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Troubleshooting Printers. Printer Maintenance Proper printer maintenance can prevent many problems and lessen the effects of others.
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Troubleshooting Printers • Printer Maintenance • Proper printer maintenance can prevent many problems and lessen the effects of others. • Routine printer maintenance procedures vary widely from manufacturer to manufacturer and printer to printer. The printer manufacturer’s Web site is an important resource when supporting printers.
Troubleshooting Printers • Here are some things to look for: • Online documentation • A knowledge base of common problems and what to do about them • Updated device drivers • Flash BIOS updates • Catalog of options and upgrades for purchase • Replacement parts • Printer maintenance kits • Additional software
Troubleshooting Printers • Verify That a Printer Self-Test Page Can Print • To eliminate the printer as the problem, first check that the printer is on, and then print a self-test page. • If the printer self-test worked, try an OS printer test. If the OS printer test does not work, the problem might be the printer cable. • Check that the cable is firmly connected at both ends. Cables rarely go bad, but often become disconnected.
Troubleshooting Printers • Problems with Dot Matrix • Print quality is poor • Try the following solutions to improve print quality on a dot-matrix printer. • Begin with the ribbon. • Adjust the print head spacing. • Check the print head for dirt. • If nothing prints while the print head moves, check the ribbon to insure it advances properly.
Troubleshooting Printers • White bars on text indicates a damaged or dirty printhead. • Clean platen (roller) and printhead with denatured alcohol. • Gears and pulleys should be lubricated, but never lube the printhead. • If the text is chopped or fades, adjust the printhead. • Text that gets lighter or darker across the page indicates the platen needs adjusting.
Troubleshooting Printers • Problems with Inkjet Printers • For specific guidelines for your printer, refer to the manufacturer’s documentation or Web site. • If the print quality is poor, try the following suggestions to improve quality on an inkjet printer: • Is the correct paper being used? • Is the ink supply low, or is there a partially clogged nozzle?
Troubleshooting Printers • If the inkjet printer does not print or prints intermittently, try the following : • Make sure the correct printer driver is installed. • Is the ink supply low? • Are nozzles clogged? • Replace the ink cartridges or replenish the ink supply. • Sometimes, leaving the printer on for a while will heat up the ink nozzles and unclog them.
Troubleshooting Printers • Lines are missing from the printed page • The ink nozzles on an inkjet cartridge can occasionally dry out; especially when the printer sits unused for a long time. Newer printers often clean the nozzles automatically, or by using software or buttons on the front panel of the printer.
Troubleshooting Printers • Streaks of ink appear on the page • Sometimes dust or dirt gets down into the print head assemblage, causing streaks or lines on the printed page. Follow the manufacturer’s directions to clean the print cartridge carrier. Use clean distilled water and cotton swabs to clean the cartridge cradle and the face and edges of the print cartridges, being careful not to touch the nozzle plate or damage may occur.
Troubleshooting Printers • Problems with Laser Printers • Poor print quality, including faded, smeared, wavy, speckled, or streaked printouts, often indicates that the toner is low. • If paper is jammed inside the printer, follow the directions in the printer documentation to remove the paper. Check for jammed paper from both the input tray and the output bin. • Moisture in the paper often causes poor paper pickup from a tray. Replace paper with a new stack.
Troubleshooting Printers • If white streaks appear on the printed page, try the following to solve the problem: • Remove the toner cartridge, shake it from side to side to redistribute the toner supply, or replace the cartridge. Since most moving parts of the imaging process are built into the cartridge, replacement may solve many printing issues. • Streaking is usually caused by a dirty developer unit or corona wire. Clean according to manufacturer’s instructions.
Troubleshooting Printers • If printed images are distorted and there is no paper jam, foreign material inside the printer might be interfering with the mechanical components. Check for debris that might be interfering with the printer operation. • For some laser printers an error occurs if the printer does not have enough memory to hold the entire page. The solution is to install more memory or to print only simple pages.
Troubleshooting Printers • Try the following if the printer is slow: • Space is needed on the hard drive to manage print jobs. • Add more memory to the printer. • Lower the printer resolution and the print quality. • Upgrade the computer’s memory or the CPU. • If the printer prints Garbage, the likely culprit is the wrong driver or a corrupted driver. Reinstall the correct driver.