There are many brands of copiers and printers, but the troubleshooting steps are pretty basic. First I will start off with saying that I DO NOT recommend using toner cartridges that have been refilled. Such as those from Cartridge World etc. You can have tons of problems that can be avoided and acually be costly by using the refilled cartridges. Here are just a few troubleshooting steps…

–          Lines on the Page – This happens often and could be due to several things. First check the glass. A common cause to this is due to people faxing or copying documents with fresh ink on them. The wet ink can get caught on the glass and cause problems with your copies. A good way to find out is to print something to the machine and then copy something. If the copies have a line, then you know it has something to do with the glass.

–          Ink Smears on the Page – As I said before this issue is usually caused by a bad ink cartridge that may contain the drum, (either a green or blue metallic piece). The drum is electronically charged and is what actually puts the toner on the paper. If there are any scratches or fingerprints on it, it will not work right and will cause problems with copy quality.

–          Paper Jams – Everyone hates paper jams! The most common reason for a paper jam is the rollers. The best solution is just to replace the roller that is causing the jam of course. But, if you are in a tight spot you can wipe the rubber with alchohol. This should just be a temp fix until you can replace the roller.

Also, There can be another common reason for paper jams. It is actually the paper itself! Make sure that the paper being used is not old and hasn’t been  in contact with a lot of moisture. Always ‘fan’ the paper before putting it in the cassette to make sure the pages aren’t sticking together.

–          Toner not sticking to the page – This could only be due to one reason… the FUSER. The “Fuser” has that name for a reason. It is actually what fuses the ink to paper. It is usually located in that back of a printer and is orange. Be careful when troubleshooting this because it gets very hot. If you get to it and it is crinkled or has cracks, it should be replaced. It should always be smooth.

–          Good Tip  – One good thing to remember is to gently shake your ink cartridges up and down (lengthwise) when you put a new one in. The toner inside is thinner than smoke, but can cake up really easy. This will increase the output of the cartridge.

Any questions can be sent to me at brandon.scarberry@interworksinc.com