Just like many electronic devices, the laser printer has its battery of woes. These are of course caused by components that fail to operate properly at a given time. Printer manufacturers have streamlined printer designs in the hope that whenever the equipment malfunctions, users will be able to troubleshoot printer problems conveniently and avoid the dreaded downtime as this affects office productivity.
Here are 5 of the most common laser printer troubles encountered and the methods to troubleshoot printer problems.
Paper Jams. The paper jam is probably the most common of all printer errors. The error is characterized by paper getting stuck between components and is usually followed by the blinking of the printer’s LED lights. When the user opens the printer panel, a crumpled sheet appears wedged in between the rollers of the printer.
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How to fix your printer?
- Unplug the laser printer’s power cord from the socket and let it stay for a few minutes to let the heated components cool off.
- Determine the direction of the paper’s travel path and pull the jammed paper along the direction and never against it. Otherwise, paper could tear and leave some pieces inside the printer’s mains.
Paper Feeding Troubles. The laser printer picking up multiple pages at the same time not one after the other is an annoying problem. In most instances, the cause could be the stacks of paper loaded into the feeder tray. Media not properly fanned at the edges prior to loading can cause feeding errors.
How to fix your printer?
So how do you troubleshoot printer problems such as this? During packaging, the individual sheets of a ream of paper tend to cling to each other. Storage temperature and humidity could also be behind this, so paper out of the box must be set aside to acclimatize prior to usage.
Blank Prints. When the laser printer turns out blank or empty prints over a new replacement cartridge unit, thtoner cartridgea> seal is likely the culprit.
How to fix your printer?
The 12 inch long, plastic white strip or sealing tape needs to be pulled out from the cartridge prior to installation. Doing that would break the seal that prevents toner leaks while the cartridge is in transit.
Paper Quality Troubles. Reduced color intensity and print quality typically results from toner cartridges that are running low on toner supply. The tell tale signs are print images that are a bit purplish, bluish or orange and resultant prints that look totally strange.
How to fix your printer?
The only remedy is to replace the entire battery of toner cartridges. If the laser printer user has the penchant to refill the cartridge with a new load of compatible toner; then toner refill kits will do the trick.
Grain Printouts. A grainy printout has nothing to do with toner powder or the toner cartridge for that matter. It is actually a question of the printer’s resolution. Usually, laser printers set with resolutions of less than 300 dots per inch or dpi produce really grainy images over printouts.
Don’t dump that empty toner cartridge just yet! You can use it for another 2 or 3 printing cycles. Get it refilled with toner refill kits.
When faced with operational bugs and malfunctions in the usage of a laser printer, always keep an open mind. Confront the problem objectively by initially assessing the scenario and then tapping expert solutions that would troubleshoot printer problems effectively.