7.6.4 Printer Troubleshooting

Use the Colour Management tab of the printer diver to calibrate the driver's colour settings. Download and install the latest printer drivers. Explanation You should download and install the latest printer driver, then use the Colour Management tab to adjust the driver's colour settings. Many times, installing the latest driver alone will fix colour issues. If not, you can manually adjust the colour settings until they match the original.

Use the automatic print head cleaning feature. Explanation Use an inkjet's automatic cleaning feature if letter have missing lines and there are gaps. With inkjet printers, the nozzles sometimes become clogged, preventing ink from leaving the nozzles and reaching the paper. On dot matrix printers, you should check the gap between the printer head and the paper to avoid printer images from becoming faint. Colour profiles are typically created by the manufacturer, and correct problems when the printed colours don't match what you see on the screen. Add memory to a printer if the end of a printed page is missing.

Install additional memory in the printer. Explanation If only part of a page printed on a laser printer (and the rest of the page is blank), you most likely need to add memory in the printer. This is especially true if it happens when complex graphical documents are printed, but printing works correctly with text-only documents. In rare circumstances, updating the printer driver could also fix the issue, but this is unlikely. The speed of the network link does not affect the quality of the printer output.

A corona wire is dirty. Explanation If a corona wire is dirty, it might not create a uniform charge. As a result, the toner might not be attracted correctly to the photosensitive drum or paper. A vertical stripe is a typical symptom of this problem. Be careful when cleaning a corona wire because they are delicate.

Lines or splotches repeated at regular intervals on the print job. Explanation A dirty drum of roller can create lines or splotches at regular intervals on the print job.

Discharge lamp Rubber scraper Explanation After a page is printed, a rubber removes any remaining toner from the OPC drum. A discharge lamp removes any remaining electrical charge. If images from previous print jobs show up on the page, check these two components. The primary corona charges the drum prior to writing the image. The secondary corona charges the paper to attract the toner. If these two components are faulty, the current image might have streaks or missing parts. If the toner is not sticking to the paper, check the transfer roller.

Calibrate the printer. Explanation After replacing print cartridges, perform a calibration. The calibration uses the self test to check the printed image and make minor adjustments automatically. Calibration will help avoid blurry text, misalignment (jagged lines), or incorrect colours. Dot matrix printers use a ribbon, and should be replaced if printer images become faint. Fuser roller assemblies are found in laser printers, and should be replaced or cleaned if there are lines or splotches at regular intervals on the print job.

Transfer corona Explanation A blank page from a laser printer could be caused by a completely empty toner cartridge (which is rare), or a faulty transfer corona. The transfer corona charges the paper to attract the toner. Without a charge, the toner will not stick to the paper. The discharge lamp removes any charge from the drum prior to writing a new image. A faulty discharge lamp will show ghosted images from previous printouts. The static eliminator strip removes the static charge from the paper after the image has been applied to the paper. A faulty drum will result in sports or stripes on the printout.

Wrong print drive. Explanation When you print a test page from your computer and it does not work properly, you most likely have an incorrect print driver or a printer cable that is not fastened properly. Memory or power supply problems are rare in printers. You would probably not be able to install an incorrect toner cartridge into the printer.

Replace the printer's power supply. Explanation The fact that the printer is plugged in and powered on, but has nothing displayed on its built-in control panel indicates that its power supply has probably failed. this can be verified by listening for fan noises or feeling for heat being radiated by the printer. If the power supply is bad, then running a self test, connecting the printer to the network, or replacing the fuser assembly will not resolve the issue.