It’s happened to the best of us – you need to print something off and technology sabotages your plans at the last minute. Frustrating as this may be, there are ways to solve such issues without wasting half your day wrestling paper out of the printer mouth. Not only will you save time by following these solutions, you’ll be the office hero or heroine too!
Paper Jams
These two dreaded words can strike fear into the heart of any employee in a rush with a big print job. Fear not: it’s actually quite simple to fix. When removing the paper, always pull it in the direction of the paper path otherwise you’re likely to cause damage to your device. Keeping your printer clean and using the right type of paper can stop this from happening in the future.
Ghosting
For those who haven’t yet mastered techy lingo, ghosting is when you print an image and a shadowy lighter version also appears elsewhere on the page. Ghosting can be due to a problem with the power socket, so try using a different printer in the same outlet to see if the result changes.
However, it’s not the only reason for ghosting. It can also be caused by issues with the rollers in your printer, which must be maintained and kept clean. A further tip is to check the estimated life of the consumable parts in your printer, such as the drum or the image kit. When these start to fail, those sneaky ghost images will rear their heads.
Fading On The Page
If your printed items have started to come out faded and difficult to decipher, you could be low on toner. Remove the toner cartridge from your printer and shake it so that the liquid is distributed more evenly – this should stop any documents from fading on the printed page. It sounds like cheating but it’ll save you plenty of time and even a little chunk of money as the year progresses!
Lines On The Page
Another very frequent predicament is when lines appear across the whole of the printed document. This is usually down to a clogged printer head, especially if you’re using your device very frequently. The good news is that most printers have a utility app which means they are self-cleaning – find the programme through your Control Panel.
Slow Printing
In a busy office, you need everything to print quickly to keep up with the speed of your business. Nothing is more irritating than being stuck in a queue behind several colleagues so you should try a lower setting which reduces the print quality. Although this might not be appropriate if you’re sending something to a client, it’s perfect for printing off things for your own files.
Wireless Printing Takes Too Long
It’s much more practical in offices to use a device which is powered by wireless rather than a physical cable, but this can be less time-efficient. By ensuring that the printer is in a good location, it will speed up printing time. Try placing it within equidistance to every computer in the office to keep everybody moving and happy.
These remedies are all designed to help the office environment run smoothly on a day to day basis and hopefully prevent future printing issues.
It’s always wise to have a technical department or contractor that are on hand when anything fails on a huge scale, but you should be perfectly equipped to deal with minor problems after reading this.
If you’re still struggling, check out Cartridge Shop’s Ultimate Printing Guide for an informative insight into more common complications.
What printing conundrums do you face in your office and how do you combat them? Let us know in the comments below.
Sarah McLaughlin uses computers every day and has a history of battling with printers, paper jams and low ink.
