Print jams are the bane of every office worker’s existence, especially if it’s a couple of minutes before the deadline and you need to submit this very important document that will make or break your career. It’s like your printer or copier smelt fear in the air and decided to shut down on purpose.
Whenever that happens, you might be tempted to whine to your IT guy or perhaps Google ‘copier repair near Los Angeles‘ or ‘copier repair near Orange County‘ to get it serviced, but there are some things you can do first before giving up. You can’t let that printer/copier defeat you so easily!
Here are the four most common reasons behind a paper jam and how you can solve them easily. No printer supplies are needed!
You’ve Got Old Paper
When quarantine restrictions were placed, and lots of companies had to start having their employees work from home, the office printers and copiers were understandably neglected. The paper in their input trays was left alone to accumulate moisture and dust, making them warp and bend unevenly. So, when you tell your machine to print something on these papers, you’re undoubtedly going to run into problems.
Your paper needs to lie perfectly flat, so the printer can print smoothly from the input tray to the output tray. Old, warped paper disrupts this by either not entering the machine properly or having uneven prints. And, because the old paper has weaker fibers due to moisture, they’re more prone to breakage and can tear when they’re in your printer, causing printer jams and other printer issues.
Thankfully, the solution is pretty straightforward. If the printer hasn’t been used lately, replace the old batch of papers with a new one and see if it works.
Something’s Stuck in Your Printer
Every printer runs into this issue at some point, no matter how great and high-quality your printer may be.
To figure out if something is stuck in your printer, you need to refer to its instruction manual, especially if you’re not as tech-savvy. It’s important to refer to the manual because all printers are different and you might end up damaging the printer in the end.
The instruction manual will tell you the path the printer takes from input to output and all possible areas the paper jam might have happened. Then, it’ll tell you how to access these areas. Some printers even have screens installed that give you visuals. They show a layout of the printer and put a marker on where the paper jam could be, as well as the easiest way to access it.
Once you know how to access the paper-printing route, you just need to open the printer up and take out the little bits of paper stuck in the printer’s components.
We recommend going easy on the paper bits. They can be jammed tight, and you’d risk ripping it further if you pulled it out too hard! Additionally, some printer parts are sensitive—you don’t want to knock anything out of place with your heavy-handedness. In this case, try a tweezer.
This might seem like a lot of work, but we mean it when we say every printer goes through this. It’s a good idea to learn how to troubleshoot this by yourself instead of waiting for someone to fix it for you!
You’re Using the Wrong Paper
Printers and copiers can be very sensitive about the size of the paper you’re using. If you’re using the wrong paper, or the tray table isn’t adjusted just right, it can cause utter chaos!
To fix a paper jam due to wrong-sized paper, start by following the steps from the section above. Once the paper jam has been cleared out, it’s time to figure out why it jammed and how to prevent it from happening again.
First, you need to check out what size paper you were trying to print and see if it matches the paper on the input tray. If you notice the sizes don’t line up, simply switch out the wrong paper with the right one and try printing it again. If the issue was the paper size, then the document should print nicely.
If not, check the printing tray itself. Is it properly set up with no space between the sides of the tray and the paper? If your printer has more than one printing tray, are you using the right paper on the right printing tray? Make sure everything’s in working order—someone could have switched things around without you knowing.
If you’re using the right paper and the right settings but are still getting your paper jammed, then it’s time to move on to the next step.
Some Printer Parts Need Replacing
Perhaps it is the printer itself that’s the problem. The more usage a printer has, the more worn down its components can be. Eventually, it’ll need to be repaired or replaced.
We recommend not doing this yourself. One reason is that you can end up breaking the printer if you dislodge something or install the new part incorrectly. Another is that you might end up wasting a lot of money—since you’re not sure what exactly is broken, you could end up replacing something that isn’t broken or buying a part that doesn’t fit the old one.
So, put someone more knowledgeable about printers and copiers to the task! This could be someone from IT or even a professional printer and copier repair company. They’ll be able to look at your computer, determine what exactly is wrong with it, and fix it before it gets too out of hand. That’s certainly a way to show that evil device who’s boss!
Looking for the best printer and copier repair in Los Angeles and Orange County or Los Angeles? No need to search ‘printer repair near me’ on Google! CalTech Copier is a team of highly-qualified experts who can fix your printing woes in a flash. Contact us today at (800) 834-0092 to get started.
