Friday, 23 January 2015

Top Printer Glitches and How To Fix Them

Imagine working late into the night, sacrificing fun and everything that comes with a good time. Then just when you want to print your project and hand it over to your client or supervisor, the printer lets you down. You then remember that the problem has been there for some time. Unfortunately, you are not that tech savvy, so you do not know how to go about fixing the printer. Do fret. Troubleshooting printers is not as hard as it sounds. Start off by cleaning printer heads and cartridges. Then check for the right drivers for your printer. That sounds easy. It actually is, only that sometimes the problem goes beyond drivers, printer heads and cartridges. Should that be the case, consider the following tips.

No power to printer

The power light should always be your guide. It can easily fail to flick even after turning on the printer. All you have to do is examine the connections. There is always a chance that your printer chords are faulty. This mostly happens in work environments where people move from one place to another, stepping on the chords. Note that there are two chords that should run from your printer. There is one running from the printer to the desktop, computer, iPad or laptop. Then there is the other one to the power source. Simply remove then reconnect both ends of each cord before switching on the printer once more.

Printer ‘swallows’ papers

This seems to be one the most common printer problems. You give a print command but the printer simply takes in a chunk of printing papers for processing. This can be depressing, but you don’t have to worry about it. It is easy to fix the problem. The printing papers in the tray could have stuck to each other. You only need to separate the papers. You can do this by fanning the paper edges before feeding the rim into the printer again. The problem could also be as a result of wet papers inside the printer. This mostly happens where moisture finds its way into the printing papers. Simply replace the printing rip with a new, dry rim.

Paper jam errors

You must have had this problem several times if your printer is connected to a network of computers. It also happens where you have to print in bulk. Fortunately, modern printers have display screens that can prompt one with paper jam error. You only need to restart the printer. The jammed paper will then be ejected. Alternatively, you can switch off the printer, and lift the top cover to remove the crumpled paper sheets.

Poor print quality

White lining on the paper, improper shade, smudgy images and illegible prints all mean one thing – poor print quality. This means you may have selected the wrong print settings. Text characters should be printed at low quality while pictures should be printed at high quality. This should not be a problem if you are using any printer model made from 2005. Modern printers simply have auto functions that can help your print with ease. If you are experiencing the problem with your old printer model, be sure to check your ink cartridge. It could be running dry. Then remember that leaking cartridges can blot your papers. Replace your cartridge if you have to. Then always ensure that your toners, printers and cartridges are all from the same manufacturer. Ensure too that the parts come with warranties.

Blank pages

This is a sure sign that your printer head has a problem. Simply clean it. There are two ways to go about it. You can sue the function on the printer or go to Printer Preferences in the control panel. You may also have to check if your cartridge tape is still in place.

Printing funny characters

The printer may work alright. It may accept print commands without a problem. But it may proceed to print weird characters. This is usually a problem with drivers. The only way to solve the problem is to install new drivers or update the one you have been using. Usually, weird characters appearing on your printing papers means there is no communication between your printer and the computer it is connected to.