Troubleshooting printers

1. Introduction
Commonly used printers fall into three categories: dot matrix, bubble inkjet and
laser. Although the bubble inkjet has largely replaced the dot matrix type when
purchasing a new printer, there are still many dot-matrix printers in use as they are
indispensable for printing on multi-part stationery, so all three will be covered.
2. General Printer Problems
Some general faults are applicable to most types of printer:
2.1. Absence of printer initialization on switch-on
This is accompanied by the refusal to self test. The first suspect is the power
supply, after which the system clock should be checked for activity. The printer's
memory, program ROM and ASIC (Application-Specicific Integrated Circuit - if
present) or microprocessor are also suspects. If the printer is erratic in its
initializing process, all of these need to be checked, taking particular note of loose
connections and bad solder joints.
2.2. Problems caused by incorrectly operating sensors
The most obvious sensor failure is a paper-out error message when paper is
available. Erratic carriage returns or print spacing is often the result of a problem
with the position encoder sensor as are frozen initializations.
2.3. Mechanical problems
The refusal to advance paper either intermittently or permanently is due to
defective drive-train components. Motor windings and connections should be
checked together with wiring and power supply voltages. Any belts and gear trains

associated with the motors are candidates for examination. paper slips or walks
around the platen (where applicable), are caused by unsuitable paper quality, poor
roller condition or alignment or obstructions in the paper path. The latter can also
be responsible for paper wrinkles and tears.
3. Dot-Matrix Printers
These tend to be slow, noisy and produce printed pages of modest quality, but they
are inexpensive, are insensitive to paper finish and are needed for multi-part
stationary.
Excessively poor print quality points to the ribbon needing replacement or the
ribbon advance mechanism should be investigated. Check also that the printhead
to paper spacing is appropriate for the thickness of paper, it may be set for
envelopes. Otherwise, the printhead or drive circuits are suspect.
Missing dots on the paper indicates one or more non-operating pins in the
printhead. This could be due to dried ink which can be removed with an alcohol
based solvent. It could also be due to bent pins which could have arisen if the
paper was manually moved while the machine was printing. If the offending pin
does not operate and the pin is not bent, the driver's output transistor is faulty and
should be replaced. the same possibilities apply when there is a continuous
horizontal line of dots.
4. Bubble Inkjets
The print quality of bubble inkjets rely heavily upon the paper specification,
superior quality being achieved with non-absorbent glossy paper. Apart from this,
poor quality printing can be caused by unsuitable printhead to paper spacing and
dried ink on the printhead. Recent machines have purge routines to minimize the
incidence of dried ink. These are activated at intervals by the printer itself, but
additional cycles can be initiated by the user. Note that some machines have
separate printheads and cartridge, while others have combined units.

Completely non-working machines may have a power supply fault - those having
separate AC Adaptors can be readily tested and can usually be economically
repaired.
It should be noted that due to the manufacturing techniques employed in the
production of bubble inkjets, the certain replacement parts are almost as expensive
as a replacement printer, so it is wise, when contemplating a repair, to consider
whether purchasing a replacement printer might not be a wiser investment. This
situation exists because while printers are often sold at discount prices, spare parts
rarely are. Also, the modular construction enables the manufacturer to minimize
production costs but it results in a machine having a few substantial parts, each of
which is of fairly high cost.
5. Laser Printers
These offer a high standard of print quality, though normally only in monochrome,
and a high throughput of paper. Despite being more complicated, the lifetime in
terms of number of pages printed, is usually greater than either the dot matrix or
the bubble inkjet. As there are many individual parts which make up a complete
printer, economic repairs of laser printers are more commonplace. Diagnosis is
typically aided by an error description or number displayed on an LCD panel on the
printer and/or by the image on the paper. Reference to the user manual should be
made for the former and the following lists should help in diagnosing the latter. To
supplement the manual, below are suggestions on how to respond to error
messages:
"Warming-up" message continuously shows
Faulty data cable
Faulty interface circuit
"Paper Out" message
If paper is actually present, improperly positioned paper tray

Non-working tray sensors

"Toner Low" message always appears or never appears
Suspect EP cartridge
Faulty high voltage power supply
"Paper Jam" message
Poor quality paper
Worn pickup assembly
Fuser unit problem
"Error" message
Suspect scanner unit
A bad connection between scanner and hardware driver
"Service" message
Generally concerned with fuser problems
Image Problem diagnosis
Blacked-out paper
Primary corona in EP cartridge
Electronic logic fault
Faint print
Low toner level in EP cartridge
Unsuitable paper quality
Transfer corona assembly
Fault in high voltage power supply

Speckled print
Primary corona control grid
High voltage power supply
Vertical white lines
EP Cartridge
Transfer corona assembly
Scanning and laser assembly
Missing right hand or distorted text
Check toner level or replace EP cartridge
Check scanner and optical alignment
Incorrect Image registration
Check or replace pickup rollers
Check or replace drive train
Horizontal black lines
Check connectors from sensor
Check or replace beam detect sensor
Rough print appearance
Troubleshoot the electronic logic circuit
Smeared print
Check fusing roller and cleaning pads
Check or replace static discharge comb
Check the drive train and paper path

Distorted images
Check paper path
Check or replace the scanner unit
Vertically repetitive effects
Check and clean all rollers and belts
For 2 inch defects, check or replace EP cartridge
For 3 inch defects, check or replace fusing rollers