How to Pack a Printer for Moving

By Joshua Green

Updated: Apr 10, 2024

2 min read

Fact-checked by Martin Panayotov

Reviewer & editor

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What's the best way to pack a printer for moving?

Highlights

You have to exercise extra caution when packing a printer for moving. Why?
Printers are very fragile peripheral devices.
What’s more, the ink or toner cartridges inside a printer can make a huge mess during a move.
Follow these 12 steps to learn the best way to pack a printer for moving.

If you own a printer – either an inkjet printer or a laser printer, you will definitely want to take it with you when you’re moving from one home to another.

A printer is an expensive peripheral device so you can’t just leave it behind during a house move.

In some cases, you can choose to get rid of your printer before moving out but it has to be either broken beyond repair or simply too old and problematic to be worth moving to the new place.

Once you make up your mind to move your printer, you’re going to have to make an effort to pack it properly for transportation.

Are printers difficult to pack and move?

In most cases, yes.

Your printer packing job won’t be easy because of two universal truths when it comes to printers in general:

Printers are very fragile devices that can easily get damaged if handled incorrectly. Dropping your printer during a move – accidentally, of course – can practically be the end for your peripheral gadget.
Printers can create quite a mess when they are being moved from one place to another. Inkjet printers contain ink cartridges full of ink that could get spilled if packed improperly. Laser printers contain toner cartridges full of toner powder that can leave nasty ink stains on other items.

How to Pack a Computer for Moving: Step-by-Step Guide

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How to pack a printer for moving: 12 Packing steps

Follow these steps to learn the best way to pack a printer for moving:

Step 1. LOOK FOR the original printer box that your printing device came with. This is important because original printer cartons are designed to offer maximum protection for the breakable peripheral unit. It’ll be good news if you happen to keep the printer box.
Step 2. FIND a replacement cardboard container for your printer if you don’t keep the original box. The carton should be clean, strong, and roughly 4 inches larger than your printer on each side.
Step 3. REMOVE and PACK the printer cartridges – either the ink cartridges or the toner cartridges – separately. You should not leave those cartridges inside the printer during the move as you’ll be running the risk of getting ink spills or ink stains.
Step 4. CONSULT the printer manual if you’re not sure how to remove the cartridges safely. Once you do, wrap them in soft packing paper and place them inside a sealable plastic bag for extra protection.
Step 5. SECURE all printer cables. First, unplug the power cable from the power and then, if possible, from the printer itself. Secondly, remove the USB cable from both the printer and the computer.
Step 6. COIL the printer cables carefully and wrap them in soft packing paper. Then, use pieces of paper to secure the bundles and leave them aside for now – they will go in the same box with the printer.
Step 7. PREPARE the printer for packing by removing any paper sheets left in the paper tray, and removing any printer trays, panels, or additional elements that can be safely detached from the unit. Also, close up and secure any panels and trays that cannot be taken out safely.
Step 8. WRAP the entire body of the printer in large sheets of bubble wrap. To stay on the safe side of things, cover the peripheral device TWICE in bubble wrap – over the top and bottom, and all its sides.
Step 9. USE multiple pieces of packing tape to secure the bubble wrap onto the body of the printer and make the entire bundle as snugly as possible.
Step 10. TRANSFER the bubble-wrapped printed into the cardboard box. Ideally, it will fit snugly inside the carton and you won’t need to add any more space-filing materials. However, if there’s too much space and the printer can shift around, then add discarded pieces of wrapping paper and no longer needed sheets of bubble wrap to immobilize the printing unit.
Step 11. ADD the pre-packed printer cables to the box, either tuck them into one of the sides or place them on the top of the device. If there’s absolutely no space for the cables, then label them adequately and pack them in another box together with the sealed ink or toner cartridges.
Step 12. CLOSE the cardboard box and LABEL it properly: write PRINTER and FRAGILE on two sides of the carton.

Packing a printer for moving is not a task that should intimidate you in any way. Follow the packing steps above and you should not have any issues moving your printer safely between the two homes.

Nevertheless, if you don’t have enough time – usually due to an emergency move, or you feel nervous that you won’t be able to protect your printer in the best possible way, then feel free to hire experienced movers to help you pack your valuable possessions.

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