Great Lakes Computer Corporation

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Archives for June 2017

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Thermal Printer Maintenance Tips You Can Use

thermal printerThermal /TTR Printers are leading the growth of print in areas such as manufacturing, distribution, and retail sectors, mainly for labels, barcodes, and tags of all types. The healthcare industry, an industry that will only continue to grow as populations increase and people are living longer, have also found that thermal printers are a great way to keep patient records organized and important information up to date. Here are some maintenance tips to keep your thermal printer operating at top efficiency.
Make sure the settings fit your needs 

With many thermal printers you can adjust certain settings that are related to the quality and the speed of the print job in question. In general, faster and higher-quality printing is going to put mo10bre wear and tear on the machine. If you find that the performance of the settings outstrips your current needs, you may be able to reduce the strain on your thermal printer and extend its life by adjusting the settings accordingly.

When not in use, cover the printer and keep it out of high-traffic areas

Sometimes the smallest details can make a big difference when it comes to sensitive technology. Many thermal printers are located in areas where significant dust and debris can accumulate, potentially wreaking havoc on the small parts of the printer. Always keep your thermal printer covered when it isn’t in use, and try to position it away from heavy foot traffic or machinery when possible to reduce the risk of accidental damage.

Clean the printer head and inside of the printer frequently

Printer heads for thermal printers are notoriously sensitive, and cleaning them regularly is a crucial step in maximizing their lifespan. The manufacturer’s instruction manual should include information on safely cleaning the printer head. Abrasive materials could damage the head, so remember to always clean it with a soft cloth. It’s also important to gently wipe the inside of the printer to minimize dust and other particles building up inside. Proper cleaning of the head and the printer will increase the quality of your print jobs and help you get the most out of your investment.

Use high-quality supplies

When it comes to the media you’ll be using with your thermal printer, it pays to purchase high-quality products, specifically those that are recommended by the manufacturer or dealer. Cheap labels often use substandard adhesive, and they can also be a source of debris building up inside the machine.

If you need a printer repair professional, Great Lakes Computer Corporation can service, maintain, and provide supplies for your thermal printers. We offer on site or depot repair, as well as Managed Print services. 

Learn more about our Thermal Printer Sales, Supplies and Support

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Helpful Tips for Setting Up a Small Office Network

office network setupWhether you’re starting a new business, or your current one is in a growth period, a well-constructed office network is going to be a boon to your productivity. Your computer network needs to be built with your particular requirements in mind. There isn’t a great one-size-fits-all solution. Best practices for SMB network setup say you need to start with a thorough plan. Here are some issues to consider when planning your network implementation:

    • Internet connection. One of the first things to consider is how your network will connect to the Internet. It’s likely that you already have an Internet connection in your workplace, but the question is whether or not it is capable of handling your new network’s requirements. There are lots of options for broadband connection – just do your research and make sure you have the connectivity you need before you start to install the network.
    • Type of network. There are a wide variety of network configurations available for small business use. Your network can be as sophisticated or as simple as you want it to be. However, there are two general types of networks you’ll need to be aware of: Wired networks and wireless networks. Wired (or Ethernet) networks run CAT 5 cabling throughout your workspace to connect computers and a server. Wireless networks eliminate the mess of having to wire your office, but also tend to be less secure and reliable.
    • Network setup. If you’re setting up a basic network (e.g. connecting multiple PCs to the Internet via a single wireless router), you can probably handle your own network setup by following the simple instructions that came with your hardware. But if your network is more complex (e.g. a server installation), you’re going to need someone with a little IT know-how.
    • Security. Security is a major concern in small business networking. Wired network configurations are generally considered to be more secure than wireless ones, but there are measures you can take to protect your company with either configuration. Familiarize yourself with things like firewalls, security encryption and WEP.

These tips come from Gaebler.com. 

A company’s network should ideally be built with care by an IT expert. Trust a professional with your business systems in the same way you’d only hire a licensed electrician to wire a new home. You want your office network to be up to code and built with a solid foundation that takes your future growth potential into account. If you aren’t certain you can trust the person installing your network, call Great Lakes Computer Corporation. Our highly-trained technicians can assess your needs and setup your new office network without the stress of having to deal with it yourself. We are also a Managed IT Services Provider so we can monitor and maintain your equipment to help you protect your investment.

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Affordable & Effective Data Backup Options for SMBs

data backup In business, your data is just as valuable as your income. In small to medium-sized businesses, this is just as true for you as big business, if not more so. Customers are trusting you over larger operations that have more resources. But, just because you don’t have a huge budget, doesn’t mean you need to sacrifice the security of your data. There are a wide range of storage options with an equally wide range in ticket price. With so many options, how can you decide which is right for you?

Here is a quick guide to data backup options that are viable for SMBs from CIO.

    1. Direct attached storage: DAS denotes storage devices that are connected directly to a PC or server, typically using a USB 2.0 or USB 3.0 peripheral port. One weakness of DAS is that you need to do ad-hoc or batch backups to copy data, which means they could contain out-of-date versions of files.
    2. Network attached storage: A NAS appliance is a storage device that connects directly to the network. It features the attendant capabilities of a file server and accepts multiple storage drives. Redundancy is offered in the form of RAID capabilities, as NAS supports various file protocols to work directly desktops and laptops. Some NAS models offer the capability to synchronize selected folders or volumes with a second, remote NAS that supports the capability.
    3. Disaster protected storage: As its name suggests, disaster protected storage — which can come in the form of DAS or NAS — is hardened against the type of disasters that would have easily destroyed unprotected data. For example, ioSafe says its disaster protected storage appliances can withstand fire for up to 30 minutes and total immersion in water for days.
    4. Online storage: While it may seem intuitive to lump all online storage into the same category, there are actually two distinct types of offerings. Some, such as Amazon Simple Storage Service (S3), serve as the cloud version of storage devices for the Amazon Elastic Cloud Compute platform. Then there’s the online storage designed to help consumers and businesses store or back up data in the cloud. For the purposes of this article, that’s what we mean by online storage.Some of these services, such as MozyPro and SpiderOak, are designed specifically to serve businesses for data backup.

      Cloud storage can work very well if backing up data incrementally, and requires no up-front capital investments. The downside, though, is that data retrieval may take an unacceptably long time should you require full data recovery.

    5. Private Cloud: Not comfortable with placing their data in the hands of third-party public cloud vendors, some enterprises have taken to building privates version of cloud services to gain some of the inherent benefits of electricity and flexibility. Though this was once out of the reach of small business, innovations mean that small businesses may yet be able to tap into private cloud storage.The Transporter, for example, is a network appliance that connects to a storage drive to share and synchronize its content. This can be done with client desktops or laptops, and with other Transporter devices. Meanwhile, BitTorrent Sync, currently in beta, lets computers with the correct secret key synchronize directly with one another over the Internet.
    6. Offline media: This is commonly understood to be tape drives, but optical media such as DVD and Blu-Ray discs are occasionally used for the purpose of offline data backup. This “technology” may seem outdated, but don’t dismiss it yet: Tape backups have saved Google in at least one Gmail outage, and Facebook is experimenting with Blu-Ray discs for data backup (albeit with a robotic picker handling 10,000 discs in a storage system the size of an entire server rack).

One of the points we stress about backup is how easily and how fully that backed up data can be recovered. We offer a comprehensive, agentless backup and recovery platform that is proven to fully recover your data in the event of loss or breach. Learn more about it by clicking below.

Learn About Our  Backup & Recovery Platform

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