A lot of today’s service issues are print or scan related. In most cases the problem is not caused by the hardware which is your copier/MFP. A quick way to check this is to reboot your copier/MFP and reboot your PC. If the problem persists the first phone call should go to your IT person who can remote in and see where the network conflict is. It could be a corrupted file in the que which needs purged. Let me define rebooting a copier. It’s more than heating the on/off button on the control panel. That’s usually not the real on/off button. Begin by turning that one off but then turn off the real on/off button which looks like a light switch. It may inside the cover where the toner goes or it could be on the outside of the copier. Turn it off at the main switch and wait about ten seconds before turning it back on. If there’s still a print scan issue after rebooting the MFP and your PC then call your IT person or call us. We have a lot of experience with those sorts of … [Read more...]
LINES ON THE COPIES OR SCANS
A common service call is someone getting lines on the copies or when they scan. This is something you can easily fix yourself. When you lift the automatic document feed up out of the way you will see two pieces of glass. A large one for book copying and a long thin piece of glass next to it. Take the copy with lines and put it on the large piece of glass face up. Follow the lines with your eyes to the long thin piece of glass on the side. That’s where the hidden dirt is. Clean that with glass cleaner and a paper towel. You may have to rub it well but that often will fix the problem. If you still have lines after cleaning the slit glass than you need a service call. However, if you get the lines on copies but not prints then it probably is a dirty slit glass so you may want to clean it a second time a little more firmly. … [Read more...]
SOME TIPS TO HELP YOUR COPIER
First of all, if you hate the copier it may be the servicing agent. Try a different company and see if things improve. If you have a maintenance agreement read the fine print and see when you can get out of it without paying a penalty. It your copier is having a funky day try turning it off at the main on/off switch. That’s not the one on the control panel. Turn that one off first band then look for the main on/off switch which may be inside the front cover or on the outside of the copier about half way down. Turn it off and wait about 10 seconds before turning it back on. I would put a commercial grade surge protector on the copier. Storms and electrical problems are getting extreme. Stores don’t sell the kind I’m talking about so call us and I’ll suggest a few brands to you. We carry the SmartPower line which is one of the better ones. We sell them at a discount. The final thing is try to stick with the same brand of toner. If you’ve switched to generic stick with … [Read more...]
WHAT KIND OF SURGE PROTECTOR SHOULD I USE
We always provide a surge protector with the copiers we sell because most people think a power strip is a surge protector. It’s not. It’s easy to confuse the two and I’ve done so myself. We go to a box stores to buy a PC or something and see the section with power strips and power protectors and buy something on sale thinking we’re covered. Well those of us in Texas know some of these storms can get kind of crazy. In fact, we sometimes get service calls after a storm and the business lost a piece of equipment because of lightning, even though the equipment was on a power protection device of some kind. I took the time to get educated on this matter. I assumed all surge protectors were the same. The more I investigated this I started to realize there are differences and the differences are often confusing and hard to explain. However, I eventually connected with the right people who sold several lines of surge protectors. They explained the different brands and what the … [Read more...]
WHEN TO BUY GENERIC TONER
A good rule of thumb is to use it on older copiers. The older the copier, the more time the generic toner manufacturers have had to perfect their product. The newer the copier is, the better to use OEM toner. Now there are exceptions to everything so if you want to change from OEM to generic buy it from the company that services your copier. That way if the change in toner messes up the copier you can hold them accountable. Plus, they probably know from experience which is the best generic brands to use. If you are buying generic toner on your own be careful of buying on the internet because you won’t know what brand you are getting. Not all generic toners are equal. Some generic toner companies really have good quality control but not all. Plus, you should not mix generic brands. That could mess up your print quality. It is okay to put generic in if you’ve been using OEM but if you buy generic toners and don’t pay attention to the brands you could create problems. Again, … [Read more...]
