Common Printer Problems and Their Solutions

photo credits from Warepin

This article is from Je Rust, a blogger friend from The Toner Expert.

Admit it or not, printers may have problem issues from time to time. Failures at most unexpected instances and technical difficulties that some average individuals find it hard to fix. Professionals are commonly used to this issues, but how about to non professionals who don’t have critical background when it comes to these problems associated to printers.

Here are some of the common HP printer problems that you may encounter, and to identify the root cause will somehow help you to think of the right solution if ever you run into these circumstances.

The most common printer problem of all is Paper jam.Various reason’s are to be consider when you encounter this problem. Inappropriate type or size of paper could the main cause, there might be folds to some corners of the paper that you didn’t notice before you load it to the tray, the roller that feeds the paper could also be a cause, but removing the roller is a tough job cause you need to disassemble the whole printer to access it. Whatever the cause may be, to deal with this problem you need to pull the paper out following the printers path direction. Forcing the paper to pull backwards can seriously damage the nozzles of cartridges and also your printer.

Another problem would be, the printer feeds a lot of papers from the tray instead of the normal single sheet. Possible causes are, the material you loaded was wet or damp, the pad the separates the papers when feeding from the tray was not functioning properly, the papers are to flatten too much that they stick with each other due to the process of manufacturing or long storage period. A very simple solution which i often do with this problem goes like this, before you load the papers hold a stack of it side by side then slightly fold them, then blow it from the top and see how each piece separates from the other.

Third problem, the prints are fading. It is normally a result of either the level of HP toners from your cartridges are getting low, or the printers setting is accidentally set to low density. Your solution will depend on what causes the problem, if you run out of ink or toner then buy a replacement hp toner cartridges or ink cartridges. If the problem is with the settings, you should know how to handle it since you can easily toggle the printers setting and try to explore which box should be check and un-check. Some printer models also have this called Econo-mode, which technically sets the printer to a low density.

A very unusual printer condition called ghosting is yet another issue. It is when you print normally but you’ll notice some faded marks and spots from the printed image where it as not intended. You can’t normally tell when or where it will occur, since graphical designs are often the cause of this condition. Occasionally it can be eliminated by changing the color sequence, the inks, the paper, changing to a press with a drier, or changing the printers rack.

Printing to paper sizes that are not included in the printers list, or envelope size materials. This problem often occurs to laser printers. Paper thickness should be consider to avoid this issue. Envelopes with adhesive should be avoided if possible since some adhesives can’t withstand the heat that laser printers emitted during the printing process thus the paper or the enveloped comes out with wrinkled parts.

Any equipment regardless of what brand you are using, you’ll always encounter problems. I hope this guide will give help to your printing problems, cause like you diagnosing and fixing technical problems is not that easy for me.

Je Rust, Guest Post Author
- is the owner and creator of The Toner Expert, which provides general information about the printing industry, tips and tricks of printing as well as the how-to's, basic solutions on your printing problems with your laser toner printer and inkjet printer.

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