Just like every purchases of value, buying a printer these days is no simple task. It requires good judgment unless you have a size-able budget. There are so many brands and types of printers available to choose from, not only that the number of electronic stores and its different prices.
The other aspect that needs to be considered is picking the one that fits your need. In a world that’s predominantly digital and technological evolution is accelerating in an explosive manner it is therefore vital to stay on the cutting edge which makes it even harder to getting the right printer.
In this article we will find out, and answer the question “How often should you replace your printer?”, and also which printers are essential for your different types of needs. We will also look at whether printers wear out, how to take care of your printers, and how often should printers be replaced .
Types of printers and it’s functions
There are mainly two types of printers, the impact and non-impact printers
Impact printers or the early line printers does work by banging a needle against an ink ribbon to make mark on the paper. It is noisy, have limited scope, difficult to adjust single sheet and mostly there are paper jams. However there’s a low cost of consumables or ink because they use multi-pass ribbons and you can have a custom size paper.
Non-impact printers which is mainly used today can produce both text and graphics. It is essential or a must have in a modern home.
These type which we will take into account, produces no noise, has best quality prints and a faster production rate. Laser printers and inkjet printers though expensive are the most common examples that we see in our homes and office and as of such we will look further into detail
Laser printers
This drum or imaging drum is the heart of the printer and if it’s dirty or worn out the printer doesn’t work to its full capacity. The toner is like an ink powder which is also used in photocopiers. It contains a fine dry mixture of plastic particles, carbon and black or other coloring agents that make the actual image on the paper.
These is often used in offices as it has a printing speed of approximately 34 pages per minute.
Inkjet Printers
These printers uses heat and this vaporizes the ink to create a bubble. When the bubble expands, some of the ink is pushed out onto the paper, and when it pops a vacuum is created which pulls more ink into the print from the cartridge. These is often found in homes as it is inexpensive, easy to use and it’s reasonably fast
Do printers wear out?
Like any mechanical objects its part wears out even if it’s rarely used. Printers is designed to be used regularly thus leaving it idle can do more damage than good.
The other factor that may hinder or churn out low quality documents is because it has used or is using papers not intended for laser printers. These can wear out the “drum” quickly causing it to perform in such a way.
The drum, the ink and toner cartridges though important to the printer quality it is replaceable
How to take care of your printers
Many businesses or manufacturer sell their printers at a loss. This is because they make profit out of selling printers replaceable parts such as the drum, ink and toner cartridges which is more costly than the printer itself.
They also design it in such a way that when buying a particular brand, you must buy the components or parts that is custom made of that brand. For example you can’t buy a printer from Manufacturer X and the cartridges from Manufacturer Z. It won’t work together therefore the first step in ensuring that your printer will work well or you being satisfied is choosing the right printer with its right machineries.
After every month of its labor, it is vitally important to service your printer by cleaning and removing paper waste, dirt, dust and also ribbon shreds along the carriage and around the paper travel surface.
Be sure to also check the nozzles, as they may be clogged. This happens when ink dries up and blocks the nozzle.
It is also equally important to use the right type of paper intended for the printer, failure to do this lowers the speed of the printer, a low quality print and some may absorb or damage print heads.
You will also notice a white line running through your photos or documents. This tells you that the print head is damaged and you must consult your printer manual to check how to clean your printer and print heads correctly
The place where you put your printer should be greatly considered as the environmental condition greatly affects its performance.
The paper feed should not be overloaded. Avoid any par to sit down in the paper for a long period of time as this may damage the paper feed and causing paper jam
In printing multiple loads or documents it is suggested that the printer is on normal mode for the reason that it can overwork the printer if it’s done in a fast draft mode
It is also advisable that you delete all the printing queues as it can save ink, paper and electricity and also at the same time caring for your printer
Should printers be replaced?
In these fast evolving technological world it is considered lame if one doesn’t keep up with all the latest discoveries and technologies such as Airprint printers .
For the not so much tech savvy it is a problem as their livelihood do depends on it even operating a printer in their own home.
Non-impact printers like the inkjet and laser printers last up to 3 and 5 years respectively. This is where they reach its threshold or its full capacity to operate. As it is stated that technological innovation moves at a greater speed it is important to know if the printers that you have still serves its purpose or there’s a need to replace.
Like every company that competes or exist, its productivity is vital and in order to attain that, its offices needs to be advanced. For that matter therefore printers should be replaced if it’s not up to date with security, overspends on printing budget and compounded to that are the ink and toner cartridges expenses because older printers burn through ink and toner faster than many new models.
Even with the right maintenance the printer can lasts many years but it is sensible if the printers is left for good if it frequents being repaired or the printing cost costly as it will not only affect the performance of individuals who is tasked in printing but for the company resulting in a revenue loss.
I hope this article has given you an insight, and also has answered your question as to how often should you replace your printer.
