CompTIA A+ Printer Symptoms (Causes and Fixes)

Vertical white lines (Ink Jet)

Clean the print head. If this solution does not work, you will need to replace the ink cartridge.

Error codes

For any error codes you are given, consult the manufacturer's documentation or Web site to get details on the error. Follow the manufacturer's suggested troubleshooting steps for the particular error you receive.

Vertical black lines on page (Ink Jet)

For inkjet printers, you should try cleaning the print head or replacing the ink cartridge.

Ghost images

Ghost images are light images of pages that were previously printed that are appearing on the currently printed page. This is usually caused by the erasure lamp or cleaning blade. The cleaning blade is part of the toner cartridge and is easier to replace than the erasure lamp. Try replacing it first. If it does not fix the problem, you will need to replace the erasure lamp.

No connectivity

If this problem is with a locally attached printer, make sure that the cable is properly attached. Try replacing the cable with a new cable. If this problem is with a network printer, ping the printer to see if it is available. If you can ping the printer, you probably have an incorrect setting or driver.

Unable to install printer

If this problem occurs, the account used to install the printer probably does not have permissions to install the printer. Use an administrative-level account to install the printer.

Printer will not print

If you are sure that the printer has power and paper, you should try printing a test page. If the test page is unsuccessful, you probably have a connection issue. Replace the cabling if it is a local printer. If it is a network printer, complete network troubleshooting techniques to troubleshoot the issue.

Low memory errors

Often just turning the printer off and back on will fix this problem. If the problem persists, you could print the page at a lower resolution or change the print page so that it is less complex. If this does not fix the problem, you may try installing a different driver for the printer. You could also add more memory to the printer.

Printing blank pages

The most often cause of this problem is that the printer is out of ink or toner. It can also be caused by clog print nozzles in an ink jet printer. For a laser printer, the toner cartridge has sealant tape over the toner dispenser. If this tape is not removed, pages will be blank.

Streaks (Ink Jet)

This could be caused by a malfunctioning ink cartridge or dirty print head. Replace the cartridge, or clean the print head. In dot-matrix printers, this is caused by a dirty print head. Clean the print head.

Streaks (Dot-matrix/impact)

This is caused by a dirty print head. Clean the print head.

No image on printer display

This is most often caused because the printer is unplugged or in standby mode.

Access denied

This is most often caused by the access control list (ACL) for the printer. Make sure that the user has been granted print permission. This can also be affected by print availability and print priority. Print availability is a way to set up a printer so that a particular group can print to the printer during certain times. If a user attempts to print to the printer outside of the availability times, the print job is unsuccessful. Print priority allows you to assign jobs from a particular group a higher priority. If this technique is used, jobs that have a higher priority will take precedence over other print jobs. Print availability and print priority can prevent or delay print jobs.

Creased paper

This is usually caused by a paper jam. Check the printer internally to ensure that no paper jams or small scraps of paper are obscuring the paper path. Creased paper can also be caused by worn pickup rollers. Replace the pickup rollers. Pickup rollers are part of printer maintenance kits.

Paper not feeding

This is usually caused by worn pickup rollers. Replace the pickup rollers. Pickup rollers are part of printer maintenance kits.

Faded print

This is usually caused when a toner cartridge, ink cartridge, or ribbon is close to empty. You should replace the cartridge or ribbon with a new unit.

Color prints in wrong print color

This is usually the result of a dirty print head. Clean the print head first. If the problem persists, replace the toner cartridge or ink cartridge. Calibrating the cartridge may also help.

Streaks (Laser)

This problem is usually caused by a malfunctioning fuser because the fuser is responsible for fusing the toner to the paper. Replace the fuser.

Toner not fused to the paper

This problem is usually caused by a malfunctioning fuser. Replace the fuser.

Garbled characters on paper

This problem is usually caused by an incorrect printer driver. Install the most up-to-date version of the correct printer driver.

Vertical black lines on page (Laser)

Vertical black lines are caused by scratches on the drum or dirty corona wire. If you suspect that scratches are on the drum, replace the toner cartridge. If you suspect the corona wire, try cleaning it first. If the problem still persists, replace the toner cartridge.

Vertical white lines (Laser)

Vertical white lines are caused by a dirty transfer corona wire. Clean the corona wires. The corona wire is part of the toner cartridge and can be cleaned using a brush.If this solution does not work, you will need to replace the toner cartridge.

Paper jam

When a paper jam occurs, you need to first completely clear the paper jam. If the paper jam continues to be a problem, you need to determine which printer part could be causing the paper jams. Check to make sure that you are using paper that is approved for the printer. Paper that is too thick will cause paper jams. Also, high humidity can cause the paper to stick together, which causes paper jams. Paper jams can also be caused by worn rollers or broken drive gears. Rollers are part of the printer's maintenance kit. If you suspect broken drive gears, you will need to contact a printer technician to replace the drive gear. If the paper jams after reaching the corona assembly, the problem could be caused by the static eliminator strip, which needs to be replaced by a printer technician.

Backed up print queue

You can try to delete the print job from the print queue that you suspect is causing the problem. If this does not fix the problem, you will need to stop and restart the print queue. This will result in all jobs in the print queue being deleted. All users will have to resubmit their print jobs.(Printer Spooler in services.msc)