Reclaim Productivity with These Microsoft Excel Secret Shortcuts

Microsoft Excel Tips

25+ Microsoft Excel Shortcuts to Boost Your Productivity

Are you getting your money’s worth out of this productivity tool? Find out how to save insane amounts of time and frustration with these 25 Microsoft Excel Tips  

When it comes to processing data, Microsoft Excel is everything to everyone. But because it’s a vast tool, many people never take the time to discover the Excel shortcuts relevant to them.

Obviously, these Excel shortcuts aren’t really secrets. No one’s hiding them from you. But because we don’t learn them, we waste a lot of time in an otherwise very streamlined and powerful productivity tool.

Franklin Covey, the author of the bestseller business classic, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, said we need to take the time to “sharpen the saw”. Are you working with a dull blade by not using Excel to its fullest? Check out these Excel tips that will instantly sharpen your skills.

Learn Navigating Shortcuts

Ctrl+End moves you to the bottom right-hand corner of your worksheet. Because this stays within the cells in which you currently have data points, shortcuts like this let you quickly move from one side of the sheet to the other. You don’t have to endure the frustration scrolling too far.

Similar navigation shortcuts include:

  • Ctrl + Home – Go to upper left-hand corner.
  • Ctrl + Down Arrow – Go to lowest cell in the currently highlighted column.
  • Ctrl + Up Arrow – Go to the top cell in the current column. But keep in mind that if you have a blank cell in the column, it will stop there whether you’re going up, down, left or right.
  • Ctrl + Right – Go to the far right of the current row.
  • Ctrl + Left – Go to the far left in that row. Home key also does this.

Use the Go To Box

In the upper left-hand side of Excel, above your worksheet, you’ll find a Go To box. Simply point and click into the box. Then you can type any coordinates to go directly to a cell. For example, G102. If you’re working with a large sheet, Microsoft Excel tips like this are indispensable.

Keyboard shortcuts will always save time once you know them. But it’s when you’re on devices that have difficulty with point and click systems that you’ll save the most time.

Use F5 or Ctrl + G to pull up the Go To box automatically. Then type, press enter and go.

Use this same shortcut to select ranges of cells.

You can further use Go To Special, which is in the bottom right of the Go to Screen. This takes you directly to cells that meet a particular requirement. For example, if several cells on a spreadsheet should have a formula, this gives you a visual of which cells are missing formulas to help you validate your data.

From here, while the cells are highlighted, you might choose to add special formatting to make your sheet more understandable at a glance.

Highlight Cells Without the Mouse

Once again, your mouse is a terrible way to navigate in Excel. As you try to highlight groups of cells across columns, you inadvertently select other cells and can’t seem to get the right ones selected.

Yes, there are some better ways to select large numbers of cells with Excel shortcuts.

Ctrl+A highlights all cells with data points in them. Press Ctrl + A again to highlight the whole sheet.

Or highlight a specific section with this keyboard-mouse combo. Just start at the top-left cell of the part you want to select. Then Shift + click into lower right cell with the mouse. This highlights everything vertically and horizontally in between those cells.

You can accomplish the same thing without the mouse if needed. Simply move to the starting cell (always top left) for your highlighted area. Then hold the shift key and use the arrows to highlight across a row, down a column or across columns/rows.

You can also keep holding shift and move the arrows until you get it just right. Or use the mouse plus keyboard technique first. Then fine-tune what you select by pressing shift again and then using the arrows.

This is perfect for erasing large sections or formatting areas of your sheet.

But let’s say that the cells you want to highlight aren’t all next to each other. You can still highlight them together. But you will need the mouse for this one. Hold select while clicking the various cells, you’d like to highlight.

Once you’ve highlighted these cells, use Microsoft Keyboard shortcuts like:

  • Ctrl + B – Bold
  • Ctrl + I – Italic
  • Ctrl + U – Underline

And know that even if you’re using Excel on a Mac, you still have similar shortcuts. In most cases, the Command key replaces CTRL.

Improve Cell Data Entry Speed

Data entry is the centerpiece of Excel. But there are definitely some right and wrong ways to do it when treating Excel like the productivity tool it is. Check out these Microsoft Excel tips for faster and more accurate data entry.

  1. Highlight an occupied cell and start typing to replace the data. There’s no need to delete or backspace first. But be careful. You could accidentally erase a cell this way.
  2. Edit more detailed cell data from the formula bar instead of in-place. This is especially effective if you have formatted your sheet to not show all the data in a particular cell because it’s long. Just click the cell and then click into the appropriate place in the text to start typing within that bar.
  3. Use in place editing when small amounts of data in a cell. Simply double click to open the cell for editing.

