Printers are among the most important hardware devices in an office space! The endless documents, drafts and receipts to be printed in an office space pose the high demand of a printer, its supplies, and constant maintenance. However, the expenses of a printer could be a source of concern. While running and maintaining a printer could be costly, buying a new printer could really put a dent on one’s pocket. This is why, it is advised to use them carefully and keep up with their maintenance, to ensure their optimum function and save on repairs’ costs.
Thus, if you are someone who is looking up how to manage printers for offices, home, etc. or if it is a part of your A+ CompTIA certification training, you have come to the right place. This article gives you a detailed set of instruction on how to manage and maintain different kinds of printers and includes tips that can save you some money.
Laser printers
Your CompTIA A+ courses give a fine and detailed knowledge over laser printers and their mechanisms. Since they are cheaper to use, can handle a heavy workload, they are among the most commonly used printers, thus it is of essence that you have enough knowledge about their maintenance.
Here are the following maintenance steps an individual with CompTIA A+ certification training should know:
Cleaning: Ideally you should be placing your printer somewhere neat to avoid it from getting dusty, however since most printers are placed in corner spaces, it is common for dust particles to accumulate on them. You should clean its exterior and wires often to avoid the dust from getting inside. It Is advised to do it with a dry cloth 95 percent alcohol solution.
You should also dust off the insides on the laser printer by first removing the toner cartridges and use a dust blower or vacuum cleaner every now and then. Make sure that it is unplugged and has cooled down for at least an hour after use. You should also use latex gloves and a face mask to avoid dust allergies.
Replace cartridges: Your CompTIA A+ courses will tell you that any laser printer toners would last for ages without being needed to replace. However, once you see any messages informing of low ink you should change or refill the cartridges after a couple of more printouts.
Update software: You should also update your driver from time to time.
Run wisely: Make sure you unplug the power source of your printer when it is not in use, otherwise not only are you wasting a significant amount of power but also causing your device to heat up. While laser printers can withstand significant workload, it is still suggested to take breaks in between to let them cool down.
Repairs: Once your printer starts malfunctioning, do not take matters in your own hand! Ask a professional or someone with the CompTIA A+ certification training to look at it.
Inkjet Printer
Inkjet printers are popular due to their brilliant quality and fast speed printing. However, they require much more effort and cost to maintain the laser printers, and they cannot withstand the same magnitude of workload as the laser printers. You will learn in CompTIA A+ courses that their repairs are also expensive which is why one should maintain them carefully to avoid getting it out of order.
While the cleaning and maintenance of an inkjet printer are more or less the same as the laser printer, there are a few things you need to be extra careful about. The inside of these printers are more delicate and should be touched carefully. Try not to leave the ink cartridges exposed outside for too long, it might get dust to enter inside them or the ink may dry out.
An important component, the print head can easily get clogged with dust, which is why it according to the CompTIA A+ courses, it is important to be vigilant and do your best to not keep inkjet printers in a dusty area. The print heads can also clog by themselves if the printer has been out of use for a long time, which is why one should often print a page or two just to keep the machine smoothly running.
Do not print a high number of pages in one go, give your printing some rest between the printing jobs.
Tip: Replacing and refilling inkjet ink cartridges can be expensive; thus it is suitable to change settings to low-quality printing while printing drafts, receipts, and rough documents.
Dry-Sublimation printer
The use of dry-sublimation printer is not as common as the other types, which is why one might not be aware of its maintenance strategies. However, since it a highly expensive and high-end device, its repairs can also be very costly (much more than inkjet printers), which is why dry-sublimation printers probably need the most effort in maintaining. In your CompTIA A+ certification training, you would learn about the importance of dry-sublimation printers in various aspect like medical imaging, etc.
You can dust, clean, replace ink, and use the techniques mentioned above in its maintenance, but the following are its distinguishing pointers:
- CompTIA A+ courses mention that you should switch them on time to time, even when not in use. The computers run an automatic maintenance task to check the ink and nozzles. You should also manually check the nozzle time to time to ensure high-quality printing.
- You should keep the tank waste in check. The LED screen on it would notify you about it frequently. Make sure the tank waste does not reach full, otherwise your device will not be able to print. Tank waste filling up completely often can also reduce the life of the printer, thus it should be emptied often.
- The wiper blade and printhead should be cleaned often. This is done to remove any dust or residual ink. The wiper blade can also be cleaned with a Q-tip, but make sure to replace it correctly after cleaning it.
It is best to get someone with CompTIA A+ certification training to handle the dry-sublimation printers, as they are expensive and only professionals should work with them.