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With financial reports, project submissions, school assignments and lecture
notes hanging precariously over our heads, the last thing we need during these
busy times is a printer failure. Most of the work today is done or transported
through electronic media, only to be printed before their actual utilization.
Hence, whenever the printer starts its work, you can safely say that it’s doing
something important. While getting a good printer always has its dividends,
printer maintenance is just as important. Proper printer maintenance can make
your printer last for years, providing valuable service and not breaking down
when you need it the most.
Printer maintenance is an often overlooked area. People tend to believe that
printers will suffer from wear and tear and components will need replacement
eventually. While this is true, it must also be noted that proper printer
maintenance can substantially improve the life of most printer components,
significantly reducing the cost of ownership.
Printers come in various forms and sizes. Naturally, printer maintenance
varies according to the type of printer that you may have. While some, like the
hardy dot matrix printers, require less printer maintenance, other types of
printers are preferably handled with a bit of care to ensure a long operating
life.
Printer maintenance for the hardy dot matrix printers is pretty simple. The
guide plates which guide the printing pins in these printers can wear out due to
the accumulation of ink and grit within the plate. Timely replacement of
cartridges allows less dirt and grit to form on the ribbon and permeate into the
guide plate, thus increasing its life.
In case of inkjet printers, printer maintenance mainly involves the printing
heads. The heads contain numerous miniscule pores through which the ink is
sprayed on to the paper. With time, dry ink may accumulate on top of these pores
and close them. Inkjet printer maintenance should be performed by taking out the
cartridges and wiping the print head with a moist cloth. Once the head is dry,
the cartridges can be placed back. Inferior quality ink resulting from cartridge
refills may cause hazards like leakage into the various components of the
printer. Hence proper printer maintenance also involves the timely replacement
of cartridges and avoidance of faulty refills.
Laser printers are very common today and have quite a few components that
need care. Printer maintenance firstly involves cleaning the rollers
periodically. They have a soft rubber coating on them which can be cleaned by
using a damp cotton cloth. Vacuuming the insides may also be necessary to remove
resident toner particles within the printer. Special HEPA filter based vacuum
cleaners may be required for proper laser printer maintenance. Furthermore,
after about 100000 prints, the fuser which melts the toner on to the paper may
need replacement. Timely replacement and printer maintenance keeps it running
and your prints clean and smooth.
In order to avoid the consequences of an unforeseen breakdown of your
printer, a printer maintenance kit might be kept handy. Available from
manufacturers like HP and Canon, these kits contain parts that have the tendency
to wear out over time, especially in case of laser printer maintenance.
Collectively, they also cost less and save you the headache of waiting for the
technician if your printer suddenly decides to die on you.
Proper printer maintenance, coupled to a handy maintenance kit when you need
it ensures less stress when you have important work to do. Not only is a well
maintained printer very reliable but also produces high quality prints for a
long, long time.
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