Printer repair is a necessity. Whether it’s a home or office printer, you might not need to call a repair service immediately when a problem occurs. Your standard printer is a surprisingly simple machine, and if you understand a few essential components of how it operates, you can tackle many issues yourself.
Troubleshooting
The vast majority of home and office printers are inkjet and laser printers. So, we´re going to focus on DIY repair for these two types.
Paper Jams
Paper jams can be caused by incorrectly fed paper, too much paper, misaligned paper, or paper with rips or tears. In most situations, checking for bits of stuck paper, removing them (using a dust spray or tweezers can help), resetting the paper tray, and then reprinting will do the trick. Most printers have built-in warnings for jams, and more complex machines will tell you exactly where the problem is located.
Ghost Jams
Ghost jams can often happen after an actual jam or when a sheet of paper cannot be fed for some reason. The printer acts like something is stuck when there is nothing there. Troubleshoot using the paper jam methods just in case something is physically wrong, but in most cases restarting the printer and the print job will work.
Connection Issues
Most users are connected to a printer by Wi-Fi. If a Wi-Fi issue affects your network, it will affect the printer. Weak or interrupted signals can cause delays, and nothing will print if your Wi-Fi is down.
Sometimes, there are multiple printer devices, and your computer is not connecting to the correct one. Techniques like unplugging and resetting the Wi-Fi router will often help. Or you might need to plug in the device directly to the printer. This can be addressed through your computer settings, and ensuring the printer is a recognized device.
Low or Empty Ink or Toner Cartridge
Printers are designed to tell users when new toner is needed and, in some situations, won’t print until a cartridge is replaced. Most printers have an opening to access them. You can take out old cartridges and install new ones without tools. This holds for toner as well as ink cartridges.
Just make sure you take off all those orange tabs and watch out for ink or toner on your hands!
When in doubt, there are professionals who are standing by to help resolve your San Francisco business printer problems. Contact Golden Gate Office Solutions today so we can help you with any printer repairs!
