10 Steps to Handling Paper Jams
Have you ever been so frustrated with a paper jam in your printer that you just yank out the paper? And to add fuel to the fire, your printer won’t work anymore. Every week or so, we have customers bring their printer in for service due to a paper jam. So we thought we would publish some great tips and steps to follow when you have a paper jam.
Step 1: Turn the printer off and then back on to see if it can automatically clear some or all of the jam. Many printers provide an error-code listing on the front panel display for the area where the jam occurred. If your printer shows an error code, be sure and check the printer manual to see if that identifies the area of the printer where the jam occurred. If you can’t find your manual check your manufacturers website for a copy.
Step 2: Turn off the printer.
Step 3: Remove any paper trays. Inspect them for wrinkled or damaged paper.
Step 4: Open any other doors that give access to the printer’s paper path and to the toner or ink cartridge.
Step 5: If necessary, remove the toner or ink cartridge. Place it in a bag or away from light to avoid damaging it.
Step 6: If you find a piece of jammed paper, remove it by holding it with both hands and pulling firmly (no yanking). The goal is to keep the paper from tearing. If several pieces are jammed together, try pulling out the middle piece first to loosen the jam.
Step 7: If the paper does tear, try rotating the roller gears manually to free the paper. Don’t force anything, though.
Step 8: Replace the toner or ink cartridge and paper trays, close any doors you opened and turn the printer back on.
Step 9: If the printer paper jam message still appears, then there is still some paper in the printer. Re-inspect the paper path.
Step 10: If all fails, contact a local repair centre for assistance.
It is important to store your paper flat. Keep if free of humidity and fan your paper before you place it in the printer. Do you know why?
Reduce your carbon footprint. Only print documents that are really necessary and have your printer cartridges refilled or remanufactured locally.
How about you? Have you had a costly repair due to improperly trying to clear a paper jam? I’d love to get your feedback. Here on my blog, you’ll get commentluv. That’s a plugin whereby you can leave your comment and a link back to your own site!
Until next time, be green and save some green!
Karen