Excel Shortcuts & More

We’ve only scratched the surface. So practice these 20+ tips and you’ll be eager to learn more. For more ways to increase your individual and corporate productivity, follow our blog.

Microsoft Excel Tips

Watch Out! Windows 7 Loses Support in January

Windows 7 End of Support

Careful – Your Windows 7 Loses Support in January 2020

If you use Windows 7, you need to be aware that Microsoft will end support for your operating system in January 2020. Now is the time to upgrade to Windows 10.  

Windows 7 End of Support

Windows 7 is an operating system that still has plenty of serious fans – in fact, it was only earlier last year that the market share for Windows 10 moved past Windows 7. Considering that Windows 10 was released in 2015, that is saying something. All good things must come to an end, though, and Windows 7 is no exception. Microsoft is ending support for Windows 7 in January of 2020, which means that it will become much more difficult to keep the OS up and running moving forward. And a recent announcement from Microsoft has let Windows 7 users know that they are going to be seeing bigger, full-screen pop-ups to warn them of the upcoming end of life of the operating system.

Microsoft is Magnifying it’s Warnings about End of Windows 7 Support

All through 2019, Microsoft has been telling Windows 7 users that the support for their operating system was going to end in 2020. Of course, if you are using Windows 7, you may have missed the warnings or just decided to think about them later – after all, a year is a long time. But the end is really around the corner now.

The official end of support for Windows 7 is January 14, 2020. The day after, on the 15th, you will no longer be able to get support from Microsoft if something goes wrong with your operating system. That is why the prompts telling you that Windows 7 support is going to end are getting a lot bigger and more obnoxious. Microsoft is going to push full-screen pop-ups telling you that “your Windows 7 PC is out of support”.

You don’t have to keep looking at the notifications if you don’t want to. You can ask Windows to remind you later or to never remind you again. You can also choose to ‘learn more’, which will take you to an information page about what loss of support means and give you the option to upgrade to Windows 10.

What Does “Loss of Support” Mean?

There are several things that will happen when support ends for your Windows 7 operating system, including:

  • Loss of tech support. Right now, if something goes wrong with your Windows 7, you can contact Microsoft and get somebody to help you with the problem. They can run you through troubleshooting steps and try to get things going again. But when support ends, you won’t have the option of contacting Microsoft about it. They will tell you that they no longer support your operating system.
  • No more software updates. Microsoft is always working to improve their operating systems – at least the ones they currently support. But once they stop support, they stop putting resources into improving an OS. That means there will be no more updates to make Windows 7 secure and stable.
  • Loss of security. There are always people out there looking to compromise Windows operating systems, even ones as old as Windows 7. When you lose support for your OS, it means that Microsoft will no longer be trying to identify threats and upgrade your OS to defend against those threats.
  • Loss of compatibility. This is the biggest problem for most people with unsupported operating systems. You may be ok with being less secure and not getting the latest and greatest improvements, but you are unlikely to be happy when your favorite software stops working with your version of Windows. Over time, the thing you can use your computer for will become fewer and fewer as software moves beyond your OS.

Fortunately, getting support for your OS is easy enough – you just have to upgrade to Windows 10.

Getting Professional Data Analysis without Hiring Professional Data Analysts 

Business Analytics

Learn how AI helps businesses analyze customer provided data and IoT implementation important for growth, customer loyalty, and greater profitability.  

Business Analytics

There is so much data available to your business but getting a proper read on its importance an investment in costly data scientists. Learn ways technological advances, such as AI, helps your business synthesize data and provide your IT team with the information needed to create apps and other solutions at a lower cost.

The Internet of Things (IoT) is at the forefront of the data analysis performed by businesses. According to a recent article appearing in Forbes.com, data centers used to house the billions of bytes of data businesses collect, along with business analytics are growing at a compound annual growth rate of 50 percent between the years 2017 – 2021. The market value of IoT in 2017 was $235 billion and expected to more than double to $520 billion by 2021.

What does this mean for you and your business? All those valuable bits and bytes you collect from your customers is useless if you do not have a team in place that can help you make sense of it and use it to grow your business. This typically means hiring a staff of professional data scientists who, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), earned a median pay in 2018 of $118,370 or $56.91 an hour. That is a huge investment in labor which may be better spent instead on AI developed approaches to data analysis and app development.

