A laser printer is a rather complex device, which makes it difficult to repair it at home. However, in some cases, do not rush to contact the repair shop, as it is quite possible to cope on your own. Even when the breakdown cannot be fixed on its own, it is important to understand its cause. Often this saves significant money on repairs.
Let's consider what malfunctions of the laser printer can be eliminated at home on their own.
Great print time
Possible causes of such a defect:
- The high resolution set in the print settings.
- Memory problems.
- Wrong driver choice.
We will look at ways to troubleshoot laser printer printing in sufficient detail so that everyone can figure them out.
It is important to understand that high-resolution images require more data for processing by a computer and printer, which can significantly slow down. Therefore, for printing office documents should choose the standard mode. To print presentations, you can again switch to high quality mode.
In the daily processing of large volumes of files with complex images, it is necessary to consider the issue of increasing the RAM in the computer to speed up its work.
You can also opt out of duplex printing. It should be remembered that paper consumption will increase by 2 times.
The printer driver may also affect print speed. Laser and even some high-price inkjet devices allow you to select a driver from the following list:
- PostScript - for printing applications with a large volume of graphic operations.
- PCL - for office printing.
Printer paper jam
Generally, troubleshooting information is provided in the user manual or on the printer control panel. Xerox machines, for example, provide the ability to view supporting video material and highlight the inside of the mechanism to facilitate the process of removing jammed paper. Check the paper path and remove any jammed material. Paper should be removed carefully without jerking. If the sheet is stuck between the rollers, you need to loosen them, following the instruction manual.
When all the excess is removed from the printer, make sure that it supports this type of paper. In addition, moisture must be avoided.
Poor print quality
To troubleshoot laser printer problems associated with poor print quality, do the following:
- Check driver for matching paper type.
- In some models of laser printers, it is possible to customize the stove. If there is such an opportunity, you need to carefully adjust it. In this case, be careful not to get a burn.
- Check toner cartridges, imaging units, and fuser for damage. These components can vary greatly for different models of devices, so it is recommended that you refer to the user manual.
Printer does not print
This problem can also be solved at home. You need:
- Verify that print jobs have been sent to the correct address.
- Verify that the printer is turned on and all cables are securely connected.
- Check if the printer driver is installed on the computer from which you are trying to print.
- Restart the printer.
- Restart the application that is attempting to send the print job.
- To restart a computer.
- Turn off the printer for a few minutes, and then turn it on again.
Now consider the malfunctions of the laser printer, which will require a trip to the workshop to fix them.
Not bright enough
This defect is a consequence of a malfunction of the magnetic shaft, more precisely, its shell and the metering blade. Initially, the shaft shell has some roughness, which allows to provide the desired toner charge. Over time, the roughness disappears and the blade wears out. The deterioration of the quality state of these components leads to the fact that the toner has an insufficient charge, so the image quality is noticeably reduced.
Some users carry out preventive maintenance for their devices, which cause the appearance of new malfunctions of the laser printer. Cleaning the magnetic shaft is most indicative of this. When doing this work independently, it is prohibited:
- Use cleaning agents to treat the shaft surface.
- Touch the surface of this part of the printer. From this, greasy spots remain on it, subsequently leading to the appearance of defects during printing.
- Keep several magnetic shafts together or place them next to devices that have magnetizing elements in their composition. As a result of magnetic attraction, dents can form on the tube, which in the future will not allow to apply an even coating on them.
Paper does not pick up
Possible causes of laser printer malfunction:
- The tray contains an object that interferes with capture.
- Paper weight not suitable for this printer.
- Exciting rollers are dirty or worn out.
Use a small cloth dampened with water to clean the rollers. Alcohol and chemicals are not allowed. You can extend the life of these parts by wrapping them with a layer of electrical tape. However, this measure is temporary. After some time, they will still need to be replaced.
Squeaking printer mechanisms
Even if the machine continues to print, making a creak uncharacteristic for normal operation, cleaning of its parts should not be postponed for a long time. At one point it can break. Then, troubleshooting a laser printer will have to devote a lot more effort and money.
One of the reasons for squeaking may be the ingress of toner or crumpled paper residues between gears or other mechanical parts. In this case, the printer needs to be disassembled and its parts cleaned of dirt.
Cartridge
This is a removable printer element that needs periodic refueling. Most malfunctions of laser printer cartridges are associated with ignoring preventive measures, as well as with incorrect or untimely refueling.
Black patterns or vertical stripes
The appearance of such defects with a certain frequency on the sheet indicates wear of the drum. Any scratches on this part or a change in its color will result in poor printing. The cause of the appearance of black vertical stripes may be a failure or clogging of the doctor blade.
For a color cartridge, the stripes will be the same color as the toner. Otherwise, the malfunctions of the color laser printer and black and white are no different.
Traces of pinch rollers
When toner begins to spill out of the cartridge, it enters the mechanical components of the printer. In doing so, it may contaminate the rollers moving the paper inside the machine. As a result, characteristic stripes appear (they resemble traces of car tires in their form), following vertically along the edges and in the center of the sheet.
White stripes
The appearance of white vertical stripes on a sheet most often indicates that the toner is low on the cartridge. It is possible that he was bombarded unevenly. Therefore, the cartridge can be shaken slightly, tilting in different directions, so that the remaining substance fills the empty areas. This operation will extend the life of the last refueling for some time.
Sometimes the result of the appearance of white streaks can be something more serious than the banal lack of toner in the cartridge. For example, a foreign object may interfere with the correct display of the pages by the laser. To solve this problem, it is necessary to clean the elements of the laser unit.
Horizontal print defects
Horizontal tracks or stripes that appear at the same frequency are due to contamination of the rollers. Other causes of this problem include failure of the laser or the toner cartridge.
Preventive measures to extend the life of the drum
One of the problematic parts of the cartridge is the drum. The main malfunctions of laser printers are associated with it. To extend the life of the drum, a number of rules must be followed. Equally important is the timely execution of maintenance activities. It is necessary:
- Avoid exposing the drum to sunlight.
- Do not use heavy paper that promotes friction.
- Do not use glossy paper on which toner is poorly fixed. In this case, its remnants spill onto the drum, which leads to its early wear.