Printers will continue to be the most frustrating topic of discussion at home or in the office. We all have the shared experience of a printer failing us at what seems to be, at the worst possible time. Printing should be as simple as turning a digital document into a physical copy. A simple task such as printing can be difficult but here are a few tips to alleviate your issues.

Expectation VS Reality

To the naked eye, a printer seems simple:

• Load the printer with the paper 
• Click on print 
• You get the paper representation of what was on your computer screen

This is an oversimplification of an actual complex process. There are thousands of mechanical parts inside of a printer, yet simply stated: 

• The paper must feed through various rollers  
• A laser tells the printer where to “lay the ink” 
• There are plenty of opportunities for paper jams to occur  
• Ink blotting happens too
• Various mechanical components can fail to cause the entire process to stop 
• “Low on Ink” message appears constantly 

Paper jams, ink blotting, and the “low on ink” message are frustrating to deal with. Here are a few facts about these frustrations.

• Printer ink happens to be one of the most expensive liquids in the world at roughly $2,700 per gallon 
• Most printer manufacturers are in the business to sell ink and not printers
• The end goal is for you to continue to buy printer ink frequently 

This is the reason for the constant “Low on Ink” messages, and if you have ever called the support line for a printer company, one of the first questions they will ask you is, “Have you replaced the toner cartridge?”. Often times companies will sell printers at a loss knowing that they will make back the profit in selling ink.

Tips to consider

Printers often fail and when they do they can be easily replaced at a reasonable price. Here are some tips to consider as you are looking for the right device.

• Do some research, determine what your printing needs are 
• Know what you are buying and the price of maintaining the printer you are purchasing 
• Take inventory of ink cartridges prior to purchasing a new device
• Read some reviews, and decide what would be best for your day-to-day operations
• Buy a black and white if you are not using color ink
• We tend to look at the price of the printer over the performance of the printer 
• Prior to purchasing, read the manual to understand the maintenance required

If you have done everything you can and nothing works, contact us at logic IT. We can help with your printer or any other technical difficulties.