Jul 302012
 

I was watching a couple of movies over the weekend and for some reason, I was noticing all the printers that popped up in the different scenes. I suppose it really isn’t any big surprise that you’d see printers in office scenes in the movies since it would be a little weird to see an office without one. Still, this was a futuristic type movie so I guess it bodes well for American Printer Service, Inc. that according to Hollywood, we’re still going to have printers in the future!

Seems like most of the printers that I was noticing were HP series printers so looks like they’ll be around for a few more years too. Always nice to have a little job security, right? Anyway, if you spot a printer in a movie or TV show, take a screen shot and send it to us here on Printer Repair Blog and we’ll feature it here, as well as try to track down the model. Just kind of a fun thing to do.

Jul 252012
 

If you are located outside of Washington State or Oregon but you’ve got a printer that needs some fixing, think about our Depot Maintenance option. Depot Maintenance is where you send your printer to us (carefully wrapped up), we repair it, and ship the working unit back to you. Now, you may be asking yourself, “Why would I ship my printer off when I can probably find someone locally to fix it?”

Of course, we at American Printer Service, Inc. always recommend you try to locate a printer repair company locally if you can. However, for some of our customers, that just isn’t an option due to the remoteness of your location or costs involved. Believe it or not, we have customers who ship us units to repair as far away as Alaska! Sometimes, for whatever reason, it just may be easier to ship your broken unit to us rather than have it repaired locally. Depot Maintenance customers enjoy a fast turn around time, discounted labor rates, and inclusion in the process from start to finish. When you use our service, we’ll return your printer in working condition and looking brand new! Give us a try if you’ve got a printer that needs to be repaired but you can’t find anyone locally to work on it!

Jul 112012
 

In your copious amounts of free time, and because I know dusting is high on everyone’s priority list, if you ever feel the need to move your printer around, here are a little tips that may save you costly repairs!

For some reason, printer manufacturers tend to hide the power switch on their units, especially laser printers. However, you can damage your unit if you simply ‘pull the plug’ out to power it down. Search around and if the power switch for your printer isn’t on the front cover, chances are it is either on the back near the plugin or on the site.

Check the back of your printer after shutting it down and remove all the cables attached to it. I can not tell you how many times a printer is brought to American Printer Service, Inc. where the customer forgot or didn’t think to remove the Ethernet cable and then tripped over it, ripped the cable from the connection, and then couldn’t get it to work later. Even if you think you won’t trip over a loose cable, it just isn’t worth the risk… and if you’re really unlucky, tripping over the cable may pull your entire printer off your desk and completely destroy it!

If you’re taking a printer out of service for some time, it is a good idea to remove the cartridges, especially when you’re dealing with inkjet cartridges, which can dry with non-use and then clog. Toner cartridges should be kept out of direct sunlight in a cool, dry place. If dust is going to be a problem you may want to place it into a plastic bag… any garbage-type should do. If you’re storing inkjet cartridges for an extended amount of time, clean the contacts with a light alcohol / water mix so there are no ‘globs’ of ink on them. Then carefully place it in a plastic bag, squeeze out as much air as you can, and try to store it upright (the way it sits in the printer).

Never turn any printer on its side or upside down. With inkjet printers, the carriage bar may become loose, causing damage to the printer. With laser printers, it is just not a good idea. Printers are made to sit upright and never to be turned on end.

If you did pull out the plug instead of using the power switch to power the unit down, make sure it is turned off (complete circle) before plugging the unit back in. Plugging in the unit when it is switched on may result in a power surge that could permanently damage your printer.

I hope these little tips help you when you decide it is time to see what is hiding underneath your printer!

Jul 092012
 

I was listening to the radio over the weekend (I forget what show / station it was, otherwise I’d credit it.) and heard a term that I hadn’t heard before. Erich Marx, who directs Nissan’s social marketing campaigns coined the phrase, “Cost of Ignoring” (COI) when he stated, “…you have to be there [talking about social media]. It’s not about ROI, it’s about COI, cost of ignoring. It’s too big to ignore”. I think beyond the obvious application to social media sites, Erich Marx’s phrase is applicable to a wide variety of services, including Preventative Maintenance for your printers.

I like to say that printers are easily the most overlooked and ignored piece of technology in the office; even the water cooler probably gets more love from employees than the printer tucked away in the corner. Still, it is the printer that is that final piece of the puzzle when putting together sales reports, management reports, or even paying your employees! The biggest challenge to a company like ours is detailing the reasons why regular Preventative Maintenance for your laser and impact printers can ultimately save you hundreds of dollars in future printer repair bills.

The COI Preventative Maintenance for your printers is catastrophic failure at the time you most need it to work smoothly. Printers never seem to fail when you’re printing out a picture of those fuzzy kittens from the internet. When you’re on a time crunch and need to run off an important 50 sheet document, that’s when you can expect your printer to sit back and stubbornly say, ‘Ummm… no.’ Quarterly Preventative Maintenance from American Printer Service, Inc. is an affordable and easy way to insure that your printers are in peak operating condition all the time… so you can rely on them all the time. Of course, the occasional jam is bound to happen, but if your printers haven’t been touched since you bought them two years ago, chances are high that it is just waiting for an excuse to take a vacation from working correctly.

Send us an email or leave us a comment here at Printer Repair Blog and we’ll get back to you with a quote for giving your printers a little TLC. We feel that Preventative Maintenance is a key component in making sure your printers can always be relied on to print quickly, with great quality. We’d be happy to make sure you’re not falling prey to the COI Preventative Maintenance for your printers!