Leveraging AI to Produce Professional Data Analysis

Professional data scientists cost you nearly $60 per hour while computer programmers with less education and the skills necessary to write and test computer code and develop apps based on your data earn about $40 an hour (median pay of $84,280 according to BLS). AI gives you the ability to hire programmers over scientists, who can help you properly analyze and utilize your data. Here’s how: AI has involved in one of the few technological advances capable of passing the Turing test.

If you are not familiar with the Turing test, it is the ability of a machine to demonstrate human-like intelligence and provide responses indistinguishable from human responses. That this phenomenon has finally happened for the first time in 2014 (64 years after the test was developed in 1950 by British mathematician Alan Turing, noted for breaking German code during World War II) means AI has become the leading driver for businesses looking to bring sense and order to data and quickly create consumer-driven apps to further engage customers and increase revenue.

Why AI over Human Analysis?

Without giving away to fears about machines taking over ala Stanley Kubrick’s HAL 9000 in the movie “2001: A Space Odyssey,” business should come to quickly recognize that machine learning and AI are useful technologies, important in reducing human labor costs and providing a way to integrate IoT into your business.

Hiring programmers who can seize upon the results of AI analysis comes at a savings of about $35,000 per scientist needed to perform the role artificial intelligence does. This alone gives you a compelling business reason to consider the advantage of leveraging AI over traditional human analysis performed by professional data scientists. As companies move slowly toward IoT implementation, you have the opportunity to be on the forefront and beat your competitors to the punch, enabling you to chart uncharted territories and seize important market share!

Chrome Users Need to Update Now

Google Chrome Updates

Why Google Chrome Users Should be Concerned About Security Patches

Does Your Organization Use Google Chrome? Find Out Why Recent Security Flaws Have Created an Urgent Need to Update Your Devices’ Browsers Immediately  

Google Chrome Updates

If users in your organization use Google Chrome, there is a high chance that several of those systems are creating an opportunity for hackers to install malware. Google recently identified a major security flaw with its Chrome browser that impacts Windows, Mac, and Linux-based devices. Although Google has released a security patch to correct the security vulnerabilities, the patch fixes two separate problems.

Security Vulnerabilities

One of the security vulnerabilities Google identified is Chrome’s audio component. The other vulnerability is tied to the browser’s PDF library. Both allow unwanted modifications or corruptions to memory data. This allows hackers to elevate privileges on the device or within applications installed on the device. If someone is able to gain administrative access to a system or software on a system, the individual could make unwanted changes or wreak havoc on the device’s operating system. There is also a high chance that a hacker could install malware or execute malicious code on the device.

Version

The version of the browser that fixes the security issues is 78.03904.87. Although the Chrome browser may be configured to automatically update itself in the background upon launch, it is a good idea to manually check each device. The browser can be manually checked by selecting the Help menu and then “About Google Chrome.” If there is an update available, the browser will automatically search for it and find it. The browser’s version will also be displayed in the “About” section. If the listed version is 78.03904.87 or later, then the device has received the necessary security patch.

If there are problems with the browser updating, it may need to be removed from the system and reinstalled. Some organizations have an automatic process to uninstall and reinstall applications from the server once the devices connect to the organization’s network. Reports can be run to see which systems still have outdated versions and technicians should manually check those systems to diagnose why automatic updates are not going through.

Other Considerations

A system that is not receiving automatic updates from Google Chrome may have other issues. Technicians should check for the following:

  • Is the anti-malware program up to date and running correctly?
  • Is the OS receiving approved updates and are these updates installing?
  • When was the last time the system pinged the network?
  • Has the system been restarted recently?
  • If the system has been disconnected from the organization’s network, how long has it been offline?
  • Has a malware scan recently been run? Were any malicious items identified and removed?
  • Are there are any suspicious executables or unauthorized programs installed?

Sometimes wiping a system and completely reinstalling the OS are the best courses of action. Signs that a device may be too infected, corrupted, or outdated include the presence of unauthorized or suspicious applications, more than 100 pending OS updates or a previous update date that is more than a month old, and an anti-malware program that will not update or run a scan correctly. Before wiping a system and reinstalled the OS, a technician should check for and back up any user data that may be installed on the device’s hard drive. However, the data should be carefully scanned for any malware infections prior to transferring it back onto the system.

