Printers and Copiers

No one can underestimate the importance of copiers to office life. In some businesses this is truer than others–government, social services, and health care work come to mind. If a great deal of paper is generated by administrative duties and copies must be made for meetings, documentation and informational purposes, the copier can be the lifeblood of the entire office. It’s almost comical (if you are not currently in that situation) to visualize the mass hysteria that may ensue in an organization working on deadline who runs out of paper, or toner, or whose copier simply goes down for the count.

My advice (as someone who admits to having been a past participant in such mass hysteria) is to prevent copier disasters before they happen. Keep paper, toner, and any other necessary cartridges well stocked and on hand. If copier supplies are locked, make sure there is a copy of the key available somewhere readily accessible–even when the boss is on vacation. Have a current service agreement with a reliable company and keep their phone number at least as accessible as the copier supply cabinet keys. Every now and then when you are making one hundred copies of that all-important report you distribute every Monday, pat the copier and tell it what a good job it is doing. It may be listening.