Best Practices for Printer Equipment Sanitization During COVID-19
During the COVID-19 pandemic, protecting the health and safety of workers across your operation is vital to ensuring the very integrity of the supply chain. As increased demand has resulted in increased production, keeping your employees healthy not only keeps everyone safe, but also keeps operations running smoothly.
To protect the health and safety of your employees, it’s vital that shared equipment including printers and mobile devices are cleaned and disinfected with impeccable execution of protocol. Here are four best practices for printer equipment sanitization during COVID-19 to help provide a more safe and secure environment and mitigate the risk of infection within your operation:
General Do's and Don'ts for Cleaning Barcode Printers
When it comes to barcode printing and labeling, your devices and accessories are built to withstand the harsh environment of warehouses and distribution centers. In fact, as your production line ramps up to accommodate an increase in essential supplies, it’s important to ensure that your operation has the support required to prevent unnecessary downtime. However, basic cleaning and disinfecting practices of printing equipment can’t be overlooked. It’s crucial to ensure that your shared equipment is being disinfected properly and at regular intervals throughout shifts. This will help mitigate the risk of germ spread, helping to keep your employees safe and healthy.
DO:
Turn off and disconnect the device from all outlets
Disinfect all parts of the device
Allow the device to dry completely before re-connecting power
Use 70% isopropyl alcohol solution for disinfecting surfaces
DON'T:
Spray cleaners directly onto your printers or devices
Allow liquid to pool on the printer
Use bleach as it will corrode connectors
Insert pointed or sharp objects into the printer
Follow Manufacturer’s Instructions
Most warehouses and distribution centers have a wide mix of categories and models of printers for executing various applications. It is critical to know the proper maintenance and cleaning protocol for each one. Each manufacturer will have recommendations regarding how to clean and disinfect properly the exterior of the printer, printhead, and any internal mechanisms including media guides, liners, platen roller.
Here are some quick links to help your operation access printer manufacturing cleaning and disinfecting guides.
Zebra:
A new tool is available that allows users to select from more than two dozen makes and models of printers including the popular ZT400 series, ZT600 series, ZQ600 series and ZQ500 series. This tool not only helps you easily find best practices for disinfecting each printer, but you can also quickly print model specific sanitization instructions as well as download a sanitizing poster for easy reference of general dos and don’ts.
Honeywell:
To help your operation adopt protocols and procedures for routine disinfecting of devices, Honeywell has developed a special series guiding users through best practices for the following categories of printers:
Epson:
Make and model make a difference when cleaning and disinfecting your Epson printers as well. Consult your Epson technical reference user guide as well as implement these recommendations:
If you still are not sure, or have questions about how to safely disinfect a particular printer, contact our team of experts at Peak Technologies to help or call 1-800-PEAKFIX.
Keep Up Good Hand Hygiene
As emphasized repeatedly via the Centers for Disease Control, washing your hands is a key factor to help mitigate the spread of disease. Be sure to follow normal preventative actions such as avoiding touching your eyes, nose, or mouth, and wash hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds.
In between hand washings, it’s important to make available an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol so that employees can quickly clean hands even when hand washing stations are not available.
Communicate Cleaning Protocol
It’s one thing to have a protocol in place for hand washing, sanitizing devices, and keeping people safe. It’s another to ensure that your employees are following procedures. Explore our solutions for keeping employees safe and healthy during COVID-19, including solutions for signs and labels that help to communicate disinfecting protocol as well as other COVID-19 safety regulations.
Investing in proper disinfection methods for printing equipment is just the beginning of reducing the spread of infectious diseases across the supply chain. Having an actionable plan in place is essential for long-term business continuity, as well as customer and employee safety. Contact Peak Technologies today to learn more about how we can help you navigate the new normal to not only keep employees healthy but also keep your entire operation healthy and running smoothly.
