All too often, business employees must stop what they’re doing to deal with broken devices and printer repair mistakes. At some point, you just start wondering if it’s better to replace or remove instead of repair? This can be a tricky call, but we can give you some tips drawn from more than a decade of managing large printer fleets.
We will go over some of the most common mistakes as they pertain to replacing, repairing and removing printers.
Printer Repair Mistakes
Some of the most common mistakes for printer repair would be in a few areas. First, there are times when the printer should not be repaired in the first place. Then, there are times when the printer gets repaired, and there is a mistake in assessing what the root cause of the issue is.
Let’s say, for example, that the toner is not as dark as you would like. Is this a toner formulation issue (needs a new toner); is it a transfer belt issue (not transferring enough of the toner to the paper), or is it a fuser issue (not properly fusing the toner to the paper)? It is easy to guess wrong and keep having the same issue, and then have to pay for another repair.
Part of the issue is, if you are not an expert in printers, how do you know which of these is more likely? And this certainly isn’t the only issue that printers have. So how will you keep track of any of the issues a printer might have?
For these kinds of printer repairs, our general advice would be as follows.
- Make sure you work with a printer repair company that knows the product well enough to give you some idea of which of the issues it may be.
- Start with consumables you will need anyway, so if it doesn’t work, you just have some extra toner, not a whole bill for a technician. If it fixes the issue, you save money. If it doesn’t work you just have a spare toner, not the worst thing in the world.
Printer Replacement Mistakes
Maybe you decide you don’t want to deal with the printer because it is too cheap in the first place and not worth your time. If this is the case, there can still be some issues that people replacing printers tend to cause and that you’ll want to avoid.
- Don’t assume that just because you replace the printer, it will fix your issue. If your issue was network-related, for example, the new printer isn’t going to fix that issue.
- Don’t go from a really nice printer to a really cheap printer without checking with staff first. We have seen companies switch out a $4,000 printer for a $300 printer, and then get surprised when the graphic design team started to complain because they no longer have 11″x17″ capability.
- Make sure the printer you are replacing your old printer with has the capabilities your whole team needs.
- Make sure to remove the old printer from any service plans and asset trackers to ensure you don’t keep paying for a printer you are not using any more.
Replacing the printer is generally the easiest fix, but you do want to follow the tips above to ensure that the decision financially works for your company.
Printer Removal Mistakes
The main mistake people make here is not to properly gauge the human-related issues printer removal can cause. When you remove a printer, you are functionally changing how someone does their work. It is always good to get their buy-in before making any major changes. You may find that even though you’d like to remove the printer, there is a business area that prevents you from being able to do so. Making sure everyone is on board is super important when it comes to printer removal.
If you would like to chat more about how to repair, remove or replace printers, we would love to help! Give us a call today!
