Office printing. It’s so mundane…until it isn’t. From the feared paper jam error to the suddenly – often miraculously – empty toner cartridge, why is it that office printers always seem to break down at the most inopportune moment? At some point or another, we have all experienced the frustration of desperately needing to print something last minute and failing to because of a printer error.
On top of this, when we consider that most modern offices are equipped with multifunction printers – meaning we rely on these devices for scanning, copying and faxing in addition to printing – our frustrations with technology are compounded. Luckily for you, dear reader, I have some good news: there is a better way.
“Have You Tried Turning It Off and On Again?”
It’s estimated that on average 23% of all help desk calls are printer-related, and up to 15% of the average help desk’s time each year is taken up by printer-related problems. And, when we consider 
that the average office worker prints 34 pages a day – or over 12,000 pages per year – all that printer downtime adds up to create a huge drain on office-worker productivity and help desk resources. To avoid having to deal with printer downtime, your workplace should stay ahead of the problem by using smart add-ons and support services!
Stay Ahead of the Problem
You should feel confident in the functionality of your office equipment; it’s not too much to ask for near-100% availability for routine office tasks like printing, copying, scanning and faxing. Most of our customers, in addition to selecting the right multifunctional printers (MFP) for their office, also choose to add a mix of services and support. Here are some tips on how to avoid office printer downtime:
1. Right-Size Your MFP
Not too big and not too small. Make sure you have selected a product that is right for your workgroup. This is based on the number of people using the device, the monthly output volume and your peak work periods. If your office of 1,000 employees is relying on a single desktop printer for all its document needs, you’re far more likely to experience printer downtime as a result of overworking your device.
2. Integrate Your Applications
Add middle-ware connectors. Inexpensive software add-ons can make your MFP the perfect on-ramp or off-ramp for any document needs. By integrating software add-ons designed for your specific device, you avoid errors that might arise as a result of incompatibility between software and hardware.
3. Enable AI-Driven Features
Automated service and supplies. Some modern MFPs can automatically place orders for toner and ink when levels reach a predetermined threshold. This saves you the time it takes to place a manual order, and it saves you the inconvenience of finding out your ink levels are low when you need the printer most! As well, other such modern devices offer built-in AI diagnostic and communication technology which, if the device senses a non-user related problem, will automatically place a service call to the technical support team.
4. Built-In Redundancy
Enable print-release from any device. You probably have more than one MFP in your office. If this is the case, then your office should stop using dedicated printer queues and instead allow printing to one larger shared queue which then releases individual jobs to specific devices which it recognizes as being fully operational and not currently occupied with another job. Easy-to-use applications are available which offer this functionality. This method of job-allocation also increases document security and cuts unnecessary printing by up to 30%!
Many organizations and individuals suffer from office printer anxiety, but you don’t have to! At Konica Minolta, we provide you with the tools and specialists you need to help reduce your stress, control costs and improve your print experience.