When new customers come in to buy or lease a copier for the first time, they often ask if there are any dangers of photocopiers to be aware of.

For the most part, copiers are pretty safe devices. There’s not a whole lot to be worried about, but there are a few minor hazards to be aware of. In this post I’ll go over some of the dangers of photocopiers and dispel any concerns you may have.

What Are the Dangers of Photocopiers?

Beware of Paper Jams
Believe it or not, one of the biggest dangers of photocopiers is paper jams. Not only are they an incredible annoyance, they can also be dangerous if you don’t know how to clear them properly.

The biggest problem people run into is when they put their hands deep into the machine to clear a jam. It’s possible to get hurt doing this. It’s not uncommon for people to cut themselves on the internal components of a photocopier by reaching their hands in.

Sometimes jams are easily clearable, but other times paper ends up getting stuck into areas that are out of reach. If this happens, it’s best to leave it to the professionals. I understand you may want to urgently want to clear the jam so you can finish the job, but it’s not worth hurting yourself.

Service technicians are more than happy to come into your office to clear a paper jam if needed. They know how to take units apart, and what you can and cannot do with a machine. You can eliminate one of the greatest dangers of photocopiers by having a technician come in to fix the problem for you.

Electric Shocks
Years ago, electric shocks used to be among the dangers of photocopiers. If you had to open up the machine and reach your hand in for any reason, it could result in being shocked. Today’s machines have safeguards like auto-shutoff, which will prevent anything like that from happening. When you open up a machine the current will automatically shut off, so electric shocks are no longer that much of a concern.  

Overheating
Speaking of auto-shutoff, this feature was also introduced to eliminate another danger that used to exist which is overheating. Copy machines from years past used to build up a lot of heat because they stayed on all the time unless you shut them off. Sometimes people would forget to shut them off, which could end up damaging the machine or starting a fire. With the safety features of today’s machines you don’t have to worry about that anymore.

Copy machines are now capable of shutting themselves off. They can be programmed to automatically shut off at the end of the work day. They will also shut off if they’re left idle for an extended period of time. The dangers that used to exist with leaving a photocopier on are now a thing of the past.

Moving a Copier
With copy machines being as heavy as they are, people ask me if it’s safe for them to move a copier on their own. It’s certainly not a big deal if you’re just moving the machine across the office from one room to another. If you’re looking to move the machine to another floor, especially if you have to move it up or down a flight of stairs, I would recommend having that taken care of by professional movers.  

Keep in mind that whenever you move a copy machine you should have it prepared beforehand so it’s not damaged in the moving process. For more information about that, please see our article on moving a photocopier.

Conclusion

I hope this helped clear up any of the concerns you had about the dangers of photocopiers. As you can see, safety measures have been put in place to eliminate the dangers that used to exist with older machines. If there are any other questions I could help clear up before buying or leasing a copy machine, please contact me.