After shedding light on printerphobia – the fear of ink fuelled office equipment – we want to help workers in UAE and the Gulf region defeat their print paralysis.
Here are our tips to help turn printerphobes into calm and accomplished print whisperers.
Top 10 tips to overcome your printerphobia
1. Cast aside your fears and give it a go – a positive attitude wins in almost every situation, so if you’re tired of calling on a print whisperer, or phoning for help every time you need to complete a task, why not join us on our mission to overcome print fears? Brother’s Request Help service provides an interactive, online safety net, bringing expert advice to your fingertips whether you’re in the office or at home, giving you support and peace of mind at any time.
2. Connect and go – linking your computer and printer doesn’t have to be a laborious task. Our printers are designed to link up with your computer or mobile device in just a few easy steps. Simply visit our support page, enter your model number and follow the steps to get up and running in no time.
3. Have a go at replacing the ink or toner – a vital step in beating #Printerphobia and becoming a #PrintWhisperer is getting to grips with ink or toner replacement, especially if you are working from home, and practice makes perfect. Practice will give you confidence and keep you calm in an emergency. Most of Brother’s latest multifunction devices and printers have easy to use green levers for changing the toner and drum, making the task incredibly easy, even for the most fearful among you.
4. Find out where spare cartridges are kept – workers dubious about using the printer may be put-off by totally unrelated frustrations such as not knowing where to find spare paper, toner or ink when they are in the office. Pre-empt this by taking the time to find out where these vital items are kept, or ensure you always have some stock readily available at home.
5. Ask for demonstrations and shortcuts to device instructions – ask your office IT manager (or print whisperer) to give you a short tutorial on using your printer, either face to face or virtually. This will give you a detailed feel for the functions of the device as well as what to check if there’s a problem. If you’re working from home, simply download the device user manual and keep it by your side.
6. Explore the device interface – some modern print devices have intuitive interfaces and touchscreens that are both a window to their functionality and a way to resolve issues. Exploring the machine via its control panel and learning to navigate its functions will help you pre-empt a lot of future questions and reduce last minute panics.
7. Familiarise yourself with the paper trays – paper trays are little understood by printerphobes – “Why are there so many?” – “What are the moving plastic sliders for?” – “Argh, I just filled the wrong one”. Getting to know which trays are used for which size and type of paper can save time refilling paper in an emergency.
8. Shortcut to the basic print options – output variables such as margins, orientation, black and white, color, one-sided or duplex (double-sided) are all controlled from the computer when you send an item to print. Familiarise yourself with the basic print options to save time. They can be accessed with the shortcuts Ctrl+P for PC and Command-P for Mac users.
9. Practice scanning – in principle there’s nothing too tricky about scanning. The complexity comes in deciding where and how you want the digital file to be sent to you. The variety of options can make this step a little daunting, so the first thing to do is pick your preference. Whether you prefer to receive the digital file by email or put it straight onto a USB, have a play with the functionality and do what’s right for you.
10. Paper jams are not a nightmare – if your printer does jam, don’t panic. Usually, your display will give you an indication of where the jam might be. Simply follow the steps on the screen or check your printer carefully to remove any jammed paper. When the jam is fixed, hit continue and get on with your day.
Having experimented, improved your skills and quelled your fears, why not encourage others to take inspiration from your successes?
Reformed printerphobes make the most vocal and passionate print whisperers, so help us in our mission to improve everyone’s print skills.
Share your successes by telling us how you overcame your #Printerphobia to become a #PrintWhisperer.
If you still feel uneasy and need help, head over to our Support page where you can find a range of helpful guides on your specific printer: https://www.brother.ae/en/support.