with some lint free cloth or a damp cotton bud. If you use your printer quite frequently, think about all those sheets of paper rolling through your printer. It is unlikely that each and every sheet of paper will roll through without a shard or tear coming of the paper. These shards will attach themselves to the pillars or rollers or other inconvenient printer elements. It is a good idea to open the printer every now and again and give the inside a quick wipe down with a moistened cotton bud.

Use your printer

One of the easiest ways to look after your printer is to use it! Many people do not use there printer very often, which can in the long run lead to problems. We are now in a digital age and everything tends to stay on the computer. You should print something from your printer about twice a week, to ensure the ink keeps flowing and all the parts are ticking over. A colourful website page will do the trick but give the printer a bit of a workout and use some of the maintenance software too. If you stick to the above tips your printer should be problem free!