Give the printer a fixed address
Network printers get an address when they join the network. If that address changes after a power cut or a router restart, computers keep sending jobs to the old one and the printer appears offline. The fix is to reserve a fixed address for the printer in the firewall or router, or set one on the printer itself in a range that is not handed out automatically.
Record that address in your network documentation alongside the printer's model, serial number, location and admin login. When a new laptop needs the printer, or a technician needs to update its firmware, the information is in one place rather than on a test page someone printed years ago. Label the printer itself with its name and address too, which helps when someone is adding it to a laptop by hand.
Wired beats Wi-Fi for shared printers
A busy shared printer or multifunction copier should be cabled to the network. Wi-Fi printing works for small personal printers, but a shared device on Wi-Fi is exposed to the same coverage and interference problems as everything else wireless, and large scan files move slowly over a weak signal. A data outlet near the printer location is worth planning during a fit-out.
Many printers also broadcast their own Wi-Fi network for direct printing from phones. Unless you actively use it, switch it off, because it creates an extra wireless network you do not control, and it can interfere with your access points. If staff do print from phones, the business print app or the normal Wi-Fi network is a better route. Check this setting again after firmware updates, because some printers switch it back on.
Drivers and print management
Use current drivers from the manufacturer or the universal drivers they provide for business fleets. Outdated or generic drivers cause missing features, wrong paper trays and garbled output. In offices with several printers, deploying printers and drivers through device management means new laptops get the right printers automatically. Remove old printers from laptops when devices are retired, so staff stop sending jobs to a machine that is gone.
Larger offices may benefit from print management software or cloud printing services that hold jobs until the user releases them at the device with a card or PIN. That reduces waste, protects confidential documents left on the tray and gives you reporting on who prints what, which helps with cost control.
Make scanning reliable
Scan-to-email often breaks when the email provider tightens security, because older printers use basic authentication that modern services such as Microsoft 365 increasingly reject. Options include an SMTP relay set up for the office, a modern authentication method if the printer supports it, or scanning to a cloud folder such as OneDrive or SharePoint instead of email.
Scan-to-folder on a local server or storage device needs a dedicated account with access only to the scan folder, not a staff member's password that breaks when they change it. Test scanning after any password change, email migration or firmware update, as those are the moments it tends to stop working.
Printer security
Printers are computers with hard drives and network services, and they are often forgotten. Change the default admin password, turn off services you do not use, update firmware, and place the printer on a network segment where it can be reached by staff but not by guests. Make sure the printer's web admin page is not reachable from the internet.
Multifunction devices store copies of scanned and printed documents on internal storage. When a leased or owned copier leaves the office, make sure that storage is wiped or removed, especially if you handle personal or health information covered by the Privacy Act 2020. Ask the supplier for written confirmation that the storage has been wiped before it is collected.
When the printer is leased
Many offices lease their copiers from a print supplier who services the hardware. Clarify who is responsible for the network side: address settings, drivers, scan-to-email and security updates. Gaps between the copier supplier and the IT provider are a common reason problems drag on, with each side pointing at the other.
Keep both parties' contact details and the lease details with your network records. When a problem arrives, knowing whether it is a hardware fault or a network setting saves hours. A clear split of responsibilities, written down, makes printers one of the easier parts of the office to keep running.
In short
- Reserve a fixed address for every network printer.
- Cable shared printers and switch off their built-in Wi-Fi.
- Use current drivers and deploy printers through device management.
- Modernise scan-to-email or scan to cloud folders instead.
- Secure printers like computers and wipe storage when they leave.