5 Tips on Keeping the Life of Your Copier Going

Ain’t no party like copier party cause a copier party don’t stop!
In celebration of this week’s festivities with our Technology Tailgate, we’re going to keep this post lighthearted and tell you things you don’t do to your copier so the fun doesn’t stop. Here are five tips:
#1- What is Love? : Love is not breaking your copier so don’t sit on it, no matter how tempting it may be to copy your hind quarters. We have all seen movies and TV shows with intoxicated people making their way to a copier, but we don’t suggest it. Not only does the copier remember the image for its’ lifespan, but it can also be an expensive replacement. The platen glass is meant to hold paper, not a person. You take a risk falling into the machine, causing major damage, and hurting yourself. Plus, you wouldn’t want to explain that to your boss, especially while stuck.
#2- One for the Money: I’ll never forget the amount of fear an old boss gave me when I was copying photo ID for a customer. There are some precautions to take when photocopying certain documents, like, IDs and money. Why would anyone want to copy money? Well, their are innocent ideas that cause people to consider it. I had a person once try to copy money because they wanted to make a present look like superhero dollars as they were surprising their kids with a trip to an amusement park. When you try to copy money, the copier won’t allow it, especially on the newer machines. Color copiers have a board in place that breaks when money is detected. A service technician can order a new one, but a visit from authorities is involved. It’s just a mess. If you want to make a present for your kids, do yourself a favor; grab some paper and draw some money. It’s less expensive and less of a headache.
#3 – Pour Some Sugar: Not your copier. Actually keep your drinks far away from your office copier. The damage one drink can do isn’t pretty and your machine could be down for quite awhile.
#4 – You Can’t Touch This: This, being the copier scan glass with anything that would cause prints or smudges because it will make dirty copies. And if you do happen to get dirty copies, wipe down you scan glass with a clean towel and glass cleaner (spray the towel, not the copier). Usually, white out, the evil fiend, is your culprit.
#5 – It’s Tricky: when your paper starts sticking together because the paper itself became too humid. If you allow your ream of unused paper to sit for too long, especially in summer (which in Arkansas is 9-10 months out of the year), you have a good chance of copier jams. If the paper has sat in a drawer for too long, fan it out. And if you’re opening a new ream, fan it out before placing it in the machine. This will save you time and frustration paper jams.
Take these tips to heart and your copier party will last a long time without needing to stop the music of a good running machine.