Scanner Maintenance Tips 4 - Document Insertion

This week’s feature on Scanner Maintenance will focus on safe and effective document insertion when working with scanners. All too often, we hear reports from our customers that their scans are coming up with streaks and lines across the face of the images, or that they are encountering difficulty inserting their documents into their scanner. By following these simple tips, you should have no issue avoiding these common problems!

First and foremost, it’s important to ensure that you are always scanning documents which are free from any sort of material which might clog up the inner workings of the scanner – the most common culprit which we’ve come across is tape, although virtually any sticky substance can fit the bill here. Give your documents a quick once-over before scanning to ensure that there isn’t any unwanted grime, filth or residue on either side. This way, you will easily avoid damaging the interior of your scanner. Additionally, be sure there isn’t anything attached to the document which isn’t suitable for scanning – staples, for instance, often should not be scanned for a number of reasons. First, they tend to carry slight magnetic charges, which can disrupt the electronics inside the scanner. Second, if they are separated from the document during scanning, they may become lodged within the scanner. Once inside, tiny parts like staples are incredibly difficult to remove, and can cause skewed or blurred lines to appear on scanned images, in addition to damaging the interior of the device. Worse still, they may cause damage to new documents which are fed into the device – in short, staples are a big no-no when scanning.

Second, it’s important to know exactly what document size your scanner is equipped to handle. The thickness of a document is just as important as the width and height – a document which is too thick may become lodged inside a scanner if forcefully inserted, and may even dislodge or disrupt the inner mechanisms. If you are unsure of the recommended thickness size for your scanner, feel free to reach out to us at (866)-338-4464, or email us at info@largedocuments.com.