Sunday, July 4, 2010

Top Ten Copier or MFP's Do's and Don'ts


You've just received your new system, the operators manual is boring you to tears, the rep they sent over for training had a hard time finding the BIG GREEN Copy button, so what do you need to know to keep your system in tip top condition?

1. Damp Paper is one of the most common problems in copiers and MFP today's. How do you know if your paper is damp? Pretty easy to tell, copies and or prints will have blank (white) splotches where there is no print. Want to confirm it? Turn the paper over and copy or print on the back side,  if the copy or print is good, that means the paper was damp. Go get your self a few of these neat anti moisture Gel packs and keep one in every paper tray of the copier or MFP, thus if the AC is off for the weekend or night these Gel packs will solve the issue once and for all!

2. Did you know that the wrapper for a ream of paper also acts as a moisture barrier? Seal open reams with tape or place open reams of paper in a plastic container and throw in a few of the anti moisture gel packs.

3. Avoiding paper jams: Make sure you are using the stock and weight that the manufacturers recommend (check that dam boring op manual or go to the manufacturers web site and check the specs). We see it all the time,the previous copier we had or the copy/printer from my last job was able to feed 80lb cover, can't understand why this one won't!

4. Leave your copier on 24/7. In today's "green" world, most technology has a power-saving mode and an auto off feature. When in doubt shut it down, and if you forget the system will most likely do it for you!

5. Avoiding paper jams: Read the wrapper of the paper, most of the wrappers will have a statement that reads "copy or print this side first" with a little arrow showing which side.

6. Avoiding paper jams: After opening that new pack of paper, hold it with both hands on the long edge and gently bend and then fan the paper a few times, then place the paper in the tray and make sure the side and stop fences in the paper tray of firmly resting on the edges!

7. Avoiding paper jams: Check the paper drawer of the copier some of the older system have a mechanical dial to set the paper size, putting the wrong paper size in and not changing the dial will result in jam or misfeed. Most newer systems will auto read the paper size and some others you may have to program into the system.

8. When using the by-pass tray, you know the little tray on the side of the copier that the rep stated you could feed envelopes and when you did all you had was misfeeds or wrinkled envelopes. Never ever leave the tray open with paper in it for more than a few hours, dust, dirt, staples and other objects will lay on top of the paper. Thus using the copier or printer this will damage the equipment.

9. Do not put your copier near the office thermostat, the copier will produce heat, thus throwing off the thermostat.

10. Do not make copies with the lid open! You'll waste toner and cause premature wear of consumables.

Lastly if you're in need of consulting for a new fleet of equipment or just one or two, feel free to send me an email. I can get you through the do's and don't's of leasing, buying, maintenance agreements and can give you creative alternatives to reduce paper or right size your systems!.

-=Art Post=-

1 comment:

SalesServiceGuy said...

I never thought to put those anti moisture packs in the paper drawers. Good advice for the next few months.