It doesn’t take long for your printer to become an indispensible piece of kit. Most printers will work well for three to four years before needing to be replaced – of course this is mostly dependent on how often they are being used and how well they are being cared for.

Follow our top tips for taking care of your printer and you should get even more printing out of it.

1. Consider a printer’s monthly duty cycle before buying. A printer’s monthly duty cycle refers to the amount of paper it is designed to print. If you go for a printer which had been designed to print larger amounts then it will function for longer.


2. Keep it clean. Protect your printer from dust and animal hairs by covering it when it isn’t being used. Give it a wipe now and then and occasionally take out the printer cartridges and give them a gentle wipe with a lint-free cloth.


3. Use it! Not using a printer is far more likely to damage it and cut short its shelf life than using it too much. Even if you don’t need to print anything off try to use it twice a week, using all colours, at a minimum.


4. Avoid poor quality cheap printer cartridges. Take advantage of cheap printer cartridges that are compatible with your printer – for example compatible Lexmark printer cartridges – but don’t use just any old thing. Ignore manufacturer’s warnings that using something other than branded Lexmark printer cartridges could damage your printer – this is only true of poor quality substitutes and your printer warranty won’t be affected.