Clearing data before you sell a copier

Modern copiers are computers with a print engine attached. Before a copier leaves your building, think about what it remembers.

What a copier can store

• Scans and stored documents, including scan to folder and scan to email jobs
• Address books with names, email addresses and fax numbers
• Job history and logs, including the names of documents and users
• User accounts, codes and passwords
• Network and email settings
• Fax logs and received faxes

What to do before it leaves

1. Delete stored documents and mailbox contents.
2. Delete the address book and user accounts.
3. Clear the job and fax logs.
4. Use the machine's own administrator menu to clear or overwrite the internal drive if it has one. The menu is different on every brand, so check your manual or ask your service provider.
5. Remove any memory card or USB drive that is plugged into the machine.

Tell us if it was used for sensitive documents

If the machine has handled sensitive documents, tell us when you send your details. We clear stored data from the machines we collect. If your organisation has its own rules for data on equipment, such as a school, a health service, a council or a government department, tell us what they are and we will work within them.

Keep your own record

If your policy requires a record that the data was cleared, keep your own note of what you cleared and when.

Questions