How to Preserve Your Office Equipment

Office equipment such as printers, fax machines and computers often cost businesses thousands of dollars to buy, maintain and repair. When was the last time you were forced to call your printer company to place an order for printer equipment because something broke down? It happens to companies far too often. To protect a company’s investment, employees should be properly trained to use office equipment to avoid downtime and repair expenses. Avoiding or preventing corrective issues, maintenance, and/or repair calls on electronic equipment will save you hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars every year.

Preserve office equipment15 Tips to Preserve and Protect Your Office Equipment:

  1. Office Circulation. Make sure there is adequate ventilation around your office equipment to keep it from overheating, which can cause paper jams, poor quality prints, and reduce the equipment’s useful life.
  2. Avoid Extra Heat. On a similar note, avoid using space heaters near the equipment since they too can cause overheating or melt any plastic on your office equipment.
  3. Tidy Up. Frequently wipe down surfaces of your office equipment to eliminate dust and dirt from getting inside. Equipment attracts dust like a magnet, and the fans used to keep the equipment from overheating constantly suck in dust, pollen, lint, and dirt particles, which can build up over time.
  4. Don’t Cover Parts. Do not place cords or cables under rugs or floor coverings because they can become frayed or damaged.
  5. Don’t Pull & Tug. Never pull plugs out of outlets by the cord because the cord can become frayed or damaged.
  6. Don’t Overstretch. The cords contain small, delicate wires that can fray or break when stretched; use an extension cord where needed.
  7. Don’t Daisy Chain. Only use extension cords or power strips with three-pronged plugs to ensure grounding during electrical surges and prevent overloading the electrical outlets. Do not connect
  8. Establish Food & Beverage Areas. Keep food and drinks away from ALL of your office equipment. Food particles could get lodged and cause moving parts to jam, or you could risk severe electrical shock from a liquid spill.
  9. Utilize Resources. Immediately consult the owner’s manual or contact your IT department when there is a paper jam or unknown error. There are correct and incorrect ways to fix paper jams; the equipment may be damaged and require corrective maintenance if it’s done incorrectly.
  10. Proper Training. Ask your IT Department or the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) to schedule regular training classes for new users to help avoid the misuse of office equipment.
  11. Consolidate Equipment. Having too much equipment for separate tasks can be daunting and expensive (not just hardware but utility bills themselves). They take over valuable office space, and the time to upkeep could be utilized towards meaningful office work.
  12. Keep Unused Printers and Other Devices Covered. When not in use, place a cover on anything that is in danger of being damaged. Printers, copiers and other office equipment can be susceptible to being damaged from moisture. Especially in the case of machines that are near windows, it’s best to keep a cover on them to ensure their durability.
  13. Clean Your Office Equipment Weekly. Dust and dirt can easily gather in printers and ruin print jobs. To protect your printer, use a can of compressed air to remove the dust particles that gather in the machines.
  14. Schedule Regular Maintenance Service. Think about how often your printers are being used. Printers and fax machines are in use on an hourly basis. Like anything running for an extended period, these machines can break down without warning. It’s important to schedule regular maintenance to catch problems before potentially derailing an office’s workday.
  15. Document Management Solutions and Ransomware Protection. Keep your office equipment updated and secure. Safeguard businesses from IT disasters, human error, and malicious activity. Defend your business with guaranteed business continuity with uninterrupted access to data on-site, in transit, and the cloud.

If you need new office equipment, we can help. Contact Powers Business Machines at 757.595.2646