4 Ways To Damage A Copier

The office copier is as critical as employees, a building, and utilities. However, companies don't always treat these sophisticated appliances with the respect they deserve. These four common copier mistakes can lead to damage to your copier.

Leaving the Cover Up

Leaving the copier cover up in itself isn't the problem. It's when the cover falls that a machine may incur damage. Blows to any piece of machinery can cause issues, but a falling cover on a copier could damage the cover itself, crack the glass, and even dislocated the finer machinery on the inside of the machine. Dust can also collect on the glass and decrease the quality of copies.

Slamming Drawer Doors

Similar to having the cover fall, slamming doors after loading paper or replacing toner is asking for trouble. It might be easy to think that it's not a big deal because nothing happens immediately. However, over time, frequent slamming of these doors or pushing them closed with body parts stronger than your fingers (such as elbows or feet) can wear away at the integrity of the doors, and they can come off of the machine and need to be replaced.

Copying Too Early

If you copy a document before the ink or corrective fluids have time to dry, this can cause jams. Everything running inside the copier is meant to be dry. Any liquid (including spilled water or coffee) on a page could cause problems with the machine.

Leaving Paper in Machine Unused Over Breaks

Sometimes offices have to or choose to shut down for a period of time. This could be extended holidays, furloughs, building-wide fumigation, or renovations and repairs. When this happens, especially in warmer seasons, heat and humidity can actually cause paper to jam more and copies to be less sharp. If your office is closing for longer than a weekend, consider removing the paper and keeping it stored in a cooler place until the staff returns. 

It might be helpful to make sure that employees have a separate room in which to use a copier so that it might be easier to be mindful of copier care. Posting signs can help. Verbal reminders monthly or weekly (for example, during staff meetings) might be effective as well. Copier repair can be costly and time-consuming. Make sure your business continues to run smoothly by getting rid of these four bad habits in your office today. If you do find yourself in need of copier repair services, contact a company like Computer & Printer Repair.