How to Fix a Printer

Printer problems many times occur at the worst time. But the best thing is that most of the common challenges are easy to handle without professional help, as long as you know what you are doing. This article will discuss the most common printer problems, their causes, and how to fix a printer.

How to Fix a Printer- Paper Jams?

Paper jams are a result of various issues your device is undergoing. They are not the sole cause of the issue. However, anytime you notice a paper jam, it’s good to look out for the exact cause instead of pulling off papers and assuming everything is okay.

Improper Storage and Low-Quality Ink and Toner Cartridges

If you use low-quality ink or improperly stored ink, you are prone to getting paper jams. For instance, there can be an excess release of ink or toner onto the paper. Again, ink or toner can clump together in the cartridge, causing a paper jam.

Solution

To avoid paper jam, ensure you buy high-quality ink and toners cartridges. Also, ensure you get the suitable cartridges for your printer and store them properly in designated spaces. You can consider getting a closet to avoid your office climate interfering with their performance.

Store your ink cartridges at or below room temperatures in low humidity and away from natural light for the best results. Again, always store your cartridges in their original packaging with proper stacking. Also, it would be best if you shook the cartridges lightly before installing them to loosen their content.

In addition, if you are buying either remanufactured or recycled cartridges, make sure you purchase from legitimate dealers that offer a warranty. Of course, you don’t have to use unwarranted products inside your valuable multifunctional printer.

Improperly Stored Papers

Improperly stored paper can absorb moisture from the air. Due to inconstant office humidity and temperature changes, paper jamming may alter the paper thickness, rigidity, and weight. Therefore, a paper absorbed moisture will curl, wrap, and stick together easily, causing your printer to jam.

Solution

Like ink and toner cartridges, proper paper storage helps prevent paper jams. Again, ensure you sore your papers flat in their original packaging until you need to use them. Whenever possible, store them away from moisture in a dry place.

Also, check printing papers before buying; don’t accept papers with bent or curled paper corners. Always fan your papers before you load them to the printer; this helps separate the pages and release static electricity.

Incorrect Paper Loading into the Printer

Many times, this is the most common cause of paper jams. Loading curled, frayed, or bent papers can lead to a paper jam. Also, overloading the paper tray, using inappropriate paper for your printer, or loading different thicknesses in the tray can lead to a paper jam.

Solution

Before using any paper, check the manufacturer’s paperweight and thickness recommendations. Check the right paper size before loading your printer’s paper tray, ensure you insert the papers correctly, and check and remove any damaged paper sheets.

Worn Rollers

Rollers are essential to push the paper through the printer. These paper rollers should last through the printer life span; improper maintenance can lead to tear and wear. Also, using the wrong printer paper and excessive specialty paper can lead to printer damage, causing paper jams.

Solution

Ensure proper printer rollers care by scheduling regular maintenance for smooth printer running. Also, ensure you follow simple tips like using appropriate papers, buying/using high-quality consumables, and adequately loading the papers.

How to Fix a Printer- Poor Print Quality?

Poor image quality, faded prints, or ink smudges indicate some issues you need to check. However, this should not worry you since it’s straightforward to fix.

Staples

Yes! You read it right. Sometimes you might be tempted to leave staples in your multiple-page document since removing them with a staple remover is time-consuming; this can cost you big.

Solution

Don’t risk scratching the printer glass with staples. So, before working on any document, remove all the staples. Sometimes, the marks you see on your prints, copies, or scans result from glass scratches, which can be expensive to repair.

Using the Wrong paper

Using incorrect papers on your printer can affect print quality. For instance, low-quality paper can result in blurred prints. Again, if the paper is either moist or rough, you might notice toner specks on your copies.

Solution

Always make sure you use high-quality paper to avoid blurred prints, and store them properly before use.

Toner Issues

Sometimes ink toner may be the reason for low-quality prints. If you notice a vertical white streak on a paper or some part of the paper has light prints, it could indicate low toner levels. With this, you need to replace your printer toner cartridges.

Again, if you notice vertical black streaks on your print paper, it could indicate a damaged toner cartridge surface that might need replacement. However, if you notice even marks on a page, it could also mean a damaged toner cartridge. If you experience a black print page, it indicates a faulty or wrongly installed cartridge.

Solution

Always use your printer manufacturer-recommended toner/ink for your model to avoid tonner issues. Also, you can call your printer service manufacturer if you feel uncomfortable changing toner cartridges in some models; it’s easy to change the cartridges. In contrast, it’s tricky since some parts are delicate to handle.

In addition, when dealing with poor print quality, some printer models are equipped with troubleshooting functions. You can make adjustments to solve the faded image problem using this function.

Web Pages, Excel Documents, and Photos Not Printing Properly

Webpages usually are not printable; they have no limitation to the height or width of your printer paper. Hence you might experience some challenges printing them.

Solution

Start by choosing the print preview option to print web pages and see what you get. Preview allows you to select what you want, leaving out what you don’t want, like adverts and comments. If the web page is extensive, you can choose landscape mode for the proper outcome.

Sometimes, you might get a shrink to fit option in the printer settings. You can use this to fit a document or photo too big on a page. However, if you are printing from a web page with a print button within the web page, you can use that one instead of your browser.

• To print office documents.

If you want to print excel sheets, select only the cells you need to print before commanding the print function. It would also help change other options to ensure the document fits nicely on an A4 sheet.

Again, if need be, you can reduce the margins’ size and change from landscape to portrait orientations. If you only want to print some pages out of a document, it’s good to select only the pages you want instead of printing them all.

• Photos and pictures

Right-click photos and pictures in Windows Explorer and click print to print. With this, you can choose the size of each photo. To print multiple photos in a folder, select them, right-click and choose the print function. That is how you will be able to print them all at once, with more than one photo per sheet of paper.

Wi-Fi Printing Taking Too Long

Typically, a wireless connection should allow you to transfer documents quickly from your device to the printer. But this doesn’t happen all the time. Sometimes you want to print, but the printer is unavailable or gives you some silent treatment.

Solution

To troubleshoot a wireless printer that is taking too long to print;

• Check to configure your printer as the default printer
• Check the basics like power, toner, paper, any available warnings, ensure it’s connected, or use a USB cable instead. You might be trying to print from an offline printer
• You can also restart the devices you are using
• Try uninstalling and reinstalling the printer
• Adjust your printer settings
• Uninstall and reinstall printer software and drivers
• Run your printer troubleshooting if available
• Erase and reset the print spooler
• Switch your SSID
• Confirm your router settings

Conclusion

Printers are great when they work correctly. Similarly, they can be frustrating when they don’t. With this, it’s essential to know how to fix a printer should you experience some challenges you can solve even without contacting a professional.

Again, the best solution is to fix and find the root cause to avoid similar occurrences any other time. From this article, it’s now easy to handle some common printer problems and probably avoid them in the future. If you are not sure of anything, it’s always wise to ask for professional assistance.