Five Easy Ways to Keep Your Copier Running Smoothly

Your office equipment - sometimes it's your best friend, and other times you want to smash it with a bat. Just like your car, home or even yourself, your copy machine often needs a little TLC now and then to keep it running smoothly. If you can't remember the last time you did some routine maintenance on your device, here are five easy ways you can do to prevent a breakdown. Most importantly, remember that there will always be times when you need a professional for a fix. Still, sometimes a little love will keep your copier running smoothly between service calls.

1.  Clean Your Copier. It's one of the easiest things to do on our list. Dirt and dust getting inside your device can cause issues. Before you start, turn the copier OFF. Use a damp cloth and wipe your copier from the top down. Cleaning from the top down ensures that any dust or dirt falls as you move down.
   
   It is important to note that you never want to spray cleaners on your copier. It is, after all, an electronic device. To sanitize your buttons, use a small alcohol wipe and be gentle. Make sure the alcohol wipe isn't soaking wet with liquid too. Too much of any liquid on any electronic can be harmful. Chances are you don't have a plastic baggie of rice big enough to dry out the copier!
   
   
2. Clean Your Copy Glass. How often have you started copying a document and black lines or smudges appear on the paper? It's the biggest complaint by many users. If you don't see those lines when you print, you can deduce that the problem is likely something on the glass. It's easy for dirt, dust or even toner to build up on your device. Regular cleaning of the glass will improve the quality of your copies.
   
   Find a soft cloth and spray it with one shot of glass cleaner. The soft material will ensure you don't scratch the glass, and the tiny bit of liquid will pick up any debris while leaving the glass streak-free. After you clean the glass, gently wipe the inside of the upper lid of the copier to ensure there is no debris there to interfere with your copies.
   
   
3.  Know the Rules of Paper. There are three easy things to remember regarding paper and your copier.
   
   
   1. The first rule is that copier paper hates humidity. Store your paper in a dry space and keep your paper reams sealed until you're ready to use them. Paper stored in a humid area will ultimately lead to paper jams as the paper will stick together.
   2. Rule number two is to fan your paper. It sounds silly, I know. But trust me, it works. When you open a new ream of paper, place your thumb on the top corner and fan the paper to add a little air between the sheets. The fanning helps to prevent jams from paper sticking together.
   3. Finally, rule three - there's a fill line inside the paper tray of your copier - don't load paper past the fill line. This marker is there to let you know the proper amount of paper a tray can hold safely. When you fill past the line, you run the risk of more than one sheet of paper getting pulled into the device, causing paper jams.
      
      
4.  When copying a document, make sure to remove any staples, tape, paper clips or other fasteners. We are all busy, and we can forget the simplest of things in a rush. When hurrying to make a copy, we often forget to remove the staple holding our document together. We stick the papers in the document feeder and hit copy, only to watch them crumple and get stuck because we forgot to remove the staple. A staple left in your document will not only destroy your original document, but the staple can damage the document feeder and your glass plate. Also, a staple stuck in the document feeder isn't something you want to try to fix yourself.
   
   
5. Schedule regular preventive maintenance. Every copier has a preventive maintenance schedule. Just like your car needs an oil change every 3,000 to 5,000 miles, your copier needs regular maintenance to continue to work properly. If you have a service contract on your device, it may include copier maintenance. If it isn't, contact your service provider and schedule your preventive maintenance ahead of time.
   
   
6.  BONUS TIP! Communicate regularly with your service provider if you have an issue that you are struggling with regularly. You work with a reputable copier dealer and service provider because you want excellent service when you have a problem. When our customers communicate they are having a recurring service issue, we will work with them to solve the problem. It could be something easy like one of the paper rules above, or it may be time to upgrade your device. No matter the issue, you are paying for service, and your provider should work with you to make sure your equipment is working as it should.

At Fraser Advanced Information Systems, our goal is to provide customers with the best equipment and service in our industry. Your workday is filled with essential tasks to keep your business thriving. Your copier breaking down is something you shouldn't have to worry about. That's where Fraser comes in to keep your technology working as it should.

With a Net Promoter Score (NPS) of almost 95, 9 out of 10 customers would recommend Fraser to a friend or colleague. Find out what an outstanding customer experience with your copier provider feels like by contacting us today to get the best service in the area. Let us worry about your technology while you work on what's important to you - growing your business!