Printer Maintenance – The Hows and Whys
You may have had many printers over the years, but many forget or are unaware of the importance of maintaining them.
The extent a printer needs to be maintained is largely dependent of the type of printer. As technology has advanced, many maintenance functions are performed automatically by a printer’s internal software (this does depend on the printer, so check your manual to be sure). Below we will cover the basics of printer maintenance to ensure you have a long lasting a good experience printing.
There are many types of printers on the market and in use, there are three common types that are used.
Toner also known as laser printers use a powder known as toner and heat to fuse the toner to the paper. Toner printers are some of the easiest printers to maintain, using good quality paper will reduce the wear on the rollers and fuser, avoid using wrinkled, damp, or dusty paper as these can damage the internals, making future prints blurry or even causing smudging or streaks. It is important to keep toner in a cool and dry place, especially once opened.
Inkjet printer are cartridge printers, they have a replaceable ink cartridge that stores the ink and has a print head that precisely squirts the ink on the paper. The main advantage to cartridge printers is the built-in print head – if it is irreversibly clogged, you simply need to replace the cartridge to get back up and running. Ink cartridges when not used are likely to clog up after a few weeks to months and cause prints to have missing lines or incorrect colour prints. Regular printer head cleans is the best maintenance function to practice. In your printer’s software, is a maintenance tab where you can run a “head clean”.
Ink tank printers work similarly to cartridge printers however, they store the ink in a reservoir and not in the printer’s cartridge. They also use a fixed print head, which is often not user replaceable, making regular maintenance crucial.
Ink tank printers use small pumps and tubes to move the ink for the resinous to the print head. These printers need the most maintenance. If ink doesn’t flow regularly, the print head and tubes may become clogged. Ink tank printers also require replacement of their waste ink pads. Waste ink pads are used as a waste reservoir where ink is deposited during head cleans and ink flushes. An ink tank printer should never be used with ink below the minimum level, this can cause damage to the print head. Despite their high maintenance requirements, they are often the cheapest printers to use in terms of ink cost.
Aside from these pointers, it is always best to refer to your printer’s manual as maintenance procedures differ from manufacture and even model.
