Troubleshooting 10 Common Printer Problems

Below are some common printer problems, and solutions that our customers have found beneficial:

1. If your printer just won’t print

Is the printer directly connected to your printer? Make sure that the printer cable between the printer and computer isn't loose.

Is the printer on a network? Make sure the printer is powered on and there are not any loose cables.

Power both the computer and the printer down, wait 20 seconds and then power the printer back on. Lastly, power on the computer for testing.

2. If your printer says it is busy

Check your computer’s print queue screen. A print job may be stuck in the print queue and deleting it from the queue may help.

3. If your printer display menu says there is a paper jam

Open the doors of the printer, remove the paper tray or even the ink or toner cartridge. This will usually allow access to the jammed paper so that you can remove it. Paper should be removed slowly and gently so that it doesn't tear.

If you can not find any jammed paper and still can not print, unplug your printer then turn it back on.

4. If the printing on your page is faded

A faded print image may indicate that the printer is getting low on ink or toner, the print density is set too low or economy printing is turned on. Settings may be corrected on the printer or within the computer’s control panel. If the ink or toner cartridge is low, replace the cartridge easily through an ink merchant like 999inks.co.uk.

5. I have a cool, new Operating System

As new operating systems are released, your printer will require new drivers. Some printers do not yet have a driver for every new Operating System, or older Operating Systems. In these cases, it’s best to consult the printer manual and find out what printers the drivers will emulate. While not all of the functionality of the printer will be available under this emulation, at least basic printing will work.

Be sure to use the correct driver for your current Operating System. If an incorrect or defective printer driver is being used, it can result in strange rubbish on the printed page. If you selected the wrong printer driver for the printer or Operating System, you may need to purge the print jobs that are hung up in the spooler as well as reset the printer to remove any bad data that remains in its buffer.

6. I am printing, but the pages are blank or irregular
If your ink jet printer is turning out blank pages whenever you print, then the print head could be dried up, or you may be out of ink.
Once the ink cartridge is opened and installed, the ink can start drying out or evaporating. If you only print infrequently, then the print head will often become dried up, stopping any ink from getting onto your paper. Try soaking your print head in shallow water, if your ink cartridge regularly dries out, then try to print a page off more often, at least every few days, as this should stop the print head becoming dried out, otherwise you will need to install a fresh ink cartridge.

7. There are error lights on

If there are error lights (LED's) lit, refer to the user manual or manufacturer's web site to diagnose.

8. Each time I print, it is blurry or has lines in it

Aligning the print cartridge is necessary to obtain the best possible printing performance. The method to do this may vary depending on your printer. Typically, you will go into the Settings of your computer then click Maintenance and Align print cartridges

9. Missing Colour, Wrong Colour or Streaks in the Printout

Make sure your paper is not causing the problem. Paper that does not accept ink well can cause your images to smear or bleed. Plain paper is not the best choice for high-density graphics. Photo paper is available at 999inks.co.uk

If the paper is not the problem, print a clean test to see that everything is functioning properly.

10. Did you read the user manual?