Planning an office move? There are many things you should know about a commercial move, including how to move your electronics. We’ll cover steps for packing electronics in general and advice for moving common types of office electronics. You’ll also get our advice on shipping, unpacking, and hiring movers.
Table of Contents
Steps to Prepare for Packing
General Preparation
Before you start packing, gather user manuals for your electronics. If you no longer have them, you can probably find them online. These manuals can help you disassemble your devices and may have useful instructions for packing.
Also, gather as much of the original packaging for your electronics as you can. This packaging includes Styrofoam insets that can hold your electronics in the right position during the move. However, if you threw your boxes away years ago, never fear! You can contact manufacturers, who might send you new packaging. In addition, we’ll go over how to safely pack your electronics even without this packaging.
You can also consider getting insurance for your office electronics since they are easily damaged.
Preparing Electronics
There are also some steps you can take to prepare your electronics for packing. Charge any rechargeable batteries in your electronics. However, make sure to unplug your devices a day before you start packing to prevent any static build-up. Take out batteries, as they can damage the electronics if they corrode. Eject any CDs or DVDs, and tape the drives shut.
In an office or home setting, it’s likely your electronics have accumulated some dust. Vacuum them thoroughly before you start packing to stop dust from getting inside. You may also wish to tighten any screws that have come loose on your electronics.
Preparing Cables/Cords
Keeping your cables and cords straight is hard if you’re moving a large number of electronics. However, there are systems for remaining organized. For this step, you’ll need plastic bags to hold the cables, twist ties or rubber bands, and colored stickers.
One option is to color-code. If you have a device with multiple cables in multiple holes, put a colored sticker to indicate the hole the cable goes in. Unplug the cable, roll it up, and secure it with a twist tie or rubber band. Then, when you pack the cable in the bag, put the same color sticker on the bag. On all bags, write which devices the cable connects to as well.
Instead of, or in addition to, color-coding, you can take pictures of your set-up. This way, it’ll be easier for you to get set up again later. This packing process will also prevent you from ending up with a jumbled mass of cords.
The Packing Process
Now that you’ve done your prep work, the next step is to pack your electronics in boxes. We’ll go over general tips for packing electronics before discussing tips for specific types of electronics.
Some useful materials to have for packing electronics are boxes, cushioning materials like towels, bubble wrap, packing peanuts, and newspapers as well as cardboard, plastic wrap, and tape.
To get started, choose the right box. If you don’t have the original packaging, use a box that’s a few inches wider on all sides than the device you’re packing.
Next, add towels or bubble wrap to the box to provide a cushion. Put your device in the box, and fill up any extra spaces in the box with bubble wrap or packing peanuts. Lastly, wrap the box up with high-quality packing tape.
If your electronics have large screens, like in the case of desktop computers or TVs, you want to do things a little differently. Before you pack the electronics in the box, cover the screens with bubble wrap or towels. Then put a piece of cardboard over the screen, and wrap it all up with plastic wrap.
Whatever you do, avoid covering screens with newspapers, since paper can scratch the screens. However, you can use the newspaper to tape over openings such as vents, to stop dust from getting in your electronics during the move.
As you pack, keep an inventory of what you’ve packed in which box. Also, mark all the boxes with electronics in them as fragile. If you have an especially big box—like for a TV—write “fragile” in several places on the box so it’s clearly visible. You can also add a “this way up” label so you or your movers keep your electronics in the right orientation.
Packing Specific Items
You now know how to pack electronics in general, but here’s some more specific advice on moving electronics commonly found in office spaces.
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Printers
First up, printers. Manufacturers recommend taking some steps before you pack up a printer. First, remove media that you’ve loaded in the printer, like paper. Also remove any trays or panels that detach, and close trays or panels that don’t.
Shut the printer down before you unplug it; this way, you’ll ensure that the ink will be sealed in during the move. Now you can turn off the printer and unplug it.
Often, printers will have power cables that detach from the wall but remain attached to the printer. Roll up the power cable and attach it to the printer with tape. For other cables, you can follow the previous instructions for packing and organizing them.
Throughout the move, keep the printer upright. If the printer tips over, ink might leak. If you’re not certain you’ll be able to keep the printer upright during the move, you should take the ink cartridges out and pack them separately.
To pack the ink cartridges, consult the user manual for instructions on removing them. Wrap them in newspaper, and put them inside a sealable plastic bag, just in case ink leaks.
