If you choose to look after and maintain your own office equipment (including fax machines, printers and copiers) you will often discover that you are able to save yourself money. In this article we show you some very simple procedures which you can carry out yourself in order to maintain your copier.

1. It is vital that prior to you starting any type of maintenance work on your copier that you read through the manufacturers operators manual thoroughly. If you do not you could actually end up damaging an essential component with in the machine, which could cost you more. You may even find yourself in a situation where you will need to replace the copier completely.

2. When you are doing the basic of cleaning dust and excess toner from the machine it is important that you know the exact position of the copier drum. If you not then the chances of you causing damage to this particular component is raised and to replace can be very expensive indeed.

3. The first thing to do when you have opened up your copier and exposed the inside is to remove any loose toner or dust. The most effective way of doing this is using a small brush (a paintbrush is ideal) along with a vacuum cleaner. You could use a vacuum cleaner like you use at home but the risk of causing damage to parts within the copier are increased. It is therefore best to invest some money in buying a vacuum cleaner that is specifically designed for cleaning the inner workings of office equipment.

It is crucial that when using a vacuum cleaner to help remove dust and loose toner from your copier you make sure that the nozzle does not come into contact with any of the components inside. Only a very small amount of static electricity could end up causing irreparable damage to the copier. This may then result in you either having to pay for the part damaged to replaced or even the whole machine to be scrapped and a new one brought.

4. As well as regularly removing dust and loose toner from your machine it is important that you regularly carry out maintenance of the charge wire assembly. To do this you will need to remove this component and it is best if you do so following the instruction provided in the operating manual. After removing the component to clean the wires which must be done gently just wipe them over with a Q-tip which has been dipped into Isopropanol.

So if you are looking for a way to help save money for your business as well as make sure that the lifespan is extended then get a copier maintenance program in place. Above we have explained some of the ways that you can carry out such maintenance yourself. However if you do not want to be bothered with all the hassle there are plenty of copies around today who you can pay to do the maintenance for you.