Five tips for using the office photocopier

Although it is no one's favorite task, we all wind up making copies at some point. Here are 5 tips to make it a little easier for you and your colleagues:

1. Only make work related copies. Sure it's inconvenient sometimes when there's "just that one thing" that you need to copy, but nothing looks more unprofessional than holding up the copy line for little league flyers.

2. Try to keep high volume copying to low volume times. If you know you need to make 500 double sided copies of something, try not to do it when several other people need to make just 5 copies. If it is absolutely necessary, at least be sure to give others in line a heads up.

3. Clear. When you're done, make sure to clear or reset copier settings back to their defaults. That way no one mistakenly creates 500 collated, double-sided brochures when all they intended was a single copy.

4. Leave the copy room nicer than you came. If you notice paper is getting low, restock it. If someone else has left originals or copies, neatly stack them nearby. After all, you'd want someone to do the same for you.

5. The most important of all, if the copier jams, unjam it or find someone who can! No one hates it more when the photocopier is stuck when they get there. Worse yet, if it gets around that you're the culprit, you're sure to have some bad karma coming your way.

Dan Peterson is an journalist and technology researcher. He is often writing about usb gadgets, new generation monitors, photocopiers and similar products.