Troubleshooting Your Inkjet Printer
There are many things that can go wrong with your printer on a day to day basis and it is guaranteed that they will go wrong at a time when you need to get out that important document or assignment.
The first place to look if you have any problems with your printer is in the manufacturer’s instruction book as this will give you troubleshooting tips for your make and model of inkjet printer. It will also detail what the indication lights mean on the control panel of the printer. Below are some links to manufactures websites where you can find online documentation for your printer and known bugs and fixes.
Hewlett Packard - HP
Epson
Lexmark
Canon
Here are few tips that might be able to help if you have problems:
- If your printer has not been used for a long time, print a test page and if the colours are not correct run a print head cleaning cycle. This will clean the print heads and will resolve a lot of problems.
- Check cables to make sure the printer is plugged in to your computer correctly and powered up. You will be surprised how many people say their inkjet printer does not work and all it is, is that it is not switched on.
- If the printer has not been used for a long time and printer head cleaning has not worked, try a new set of cartridges as they may have dried out.
- Always use printer cartridges that are in date.
- If the printer paper jams, make sure that you fan the paper out to separate it and make sure that it is not damp.
- Re-install the correct printer driver software incase it has a problem and cannot talk to the printer
Listed below are a few good forums where you can post your problems that your printer has and maybe someone has had the same problem or can give you some advice. Please be clear with your problem description and state your inkjet printer manufacturers name and model number.
Fix Your Own Printer
Printer tech Forum |