Now, you can pack the printer per the previous instructions for packing electronics. However, unlike other electronics, printers have many nooks and crannies. Thus, if you’re using packing peanuts, you may wish to add an additional layer like a plastic bag around the printer to prevent packing peanuts from getting inside.
Pack any accessories—like cables, ink cartridges, or removable trays—in another box. Keep them all together!
Computers
For computers, along with following the previous steps for preparing your electronics, consider backing up your data before the move. You can store your data on an external hard drive or in the cloud.
If your computer doesn’t already have a password, you might also want to make one now, just in case something happens to the computer in transit.
Now you’re ready to start packing. Shut down your computer and remove all detachable items, like the power cable, mouse, and keyboard. Follow the previous instructions for remaining organized while packing cables and accessories.
One concern while moving a computer is that static could damage the electronic components. For peace of mind, you can wrap your computer in an anti-static bag to help ensure its safety.
Otherwise, you can continue packing your computer the same way you pack other electronics, taking care to protect the screen. Keep in mind that for a laptop, instead of padding a regular box, you can also get a specialized laptop shipping box.
TVs
Many offices have some kind of display screen or TV. Like with other electronics, you can move a TV by detaching all accessories from the TV and packing the TV in a box. There are some special considerations for TVs though.
TVs can have very elaborate wiring and cable set-ups. Therefore, take photos of the set-up before you disassemble it.
Also, remove batteries from any accessories like remotes. Just like with cables, it can help to label remotes so that you know which device they belong with.
Another concern with TVs is protecting the screen—not only from breaking but also from being scratched. You can use a few layers of bubble wrap, or some other material, to cover the screen. Just make sure to avoid materials like paper that could scratch the screen.
Use packing tape to secure the wrap over the screen. Avoid putting tape on the screen; rather, put tape over the wrap and attach the tape to the other parts of the TV.
To further protect the screen, make sure you have no loose components in the box with the TV.
If you’re moving the TV in a car or truck, keep the TV upright and propped against a wall. A TV is not designed to lie flat and may be damaged by vibrations while driving. Never place another item on top of the TV. To keep the TV stable, you can use blankets to pad the space around it.
Packing for Shipping
The previous advice applies to moving via both driving and shipping, but there are a few more things to keep in mind if you’re packing electronics specifically for shipping.
Shipping can come with greater changes in climate than driving. If it’ll be a while before your electronics arrive at their destination, add a silica gel pack to your boxes. Silica gel will prevent moisture from corroding the metal parts of your electronics.
Additionally, use packing material that insulates in extreme temperatures. Styrofoam is one of the most common insulating packing materials, but you have other options as well.
Lastly, although you always want to secure boxes with tape, take extra care when shipping to ensure all openings and flaps are securely fastened with tape. You can also add extra tape to cover the corners of boxes, which can get worn down.
Tips for Unpacking
Now you’re thoroughly educated on packing electronics for an office move. But what happens after?
When you’re unpacking your electronics, one word of advice is to avoid throwing away any of the packing materials until your set-up process is complete. Electronics come with small parts, and you don’t want to throw any of them away accidentally.
Also, wait a few hours before you actually power on your electronics so they can adjust to room temperature, especially if your move has involved extreme temperatures.
Hiring Movers
As you’ve seen, packing electronics can be time-consuming compared to packing other items. In addition, electronics are heavy and fragile. Therefore, you may want to hire movers for your office move.
Movers can help keep your electronics safe and organized during a move, saving you stress during an already stressful time. With movers, you can focus on your business despite the chaos of an office move.
UniMovers
UniMovers offers both residential and commercial services, and can help with office moves both big and small. Not only will UniMovers physically move your boxes, but UniMovers will also help with packing and unpacking your electronics.
UniMovers is a labor-only company, meaning we provide only the muscle to save you from paying outrageous fees for a company with a truck. Thus, hiring UniMovers for your office move is an economical and time-saving option for your business.
Conclusion
Now you know what to plan for when moving electronics in an office move, both with and without movers. You should feel prepared to tackle everything from how to get ready for the move and prepare your electronics. Remember each electronic and their accessories are different and require individual attention and strategy.
You should feel comfortable packing specific types of electronics, including printers, computers, and TVs, for personal moving and shipping. Lastly, you know what to expect when unpacking, as well as the benefits of hiring movers for your office move.
Keeping this advice in mind, you’ll set yourself up to get right back to work in your new office space!
Sophie Pollack-Milgate has a day job as a bioethics research assistant. In her free time, she likes to read books critiquing psychiatry, complain about how either ice or heat are ruining her runs (depending on the season), and modify recipes beyond recognition.
