Most printers have a pretty standard method for letting you know they need help - pages start appearing with big black stripes down the middle. If parts are ordered immediately, things could be back to normal within a week, assuming all goes well. When it comes to Hewlett-Packard printers at the Lab, the Mac/PC Support Group has a better idea to keep them up and running. By printing out test pages, employees can easily see how many pages have been printed since the last maintenance kit was installed. By tracking this number, users can order the maintenance kits in advance, reducing the printer downtime to an hour or so.

The following chart lists the various H-P printer models, the number of pages that can be printed between maintenance checkups, and the price and part number of the appropriate maintenance kits. Each kit includes a fusing assembly, transfer roller, pickup rollers and separation pad.

"We're trying to get people to become a little more knowledgeable about their printers and to become more proactive in doing preventive maintenance," said Gayle Peuser, head of the Mac/PC Support Group. "By doing this, they can really reduce the downtime and inconvenience of a malfunctioning printer."

For each model of printer, the procedure for printing out the necessary test page is a little different. Here are directions for the various models. Employees who need help can call the Computer Support Help Desk at X4357 for over-the-phone assistance (have the printer model number handy when calling).

Because of the number of different maintenance kits needed and the associated costs, the Lab can't stock the kits. But if printer users know that maintenance will be required after a few thousand more pages are printed, they could order the parts to have them on hand when needed. Because it can take a week or more to have the parts delivered and installation takes two hours or less, advance planning can make the whole process much less disruptive. Additionally, better tracking of the need for maintenance could allow the Lab to place larger orders for replacement parts, resulting in lower prices.

For more information, call the Help Desk at X4357 or via the Web.