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Your printer is probably one of the most essential components of your office or home computer equipment. It can produce instant hardcopies of financial reports, letters and other important documents. When deadlines are looming, the worst thing that could happen in these busy times is a printer failure. That’s why you not only need to buy a good and reliable printer in the first place, but you must also take the necessary steps towards maintaining it. Maintained well, a printer can last for years and be very reliable.

A common belief is that printers will suffer from the wear and tear of everyday usage, and that ultimately, it’s components or even the whole printer will need to be replaced. While this is correct, people still need to be aware that good printer maintenance can significantly prolong the life of your printer components, this lowering the ownership cost.

Obviously, printer maintenance will vary depending on the type of printer that you own. The robust dot matrix printers require less maintenance; they just require timely cartridge replacements to reduce dirt levels that form on the printer ribbon, thus increasing it’s life.

On the other hand, inkjet printers require higher levels of maintenance. It involves periodically taking out the cartridges and using a damp cloth to wipe the print head, and then placing it back once dry.

The ever-popular laser printer requires an even higher level of care. Firstly, you must clean the rollers every so often with a moist cotton cloth. Secondly, you may find you need to vacuum the insides of the printer to remove toner particles. Lastly, after every 100,000 prints (approx!), the fuser (which melts the toner onto paper) will need changing. This will ensure that your printouts will be clean and smooth.

To help you maintain your printer, you may need to purchase a printer maintenance kit. We stock ones from HP and Xerox, which contain the parts that are likely to wear out after a while, particularly useful if you own a laser printer.

The appropriate amount of printer maintenance joined with the use of a maintenance kit will ensure less money is spent on calling a technician, and can save you a lot of stress as well!