4 Common Printing Problems and How to Solve Them

Printing problems can turn a quick job into 20 solid minutes of frustration in any office. Whether your printer is making a funny noise or no noise at all, it’s pretty easy to tell when something’s gone awry. Most common printing problems can be solved by just about anyone – but occasionally you need to call in the pros. If you notice a persistent problem with your printer or you can’t fix the issue yourself, Central Business Equipment has you covered! Our print pros can help you solve any problem with your printer – or help you find a new one!

Here, we’ll discuss the most common printing problems and how to solve them quickly!

Pro Tip: Check the Basics

There’s a universally-hated question in the tech support world: “Have you tried turning it off and back on again?” But checking the basics before you dive into problem-solving can be a huge time saver. Your first step to any quick printing fix should be to check the basics, including:

  • Is the printer plugged in?
  • Is the printer connected to the network?
  • Are all of the printer’s cables plugged in correctly?
  • Is there paper in the printer?
  • Is there ink/toner in the printer?
  • Is your ethernet or wireless internet working properly?

1. Document Isn’t Printing
Sometimes, printers have a two-way connection that will let you know if there’s a problem before you walk into the copy room and discover your document hasn’t printed. With or without advanced warning, you might find that your document hasn’t printed as you expected. If you hit “Print” and nothing came out, check to make sure that you have printed the document to the correct machine. Next, check your print queue by opening your printer’s software application or your computer’s control panel.

If your document is stuck in the print queue, try deleting the print job and re-printing. If that still doesn’t work, check the printer’s control panel print queue to see if another job is hung up and keeping yours from printing. If all else fails, try clearing the machine’s entire print queue and turning it off. Wait about five seconds and then turn it back on, reboot your printing software application, and try printing again.

2. Printer Won’t Connect to Computer
If you’ve tried everything and your printer simply won’t show up on your computer’s control panel or won’t communicate with your computer, try reinstalling the software. Sometimes, software updates or other issues can cause your printer’s drivers or other software to shut down or even become corrupted. Delete the old software package and download new drivers for your printer’s make and model.

3. This Printer is SLOW
If your printer is running slower than you want – but you’re not ready to buy a new one – you can try a couple of solutions to make it print faster. First, reduce the print quality settings. If you’re printing black-and-white text-based documents, reducing the quality won’t lead to a huge, noticeable difference. Try printing in draft-mode or your printer’s lowest-quality setting. Just don’t forget to increase the print quality if you’re printing photos or presentation materials! Second, make sure you’re printing from a host-based or PCL driver rather than a PostScript driver.

4. Frequent Paper Jams
If you’ve set a big job to print and already cleared three paper jams, you’re probably getting frustrated. Of course, loose items or other issues inside the printer can cause paper to jam. The most usual culprit, however, is an overloaded paper tray. Take the paper out, fan it to remove any dust or other items, and then straighten the pages and load it back into the paper tray guides. It’s tempting to load as much paper as you can, but leaving a quarter-inch gap between the paper and the top guides will prevent a lot of paper jams. You might also try turning off duplex printing for older printers and opening every part of your printer to make sure there isn’t a loose piece or some other debris inside.

Call the Business Equipment Pros for Fewer Printing Woes!

When it’s time to reconsider your business’s equipment needs, turn to the pros at Central Business Equipment. If it’s time to put your old printer out to pasture, we can help you select the best new machine for your business needs – and the best purchase, finance, or lease situation for you! Call or visit us today for your business equipment consultation.