A printer is an important part of any office ecosystem. So when it breaks it can cause a lot of workflow inefficiencies and inconveniences. You want to make sure that when picking your company printer lease in Toronto that it will reliably last you a long time to avoid these issues. But how long should a printer actually last?
Oftentimes the lifespan of a printer completely depends on the brand and model as well as operating conditions. However, the average printer is expected to last for about 5 years before you’ll need to lease a new one. Let’s find out why.
Signs It’s Time to Buy or Lease a New Printer
Paper Jams Are a Daily Occurrence
Have you ever been in a rush to submit delayed paperwork only to see the dreaded paper jam light up? Believe it or not, paper jams aren’t supposed to be normal and should be checked out as soon as possible!
Constant paper jams will only make your job a lot harder than it already is – and you will likely get in trouble if you fail to submit your documents on time. The fix? Buy a new printer or look for a company printer lease in Toronto or near you.
Your Printer Refuses to Use Certain Types of Paper
There might be times wherein you have to print on special paper – like invites to company events or maybe greeting cards for employees before the holidays. However, the office printer simply won’t let you.
There are a lot of printers out there that are choosy with the papers you can use when printing with them, and they are usually old or outdated. This is the sign you’re looking for if you need a printer replacement or to look for a company printer lease in Toronto if you’re not sure about a printer replacement.
The Printer Likes to Take Its Time Printing
You probably caught yourself repeating to newbies or interns on how the printer works and smacking it won’t help. You constantly repeat that it takes more than a minute for the printer to acknowledge that it should print the document and another few minutes of waiting until the full document prints.
If you think about it, documents won’t wait for you and deadlines won’t freeze until the printer is available again. To boost productivity and company sanity, time to replace it or consider looking for a company printer lease in the Toronto area or near you.
Printing High-Quality Images Is Often Disappointing
There might be reports wherein you have to show a pie chart or bar graphs that you need to hand out to clients, only that it’s not clear and it’s not as good as what you see on screen. This will often lead you to think that the ink cartridge has gone dry or you likely made a mistake in printing.
It’s actually because of your old printer and its ability to print – this will make you waste more time in troubleshooting a hopeless printer. The best thing you can do is to replace it with a newer one with better features or search up company printer lease in the Toronto area or near you for a temporary replacement.
It’s so Outdated That It Doesn’t Have a Scanner
You’ve probably been used to instances wherein you have to maintain a scanner and a printer. And when they both break, it’s an additional expense for the company and can possibly harm your business’ productivity.
If you decide to get a new printer with scanner models, you will save a lot of money by just maintaining one instead of two. If you can’t afford it yet, consider looking for a company printer lease in the Toronto area or near you.
Quick Fixes for Existing Printing Problems
By investing in good quality printers, you will be able to shift your focus on something more important than dealing with paper jams and printer breakdowns. If you can’t buy a new one at the moment or replace it entirely, here are some quick fixes for printer problems until you can finally replace it.
Printing Takes a While
When printing is slow, there might be a few reasons as to why that happens – either the image you want to print is high quality, a possible low memory issue, or a choice of drivers. It’s natural for printers to print slowly when the image you print is a high resolution. This can be fixed through the draft, standard, or normal modes if the image is not really that important or not displayed for clients.
If it’s a part of your workflow, you might need to add more memory to your printer for an easy printing process. If the problem still exists, you might check on your driver – and PCL is the best driver for commercial-grade fast printing. Ideally, replacing this or consider looking for a company printer lease in Toronto is still better.
Constant Paper Jams
This happens a few times, and for some, on a daily basis, especially in busy offices with loads of paperwork. It’s easy to get paper jams when there are constant printing and rushing. This can easily be fixed through the user guide in the manual and sometimes, there is a video guide to help you remove the item that jams the papers.
However, if the problem is because of a misaligned paper, remove the tray and place the paper correctly to avoid jamming again. If you are using a different paper that’s not supported by the printer, you might need to replace it or consider looking for a company printer lease in Toronto that fits your needs.
Bad Print Quality
Sometimes, the printer spits out a terrible version of the document you’re trying to print, but don’t worry, there are fixes for that kind of problem. The common fixes for these types of problems are:
- Check your print driver and see if you have the correct paper or media selected.
- Check if the kind of paper you loaded matches the type selected on the printer driver.
- Check the adjustment for your laser printer fuser – see if you have to manually adjust it to the proper adjustment. Be careful – fusers are known to be burning hot.
- See if the cartridges are still fine or if the fuser or imaging units are still working properly. It might vary per model and brand, so make sure you consult your user manual first before opening your printer.
- If there are persistent smudge marks, try to print on several papers until it fades away.
Unresponsive Printer
This is probably one of the most frustrating problems of all time, and oftentimes it gets employees in trouble. If your office has a lot of printers stationed on every side of the room or department, you have to check if you sent the document to be printed on the right printer. You can check this through Printers and Faxes in Windows and set the printer near you as your default. If that’s not the problem, see if the printer still has paper in its tray and it’s loaded up with the right kind and amount (usually, this is the case).
Still not working? One of the common mistakes that would likely make you laugh is you forgot to plug the printer or turn it on. If it does turn on without being plugged, consider help immediately (preferably from a priest). If none of these worked, you will need a new printer or consider looking for a company printer lease in Toronto.
Old Models and Outdated System
You might’ve bought this from a cheap second-hand shop or had it for years, but it might cost you more money for its upkeep and maintenance. The best way to deal with this problem is to simply let go and invest in a better printer instead.
If you’re not sure what model, consult a professional and see what you can buy or temporarily lease by looking for a company printer lease in Toronto.
Benefits Of Leasing An Office Printer
If you can’t afford to buy a new printer at the moment, consider getting a company printer lease in Toronto instead. You will be able to enjoy the maintenance and services needed for printer upkeep if you consider leasing or renting instead of purchasing a new office printer. This will include problems with parts, labour, retrofits and toner, except for paper.
Busys.ca offers a wide variety of office printers for lease in Toronto. If you wish to speak to a customer service representative that can help you select the right one for your business, or simply ask for the best model we can offer, contact us today!