Microsoft Excel Experts SWEAR By This…

Microsoft Excel Training

Businesses nowadays collect an incredible volume of data from various sources, including online sales, in-store-transactions, social media, and various other places.

So how do you find value in that data? The simple answer: Organizing it properly within worksheets.

Ready to unlock the potential of your data? If you want to analyze and make sense of the information you’re storing, here’s how…

Watch Our Microsoft Excel Tips and Techniques Video

In the video above, we teach you how to link several worksheets together within one workbook AND how to link data across multiple workbooks to:

  • Reduce errors
  • Save time
  • Improve data integrity

Click here to watch online

Questions? Feel free to reach out to us at any time.

Microsoft Excel Training

This video might save you thousands…

Online Cybersecurity Training

Ransomware attacks are growing a staggering 350% each year. And to make matters worse, 43% of all cyber-attacks are aimed at small businesses. Why? Because more often than not, they don’t have the budget or expertise to protect themselves.

Online Cybersecurity Training

Fortunately, knowledge is prevention in situations like this. Even if you don’t have an unlimited amount of money to spend on enterprise-grade security solutions, you’re able to stand a chance as long as your staff members are trained.

After all, human errors are the biggest vulnerability when it comes to staying safe online. Take a look at our training site where we outline 10 ways to stay safe online below.

Click Here To Watch Our Online Training

You never know… One of the tips outlined in the video might be just the thing to prevent you from becoming a victim of an attack that would otherwise cost you thousands of dollars.

If you have questions, hit the “reply” button and let me know.

Everything You Need to Know About Power BI

Microsoft Power BI

Use Power BI to Revolutionize How Your Company Analyzes Data

Proper data analysis is critical to success in business. Learn how to better organize, visualize, and make insights about your company’s data with Power BI.  

Microsoft Power BI

Basically, all businesses run on data — or at least, all businesses should run on data.

That’s because tracking, organizing, and analyzing your business’s data allows you to make many insights that can improve your day-to-day functions, customer and client satisfaction, and overall bottom line.

Still, many businesses fail to properly organize their facts, figures, and other information in a coherent way. This reduces the likelihood that important insights and useful changes will be made through their data analysis.

Enter Microsoft’s Power BI.

With Power BI, companies now have the ability to quickly and efficiently turn large swaths of information into organized, coherent, and useful visualizations. With these visualizations, you’ll be able to see crucial trends and other important insights that will better your business and boost your success.

How Does Microsoft’s Power BI Work?

Whether they realize it or not, all companies create huge amounts of data every day. This data may be related to everything from basic earnings to user interaction with the company website.

Whether a company actually records and keeps track of their data sources depends on numerous factors. For example, your website is likely automatically tracking how many visitors go to your “Store” page each day. However, you may not be tracking how many patrons walk into your brick-and-mortar business every day.

Whatever data a business does decide to track is only useful when it’s consolidated, organized in an easy-to-understand way, and analyzed. Most of the analysis phase will be up to you and your team. But the consolidation and organization phases can be completed with software programs.

Microsoft’s Power BI is a “collection of software services, apps, and connectors that work together to turn your unrelated sources of data into coherent, visually immersive, and interactive insights.”

Essentially, Power BI works like this:

You gather data in whatever manner you prefer. You can use related Microsoft software applications such as Excel, or you can use third-party applications (more on this later).

Next, you give Power BI access to this data. From there, you connect to this data by modeling and enriching it with preferences and parameters that you specify. Once this is achieved, you can create a report, which will show you the data models you’ve created in useful ways. Charts, graphs, and other visualizations will make up the core substance of this report.

At this point, what you do with the data is up do you. For instance, you might share the report with other users and employees in your company, customers and clients, shareholders and investors, or others. Or, you might use the visualizations in the report yourself, in order to make inferences and insights that could necessitate change. Lastly, many companies turn over their data reports to third-party or in-house data specialists for thorough analysis.

How Do You Gather the Data That Power BI Uses?

One of the best things about Power BI is that it caters to your company’s unique data compilation preferences. That is, you can continue to gather your own data in your preferred way, and Power BI adapts.

With help from Power BI, you have the ability to draw data from anywhere your company stores it — whether that’s Microsoft Excel, Google Analytics, Salesforce, IoT (Internet of Things) devices, or social media sites like Facebook and Instagram. Power BI can take information from on-premise or in-the-cloud storage.

Why Is Data Analysis So Crucial to Your Business’s Success?

