Do you regularly use an office printer? Perhaps you use it for office work or sometimes for personal work. Employees are known to print personal documents at the office often, and the majority of workers report they sometimes do.
Well, as an employee, you should know the basic etiquette about using an office printer. There’re some dos and don’ts you would like to work on when using an office printer for personal use.
The Do’s
- Read the company rules and agreements. It’s probably written somewhere how to use office equipment.
- Ask your supervisor about the proper use of an office printer, and don’t just assume your employer is fine about you using an office printer for personal work.
- At times, your company will not mind using office printer for personal needs provided it is seldom and for small amounts.
- Always let your boss know when you plan to use the office printer and get his permission.
- You should limit the printing to just one or two pages at most. But if you are planning to print a hundred pagers, that is sure taking an advantage.
- In case you do some extra printing, it would be a good idea to refill paper trays and replace print cartridges and let your senior know.
- Always let your colleagues with fewer documents use the printer first and avoid making some long queues at the printer.
- Follow your office rules about using an office printer and do not neglect those rules, and maintain the good old-fashioned printer courtesy.
- If you need to do lots of printing, it is much better to buy the best printer for home use.
The Don’ts
- Using an office printer for printing other job application documents or your resume. There’s a high probability you might get a query for doing so.
- You could possibly damage computers or the printer in case there is a macro-virus in the private document that you intend to print.
- Do not remove someone else’s documents when using an office printer as there is always a sheet or two lying in there after some heavy use. It’s a disrespectful gesture.
- As inks and toner and paper cost a lot of money, you would be eating away into the company’s budget if you get into the habit of using a company printer for personal printing.
- Do not adjust the setting of the printer without asking or consulting. That can be very annoying for the rest of the staff.
For your personal printing work, it is a lot better to be safe and print it via the web at a local printer. It will only let you enjoy your peace of mind, and plus you have privacy. It is simply not okay to use office equipment for personal use.
If you get into the habit of using an office printer, it is almost like taking the work printer to your home and using company property for personal needs.
Most offices often ignore the odd bit of personal printing. But if each worker gets into the habit of doing that, it can turn into quite a huge volume.
As an office worker, you should respect your office rules and stay in the good books of your superiors. While occasionally printing for personal needs is a courtesy in most offices, making it a regular habit can cause a problem.
