Few other office devices work as hard as your copier. After all, copiers are an integral part of the office environment, especially when it comes to document management. Regardless of your copier’s age or workload, the need for regular copier service remains the same. Today, we’ll explore how copiers are still relevant in the digital age, how maintenance plays a crucial role in copier performance and how to keep your copiers in the best possible shape.
Copiers Remain Integral to Business Workflows
With the ubiquitous presence of digital documents, paper seems like a quaint relic. As far back as the 1980s, experts predicted the end of paper documents and the subsequent rise of the “paperless” office. Nevertheless, the humble copier and other devices dedicated to paper document management are still being used in offices worldwide. To understand how business workflows still incorporate copiers in a starring role, consider these following tidbits:
Paper documents reign supreme. Despite advances in paperless technologies, businesses still rely on paper in some form or fashion. Even in today’s digital-driven world, the all-digital, paperless office remains out of reach for the overwhelming majority of organizations.
Digital still proves costly. Handling digital files requires a robust infrastructure, whether in the form of cloud storage or on-premises solutions, not to mention the tablets and other digital devices needed to create, distribute and read digital files. These requirements can add up not just in complexity but also cost.
Paper is easier to work with. When was the last time you had to read a 50-page report or make annotations in the minutes of a meeting? Doing those tasks with paper rather than a tablet or PC feels more comfortable to most people. For instance, reading text on a screen can cause eye strain after long periods.
Paper is the ultimate in document security. Cloud and on-premises solutions remain vulnerable to hackers and other malicious actors. On the other hand, paper remains out of reach to all but the most determined of physical breaches. Paper documents are also thoroughly destructible with little to no chance of recovery under most conditions.
Needless to say, copiers will have a place in the modern office for the foreseeable future, even with steady advances and improvements in digital document technology.
The Importance of Regular Copier Maintenance
The more you use your copiers, the more wear and tear they’ll experience through their service life. On top of ordinary usage, copiers can also experience excessive wear due to abuse, misuse or outright neglect. These factors can make copiers redundant well before their time.
Reliability is a crucial element in maintaining smooth office workflows. However, even the most dependable machines need servicing regularly. A standard copier service ensures your devices get the attention they deserve while ultimately improving overall longevity and performance.
Trusting your office to an unreliable copier has consequences that can reverberate throughout your organization. Copier breakdowns can strain remaining equipment to their breaking points and place undue stress on office staff. They can even bring your organization’s entire workflow to a shuddering halt and prove costly. Lost revenue, cost overruns and dissatisfied clients are all potential outcomes stemming from unreliable copiers.
How to Keep Your Copier in Optimal Health
Shut it off when it’s not in use over long periods. Turning off your copier for the night or weekend not only saves on energy use and utility costs but also helps ensure your copier lasts longer. Increased copier longevity can improve your organization’s return on investment.
Let your copier warm up after turning it on. Most copiers undergo a calibration process shortly after startup, allowing them to perform with a greater level of precision and reliability. Immediate copier usage could cause errors and issues that ultimately affect copier performance and print quality.
Don’t buy cheap copy paper. While it’s tempting to save costs by using the cheapest possible copy paper, doing so could cause problems later. Low-quality paper leaves behind dust and debris that could make its way into the copier, resulting in dust buildup and blockages. Cheap paper also jams easier, which could lead to some frustrating experiences for users.
Clean your copier’s glass surface regularly. Smudges and streaks on the copier glass can cause unwanted marks, dots and other imperfections. All it takes is a microfiber cloth and ordinary glass cleaner to remove these flaws and maintain your copier’s quality and performance. Just remember – don’t spray the cleaning fluid directly on the glass. Instead, spray it on the cloth to avoid drops leaking into the copier machinery.
Take your time and load the paper correctly. Improperly loaded paper trays are a common source of paper jams. As it turns out, a little patience goes a long way toward preventing paper jams and other paper feed issues. Even when you’re in a hurry, slow down and carefully load the tray as directed in your copier’s service manual or training materials. Paper stacks can also shift around, leading to jams as the copier loads improperly aligned sheets. When loading new paper, make sure it is neatly stacked and aligned.
Avoid overloading the paper trays. Adding too much paper can also cause paper jams. Most copier paper trays can handle between 500 and 550 sheets – roughly the size of a typical pack of copier paper. Staying within your copier’s tray limits will help make paper jams a thing of the past.
To keep your copiers in optimal health, you need expert copier maintenance in Houston from a trusted copier service specialist. To find out how we can help you, contact On Demand today.