Troubleshooting Printer 4

Repeating Vertical Lines or White Spaces

Possible Causes (Lasers): - Scratched print drum - Dirty primary corona or transfer corona - Refilled toner cartridge

Colors Are Wrong / Missing

Possible Causes: - Check ink/toner supply - Check print quality settings - Check advanced printer settings to review color settings

Feathering / Ink Bleed

Possible Causes: - Clogged nozzles - Low ink levels - Bad printhead - Low-quality refilled cartridge(s) - Incorrect paper. Be sure to use paper made for Inkjet printers.

Jobs do not Appear in the Print Queue

Possible Causes: - General connectivity issues - User has insufficient permissions to print - The print spooler is on a disk with inadequate disk space

Garbled Characters

Possible Causes: - Low memory on printer - Incompatible driver or driver problem - Damaged cabling - The drum or fuser assembly have been damaged (laser printers)

Cannot Connect (Wireless)

Possible Causes: - Out of range - PC and printer use incompatible wireless standards (e.g., 802.11a and 802.11n) - Sources of RFI/EMI - Obstacles (e.g., too many walls) - Printer's IP address has changed

Multiple Pages Pulled from Tray

Possible Causes: - Pickup rollers/wheels are worn or dirty. Try cleaning them with rubbing alcohol. If that doesn't work, lightly scuff them with an emery board/nail file. If you still have problems, replace the pickup rollers.

Access Denied

Possible Causes: - Printer has an Access Control List and the user (or the user's PC) is not authorized - User does not have security permissions for a shared printer - User does not have security permissions on the network

Printer Screen is Blank

Possible Causes: - Printer is off. Switch it on. - Power cable is unplugged (or power strip is switched off). - The printer power supply or adapter has failed. - If there are other indications that power is working (e.g., lights, print jobs run), the display component may be broken.

Output not as Expected

Possible Causes: - Software settings, page setup, or printer configuration issues - Driver issues. Update the driver. - If settings are correct, consider getting a maintenance kit.

Output Smeared

Possible Causes (Inkjet): - Handling prints too soon after printing - Using standard copy paper or laser-specific paper. Those papers typically have smoother surfaces that do not let the ink penetrate as quickly. Possible Causes (Laser): - Fuser unit failing - Fuser roller warped

Vertical Lines on Pages

Possible Causes (Inkjet): - Running low on ink Possible Causes (Laser): - Damaged imaging drum

Light or Faded Prints

Possible Causes (Laser): - Bad toner cartridge (especially if remanufactured) - Fuser unit may be failing

Poor Overall Print Quality

Possible Causes (All): - Running out of ink/ink ribbon/toner - Printer is set in "Draft" mode - Poor paper quality Possible Causes (Laser): - Low quality paper - Dirty transfer corona wire - Power problem to transfer corona Possible Causes (Inkjet) - Clogged nozzles - Incorrect paper. Be sure to use paper made for Inkjet printers. - Defective ink cartridge - Empty ink cartridge Possible Causes (Impact): - Printer set for the wrong thickness of paper - Bad ribbon - Dirty printhead

White Horizontal Bands through Text/Images (Parts Missing)

Possible Causes (Impact Printers): - Pins on the print head may be damaged or missing. Attempting to fix them will likely cause more damage. Replace the print head. - The print head may be dirty. Try cleaning it with rubbing alcohol, or a lubricant like WD-40

Flecks or Smudges on the Paper

Possible Causes (Impact Printers): - The ribbon is mis-installed or not aligned correctly - Too much ink on the ribbon (typically when re-inked) - The ribbon is not feeding correctly. Clean and lubricate the gears that advance the ribbon.

Streaked Print Output

Possible Causes (Inkjet): - Clogged print nozzle - Improperly aligned print head/mechanism (the print head/nozzle is contacting the page)

Repeating Horizontal Lines or White Spaces

Possible Causes (Laser): - Dirty fuser roller - Warped or worn fuser roller - Scratched print drum

Cannot Connect (Wired)

Possible Causes: - Network cable disconnected - Network cable is damaged - Printer's IP address has changed. - The printer did not receive an IP address - The print server may be unavailable. Check the IP address in the printer's configuration, then try to print directly to the IP address. - The installed printer instance may be corrupt. Remove all installed instances of that printer device from the user's PC, and then re-add the printer.

Cannot Install the Printer

Possible Causes: - Trying to load an incompatible or outdated driver - User does not have sufficient privileges (i.e., the user is not an Administrator on Windows machines). - Existing drivers are interfering with the installation. Try uninstalling older drivers/print devices and then installing the new one.

Pages are Blank

Possible causes: - Ink or toner may need to be replaced - Ink or toner may not be installed properly (e.g., shipping tapes/factory covers are still in place) - Software malfunction. Shutdown and restart the printer after waiting a few seconds to clear memory. - It could be a PC or driver issue. Try rebooting the PC and printing again. - It could be an application issue. Does the Print Preview show a blank page? Try printing from a different application. - Printer settings may be misconfigured. Try resetting them to the defaults. - If a wireless printer, consider sources of wireless interference.

Creased Paper

Possible causes: - Paper jam - Warped rollers - Wrong size of paper in paper tray - Paper not loaded correctly (it should be flat, snug to the guides, and aligned with the edge of the tray).

Backed up Print Queue

Possible causes: - Printer is out of consumables (paper, toner/ink) - Paper jam - The Windows print spooler service may be stalled - The "Use Printer Offline" option was selected - The user is trying to print outside of approved hours (printer schedule)

Printer will not Print

Possible causes: - Printer not powered on - Printer in Offline mode - Wrong printer driver - User sent the job to a different printer

Paper will not Load from the Tray

Possible causes: - Software malfunction. Shutdown and restart the printer after waiting a few seconds to clear memory. - The driver or settings may be misconfigured (e.g., paper in the tray does not match the size specified in the settings). - The paper may be damaged, or the loading path may be obstructed - A paper tray may not be closed completely. - The pickup rollers are worn. Clean them with rubbing alcohol. - High humidity may cause the paper to warp and roll, and may make it harder for pages to slide apart from the stack in the tray.