While they are usually more expensive than ink-jets, laser printers provide superior print quality, a faster printing speed and tend to be more reliable than their ink-jet counterparts. Unfortunately, however, even laser printers require a degree of maintenance or the quality of your copies is sure to suffer. Cleaning your laser printer can solve quite a few minor problems that might arise, as well as prolonging the periods in-between when you might need professional cleanings performed, as well as maintaining your desired print quality. Every time you change toner cartridges, or should your print quality deteriorate, taking a few minutes to clean your printer can help save you time and money.

To begin with, you will want to have your supplies handy. These are simple: a soft cloth or scrap of old cotton clothing makes a perfect cleaning rag, while sometimes, special brushes are included with your printer, helping to make cleaning easier. You will also want to ensure that you have a special cleaning fluid that’s designed for plastic. If you do not have a cleaning solution that is made for plastic, water will often work in most cases, but you will want to avoid metal cleaners or products such as glass cleaner, which may contain chemicals that can potentially harm your printer, such as ammonia.

Next, as in any time that you are working with electrical equipment, you need to make sure that your printer is not only turned off, but also that it is unplugged from the wall or surge protector. Failing to do so could result in electrical shock, hence why you must always be sure that you have that printer unplugged before you go a step further. Safety precautious area always important, whenever one is dealing with any king of electrical equipment.

Once your printer is unplugged, you will want to remove the internal paper trays and then take out your toner cartridge. To prevent this from getting ink on your table or any furniture, be sure to set it well out of the way and always set it on a piece of scrap paper or newsprint. This will grant you access to the toner cavity, where you can now clean it with the printer brush (if one was supplied) or with a dry and lint-free piece of soft cloth. You can also clean the printer mirror if a brush was provided with your printer. If not, do not touch the mirror, or you may do irreversible damage to it.

Check for, and wipe away, any residual dust or toner that might have spilled within the printer at this point. This is also a good opportunity to remove any loose pieces of paper that you might find in the machine, as well as granting you access to the rollers, which you can also clean with the soft cloth. Do not, however, touch the sponge roller. The sponge roller does not usually require cleaning at this point, and should simply be left alone

When you have completed these tasks, you may replace the toner cartridge in the printer, as well as the paper trays. For best results, run one or two test copies, ensuring that the copy comes out clear and legible. If it fails to print clearly, after several copies have been printed off, contacting a professional cleaner may very well be the next route to take. Also be sure to check the troubleshooting guide in your owner’s manual, as they often have helpful suggestions to keep your printer working properly.

~Shawna L. Krautheim
2007