Printers. To service or not to service.

I am often asked whether printers should be serviced or not. Customers are concerned, of course, about the cost of regular maintenance but often forget about the cost of a breakdown.

If a machine is regularly maintained the cost to service the machine is minimal, often around a half hour per machine (under $50.00). When the machine goes down the lost time and priority service cost to the company is typically far more than the cost of maintenance. This does not suggest that maintenance will prevent all breakdowns, however properly performed maintenance by a qualified technician will prevent many failures.

The frequency of maintenance is dependent on machine type, volume and environment. If the printer is in a high volume application or a dirty or dusty environment more frequent service is needed to keep it running at its best. Your printer technician can help you to determine the best schedule for your equipment.

Regular printer maintenance is not often thought of but it will give you increased reliability, consistent quality and it could even save you money.

Our cleaning and service includes the following applicable items:

• Replace any worn belts and rollers
• Replace ribbon reflector if damaged
• Check that the card feeder motor assembly is secured
• Thoroughly clean the card transport path (tracks and platen rollers)
• Clean and test the magnetic head and rollers (if encoder fitted)
• Check and adjust all sensors
• Test all motors
• Check all belts for correct tension and either adjust or replace as necessary
• Check the pressure roller for correct tension and adjust if necessary
• Check and adjust the input gate
• Realign the print head, peel-bar, angle and bias where necessary
• Upgrade firmware to the latest version
• Replace small items (screws, washers etc) where necessary
• Effect any minor adjustments and repairs
• Tighten any loose items
• Replace cleaner roller (210/310/420/520/720)
• Clean case and effect minor repairs if necessary
• Full test with plain white cards .30mil (unless instructed otherwise)
• Full test with magnetic stripe cards (if encoder fitted)
• Self test and test from PC application

- Brian S, Senior Printer Tecnician

Northern Computer - Your Trusted Partner
#1 - 495 Banks Road Kelowna, BC V1X 6A2
Phone: 250.762.7753 Fax: 250.861.1861 Toll-Free: 1.877.257.2896
Email: sales@northerncomputer.ca or service@northerncomputer.ca
Web: http://www.northerncomputer.ca