When it comes time for printing, the last thing you want to find is black dots or lines on your finished copy. Not only is it unprofessional, but it wastes time and resources that are precious to your business. One major player causing a lot of these problems is dust. It doesn’t take a lot to end up with lines or streaks on your printed copies or scans. Here are a few quick tricks that you can check to make sure this doesn’t happen to your next print job.
WHAT TO AVOID
There are a few helpful tips when it comes to cleaning your printer that is going to keep in running in perfect condition. When choosing cleaning products, be sure that you do not use any with any abrasive, acetone, benzene, ammonia, ethyl alcohol or carbon tetrachloride in them. When you are spraying, be sure not to spray directly onto the surface. Pay close attention to what you are cleaning, and the cracks to avoid.
CLEANING THE GLASS
To begin, make sure that you are using a soft cloth and nonabrasive glass cleaner. Wipe down the central glass of the printer being very intentional to get all smudges and fingerprints. One helpful tip is to use a torch during this process so you can better see bumps or sticky spots.
The next step is one that most printer owners are unaware of and don’t maintain. Depending on the particular printer you have, there typically is a long, narrow strip of glass to the left of the inner glass as well as on the lid. This part of the copier is known as the ADF. When pages get printed, they cross over this area in which can build up with crude and create numerous problems.
After you clean it and are still experiencing a problem, go ahead and place a blank piece of paper in the ADF and mark one of the corners with a line using a pencil. Then make a copy and then put it on the glass. Doing this little trick will show the line and align it with the location of where the crud is on your ADF glass.
UPKEEP
Make sure to clean your device frequently and regularly check for these types of issues. Vacuuming the paper trays is also a good practice to get in the habit of doing.
Doing these steps will help reduce the number of times you have to deal with black lines and streaks on you printed documents. If for whatever reason you try all of these tips, and it still isn’t working, feel free to contact us and we will be happy to check it out for you!
