The magazine of the Melbourne PC User Group From Screen To Paper Gordon Woolf |
| The objective may be the paperless office, but too often when we try to get it down on paper, things do not go smoothly, as Gordon Woolf reports |
There we were, three supposed
experts at IT — myself as a
DTP lecturer in a large TAFE
college, plus the regional IT manager
and the lesser qualified but experienced man who actually fixed most
of the college's computer problems.
| Typical Printer Problem "I am returning this otherwise good typing paper to you because someone has printed gibberish all over it and put your name at the top." - An English Professor, Ohio University from Michael Moncur's (Cynical) Quotations http://www.quotationspage.com |
We had a problem: the lights on the printer were on, but nothing was coming
through. Only when the decision was made to unplug the printer and replace it
was the problem found. The network connection was unplugged already.
That signals a very common fault with printers: the connections to the computer,
the network or simply to the power supply.
Is It Connected?
The first step with most printer problems is to check the connections. And by
that I mean to actually unplug the cords, and not only plug them in again hut
check that each end is actually connected to where it is supposed to be
connected.
With a mass of USB cables around many home computers today, be careful that you
don't have the cable to the external drive plugged in to the printer.
In our opening scenario we blamed the cleaners, whose fault it was not. The
cable should have had securing screws for the connector, so it should have meant
they would have had to knock the printer off its stand before the connection
came undone, if then.
Next step is to check the cable between computer and printer. You will not see a tiny break in a wire, so the option is to temporarily swap the cable for another that you know is working. That may be a USB, serial or (less commonly now) a parallel cable.
If the power light does not come on, check the power cable, and check something you know works in the same power socket. It may seem obvious, but it should be near the top of list.
Is it Producing a Blank Page?
With laser printers you seldom see a sudden change from good image to nothing, but that does happen with inkjets, especially if you have not used it for a while, maybe as short a period as a few days. They may seem to use a lot of ink, but it will pay to run something through the printer every few days. Let's say you print letterheads or address labels or some other form for use from the computer. Instead of printing a big batch, print one or two every few days as needed and you will keep your inkjet healthy. A label a day may keep the repair man away.
I dislike the always-on fixation of our electronic equipment manufacturers, but
turning on an inkjet printer regularly, even if you are not printing anything,
will ensure that it does some occasional cleaning cycles.
If the printer does produce a blank page, try the built-in test page. Often
you'll find the instructions for that on a label inside the cover, or otherwise you
may need to check the manual. There will usually be a way you can do it from the
printer itself rather than from the printer software utility on the computer,
because if that doesn't work it, will not prove there is a fault at the printer.
If you still get no image then you' be up for a new cartridge, an unfortunate
expense if it proves not to be a dried up cartridge, but an outlay which it is
hard to avoid. (Do your sums — it could be that a new printer on special is as
cheap as a replacement cartridge).
A quick fix can be to change the colour of the text if you are printing a black
only document on a colour printer and it might be the black cartridge playing
up. Change the black text to being a high percentage of red, green and blue...
just like that coloured play dough you had as a kid, when you mix them together
they become a sort of dark dirty brown, acceptable for text.
Is It Printing Garbage?
If it begins to turn out page after page of garbage with an occasional
English-style word amid the rubbish, then you have probably attempted to print a
postscript or EPS file which lists the instructions for a postscript printer,
but which is meaningless to any other type of printer.
A single character printed in the top left hand corner will indicate that while
the connection between the computer program output and the printer was
eventually made, it was not quite right. Usually the solution is a matter of
cancelling the print output and starting again, though occasionally you may need
to switch the printer off then on again. It may have misread the code that tells
it what type of output is coming and will sit waiting... and waiting.
Is it a network printer?
It is a good idea to have a network printer also installed as a local printer on
a nearby computer even if it is not normally connected that way. Then, if the
printer appears to be playing up, you can connect to the computer as a local
printer to check if it is the printer or the network at fault, though of course
it could still be the network connector on the printer. Similarly, if you have a
wireless network, keep an appropriate cable on hand to try a direct connection.
If no page comes out?
Open the cover and check that there is not a sheet of paper jammed inside. If
there is, carefully remove it by seeing whether it moves more easily backwards
or forward. A couple of years ago I opened a jammed printer in which a dozen
sheets had stuck solidly. I wondered if switching it back on would clear it, and
do not recommend that action as it whirred, creaked and a short rod shot past my
ear. When the rod was put back by the local dealer, that printer lasted another
year or so, but the quality of output was never the same. My action on that day
is not one I'd recommend.
If a printer seems to be having trouble picking up the paper, try printing a
page from the manual feed tray if the printer has one or, if the feed is from
outside the printer, try carefully lifting the back of the top sheet to see
whether the feed mechanism is attempting to pull in the sheet. You can also try
"fanning" the stack, which is firmly holding square one end of the paper stack
while you bend the stack and allow the loose end to fan out. Repeat for each
end. This has the effect of ensuring adjacent sheets are not "stuck" together.
After fanning the stack make sure you knock the stack neatly back into shape on
a table or bench top.
When It Works
Once the printer is working again, and before it fails next time, get into a
habit of opening the cover and cleaning out the paper dust. Often blowing can be
better than sucking, with an air-blower brush of the kind favoured by
photographers, or a can of compressed air.
You will find plenty of advice on the Internet on how to clean blocked ink jets,
but be wary. Do not try these while the printer is within warranty. Even
afterwards, a replacement cartridge or head may be a better answer, especially
on those where there is a combined head/cartridge option.
The Printer Driver
Immediately after any operating system update, check that the printer still
works as you expect. At this stage you may still be able to easily revert to
what you had. Certainly check to ensure the update hasn't caused a problem and
don't wait until you need it to be working perfectly.
Also, check occasionally for updated drivers to suit your printer, but again be
prepared to change back. Some older computer programs (PageMaker and QuarkXPress
are just two examples) were forced to take a lot of the printer drivers' work
upon themselves before the operating systems began to regard it as part of their
job; sometimes an older printer driver is better with older software.
Keep It Going
When something has definitely failed, and especially if the manufacturer or
distributor does not want to know, try
http://www.fixyourownprinter.com/
.
As well as selling repair kits, they have a forum where your question may
already have been answered.
About the Author
Gordon Woolf is a long time Melb PC member who writes books, does book layout
for a US publisher, has a Web hosting business and tries to do less.
Reprinted from the September 2006 issue of PC Update, the magazine of Melbourne PC User Group, Australia
