Your old copier keeps copies of your documents

Every office copier has a storage drive. Scans, copies and print jobs pass through it, and some of that stays on the drive after the job is done. When the machine leaves your office, the drive leaves with it.

Here is what is on it, what to do before a machine goes, and how our machines handle it.

What does a copier store on its drive?

It depends on the machine and how it is set up, but the drive can hold:

• Images of documents that were copied or scanned.
• Print jobs held in memory, including jobs waiting for release.
• The scan to email address book, with names and email addresses.
• Fax logs and fax images on machines that fax.

For a law firm, a medical office or anyone handling client records, that can be the same information you lock in a file cabinet.

Does deleting files or a factory reset erase it?

Not always. Deleting a job removes it from the list on the screen, not always from the drive. A factory reset returns the settings to default and may leave stored data behind.

The reliable step is a drive wipe, or removing the drive, before the machine leaves.

Where does an old copier go?

After a machine leaves an office it can be resold, leased again, taken apart for parts or recycled. Each stop is one more place where someone could read what is on the drive.

You do not control those stops once the machine is gone. You control what is on the drive before it goes.

What should you do before a copier leaves your office?

1. Find out if it is owned or leased. A leased machine goes back to the leasing company at the end of the term. A machine you own is yours to decide on.
2. Ask who is taking it. Ask how they handle the drive, and get the answer in writing.
3. Wipe or remove the drive on a machine you own. Do it before the machine is moved.
4. Clear the machine settings. Delete the address book, stored jobs and user codes.
5. Keep a record. Note the serial number, the date it left, and who took it.

How do we handle it?

When a machine is returned at the end of one of our leases, its drive is wiped.

When we install a new machine, we haul away your old one. If the old machine is yours and not leased, decide what happens to its drive before install day.

How do you keep documents secure on the new machine?

The same machine that stores your documents can control who sees them.

• User codes track pages by staff member, department or client matter.
• Secure print holds a job at the machine until the person who sent it releases it, so papers do not sit in the tray.
• A drive wipe at the end of the lease, when the machine is returned.

Scan to email and scan to a network folder are set up at install, so scans go where they belong instead of sitting on a shared drive.

FAQ

Does a leased copier go back with my data on it?

When a machine is returned at the end of one of our leases, its drive is wiped.

Can I track printing by client?

Yes. User codes track pages by staff member, department or client matter.

What is secure print?

Your print job waits at the machine until you release it there. Nothing sits in the tray for someone else to pick up.

Will you take my old machine?

Yes. We haul away your old machine at install.

Request a quote for your office. Tell us your pages per month and paper sizes. The quote names the machine and every rate, in writing.

Related: buy a new office printer outright with the old machine hauled away, lease a new office printer, or read what to check before you lease or buy.