Good printers are your best friends for copying, scanning, and printing important documents. A printer at home makes your paperwork easy. You do not have to visit a friend’s place or a print shop to get them done. The actual battle begins, though, when your office or home printer starts acting up. The clock is ticking, and you have no idea what to do. Five common printer problems that could throw a wrench into your day are listed here.
Thankfully, if you know how to handle them, they may be simpler to correct. In fact, they don’t always need expert intervention. If your printer issue matches any of the following ones in the list, then you can proceed with the solutions.
Let’s get going.
Top 5 Common Printer Problems [with Working Fixes]
1. Your Printer Appears Offline
Imagine you’re in a rush to print something important, but your computer shows an offline warning for your printer. Many things can cause these problems. They range from printer connectivity issues to software conflicts and hardware failures.
To be specific, you can suspect:
- A disconnected cable.
- Low ink levels.
- Disruptive routers.
- Inappropriate settings.
- Outdated drivers.
- Firewall restrictions.
Now, how can you overcome such common printer problems? Typically, printer offline fixes are comparatively easier to execute. Here’s what you can try to bypass the offline status and bring your printer back to normal:
- Check every possible physical and wireless connection. Plug every cable tightly into its respective port.
- Apart from that, see if your router is working fine, especially if it’s a network printer.
- Go to the connected computer and inspect all the relevant print settings. Thus, you can ensure that all the settings are accurate.
- If your printer is still unresponsive, update all related drivers or software.
- Check your security settings and apps. A strict setup might be blocking your printer from going online.
Unplug the printer from the computer and router if the offline fault continues. Then, connect your printer to all the respective devices again.
2. Consistent Paper Jams
Among common printer problems, you can’t overlook the presence and effect of paper jams. During a paper jam, the loose sheets get stuck in the feeding mechanism or roller of your printer. What can cause a paper jam, by the way?
According to experts, the following reasons are evident:
- Wrong selection of paper size.
- Uneven or wrinkled edges of paper.
- Improper paper type is in use.
- Issues while loading the paper.
- Dusty printer rollers.
- Improper seating of the roller gears.
Whenever you face a paper jam, make sure you don’t pull out the paper forcibly. This might cause further damage to your printer. Small bits of paper can get stuck inside your printer without you knowing.
However, there are smarter ways to address a paper jam and prevent it from happening in the future. Here’s how to fix printer problems because of a paper jam:
- Check out the manufacturer’s specifications for using the good quality paper.
- Also, stick to the guidelines while handling paper loading.
- Make sure you load papers into the right tray. Maintain the feed limit for every tray.
- Clean your printer from time to time. Wipe the printer’s feed tires and vacuum the dust accumulated inside the device. Otherwise, dust can cause misfeeds.
- Also, refrain from using wrinkled paper.
- Conduct regular maintenance as well.
You need to remove the jammed paper manually. From next time, you should reload the papers of the proper size. Make sure you align the papers appropriately. Get your printer checked by a professional if it keeps jamming.
3. Choppy Printing Speed
Wi-Fi printing might be helpful, but it can be slow due to various reasons. Now, slow printing problems are consequences of:
- Unstable internet connections.
- Inadequate network bandwidth.
- Many users or devices are on the same network.
- Outdated drivers.
- Connection drops.
In essence, tuning your internet connection can fix major slow printing problems. Try to find sure-fire remedies for these most common printer problems:
- Reboot or soft reset your Wi-Fi modem or router.
- Moreover, inspect your internet connection’s signal speed and stability. Use a compatible tool to test these factors.
- Attempt to move your printer closer to the router if possible. In case your printer can’t catch Wi-Fi signals, use an extender.
- Contact your internet service provider if you find any inconsistency with the connection.
- If your Wi-Fi is strong and stable, check that your printer has all the required drivers and software. Update your printer’s drivers using the connected computer.
- Have you connected new devices to the same network? Having too many devices on the same network can use up a lot of bandwidth. This can leave very little for your printer. So, don’t overload the network.
If slow printing issues persist, the machine likely has hardware failures. To fix your printer and replace the worn-out part, contact a skilled technician.
4. Streaky, Unsophisticated Prints
Wet and streaky prints can frustrate you, and we get that. However, this can be one of the common printer problems that don’t go away easily. Reportedly, the following instances can trigger wet, streaky, and ugly prints:
- Poor calibration of your printer.
- Low-quality cartridges or incompatible toner.
- Using old or damaged paper.
- Wrong printer settings for advanced features.
- Outdated printer software.
Here’s how to fix printer problems and return its output quality, though:
- Particularly for premium results, make sure you utilize the correct kind of paper. If the paper in use absorbs too much ink, then the output can be wet.
- Also, place your printer in a space with good ventilation.
- Make sure you clean up leaked ink as soon as possible. Refer to your printer’s user manual to check out how to clear blockages inside your printer tubes.
- Also, check whether your printer requires a replacement for ink cartridges. Always use genuine cartridges for quality printing.
- Inspect your printer’s current settings. If the existing settings meddle with the print quality, you can perform a factory reset.
5. Ink Cartridges Flash Low or Empty warnings.
The majority of printers struggle with low or empty ink cartridges. Well, it’s not a typical issue unless your printer shows it’s low on ink, although it has enough. Such common printer problems are triggered by:
- Use of inferior ink cartridges.
- Improper installation or handling of ink cartridges.
- Incorrect printer settings.
You have to confirm your printer has enough ink before replacing ink cartridges. Otherwise, you may wind up wasting money or cartridges.
Now, check out how to fix printer problems:
- Examine your printer settings.
- Next, check that your ink cartridges are properly installed inside your machine.
- Also, you can run a few cleaning cycles.
See if your printer starts showing the ink cartridges. Change your cartridges if your printer is unable to detect their levels. Be sure to utilize only real ink cartridges or replacements. Also, refer to your printer’s instruction manual so you can change them safely.
Contact Atdoorstep for Further Help with Printer Repair!
Can’t see your printer problem here? Or, you may have tried everything to find an offline printer fix or paper jam solution, but in vain. In that scenario, connect with Atdoorstep. Their printer repair technician know how to fix printer problems technically. Also, they prevent such common printer problems from returning to your life.