HOW TO GET RID OF A LINE ON THE COPIES
Many times people call in for service because they are getting lines on the copies or scans. Here are some tips to save money. You may have a dirty slit glass and here’s what to do. Is the line just on the copies or does it show up on the prints as well? If it’s just on copies and scans then you should clean the slit glass. Lift up the document feed and you will see two pieces of glass. The first is a large one for book copying. Not that one! Look for the long thin pencil shaped glass. That is the one! The naked eye can not always see the dirt on the slit glass so take the copy with the line and lay it on the big piece of glass face up. Then follow the line with your eye to the thin slit glass and you’ll see what part of the slit glass needs cleaned. I say that because people often say they cleaned the slit glass and still have a line. It that’s the case, use glass cleaner and a rag and focus on the area I just mentioned and don’t be afraid to rub. There’s probably … [Read more...]
USING GENERIC TONERS
Don’t mix generic toners. A lot of people with used copiers don’t have a maintenance agreement which usually includes toner in the lease. So they go to the internet and buy the cheapest toner available for their model. This is okay but there are a few rules to follow. First, it is okay to mix a generic toner with the OEM toner inside. If you don’t know what toner is inside then you have a little bit of a problem. The safest thing would be to put an OEM toner in next time. Then after that you can start using a generic toner. Hopefully, it’s a quality generic toner that won’t hurt the print quality. If it does, then you have to place a service call and you didn’t save any money. If you do find a good generic toner that doesn’t lessen the print quality on your copier than stick with that brand. Different generic brands shouldn’t be mixed. Hopefully, the person on the internet will identify the brand for you so you don’t take that risk. You also need to know how fresh it is. … [Read more...]
SCANNING PROBLEMS
A very common service call these days is for scanning issues. However, in most cases the problem is with the network or pc settings or even the email. People don’t like hearing this but is rarely the hardware causing the problem. One quick way to check that is reboot both the copier/MFP and the PC. You need to turn off the main power switch on the copier; not just the on/off button on the control panel. If that doesn’t fix it you should contact your computer or IT person. I realize that may cost you money but they can usually remote in and diagnose the problem and there might not be a charge. You might even have a contract with the person already. Most IT people can diagnose these kind of problems but not all. We have met a variety of competence levels from people who carry the title of “IT”. If they can’t fix it and you call a copier company keep in mind that IT support is outside the scope of a traditional break/fix maintenance agreement which means you’ll get billed anyway. If … [Read more...]
SAVE MONEY WITH ACCOUNT CODES
Many people complain about the high costs associated with color printing. The solution is to put some account codes in the copier control panel. Most people don’t even know about these. You may need our help setting it up but essentially it means people have to put it in a pin before they have access to the copier or MFP. This also gives you a way to monitor usage for each employee. Some copiers even allow you to limit who can make color prints or copies. This would be controlled at the server/PC level. Your IT person can set this up. You can contact us and we can steer the IT person in the right direction on how to do it. Setting up account codes at the control panel is the simplest though. Nobody can get a copy without entering their 5 digit code. Some law firms want more than 5 digits. Newer copiers allow up to 8 digits. Again, if you are interested in exploring this option call us and we can coach you. We would need to know your make and model first. Account codes are very … [Read more...]
TONER CAN MESS UP YOUR COPIER
Here is the cardinal rule for toner. You can mix generic toner with OEM toner but you can create copy/print quality problems if you mix generics. That’s because generic toner companies base their engineering on OEM toner. In other words, if you put in a generic brand that’s different than the generic already in there you can have a service call to deal with. If you ever have a used copier or printer and aren’t sure what kind of toner is inside buy one cartridge of the higher priced OEM toner before switching to a good generic brand. However, there are exceptions to the above. For example, historically Sharp copiers have not done well with generic toners and a user should stick with OEM. If you’re not sure about your make and model call us and we’ll find out. Our technicians have worked on a variety of brands over the years. When bad toner causes print quality problems it can be expensive repair. Not only does the toner need to be vacuumed out but the developer needs to be … [Read more...]