The printer in your office is something that you probably don’t think about often. With so much being digital nowadays, many people don’t have much use for a printer daily. This means that on the occasion that you do use it, you might not be aware that it’s on its last legs. Not all signs that your office printer is dying are loud and obvious. Some are smaller, which means you need to know what to look for.
Slow to Operate
A slow printer is not only a nuisance, but it’s also slowing down your business. If your printer takes an extra minute to process the document that it was sent, that time adds up throughout the day when taking into consideration everyone who spends an extra minute of their day waiting for the printer. Printers slow down for a wide variety of reasons, ranging from software updates crowding the processing power to the parts simply aging. There’s not always a lot that you can do to fix it short of replacing the entire printer or dealing with the loss of efficiency.
A Lot of Noise
Your printer isn’t supposed to operate in complete silence, but it’s not supposed to make a huge racket either. If you start to hear clanging while your printer is running, that’s a sign that something has broken somewhere. Sometimes it can be fixed with a simple visit from a technician and other times you’ll need to invest in a new one. Even if there isn’t something loudly wrong, like clanging, your printer being loud while running is often a sign that it’s time to switch to a newer one.
It’s Jammed More Often Than It’s Not
It’s not uncommon for your printer to be jammed every now and then. That’s just what happens when your entire office is using the printer all day, every day. However, if you find that the printer is jammed several times a week, that’s not normal. You’re slowing down the productivity in your office, and you’re giving yourself a headache with having to take time out of your day to fix it.
A constantly jamming printer could be a sign that some people in your office don’t know how to operate a printer properly, but that’s not normally the only source of the problem. Your printer’s parts are likely worn down after years of use, and that makes them more prone to being jammed. In order to keep your office running efficiently, you might need to get a new one.
There’s Always a Problem
When your printer breaks down, the logical next step is to call a technician or a member of the maintenance team to take a look and hopefully fix it. However, if you find yourself constantly having to call a technician and, more importantly, pay to fix whatever the newest problem is, it might be time for you to do the math. Look at how often you’re calling a technician and how much it costs for them to do their job, and compare it to how much it would cost to get a new one. You might find that it’s less expensive in the long run to replace the printer instead.
It’s Old
As with all technology, parts age and become less effective over time. Whether your printer was manufactured with that in mind or not, it’s still something you should consider. Technology is always improving, and newer printers are inherently better than older ones. Newer printers have more features than older ones that are designed to help your business thrive.
Your Needs Have Changed
If you bought your office’s printer years ago, you bought it for the needs of your business at the time. But needs change over time, and if your business has grown over the years, the small printer that worked for an office of ten probably doesn’t work well for an office of fifty. You need to consider the needs of your team, so the printer is helping boost office efficiency rather than slowing people down.