Here are just a few of the insights you can make with data analysis:

  • Future trends in your industry
  • Revenue progression
  • Sales success of individual products or services
  • Trending security issues
  • Website traffic and conversion tendencies
  • Customer behavior predictions

How Can You Get Started With Microsoft’s Power BI?

You can test out Power BI for free by downloading the Power BI Desktop Application. This version gives you the basics of Power BI’s capabilities, so you’ll have time to play around with the feature and test how you like it.

Moving forward, Microsoft also offers Power BI Pro, which allows you to create dashboards, collaborate with other users, and package and send data to those who also have the app. Finally, there’s Power BI Premium, which is perfect for large enterprises.

With help from Microsoft’s Power BI, companies of any size and in any industry can now conduct their own data consolidation and analysis with ease. This invaluable tool can change the way you do business and has the power to revolutionize your company’s success over time.

Important Notice: Windows 7

Windows 7 End of Support

Windows 7 End of Life

January 2020 is right around the corner. In January 2020, Microsoft is ending support for Windows 7 and any devices will officially be no longer support by Microsoft. Systems running Windows 7 will no longer be protected by Microsoft patches, or supported through most 3rd party platforms and applications?

Now’s the time to upgrade your systems to eliminate any business interruptions and potential security risks.

Learn more about the Windows 7 End of Support.  Click Here to watch our lasting video.

Please contact our team so we can assist you with your business technology needs.

The Startling Reason You Need to Upgrade Windows Now

Windows 10 Upgrade

Delaying Windows 10 Upgrade: What Could Happen?

Are your departments still working on Windows 7, which came out over 10 years ago? Find out the pressing reasons to upgrade to Windows 10 now and wait no longer.

Windows 10 Upgrade

Launched in 2015, the latest iteration of the Windows operating system, Windows 10, offers some sensational productivity features that the modern workplace needs to perform in a competitive marketplace. If you’re still running Windows 7, you may not know what you’re missing out on. We could talk all day about the advantages of upgrading now. But increased productivity aside, there are other very important reasons you shouldn’t put this off any longer.

You’ll find not one, but 4 impactful reasons not to delay your Windows 10 upgrade for another year. Here’s what business leaders like you need to know.

1. Windows 7 Soon Won’t be Supported

Windows 7 transformed office operations in leaps and bounds with intuitive new features built around the practical and often complex needs of the 21st Century workplace. Chances are that when Windows 8 came out, you decided to wait on upgrading for some smart reasons:

  • Rolling out upgrades can interrupt business operations
  • Upgrades cost money
  • Training on new features may be necessary

Upgrading obviously isn’t without disruption. You probably made the right decision at the time. But something big is about to change the paradigm.

Microsoft has announced that they will no longer support Windows 7, their 2009 software.

This means no more updates, patches or fixes. And while that may not seem like much, it could spell disaster in the office, which leads us to the second reason to upgrade to Windows 10 now.

2. Lost Business Operations

Lack of upgrades means that over a short period, the 3rd-party applications and programs your employees use with the operating system may stop working. This may include everything from CRMs to phone systems to inventory to logistics to data analytics.

A strategically-planned upgrade rollout will cause minimal business operations disruptions, no doubt. But it’s nothing like the crisis businesses experience when they come into the office to find out a major application no longer works.

Being proactive by upgrading to Windows 10 before these critical systems stop keeps your workplace running smoothly.

3. Trouble Accessing Data

Imagine getting a call in the middle of the night. Your teams can no longer access the essential data they need to do their jobs. Customers are waiting. Chaos ensues.

It sounds like Y2K-level fear-mongering. But this isn’t an unlikely scenario when Microsoft stops supporting an operating system. The updates you get from the company now keep complex systems working together optimally. When that support is cut off, any number of challenges may arise, and they won’t be fixed by Microsoft.

A major loss of data would bring just about any company to its knees. But in some industries like retail, wholesale, healthcare and financial this could threaten the very existence of a company.

Fortunately, there’s a very easy fix and that’s not continuing to work on a 10-year-old operating system and upgrading to Windows 10.

4. Increased Risk of Cyberattacks

We saved this one for last. It’s huge. And because some cyber attackers cast such a broad net, it’s likely one of the first things that will happen, although it may be months before you know.

Cyberattackers are constantly looking for new vulnerabilities that they can exploit in operating systems. Each time they find a new one, Microsoft jumps into action, creating a patch and pushing it out to users in the form of an update. When Microsoft says it will no longer support 7, that means it’s no longer monitoring for these attacks or pushing out patches.

