Printer Troubleshooting Information and Tips
How to remove ink dribs inside the printer
Sometimes it occurs that ink gets splashed around inside the printer.
If that happens in your printer you can clean it with a cleanser containing alcohol, ethyl acetate (in nail polish) or socalled isopropanol which can be described as alcohol used as a solvent.
Be aware not to touch critical plastic parts, as a solvent might damage it.
To clean printer and cartridge contacts, use a soft, lint-free clean cloth, moistened with distilled water or (if you don't have that) use moderately warm tap water.
Blinking light problem
If the cartridge light is blinking on the control panel of your printer.
Possible solution:
Be sure that the printer cover is closed. If that is okay then check if the ink cartridges are properly installed. To be sure you might remove and re-install the ink cartridges again. If the cartridge light on the panel is still blinking, then the cartridge might be defective caused by damage or is low on ink.
Also be sure that the printer cables - USB cable and power cable - are well connected. A check might be to disconnect the cables for a few seconds and then reconnect.
Papertray does not feed
If the papertray does not feed paper, then check that the papertray isn't overloaded with paper. If so, then reduce the number of papersheets in the tray. Also be sure that no pieces of paper obstruct the rollers.
Paper obstructs your printer?
Here's how to clear it:
- Turn your printer off and then on again to see if it the printer automatically clears the paper jam. A lot of printing devices have some kind of error-code listing on the front panel display for the area where the paper obstruction occurred. If your printer shows an error code, you're advised to look in the printer manual to see if that identifies the area of the printer where the jam occurred.
- Turn the printer off, remove the paper tray and check it for wrinkled or damaged paper.
- Open any other doors or flips that give access to the printer's paper path and to the toner or ink cartridges. You may need to take the ink cartridges out. - Note: remember how they were placed in their holders, so you can replace them easily.
- Try to remove jammed paper by holding it firmly and pulling carefully without tearing the paper. If the paper tears, try to rotate the roller gears by hand to loosen the paper.
- When there's no paper left in the printer, replace the ink cartridges and paper tray, close any flips you opened and turn the printer on again.
How to avoid ink smears on printed photo?
When you print an photograph on photo paper, ink may smear on the printout or it may feel somewhat sticky.
To avoid this you might increase the dry time, which can be set in the software's 'Print dialog box'. What also helps is to set 'paper type' to manually
Further: be sure that the paper is flat, and preferably keeping it in sheetbags. Sheets should only be removed from the bag when you plan to print.
If the ink only smears near the bottom of the sheet, then use a bottom border.
When to update the printer driver?
The driver is software that allows your computer to communicate with your printer.
That software should be updated if you have recently purchased a new computer, and or a new printer, and in case the computer software or operating system has been updated.
Aside from what's said above, a printer driver update may also be necessary when your printer's output does supply all documents you supposed to have printed, or documents that have missing characters or printing is very slow / takes more time than usually.
Where to find your printer software?
Most of the times you can get the most current version of your printer's driver software on the support page of the printer manufacturer's website, along with installation instructions. Or you might call the manufacturer directly and request that a new driver be mailed to you on CD.
Black page output when printing a PDF file?
This is a not very common problem but it could happen occasionally. If certain PDF files are printed using the n-up or booklet feature of the driver, the print output may appear as black pages or with poor quality.
If this happens to you then you may need Microsoft's hotfix for Windows SP2/SP3 and Windows Server
Why Is My HP Printer Offline or How to Get it Online again
Reasons that your printer is offline might be:
- Connection issues
- Settings error
- Outdated drivers
To figure out what might be the cause, use the HP Print and Scan Doctor tool. You can download it here. then look in your download section.
Click on the file: HPPSdr.exe and allow it to run by choosing "Yes" to trust the file as it comes straight from the HP tech support team.
Click "Start" and choose your printer.
Here's an extensive article on this "HP printer offline" topic.
How to Turn Off Wi-Fi Direct on a HP Printer
An HP printer may be equipped with it's own WiFi, called Wi-Fi Direct.
If you prefer not to use the feature, you can turn it off via
printer's control panel's dashboard,
and touch "Wi-Fi Direct",
then touch "Settings"(gear icon)
and turn Wi-Fi Direct off.
How to Make your HP Printer Data Inaccessible
This is about anonymous usage information storage.
HP cartridges may contain a memory chip to store information about the usage of the printer. According to HP it is not information to identify a user of the carridge or printer.
If you want to make that information inaccessible you can turn off the chip's ability to collect data, via
the printer control panel's dashboard,
touch "Setup"(gear icon),
then "Preferences",
then touch "Store Anonymous Usage Information" to turn it off.
The working of the cartridge will not be effected.