Summer Printer Maintenance Tips

Printers are built for reliability. HP Printers, Lexmark Printers, Canon Printers and all major printer manufacturers make them to last. But if you don’t perform common sense maintenance actions, your printer can fail you when you need it most.  Summer printing must come out perfect; reason why we wanted to share four ways you can perform standard maintenance on your printer to ensure it operates at its best:

1. Make sure the print heads are aligned. When the nozzles are all pointing in the right direction, the ink gets to the right place. When you get grid-like patterns on your printouts, or white lines repeating through the text, your print heads are out of alignment. Most print heads can be fixed in their alignment by following instructions in the owner’s manual for your printer. You can also go to the website of your printer’s manufacturer for help.
2. Clean the ink nozzle on your printer. Again, with the ink nozzle clogged or obstructed, ink won’t get to the paper correctly. Most printers have a Maintenance or Services tab in the printer software toolbox, and should have a “clean print cartridges” option. Follow the instructions here to clean the nozzles.
3. Ensure the carriage rods operate smoothly. Sometimes you may notice a loud chattering noise or hear a grinding when the carriage moves from side to side. What is needed is to clean the slider rods, and lubricate them as well. Just turn your printer off, access that assembly and wipe the carriage rails with a lint-free cloth and warm water. Dry off the rails, and then add one tiny drop of synthetic oil to the carriage rails. You can wipe the oil so each side of the carriage rail is lubricated. (For the correct oil and more detailed instructions, see your owner’s manual.)
4. Update your printer drivers. When you update your printer driver, you will ensure your printer operates correctly. You will also get the latest features for your printer from the manufacturer. Simply go to the website of the manufacturer in order to find the driver you need according to the operating system you have on your computer. There you’ll find directions to download and install.

Of course, using the correct ink and toner cartridges is important to get high quality printouts. You can be assured that compatible and remanufactured cartridges will work just fine in your printer as long as they are manufactured with integrity and high standards.