Cleaning Scanner Glass: Quality Retaining Tips

Anyone with a scanner will need to learn efficient ways of regularly cleaning scanner glass. Scanners are very useful tools which make it possible to create digital copies of all sorts of physical documents or other objects. It's important that the scanner glass is kept clean to ensure that the scanned images are of a high quality. When cleaning the glass, you need to ensure that you don't create any streaks. Streaks or dirt left on the glass can affect the quality of the images that you scan into your computer. It's also important to take care to avoid causing any damage to the glass of the scanner.

Step 1: Preparing the Scanner

The first thing that you need to do is prepare your scanner so that you will be able to clean it. Press the power button so that the scanner is switched off. Then you should unplug the power cable to ensure that the scanner is turned off and that the scanning head is in the parked position.

With the scanner turned off, open the scanning window by lifting the lid. This will expose the scanner glass so that you will be able to clean it.

Step 2: Choosing Supplies

Now you need to carefully choose the right type of supplies to use to clean the scanner. Any normal glass cleaning chemicals will be suitable, and you should also use a lint free cloth which is soft and non-abrasive. Use a chamois leather to completely dry the glass after cleaning to prevent any streaks.

Step 3: Cleaning the Glass

On most scanners you will need to clean the entire piece of glass. If there is an ADF or Advanced Document Feeder tray on your scanner then you will also normally need to clean a very small section of glass which might otherwise get missed.

Cleaning the glass is simple. Start by wetting a cloth with the window cleaning solution and then using it to clean all over the glass.

Step 4: Drying the Glass

Once you have finished cleaning the glass use the chamois leather to dry and buff up the surface of the glass. This is quite time consuming however it's worth doing properly.

Step 5: Checking the Glass

Check the glass for streaks or dirt. If you have missed anything, repeat and polish the glass again until it is completely clean.

Step 6: Using the Scanner

With the scanner glass cleaned, you can then close the cover and plug everything back in. Turn the scanner on and do some test scans of various documents. If you notice any marks on the image, then you will need to clean the glass a second time.

Step 7: Caring for Your Scanner

You must take care of your scanner and avoid placing anything heavy onto the glass. If you are not careful,you could end up cracking the glass which would make the scanner difficult to use. Also make sure that you never clean the glass using anything abrasive.