The longer you wait to upgrade, the more attacks you become vulnerable to. You might have the best firewall and antivirus on the market, but if your operating system–the foundation of all of your systems–is vulnerable, everything is vulnerable.

Did you know?

  • Over 42 cybercriminals are on the FBI’s Most Wanted List, taking their place among organized crime bosses, major drug traffickers and serial murders. Cybercriminals aren’t some lone wolves in a dark basement. They’re organized criminals who work together to exploit businesses.
  • Cybercrime is a $1.5B industry
  • Nearly half of all cyber attackers choose to attack the US.
  • 43% of cyberattack victims are small businesses, yet, on average, a small business invests less than $500/year to protect themselves.
  • It takes a business an average of 49.6 days to discover that they’ve been breached. During that time, everything from payment information to sensitive communications are being stolen by criminals.
  • Some attacks are instantaneous. While Ransomware is declining as cryptocurrency loses value and improved security creates a diminishing returns scenario, criminals still encrypt customer data and demand a ransom for its release, devastating businesses large and small.

There are many productivity-related reasons to upgrade to Windows 10. But there are also some very pressing reasons that the time is now. Start planning your upgrade today.

Why Do Workplace Copier Jams Keep Happening?

Office Printer Jam

Why the Office Printer Keeps Jamming

Is a jamming printer or copier a common complaint? What’s that downtime costing you? Find out why the printer keeps jamming and how to prevent jams proactively.

Office Printer Jam

Paper jams in a busy office aren’t just frustrating for employees, earning endless mentions in team meetings. They kill productivity. On average, each employee in an office wastes about 22 minutes a day on IT issues, which include things like malfunctioning printers, having to reboot computers, software that won’t load and more. Multiply that by 10, 50 or 250 employees. That really tears into the bottom line.

Fortunately, being proactive can go a long way into trimming this wasted time, allowing you to reclaim that lost labor attributed to workplace copier jams. Here are 5 reasons why the printer keeps jamming and what you can do about it.

1. Inferior Paper in Your Copier

Like so many things in life, you get what you pay for. Printer/Copier paper comes in various weights and thicknesses. Some paper is designed for older, slower copiers. While other paper is designed to handle the swift movement of a modern printer. You don’t have to break the bank on copy paper. But if you’re paying rock bottom prices for paper, it may be time to rethink what that’s really costing you.

2. Incorrect Paper Settings

These days, printers are multi-function. The modern office needs this versatility to get more done without multiple pieces of equipment. But with versatility and advanced function comes complexity in menus. It’s not hard for someone in the office to change a setting to photo paper, transparency, double-sided or stapled and forget to change it back. Or someone new in the office could have accidentally hit a setting.

If you’re wondering why the printer keeps jamming, it’s time to look at those settings and consider a quick training session on how to use the printer.

3. Poorly set paper guides

The employee who loads the paper manually moves the guides during insertion. If the guides are too tight or too loose, your staff may be fixing printer jams all day long. Guides should gently touch the edges of the paper and be checked if the printer keeps jamming.

4. They’re Inserting the Paper Upside Down

This may seem like a no-brainer to someone who constantly prints. But in an office, you usually have many people printing and some will be more familiar with the do’s and don’t’s.

Yes, copy paper does have and intended printing surface.

You’d be surprised how many printers keep jamming because of this simple mistake. The paper packaging will indicate the printing side with an arrow. But what if you’ve already removed the paper from the packaging?

Perform a simple test.

Grab a substantial amount of paper (the whole ream ideally), bend the paper in the middle in one direction, then the other. The direction that curves the most is your printing side.

5. Doing a Variety of Jobs on an Old Copier

That printer-copier that you purchased 10 years ago says that it can perform these many tasks. But the truth is, as printers get older, it becomes harder to switch between types of tasks. Gears, guides and surfaces wear out. Ink, dust or paper residue build up in places.

If the team only performs one type of print job, the printer may last longer. But, eventually, it too will begin to struggle with even basic jobs. Years of tugging jammed paper out and trying to run a printer while jammed wear out sensitive components.

Sometimes cleaning and adjusting by a professional can extend its lifecycle. And you can lengthen the life of a new copier by proactively addressing workplace copier jams, as we’ve discussed. But, over time, the workplace copier jams impact on productivity outweigh the cost of buying or leasing a new one. And that’s when it’s time to do a cost-benefit analysis and make an informed repair or replace decision.