It is easy to forget about your printer as you go about your computing needs. It sits there on your right hand side and springs to life when needed. Or at least it is supposed to. If you do not take a minute or two, a couple of time per week, you may find some interesting words coming out of your mouth when streaks or paper jams occur.

Keep it clean

This is easily said and done. The printer heads are the biggie in this area. Printer heads are definitely prone to clogging. If they are not used on a regular basis, or if they are used at a quick clip, they will clog. Every now and again take out the printer cartridges and give a quick clean with a non-linting cloth or moistened Q-tip. If you do use your printer quite a bit think about all those pieces of paper rolling through the printer. It is unlikely that each and every piece of paper will roll through without a shard or tear coming off the paper. These shards will attach themselves to the rollers or other inconvenient printer elements. It is wise to open up the printer every now and again and give it a quick wipe down with a moistened Q-tip.

Turn off and cover

It may seem like many of these tips involve the printer heads, and they do. The printer heads are the area where most preventable maintenance issues occur. Most people, me included, are prone to turning off the computer but not the printer. This leaves the printer heads exposed to the air and possibly drying out. At the ends of the day turn off the printer at the printer. Not from the power cord but at the printer. This will cover the printer heads. Particularly if you are in a dusty region, or if you have a pet, cover you printer. Dust and hair are killers for a printer.

Use the printer

One of the biggest ways to take care of your printer is to use it. Many people really do not use the printer all that much, myself included. This is a digital age and everything tends to stay on the computer. At least twice a week print something that will use all the printers? workings. A colorful website will do but give it a bit of a workout and most of the other maintenance issues will never arise.